#always a good sign when the tow truck driver pulls up and is like | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dreamescapeswriting · 4 years

Text

Make Me Stay ~ Changbin [M] [Request]

WORD COUNT: 20.5K (As of this moment the longest imagine on my account….whoops)

GENRE: Non Idol Au, Mechanic Changbin, slow burn(first time doing slow burn fics) Smut, fluffy, SMUT, cute fluff lil angst, hapyy ending

PAIRING: Mechanic Changbin x Fem!Reader

The sun from the sunset was beaming down through the windshield of your 1967 Volkswagen beetle causing you to squint as you continued driving down the old dirt road. The sun setting was always so bright and in your face, it made it hard to see anything going on around you. The sat nav on your phone had convinced you that this was the right way but it didn't seem like it at all. There were no buildings around for miles. Just trees, bushes and more trees, a serial killer's favourite place to be hiding out.

"Stupid thing," You mumbled as you pulled up towards a huge gate that looked like it lead onto the private property in front of you, you hissed punching in a new address into your phone. All you were trying to do was get into the city, you'd been doing a huge road trip alone, exploring Korean since you'd lived there most of your life and hadn't explored much. Many people told you not to be "stupid" that it could be dangerous all alone, not to mention lonely or boring but so far you'd enjoyed all of your time. You'd managed to do a lot of sightseeing on your way around the places you'd been, you'd gotten to do a lot of things you wouldn't normally do if you were with friends. The drive had given you space to think over things in your life, it gave you the time to think over everything that was waiting for you back at home...Which was a whole lot of nothing since you'd basically worked in a dead-end job for the last 6 years of your life in order to take this trip. Busan was the third to last place on your list to tick off and so far you hadn't even gotten into the town yet, you were right on the outskirts, the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees and a whole lot of nothing.

"Don't! Don't you dare!" You cried out as your car began to judder forward when you were driving down the back dirt roads, smoke coming from the back of it where the engine was. You wanted to scream out but you held it in thinking it was probably nothing, smoke normally meant that the old engine was just overheating itself. It was perfectly normal.

"No!" You whined out to yourself as you pulled into a small layby near some trees, praying to yourself it would just be the heat. There was nothing around you for miles thanks to the shoddy GPS system on your phone you would have thrown the thing out if it wasn't the only way you would get out of this situation.

Kicking the wheel of your car as you walked to the back of the car to check out what was wrong with the engine if it was the radiators you could fix the issue yourself. It did it occasionally, well more than occasionally, overheat. It would do it every day to the point where you had to carry around water in huge cartons just to make sure you could look after it. As soon as you opened the boot of the car you were met with smoke to the face and you groaned looking inside, you weren't a mechanic but you already knew it didn't look good. There was oil splotched all over the place and bubbling out of the oil dip, something looked as though it was snapped and there was a major stench coming from the engine yourself.

"So much for an easy fix." You mumbled slamming the boot shut and groaning at the thought of being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to go. The private land was about four miles away and you knew there was nothing around you for miles in any direction,

"Piece of shit," You whispered as you looked at the small light blue beetle all of it beginning to rust with how old it was.

"I didn't mean it, baby," You whispered as though you had hurt the cars feelings. You put a small kiss on your fingers before placing it on the wing mirror, then you began scrolling through your phone you searching for your recovery number. Having no idea if they would have a branch out in the middle of nowhere or be able to find you out here. You were so far from any major towns, you hadn't seen a single signpost anywhere to give to them over the phone.

"Hi, I've broken down and I have the cover with your service. The only problem is I have no idea where I am..." You trailed off hoping that there was some way they could help you out even though you had no idea what to do yourself. There was some typing on the other end of the phone then a soft voice came through,

"Not a problem love, we can track your phone with our systems just give me one moment," The woman on the other side of the phone seemed pleasant enough to talk to, she hummed while she was typing on her computer.

"I can see you're location, unfortunately, we won't have an official truck out there but we can send someone from a nearby towing company." That was better than the thought of being stuck out forever so you agreed.

"That would be great," You whispered as you got into your car, wanting to stay as warm as you could since the air was starting to drop. It might have been the summer but the nights were always chilly,

"I'll send you the name of our drive and the licence plate as soon as I find out myself," You thanked her for all her work, giving her your insurance information and making sure she had everything she would need before hanging up.

"Hyunjin?" You questioned as a huge truck pulled up beside you on the road, it had been the first sign of anyone else since you ended the phone call. No one had driven down or up this road which made you wonder if the house you'd pulled up at was abandoned.

"That's me, you're-" The long-haired blonde man looked down at a clipboard as he got out of his white truck, much like your small blue Beetle it was starting to rust from how old it was. It must have been a family business, he didn't look any older than you did to be having a van that old.

"Y/n? Driving the 1967 Volkswagon?" He glanced up again and smiled at you, he wasn't at all what you had pictured when you got the text with his name. You always imagined tow drivers to be old and creepy looking but Hyunjin seemed genuinely nice, though you couldn't always judge a book by its cover.

"I haven't seen one of these in a while, what's wrong with it?" He looked impressed by the car so you smiled, taking him around to the boot to show him the engine. Opening it up and wincing at the sight as soon as you did so,

"I seem to have run into some engine troubles," You mumbled as he looked inside the boot and hissed, the sight was enough to make you cry. You knew for a fact it wasn't going to be cheap fixing all of this, not to mention you would now have to find a new place to stay since you hadn't exactly planned on staying in the town. Just passing through after doing some sightseeing.

"I'll take you to Changbin, he does repairs and he's the closest garage to here." You looked at him while nodding, slamming the boot shut and smiling to yourself as Hyunjin helped you up into his truck to wait while he got the car ready on the back of his van.

"Changbin!" You looked around as Hyunjin walked you down the gravelled pathway towards a rundown looking garage shouting out the name of the mechanic. If you hadn't seen the man working on a car in the back you would have thought the place was deserted, the building looked like it would fall apart and the slightest bit of wind change.

"Changin?!" Hyunjin cried out again as he tried to gain the attention of the man who was currently bent over a car and rapping along to some music that was playing. The man was wearing dark blue overalls that were tied around his waist but you hadn't seen his face yet.

"Wait here, I'll go and talk to him," Hyunjin told you as he rushed off over to the car, you hummed and glanced around taking in the sight of everything around you. There was a house beside the garage that looked to be in better shape, you assumed it was where this Changbin lived. Hyunjin had been telling you about him on the drive over, that they'd been close friends since school, how he and a few of their other friends had wanted to start a boy group together when they were kids. It was nice hearing what people dreamed about, back home no one ever discussed that sort of thing. They only cared about what job you wanted after school, dreaming wasn't allowed in the town you grew up in.

"You own the 1967 Beetle?" A voice questioned from behind you snapping you out of your small dream, you jumped up a little before nodding and turning to face whoever it was. From the overalls he was wearing you assumed he was the mechanic, Changbin, he smiled shyly at you and you grabbed the keys from your pocket. Changbin smiled at you but you couldn't help but take notice of what he was wearing, his overalls were tied around his waist, he had a white tank top covering his top half but it was covered in oil and sweat, it made him look incredibly hot. Shaking your head you snapped out of the daydream about him and gave him the keys to your car, Hyunjin had dropped it off at the top of the driveway for you not wanting to clog up Changbin's workspace.

"She's old, the family passed it down and I had her fixed up. The engine seems to have gone bye-bye on me...I think the timing belt snapped, I know for sure the oil has...bubbled over-" You stopped talking when you saw how Changbin was staring at you. His eyebrow was raised at the way you were talking about the car, when Hyunjin told him what was happening inside your engine he assumed you'd have no idea but you seemed to have a pretty good one to him.

"Most people don't know what's wrong when they bring it in," He chuckled softly truly impressed that you seemed to know what was wrong. That smile could have melted your whole heart if you stared at it long enough, it sent a warm feeling throughout your body just seeing him smile. You smiled back at him feeling the need to laugh a little as you both walked in the direction of your car falling into a comfortable silence as Changbin looked up at the vehicle.

"You weren't kidding when you said old," He laughed softly stepping over to the car and unlocking it. He ran his hands over the bonnet and smiled to himself, it had been so long since someone had brought anything decent for him to work on. He'd been surprised when Hyunjin mentioned the year and model,

"She's a classic," You mentioned looking at the expression on his face as he opened the doors to see all of the original interiors was still intact. Right down to the radio dials and cassette player that had been installed in the later models, it was a sight to see nowadays since many people would modify them.

"Holy fuck." He was truly stunned by how well it was still kept together, you didn't see it much now unless the person restoring the car was only doing it to sell it on or keep for a display piece.

"This is insane, I'll have to order the pieces in the fix it but you're welcome to stay in my house in the guest room until it's finished. It would be my pleasure to work on this car." He mentioned as he looked up at you, both of you heading towards the boot to take a look at the engine. Hyunjin had mentioned that Busan was a good two-hour drive if you wanted to get a hotel so you decided to take up Changbin's offer of a room. Hyunjin said he was a good guy and so far he seemed relatively normal and nice to you, who were you to say no to someone being good at hospitality.

"What happened?" He questioned when he took a look at the engine his face scrunching up as he was hit with smoke, you winced as you saw the look of disgust hit his face.

"Driving down a dirt road because my sat nav told me to, turns out I was wrong and then when I was on my way out, Buggy here gave out." He raised his eyebrow when he heard the nickname that you had for the car, you looked down at the floor feeling slightly shy at the look he was giving you.

"Everyone names their car," Your voice trailed off making Changbin smile even more as he nodded his head in agreement with you. He shut the boot as he began walking you back in the direction of his garage.

"I'll have everything priced up by the morning for you," He spoke as he walked into the main area of the garage as he went to lay your keys down.

"I don't charge people for staying at the home, it's just empty without anyone around." He mumbled as he began noting something down on a pad of paper, you weren't able to make out his handwriting so you didn't attempt to.

"Head up to the house, make yourself at home. Do you have any clothes with you?" He questioned as he looked up at you, wondering if he was going to need to lend you some of his own clothing or if you would be okay for now.

"In the car," He threw you the keys then he began writing down again, you headed off back to your car.

Wanting to get some comfortable clothes for the night, you twirled the keys around your fingers as you walked. Thinking over how nice everyone had been to you so far and how comfortable you already felt with a stranger. Hyunjin waved goodbye as he pulled out of the driveway when you reached it,

"Have a nice night! Tell him to give you some of Lix's cookies! You'll never regret eating them!" You laughed softly as Hyunjin waved his long arm out of the window and drove off down the road. You wondered how many people Changbin had allowed to stay over when he did their cars up and if he had a lot of business being out in the middle of nowhere.

Slamming the bonnet shut you took your overnight bag in the direction of the house, not paying attention to anything happening around you as you looked into your bank savings account. The money that was left was going to have to go on the car which meant your road trip would be officially cut short. Locking your phone you slid it into your bag before you let out a loud squeal, somehow you'd lost your footing on all the peddles that lined the floor causing you to slip. Falling over and smacking your head and ankle onto the ground as you let out a loud groan, wincing as you tried to get up on your own.

"Y/n?!" You looked up to see Changbin rushing over to you with a panicked expression on his face. He'd heard the scream and came rushing out from the garage to see what had happened, he hissed as he saw what had cut your head open on the floor.

"Here," He pulled off the tank top he was wearing and it took everything inside of you not to stare at his body in awe, he had huge biceps which you saw earlier but his abs were to die for.

"How did you fall?" He questioned trying hard not to laugh when he saw your eyes drifting to his body. He reached out with his hand covered in his tank top to dab the blood away from the small cut. From what he could see it wasn't major, just a small scrape that he could clean up indoors if you needed to.

"I-I wasn't paying attention," You hissed trying to stand up and that was when you and Changbin looked down at your ankle that was the source of most of your pain.

"I'll get you some ice and some painkillers, you'll have a headache soon." He then ripped his tank top in half as if it was made of nothing but tissue paper then gently wrapped it around your bruised ankle to help put some pressure on it while a makeshift bandage.

"The ice will bring the swelling out, then I'll get heat to help." You whimpered as he wrapped his arm around your waist and forced yours around his broad shoulders.

"I'm sorry I'm such a pain." You grumbled as he helped you limp in the direction of the main house that was in front of you. You'd only just met him and now you were using him to get around his place of work and home,

"You're not a pain, I'll get the first aid kit if you wait here." He sat you down on a grey sofa and you looked around, it was quite a large open home. The kitchen opened right into the living room, there was a wooden staircase right in front of the front door entrance which you assumed leads to the bedrooms.

"Here it is," You heard Changbin acknowledge followed by a small bang low groan came from him making you giggle a little, you covered your mouth to stop yourself from laughing.

"Do I need to be in charge of the first aid kit now?" He chuckled as he walked over to you from a small cupboard shaking his head at you,

"I hit my head on the shelf." You held back the second small giggle that was trying to escape from your lips and looked at him as he came over to you. He was rubbing the back of his head as he walked towards you. Sitting down next to you on the sofa as he looked through the small green box,

"I haven't had to use this in a while so I hope it's all good," He was biting down on his lower lip while reading through the contents of the box, checking the small butterfly stitches were okay to use. He didn't know if they went out of date or if they stopped working,

"Will it hurt?" You questioned nervously as you saw what he had in his hand. He gazed at you, you were biting down on your lower lip while watching his hands on the stitches with wide eyes.

"No, it's just a slight tugging sensation that's all." You nodded as he moved closer to you, his face inches away from yours as he began applying the small strips to the cut on your head. It wasn't anything major but he thought it would be best for your sake.

"This might hurt," He mumbled as he slowly took off the makeshift bandage from your ankle glancing up at you to see if you were okay. Your face was scrunched up in pain as you waited for him to do something else,

"It's swollen pretty bad but I don't think it's broken," He whispered to you as he slowly ran his hand over the skin you grimaced as he began applying a bandage around the bottom of your foot and up your ankle making sure it was secure enough, but not too tight to cut off your circulation.

"I'll go and get some ice after I've taken you to the room." He helped you up again, wrapping his arm around your waist as he got you up from the sofa. Waiting for you to steady yourself before he attempted to move,

"T-This is really nice of you, you shouldn't have to put up with a client like this." He shook his head at your words promising you that it was fine, it was really no big deal to him. He told you how he'd looked after his older sister in the same way whenever she was clumsy enough to hurt herself.

"Are you close with your family?" You yawned halfway through the questioned but he got it, helping you hop up the stairs as he nodded his head watching your feet carefully as you both walked.

"Pretty close, my sister and I are more like friends than siblings. It's nice," He chuckled as you hopped onto the landing and then tried to stand on your own. It wasn't because you wanted to seem tough but his hands on your waist was making your heart skip a beat and it was distracting to have him touch you even in an innocent manner. You couldn't help but let your mind wander onto what else his hands would be good at doing such large, long fingers. You shook your head trying to ignore the thought as he began to walk you into one of the rooms.

"I'll get a heater inside, I know it gets quite cold in this room in the summer." He sat you down on the edge of the double bed, it was in the middle of a plain white room. Wooden beams on the ceiling that were lined with posters of different artists, some you'd heard of others you hadn't, it must have been his own childhood room by the looks of it or his sisters you couldn't tell yet.

"I'll go and get some blankets, make yourself comfortable." He spoke to you as he headed out of the room, not being able to stop the smile on his face from the moment you stepped foot on the property. He grabbed the blankets from the airing cupboard, shutting it carefully as he made his way back to your room,

"I found a fluffy one and then a-" Changbin cut himself short when he saw you fast asleep on the pillow, you looked so peaceful laid there like that. He smiled weakly grabbing a spare pillow from beside you and carefully placing it under your bad ankle to make sure it was elevated for the night. Then he made sure to cover you with a warm blanket so you wouldn't get cold in the night. He sighed to himself going to get your bag from the living room to bring up to the room for the morning when you would need it.

Changbin walked up towards the top of the stairs to see if you'd woken up yet, he'd been awake for the last two hours getting the parts for your car ordered in so you could rest easy knowing that they were on their way into the garage. He'd had to call a bunch of companies since the car was so old but the thought of telling you that he couldn't fix it broke his heart. He could already tell how much you loved it from the short period of knowing you.

"Y/n?" He called out when he heard a floorboard creak inside the room, you stared at the door wondering what to say or do in this situation. You had no idea he was on his way up, you were just on your way out of the room to use the bathroom. Last night you had been too tired to even question anything going on, where anything was and what you should even do when staying in someone else's house. Sleepovers had never been like this because at least before staying over you had been friends but, you didn't know Changbin.

"I made breakfast if you're hungry, it's downstairs," Changbin said to the door as he realised how unsure you must have been about what was happening. To him letting out a room or two for a night was no big deal. He would do it if a customer couldn't get into the town for a hotel or one of the boys were staying over for the night, so he hadn't thought about it until now.

"Also I laid some fresh towels out in the bathroom if you wanted to take a shower," You pulled the door open as he spoke and you nodded at him. He looked just as good as yesterday only this time he was in fresh overalls and a new tank top.

"This is really nice of you, thank you again." He looked down at your ankle to see you were hovering it in the air, panic rushed through him as he thought about it possibly being broken or worse. It hadn't looked bad last night but now he was worried about it.

"It's okay, just a little sore. The shower will help," You promised him when you noticed the concerned look spreading along his face, you didn't want him to have to worry about this since it was your fault for falling over in the first place. Changbin smiled shyly as he looked back up at you,

"I'll come and turn the shower on, it's a little tricky if you don't know what you're doing," You followed him along towards the bathroom, limping whenever you put too much pressure on your ankle trying to ignore the floorboards that would creak whenever you stepped on them. It made you wonder how Changbin had ever snuck around as a kid.

"Thanks," You whispered, leaning against the door frame as he hung over the side of the bathtub, turning the shower on and fiddling around with the dials. The water rushing down as he held his hand out to see if it was okay for you.

"The towels are on the heated rack, should be nice for when you get out." He smiled brightly at you, promising to get you some new bandages for your ankle while he was downstairs.

"Thank you...Again," He chuckled at you shaking his head and reminding you again that it was his pleasure.

"I'll be downstairs, scream if you need me." He joked playfully, walking out of the bathroom and heading back down to the kitchen.

His phone was lighting up with text messages from Hyunjin asking what had happened the night before with you. Changbin made the mistake of telling Hyunjin that you'd fallen over and how Changbin's heart had been racing when he was sitting so close to you. Now the boy wasn't going to let Changbin get away with it without giving him some details, not that there were any details for him to give away.

Changbin: Nothing happened. We don't even know one another. Stop being a creep. He hit send and shook his head, going back to making some breakfast for you both, making sure to keep it hot in the oven while you were showering. Nothing was worse than cold food...Other than Hyunjin who had set yet another text, this time a huge paragraph.

Hyunjin: All I'm saying is...You haven't seen anyone in a while, she's cute, you're cute get to know her- Changbin stopped reading when he heard a thud followed by a scream coming from you, he dropped his phone onto the counter.

"Y/n?!" He cried out rushing up the staircase and towards the bathroom knocking on the door rather loudly his voice coming out panicked as he spoke,

"You okay?! Answer me if you're alive...I-I don't wanna walk in," He stuttered at the thought of having to walk in there while you were indecent. The mere thought of it causing his hands to get sweaty as he waited for you to give some kind of response to him, he bit down on his lip.

"I-I'm okay, I slipped...C-Can-" You groaned at the thought of asking someone you barely knew for help, sitting there in nothing but a towel. You clutched the towel around your body, you'd slipped while wrapping the towel around yourself losing your footing on the water and your bad ankle.

"Can you help me up? I slipped, I'm decent." You told him as you realised he must have thought you were naked or something. The door slowly opened and Changbin walked into the room turning a bright red colour as he saw you leaning against the bathtub on the floor. A blue towel wrapped around you tightly, he came closer to you as he spoke,

"Here," He wrapped his arm around your waist and helped you up onto your foot so you could keep your bad one up in the air, helping you out of the bathroom.

"I have more bandages in the kitchen when you come down I'll wrap it up for you and get some ice." He was walking you carefully and slowly back to the bedroom while you tried not to get embarrassed over the fact that you'd fallen over twice in his presence and were now standing in nothing but a towel in front of him.

"I'm not usually this clumsy," You informed him as he pushed open the door to the bedroom you were staying in. He let out a low chuckle as he looked at you shaking his head as he thought back on what he'd said before he went to cook.

"You know...When I told you to scream if you needed me I didn't mean it literally," He winked at you playfully, he had no idea where the wink came from but he liked the fact that you seemed to get shy, letting out a giggle and looked down at the floor. The simple wink had somehow sent your stomach into a frenzy and made your heart skip a beat.

"Will you be okay?" He questioned once you were sitting safely on the edge of the bed, he noticed how you'd made the bed again and he smiled at how thoughtful it was. Normally whenever someone stayed over they left the cleaning for him to do when he wasn't busy.

"Yeah, I'll be right down." You whispered to him as you look at your bag that was sitting on a chair beside the bed, you wondered what you could wear that wouldn't bother your ankle too much, Changbin smiled before leaving the room and going back down to the kitchen.

Changbin: She fell again, starting to think she's almost as clumsy as Jisung. I'll talk later. With lightning speed, Hyunjin replied immediately trying to tease his friend.

Hyunjin: Ever thought she's falling on purpose so you'll save her? She was in the shower remember. The text ended with a suggestive string of emojis to which Changbin groaned and threw his phone into the drawer, wanting nothing more to do with Hyunjin that day.

"I made tea as well, or I can make some coffee if you prefer," Changbin called to you when he heard small hops coming from the staircase. He glanced over to see you in a pair of high waisted shorts a band t-shirt, his eyes travelled up your legs as he took in the sight of you.

"Tea is perfect," You breathed out in relief as you reached the bottom floor without falling over or hurting yourself this time.

"Come and sit," Changbin pulled out a white wooden chair that was in front of a kitchen island and you waddled over to him, watching as he began opening some drawers. Pulling out bandages and scissors before coming over to you to get you bandaged up for the day.

"I have to finish that car I was working on yesterday but you're welcome to do whatever you want, watch a movie, or a show or something." He spoke calmly as he knelt down in front of you, carefully wrapping the new bandage around your ankle, pulling it a little tighter so that your ankle was secure.

"I'll probably watch a movie, Hyunjin said that Busan is 2 hours away?" You wanted to confirm that Hyunjin was telling the truth and it wasn't just some trick so he wouldn't have to take you.

"Yeah, two hours and from here to Seoul it's around four in a car." He cut the end of the bandage off before tying it around your leg and smiling up at you to show off his handiwork.

"I'm not a nurse but I don't think its that bad a job," He told you as you complimented his work on your ankle,

"Well if you handle my car like you've handled me I'm sure she's in perfect hands." Changbin began blushing a deeper red than before and you smiled at him, you'd never had that effect on anybody before.

"I'll get you some tea," You thanked him shyly and looked around again, the house was cosy and small but it did make you wonder about where his family were. There were photographs of them on the wall, they all looked so happy together,

"I know you mentioned your sister last night...Where is she?" It probably came across as you being nosy but you were generally interested in getting to know Changbin as a person. He came back to the kitchen island with plates stacked high with food for the both of you, he set them down before looking at you. Walking away to get the drinks as he spoke to you,

"Well my sister went to Seoul National University and my parents moved out there with her. I stayed to run the family business," He came back to the table again with tea for you both and sat down on the chair beside you,

"You grew up out here?" He nodded at you, he could see where this was going so he cut you off before you could question him on school and friends. It was the question everyone asked whenever they came out here,

"It's not as quiet as you probably think i is. There are some farms further down the road and then a small school where Hyunjin and I met the rest of our friends." That explained how they'd met, you'd wondered in the van when Hyunjin told you how far away everything was. You would have assumed they were homeschooled since everything seemed so far away from them,

"I thought you were going to tell me you travelled two hours a day for school," It was normal, you knew people travelled further for other schools, he shook his head at you. Telling you the only time they'd travelled to school was for high school and it was an hour-long bus journey there and back.

"What was school like?" You questioned as you began eating some of the food that Changbin had prepared. Withstanding the urge to let out a moan of delight when you tasted it, it was far better than you had imagined for a mechanic. It made you wonder who had taught him how to cook and if he got it from his mother or father,

"Y-You okay? Is it not good?!" Changbin panicked as he read the look on your face, he couldn't tell if it was a good shocked face or a bad one. You were very hard to read for him at the minute and it scared him a little, he hadn't realised it until now but he'd been trying to impress you.

"No! No! It's actually really good, I didn't- I didn't expect it." You admitted shyly and Changbin chuckled, his friend Jeongin had said the same thing when he first cooked for them all.

"My dad taught me how to cook growing up, Mum taught me cars." He admitted as he looked at you, you had a smile on your face as you looked at him intrigued to know more about him. Much like his your smile hadn't left your face yet.

"School." You told him as you waited to hear more about his childhood and how he'd grown up around here,

"School was normal I guess...We formed a friend group, tried to start a band as every young boy does." You giggled at the thought of it, pushing a piece of pancake into your mouth and shaking your head,

"Not just boys, I wanted to be in a girl group but not many others did." You admitted to him as you began exchanging stories from your "girl group" days which turned out to be more of a solo carer turned into, the one singing job at a talent show followed by you never singing in front of people again.

"What was your group name?" You quizzed when you were drying the dishes up for him. The conversations had been going back and forth while you ate. He'd told you all their stage names but not the group name itself,

"I think we called ourselves Stray kids, we-" He started laughing through the sentence as he thought back on everything and shook his head,

"We called ourselves that because we always strayed away from the usual kid's stuff," He shook his head at the memories and looked at you wondering the same question,

"Your turn. Your group name?" He questioned, turning off the hot water and drying his hands while he stared at you. You were shying away from the question and shook your head,

"It was something dumb, unlike Stray Kids which seems like a good name..." He wasn't going to let you get out of this one though, he wanted to know the ins and outs so he shook his head,

"Come on, I told you mine." He pressed, moving closer to you and sitting down on the chair beside you, you groaned laying your face in your hands as you thought back on it all. The name had just been something you randomly thought of on the day, a 12-year-old you didn't have much imagination for names at the time.

"The group was called January Spice...I formed the group in January...Clearly, and I liked spicy food." He began to laugh softly at the time and you moaned, rolling your head down on the countertop in front of you.

"Laugh away, you had stage names remember. SpearB," You mocked playfully earning a playful glare from Changbin as he got up from the counter.

"I need to go work on the cars, do you want me to set the TV up?" He questioned as he pointed over at the tv while looking at you, but you had a better idea,

"C-Can I come?" You questioned, the thought of being alone in the house would bother you too much and you wanted to get to know him better. Changbin's heart warmed at the thought of you wanting to spend time with him more than you had that morning at least,

"Sure. We'll take a chair out so you can sit while I work." He laughed picking up one of the barstools from the kitchen island and heading out, you limping slowly behind him as he went to open the garage doors.

"Bliss," He called out randomly in the silence, you frowned looking at him. It had been quiet while he worked on the car for a couple of minutes, you didn't know if he wanted complete silence or if it would be okay to talk. He was bent over the hood of a car as he worked on the engine, he could tell you were confused by the lack of response,

"You said everyone names their car, mine was called Bliss." You nodded along with him now following along with what he meant,

"Was?" He whined out at the question and thought of his car, he hadn't been away from it since the day he'd gotten it until his parents needed it. He knew they would need it more than him so he gave it up. Changbin had his choice of cars around the yard that they bought from people over the years. But none of them was 'Bliss', his dream car.

"Out in the city with my parents, they needed it to get around." He told you as he placed his hand on his chest, faking hurt for dramatic effect splashing oil all over his clean white vest top.

"Now I just have Dave," He groaned facing over at a Ford Pickup truck that was sitting beside the house,

"He's only good when I need to go into town and come back with all of the snacks Felix makes for me,"

"Felix is the one that bakes right?" You remembered both Hyunjin and Changbin telling you about him. Changbin said that Felix was better than him at cooking but it was hard to believe when you'd ate Changbin's food.

"Yeah! I think I'll see him before your parts come so you can have some of his cookies for the road," He laughed going back down into the hood of the car while you stared at the floor feeling a sinking feeling in your chest as you thought back on that. You'd totally forgotten about driving back home. Ending your road trip short and yet the one thing that was making you feel down the most was leaving here, you'd loved spending so much time with Changbin it felt as though you'd known him longer than you had.

"Yeah- Sounds good," Changbin could hear the uncertainty in your voice and he decided to look back at you, turning his head as he caught you looking a little sad.

"Can you pass me the adjustable wrench?" He questioned snapping you out from your daydream, you reached for it and handed it over to him in silence. He could tell that making you think of home had struck a nerve so he looked back down at the car trying to come up with something to distract you from it,

"Why did you leave home? Why did you decide to go on the huge road trip alone?" He licked his lips as he began fixing the engine again not glancing over at you. You took in a deep breath and shook your head thinking over it all.

"I- I don't know, I just..." You'd never said it out loud to anyone before in fear of hurting their feelings but where you lived was awful. No one did a thing about their dreams, they worked in dead-end jobs like they were running their lives on autopilot all of the time.

"I looked around and realised there wasn't a single person there, whose life I wanted." By now Changbin was resting his hands on the closed bonnet of the car and staring at you, he watched the way your face contorted thinking back on everything back home. He could tell you didn't want to go back there,

"So you travelled to find somewhere you wanted to stay?" He cleaned off his hands on a towel while he waited for your response,

"Maybe..." You whispered not wanting to admit that you may have found somewhere. That it was Busan was seemingly like a great place despite not seeing it as a whole yet, you sensed it was probably Changbin making you feel like you wanted to stay.

The rest of the day was spent with you and Changbin getting to know one another on a deeper level. He told you about his time growing up and you did the same, exchanging horror stories from your high school years and what you had done for a living before going on the road trip.

Now you were both watching a movie together, it was some horror movie that his friend Minho had suggested you both watch together. Though it wasn't really scary...At all. Changbin thought he'd only suggested it because he had you over at the house and "watching horror movies scared girls into your arms" was something Minho always used to say in school. But you weren't scared, in fact, you were laying your head on Changbin as you drifted off to sleep, Changbin smiled when he heard you murmur in your sleep. Holding onto his arms as you got comfortable against him, snuggling your head into him. He knew if you were awake you would be far too shy to do this which was why he wrapped his arm around your shoulder enjoying the moment while he had it. He drew your body closer to his as he got comfy. It somehow felt natural to be in this position with you, as though you'd done this a million times before.

"C-Changbin," He heard the small whine of his name leave your lips and he froze in place wondering if you'd woken up and felt him holding you or if you were dreaming about him. He blushed at the thought of him being in your dreams and glanced at his phone, it was getting late and he had to be up early soon but he didn't want to leave this position. He wanted to stay right here with you but sleeping on the sofa caused back pains, he would know after the many nights he'd spent on it after crashing.

The next morning you rolled over to stop the sun from blinding you in your face but ended up rolling over and hurting your ankle as it came into contact with the edge of the bed.

"Shit," You hissed, sitting up straight and looking down at yourself, you were still in the clothes from yesterday but, you were in the bedroom. You could have sworn you'd been sitting downstairs. It was the last thing you could remember, you were watching a horror movie with Changbin and pretending to be a little afraid so you could hide in his arms. Looking back on it now it seemed silly and childish but you wanted to hold onto him or have him hold you, even if it was just a little while. You hadn't meant to fall asleep beside him and have him carry you up to the bed, now you felt like such a fool.

"Y/n? You alright?" Changbin asked as he came out of the bathroom from his shower, he was about to head into his room when he heard you moving around in the bedroom. Pulling up your black jeans you hummed at him, pulling the door open as soon as you were dressed. Then you walked out showing him that you weren't limping around anymore while you did the best you could not to whine out. It was still hard to walk on but at least now you could do it on your own and without limping, he chuckled softly so you looked up at him. Your mouth could have dropped to the floor when you saw him standing there in nothing but a towel. His body on full display for you to see, beads of water dripping down his arms, abs and face. As he looked at you your mouth ran dry as you realised you were staring at him as if he was some model in a magazine. This time it was your turn to get shy and turn away from him as you got embarrassed.

"I'm heading into the town today, the market will be on. You're welcome to join me if you'd like." He told you as he turned his back on you, heading towards his bedroom so that you wouldn't have to be shy about staring at him anymore.

"Y-Yeah! Sounds great, I-I'm gonna go- Make a drink." You stuttered out as you tried to make it down the staircase as quickly as you could with your bad ankle. Changbin sniggered to himself as he heard you mumbling to yourself about staring.

"He can see you staring you idiot," Was the last words he heard from you before he went to change into some clothes for the town.

Instead of his usual attire, Changbin came down in dressed in some blue jeans and a white t-shirt while he pulled on a black jacket.

"We'll take Dave, no doubt Felix will have baked up a storm last night and I need to get some food while I'm in town." He told you as he walked into the kitchen where you were sitting. You'd made you both a hot cup of tea while you waited for him, wanting to trip yourself over for staring at him the way you did. It was clear from his actions over the two days he wasn't feeling the same way that you did, you had to stop fantasying about him and get on with it. Changbin was just there to fix your car and you would be out of there. It was as simple as that.

"Y/n?" Changbin called out as he stood beside you looking down at you, your hands were clamped down tightly on the mug you were holding. There was something on your mind anybody with more than one brain cell could see that.

"Sorry, what?" You muttered shaking your head as you realised he had been speaking to you the entire time and you hadn't noticed until now.

"I asked if you want me to put your tea into the travel mug for the drive?" He held up a pink travel mug and shook it so you would see what he was talking about, you nodded shyly at him and he chuckled taking the mug from your hands. As he stood at the sink he glanced over his shoulder at you, wanting to know what it was that seemed to be bothering you.

"What's on your mind?" He questioned as he poured the hot liquid into another container. A part of him hoped it was about what had happened upstairs and you would either confirm or deny your feelings for him but it was wishful thinking on his part. Neither of you had known one another that long and he didn't want to tell you his feelings too soon in fear of ruining what would be a lovely couple of days together.

"Going back home...The thought of it just lingers." You mumbled as you lied to him, you'd never ever been a good liar even your mother could tell when you lied to her. You couldn't exactly be straight forward and tell him that it was he that occupied your mind all morning and night. The situation on the top floor landing creeping back into your mind, which then took you back into thinking of the dream you'd had the night before. Nothing special had happened but Changbin had been there. You couldn't even remember what had happened, only that he was there and you kissed.

"Hmm," Changbin hummed as he looked at you knowing that it was a lie. Your eyes were locked on your hands and your body language had become blocked off to him, he hadn't known you long but he already knew your thinking of home face and that wasn't it. Whatever it was that was on your mind had you biting your bottom lip and playing with your hands nervously.

"Well, maybe you'll like Busan and you'll have found a place you want to stay." He nudged your side trying to wake you up from another daydream and he walked you out of the house in silence not knowing what to say to you to make things easier on your mind. This was the most you had been quiet around one another and it was starting to feel a little awkward.

"I'd offer to buy breakfast on the drive but if I do that I think Seungmin and Chan might kill me. They serve food all day from the moment they get there. You'll love it," As he spoke to you you looked at him and smiled as you tried to forget about kissing him in your dream and seeing him almost naked. At least now you'd both seen one another in nothing but a towel and you had nothing to be embarrassed about.

"What are they like?" You had questioned him on his friends before but nothing major, now that you were going to meet them all you wanted to know what you were in for before you got to the market and they would get to hang with you all day.

"Jump in, we have a whole two-hour drive. I'll tell you all about them," He chuckled as he looked at you, the chuckle made you feel more relaxed as you realised he was just breezing over the fact you'd seen him in a towel.

"In return though-" He started as he turned on the car of the pickup truck, turning the radio down from the last time he had been in the car alone. He didn't want to deafen you with his music blasting out suddenly at you.

"I want you to sing for me, otherwise I'm going to throw you to the boys. Like a sheep in a lion's den." You raised your eyebrow at the statement and turned your head to the side trying to think if that was the correct saying.

"I thought the saying was 'I'll feed you to the wolves'?" He licked his lips at you and shook his head acting confident in what he had said to you.

"Not anymore, I changed it. Find a song and start singing," He winked at you, nodding over at the glove box where he kept all of his CD's.

"Whoa. You have a lot of music," You mumbled as you flicked through the multiple CD holders he had inside to try and find a CD where you would at least know one song on it.

"I have to keep myself entertained on the long drives somehow," By now Changbin was pulling into the main road and heading into the town ready to listen to your singing.

By the time you pulled into a parking spot, you knew all of the boy's names, how he'd met every one of them and some small details about them all. Changbin and you had sung together, which led to some rather interesting duets in the car mostly you being shocked by how well Changbin could make up a rap on the spot. He could have had a huge music career if he had stuck it out.

"I just don't want to seem nervous," You told Changbin as he playfully teased you for wanting to know who all of his friends were when you got out of the car. Changbin slammed the door and laughed again, Hyunjin looked up from his phone as soon as he heard your voice and he smiled quickly sending a text to everyone that you were there.

"Is that Y/n I hear? Changbin hasn't scared you off then?" He laughed loudly gaining the attention of other people around you as you looked at him. You smiled back at him as you shook your head at his question,

"Not yet!" You giggled as he rushed over to you and Changbin, greeting Changbin with nothing but a nod of his head before turning to you.

"I hope you're enjoying your stay at Hotel-Dela-Changbin," You laughed softly and began talking with Hyunjin about Changbin's rapping in the car but Changbin began gushing about your singing voice.

"So where shall we start?" You questioned as you looked around you, you were still standing at the edge of the parking lot looking around for something. The market area seemed huge with both and indoor and outdoor market area, a huge building with floor to ceiling windows letting you see everything inside. You didn't dare admit to Changbin you'd never been to one before, the closest thing you'd gotten to a farmers market is a market stall in your home town that sold books.

"We'll start outdoors, Seungmin text saying he has some breakfast food ready for us and that Chan is getting angsty just waiting there." He chuckled glancing from his phone and up to you to make sure that would alright with you,

"Great let's go-" Your sentence was cut short by a loud whimper as you went to walk on your foot a little too eagerly and twisted your ankle, you wanted to cry out in pain but you held it back. Changbin instantly reached his hands out to grab you protectively and Hyunjin watched from the side a little shocked by how protective of you Changbin was acting.

"Ankle again?" Changbin questioned as he steadied you in his arms holding onto you tightly trying to make sure you didn't fall.

"Y-Yeah," The stutter in your voice wasn't because of your ankle but because of how he was holding you. His hands were on your waist, his breath against your neck as he stood close to you, stopping you from toppling over onto your face. Your heart began to pump as you felt him draw you closer to him, his chest against your back as you felt his heart racing just as yours was.

"Alright love birds, let's get moving." Hyunjin joked hoping that Seungmin had seen it from the stall he was working on. He clapped his hands together as he waited for you and Changbin to start moving together so he could get back to his job on directing everyone in the right places. Changbin looked at you as he linked his arm with yours, slowly walking with you in the direction of Seungmin and Chan who were both watching you from a distance. Smirking to one another as they watch you and Changbin engage in conversation with one another, staring up into one another's eyes getting lost in one another rather than paying attention to anything around you.

"It's like those old romance movies Minho claims he doesn't watch," Seungmin joked to Chan who was laughing softly at the thought of it. They could already tell that Changbin liked you a lot, they'd known him for a long time and knew he rarely smiled that much unless it was someone he really liked.

"I thought Changbin was going to join a nunnery he'd been single for so long." Felix joked as he loaded up a box full of baking goods for you to take back to the garage. All nine of you were sitting at a bench in the indoor market while you had some lunch together, Changbin and you had done a full lap of the outdoor market. Walking slowly, of course, to make sure you didn't hurt your ankle. The whole time you spoke about his life again, what he had planned for his future if he wasn't going to run the garage but now you were here with them all.

"Felix!" Changbin groaned as he playfully hit his friend for bringing it up in front of you, he didn't want you to know how long he'd been single in case it put you off him.

"It would be a monastery anyway since...Changbin is a dude." You whispered joining in on the playful teasing while Changbin started nodding sarcastically and licked the inside of his lip.

"Yeah! That's it! You encourage them!" He yelled at you jokingly but you held onto his arm and shook your head, promising him it was just a joke while Felix told him it wasn't.

"The boys and I were going to chip on getting you a Monk outfit." A biscuit was thrown in Felix's direction while you let out a loud surprised shriek as Changbin got up from the seat suddenly.

"Do they always act like this?" You questioned Chan who was sitting beside you watching them both, Changbin got up from the table and began racing after Felix around the indoor market, chasing him in and out of stalls and around people while you giggled.

"Sometimes, Changbin normally rises above it." He whispered turning to look at you as he tried to figure out how you felt about Changbin. Your eyes hadn't left him, watching him chase the smaller boy of the group around, yelling out that he would kill him amongst other playful remarks.

"To be blunt," Chan started once he realised he couldn't read what you were thinking based on your facial expression. As you turned to look at him your face softened wondering what it was that he wanted to ask, you placed a forkful of cake into your mouth and waited for him to continue on.

"Do you like him?" You almost choked on the piece of cake you were eating as he asked you point blankly about Changbin.

"What?! I don't- We don't know- I-" Chan smirked when he saw how easily flustered you were getting with the question, it was obvious now what the answer was even if you weren't saying it yourself.

"You do?" He questioned, biting down on your lip you looked back over at Changbin before nodding. It would be no use lying to yourself about your feelings for him so you weren't going to bother trying to hide it.

"Yeah. I do. Don't...Don't tell him? It's dumb but we haven't known each other long and I don't want things to be awkward-"

"Don't want to be awkward?" Changbin asked making you jump in your seat and look up at him, you were instantly hit with nervousness as you thought he'd heard you and Chan talking about him.

"Nothing, can we take a walk? I want to stretch my ankle for a little bit." Chan slyly tapped his nose at you as a way of telling you that he would keep your secret so you began heading off to look through the indoor market.

"Cute!" You expressed once you saw a stand selling handmade outfits for animals, you walked away from Changbin who was buying you both a hot chocolate and over to the lady who was serving.

"Do you own a pet?" She asked you as you looked through everything,

"No, but now I want to." You whined, Changbin chuckled as he caught you whining and walked over to you, looking through everything as he greeted the woman at the stand.

"Changbin, watch while I have a bathroom break?" He nodded at her and she rushed out of the booth going towards the bathroom while you giggled at everything. Picking up a bow tie that would go around a dogs neck,

"Look, it would suit you." You giggled as you adjusted the neck to fit around Changbin's. Holding it around his neck as you stared into his eyes, getting lost in them as you looked at one another.

"S-So cute," You whispered dropping the bow tie on the floor as you both leant closer to one another. Your heart was in your throat as you moved closer to one another, your lips inches away. Changbin wrapped his arms around your waist as your you were about to kiss when someone let out a loud screech. Changbin backed away from you first making you whine as you looked down at the floor acting as though you weren't just about to kiss one another. The fact that he pulled away first made you feel as though he didn't want to be that close to you,

"Binnie!" You heard a female voice cry out before someone came bounding over to you both, pushing you back a couple of steps and causing you to knock into the stand.

"Watch it Flair!" Changbin yelled moving away from her and holding onto your elbow to stop you from falling over anymore and then he stared at the girl. She had long jet-black hair as she stared at you, giving you a dirty look the second Changbin held onto you.

"What are you doing here? I thought you never wanted to see me again?" Changbin questioned her once you were steady on your feet. Minho, who had seen the entire thing began making his way over to move you out of the firing range. Whenever Flair saw Changbin it ended badly, the last time she'd seen him she flipped out never wanting to see him again but now she'd seen him with someone else Minho knew what was bound to happen.

"I still love you silly, we should go for a drink." Her hands were holding onto his biceps as Minho reached your side,

"Come on," He pulled you over in the direction of the table where the boys were again so you could be alone and not have to listen to their fight.

"Flair again?" Jeongin questioned when they all looked over at Changbin who seemed to be turning red in the face as he spoke back and forth with the girl.

"Who is she?" You questioned shyly, not wanting to look as though you were jealous, you had nothing to be jealous over. It was only a small kiss and it hadn't even happened, though your rapidly beating heart would say otherwise.

The drive home had been silent except for the music that had been playing through the speaker system. Changbin and you hadn't spoken since the almost kiss in the indoor market, he'd come to stand at the table and told the boys he best start driving home before it got too late which meant it was your cue to leave as well.

Now you were heading up to the bedroom to get some rest for the night, holding onto the railing instead of relying on Changbin to help balance you.

"Y/n?" Changbin questioned as you hand touched the golden door handle on the door, you turned your body to face him as you forced yourself to look him in the eyes,

"I'm sorry. Flair...She's a little too much and she's my ex...I had to talk to her-" The boys had explained who Flair was to you, she cheated on Changbin multiple times with different guys to the point where they had their relationship as open but Changbin wasn't allowed to date anyone else. If he even looked at another girl Flair would flip out on him and ''break up'' the relationship without a second thought. When they finally did have a real break up she swore she never wanted to see him again, until she got needy and followed him everywhere. Then claimed she never wanted to see him again. Minho had explained she'd only gone up to him at the market today because she'd seen him with you and got jealous.

"It's fine. It's not as if we're dating, right?" You knew it was wrong to snap at him but you did so anyway, walking into the room and slamming the door behind you. Changbin stared at the door sighing to himself, he should never have stood there to speak to Flair, he should have just taken you away and finished the kiss. Now things were going to be weird between the two of you.

As soon as you knew he was gone from outside of the door you let out a cry into your hands, it seemed stupid crying over a boy you weren't with but it hurt how he left you there like that for someone else.

When the sun woke you up that morning you didn't bother moving from the bedroom, you just rolled over onto your side and began to scroll through your phone trying to distract yourself. There had been someone at the front door earlier that morning talking with Changbin but the voices were muffled through your door, so you weren't able to make out who it was or what they were talking about so you just went back to sleep for a few hours until now.

Sighing to yourself you sat up in the bed deciding that hiding from Changbin wouldn't be the most mature thing to do in this situation so you wanted to go and see him, at least try and talk this all over with him. Smooth things out at least. You changed into another pair of jeans and an oversized button-up that was in the bottom of your bag and headed for the stairs finding your ankle perfectly fine to walk on today, unlike the previous days when you could barely use it.

"Changbin?" You called out nervously as you reached the bottom to see that he wasn't around, the living room was empty and there were no signs of him in the kitchen. Nothing but a plate and a used mug in the sink that was waiting to be washed up.

"Changbin?" You walked out to the front door checking to see if he was in the garage but the doors were shut and locked and Dave was missing so he'd most likely gone out somewhere but you didn't know where that was.

As you made your way back towards the kitchen there was a small note on the coffee machine you hadn't seen before,

One of your parts was missing, went out to Seoul to get it. Won't be home until late, food in the fridge, Lix said he'll come round after 11. See you later x

The small kiss on the end of the handwritten note gave you hope that he wasn't mad about whatever happened the night before between you. The almost kiss lingering in your head as you thought back on the market incident. Maybe there was hope for you both yet but your stomach was still in a nervous spin as you realised he'd left you alone with not much to do. There was an hour before Lix would be arriving so you were going to do the best you could to get something to eat in the house and then clean up. It was the least you could do since Changbin was letting you stay here for free this whole time. Trying to distract yourself from thinking about Changbin the whole time, there was no use sitting around and crying over a boy.

"Changbin wasn't kidding when he said you could sing, huh?" Felix laughed as he walked right into the house. The whole house was filled with loud music, he heard it as he pulled into the driveway. You'd been playing it for the last hour as you cleaned up the house. It wasn't as though it was unnecessarily dirty, just random stains you knew how to fix.

Felix placed the key he had into his jacket pocket and walked further into the home, taking off his shoes not wanting to mess it up. The boys all had their own key to both the house and the garage, Changbin made them make copies for whenever he was away and needed them to come and look after the place for a couple of days.

"Ah! Hi!" You yelled as you got up from the floor turning off the music so you would be able to talk to one another without yelling at each other.

"Hey! I brought you guys some more cookies, I even had Sengmin whip us something up for dinner." He placed the containers into the fridge and walked over to you to see what you had been doing. That was when he noticed that the stain in front of the kitchen sink was gone. Chan had dropped some oil a few years ago and it ended up seeping into the small grooves of the floor.

Felix greeted you with a hug although you hadn't known him longer than half a day you already felt close with him. In fact, you felt close to all of the boys which were nice since you'd never had that kind of friendship before. Everyone back home just sort of tolerated one another, put up with each other for the sake of the town since it was only small and there were only so many people around. Yet another reason to stay away. There everyone knew one another, here they did too but it didn't seem as toxic as it did back home.

"Thank you, Changbin loves your cookies. I haven't tried them yet but if they're anything like your cakes though I'm sure I'll gain a few pounds while I have the last few days here." Felix frowned as you spoke about leaving. From what he'd gotten from Changbin the day before you were starting to like your time in Busan, which made him and the boys wondered if you would be staying. It wasn't uncommon for people to visit and plan to stay in the future.

"Last days?" He tried to bring it up casually as you both walked over to the sofa to talk for a while but you knew why he was asking.

"I have to go home right? I can't stay with Changbin all the time...There aren't really any places for me to stay other than here..." You trailed off slowly not knowing if Chan had told anyone else that you admitted your feelings for Changbin to him yesterday. Felix smiled softly at you as he looked at you.

"Chan told me that you might have a crush on him," You scoffed at his words, 'crush' was one of the biggest oversimplifications you could have used. It made you feel as though you were back in school and had a crush on one of the popular kids.

"That would be the understatement of the year." Felix sighed at you when he saw the look on your face, it looked as though you were really upset about something and he wanted to know what it was that was on your mind.

"What happened? Minho said that he saw you and Changbin with Flair but-"

"We almost kissed when she interrupted then when we got back to the house I sort of - maybe kind of...Snapped at him for something that wasn't his fault," You dramatically rolled back to lay on the grey sofa, closing your eyes and groaning about how if you could do it over you would. Felix met you with a breathy chuckle as he looked over at you laying down on the sofa with your eyes closed.

"You could talk it through with him...Tell him how you feel? I mean after the almost kiss it means he confirms his feelings for you." Forcing your eyes open you stared up at Felix, you had so many questions you wanted to ask him but you didn't know if he would be comfortable with answering them. Changbin was his friend, Felix wasn't yours you had to remember that.

"You're worried about Flair right? If you are you have nothing to be worried about... From what I heard Changbin set her straight yesterday." To distract yourself a little you walked to the kitchen to make you both a hot drink to have together. Trying not to make it seem like you were prying for too much information.

"Set her straight?" You wondered if that was why he had been so tense the night before and hadn't spoken in the truck ride home. Not that you did anything to help aid that either, you could have just as easily spoken to him too you just choose not to. Deciding it would be better to sit in a dull silence rather than talk it out like the adults you both were.

"From what we heard, Flair isn't planning on sticking around in Busan much longer. Then last night Changbin gave her that little extra nudge to move." You looked at Felix with a raised eyebrow handing him his mug of hot coffee as you sat down beside him on the sofa once again. Pulling your knees into your chest as you stared at him,

"Was Flair his first love? Was that why he put up with so much from her?" As much as he didn't want to talk about his friend behind his back he thought it would be important for you to know it. Since you'd expressed your interest in Changbin and it was clear to him and the boys Changbin liked you back.

"They were each other's first love, Changbin had been crushing on Flair Hard. For years. I'm talking since we were in little school to high school..."

The story went on until Felix had told you the ins and outs of the relationship. The first time Flair had cheated until the last time when Changbin finally had enough of it all and called it all to an end. She'd been the worst of the worst for him and it took him so long to realise it. Felix took off not long before nine that night so you just began watching a film on the TV. The plan was to wait for Changbin to come in so you could greet him and talk everything over but it wasn't panning out that way since your eyes were getting harder to keep open with each passing second.

Changbin walked into the house to find you asleep on the sofa a movie running on the screen while there was a mug of half-drunken coffee on the coffee table. He grinned to himself as he quietly dropped the truck keys on the table and stepped over to you, looking over your face while you snuggled into the sofa. You were covered by a small blanket while clutching a small stuffed toy in your arms he'd never seen it before so he could only assume you'd brought it along with you,

"Cute." He whispered to himself as you scrunched your face up in your sleep dreaming of something that wasn't nice by the looks of it.

"Come here," He whispered to himself once again, taking the blanket off of your body before lifting you up into his arms just like he'd done that second night you'd stayed over. He couldn't expect you to sleep on the coach given how uncomfortable it was, he watched your face as he walked carefully up the staircase to your room. Being careful not to drop you as he walked towards the bedroom you were staying in.

"Changbin," He froze in place as he reached the door of your bedroom, he'd just tucked you into the double bed and was about to leave when you called out his name.

"Y/n?" He glanced back at you and sighed when he saw that you were still fast asleep on the bed, mumbling his name to yourself. He was sure he could run a hover around the room and you would still be out cold. He shook his head while laughing softly at the sight of you, then he sighed to himself making himself leave the room as he thought about everything. The almost kiss in the market. The ranting text messages he had sitting in his phone from the boys complaining about how he had dealt with everything. Including a string of new messages from Felix updating him on what had happened in the house.

Felix: She's caught up on this whole almost kiss...You should tell her how you feel...

Felix: I'm leaving. She's going to try and stay awake to talk to you. Talk to her. She'll be good for you, you know it, the boys know it and I know it

Changbin ignored them though, throwing his phone onto the sofa as he looked around the kitchen. The boys were always on his case about moving on so this was nothing new from them but he didn't need the pressures of everyone else around him on top of him as well as his own pressures about you. As he walked further into the kitchen he noticed that the usual oil stain on the floor was gone...He'd been trying to get that out for years and you'd only been here a few days and it vanished? He was going to need your secret that or he needed you to stay around forever to be his personal stain remover. Who was he kidding? He wanted you to stay around because having you there had made him happier than he had been in the longest time. Anyone with a functioning brain and two eyes could tell that. He groaned to himself as he thought about how rude he had been, he should have offered to take you to Seoul with him, there was no reason for him to have been out all day either. He'd wasted so much time in the City just trying to avoid coming home to the weird tension that had been in the air the previous night.

The next morning Changbin had woken up first - as he always did - and headed out to your car to start working on it. Working on cars was the only thing he could do to help clear his mind and help him say the things he needed to say without them coming out as complicated, fixing cars helped him focus.

When you woke up and saw him out of the window you knew it was now or never, you had to speak to him. He was working on your car so you only had a couple of hours to get yourself to talk to him, starting with a hot drink. In your mindset, no one could be mad or upset if you brought them a hot drink. That and it would give you that tiny bit longer of procrastination while you worked out what on earth you were going to say to him when you went out there.

"I-I made you a drink." You whispered as you brought him out a mug of tea with the biscuits that Felix brought round the day before.

"Lix baked fresh cookies so I brought them out too." You mumbled to him as you set the small tray down on one of the empty workbenches not knowing how else to pluck up a conversation. No words came from him as he continued working in the back of your car, glancing over at you when you weren't looking. Today you were dressed in a pair of dark blue denim overalls and a white button-up which made him smile at the thought of you both looking alike, but he went back to the car ignoring the sweet thoughts he was having about you as he continued his work. He still had no idea what it was he wanted to say to you. If he should bring up the kiss or if he was just supposed to ignore the whole thing had happened.

"Look I was hoping-" You stopped talking when someone knocked on the wooden doors of the garage interrupting you, you both glanced over to see the delivery man holding a box for Changbin.

"Drop it anywhere, thanks, man." The box said had a brand of spray paint on the side which the delivery man dropped over by the doors.

"I was hoping that we could talk about the other day-" You'd tried to start once the delivery man was gone but Changbin cut you off this time. He began talking about the car instead of looking at you, staring into the engine as he tried to talk.

"It'll be done by tomorrow at the latest. You'll be out of here before you know it." He didn't even look at you while he spoke it pissed you off more than it probably should have. That he didn't even have the guts to look you in the face while he toyed around with your feelings like this.

"Changbin I wasn't talking about the car-" You tried to speak once again but just like before he cut you off.

"I just need to get an oil change and some stuff, let it settle. You'll be out of my hair by morning." The wording of his sentence pierced you both in place like a deer caught in headlights, your heart thumped against your chest as he told you what he thought about you. Changbin put down the wrench he was using and slowly looked over at you to try and assess the situation. Your eyes were starting to fill with tears as you thought over what he had said. 'Out of my hair' was he sick of you already? Did the boys read him wrong and he didn't like you back at all?

"Out of your hair, r-right...Okay." You stuttered out as you tried not to burst out into tears right there and then, trying to leave the comment alone but it kept repeating itself over and over in your head. Anger began to bubble up inside of you as you thought about it longer and longer,

"You offered me to stay...If it was that big a deal you could have told me to go...I-I could have found a hotel-" He cut you off trying to explain why he'd said what he'd said.

"I didn't mean it, I was just-" This time you cut him off,

"Just what? Because it sounded to me like you meant it! What's your problem? We went from almost kissing to you ignoring me, passing me off as nothing but a visitor and claiming I'm in your hair!?" It came out more of a question than you throwing accusations at him, he licked his lips as he began to feel the guilt coming onto him. He hadn't meant it all, he was just trying to push you away. Pushing people away was easier for him than to accept they were willing to stay with him.

"If I'm that big a deal I'll leave now!" You knew yelling wasn't going to solve anything in this situation but you couldn't help but feel mad at him. You turned to leave out of the garage doors when he seized your wrist in his grasp, stopping you from leaving him there.

"I didn't mean I wanted you to leave..." His voice was coming out calmer now as he looked at you, trying not to hold back the feelings he could feel rushing to the surface. It scared him that he was finally starting to feel something stronger than he had for Flair all those years ago and now he was going to have to admit it out loud it worried him. He didn't want the thing that had happened in the past to repeat themselves.

"Then what is your problem? You've been so-" This time it wasn't Changbin cutting you off with his words...He smashed his lips against yours. Instantly it was as if the fight had melted away from you, you couldn't remember what you were mad at him for, all that matter now was that he was kissing you deeply. Your arms wrapped around the back of his neck as you stood up on your tiptoes to deepen the kiss, Changbin smirked against your lips. Biting down on your lower one so he could gain access, pushing his tongue into your mouth as he made out with you. Your lips mouthing in sync with one another as you finally got the dream kiss you'd been wanting this whole time. Changbin's arms snaked around your waist, luring you closer to him as he made out with you on the spot.

"N-No, not here." He whispered as you began to run your hands up his shirt. He had to remember you were both in the middle of the garage, anyone could walk in and he didn't want that. He kissed both of your hands as he pulled them out from under his tank top, then he kissed down your neck, pulling you in the direction of the house instead.

Clothes were strewn around the bedroom as you both rushed to undress one another, you bit down on your lip taking in all of his body in one look.

"Like what you see baby? You couldn't get enough the other day." Changbin teased you as he thought back on the morning you'd seen him in nothing but a towel, you whined at him before pushing him to lay down on the bed.

"Can you blame me? Look at you." You purred as you bit down on his bottom lip dragging it down as you then began to kiss down his neck, leaving a small mark as your lips travelled. Kissing down every inch of his body until you got to his boxers. Despite him still having his underwear on you could already tell how large he was from the tent in his boxers. Your mouth watered as you looked up at him, taking your hand and palming him through the thin black fabric. His lips parted to let out a low grunt as his head rolled back against the pillows of his bed, no one except for him had done this in such a long time he'd almost forgotten what it felt like.

"Oh shit." He whispered breathlessly as you continued to palm him slowly not knowing if he wanted it faster or not since you'd never discussed this before. Biting down on your lip your eyes were fixated on his erection, you pulled down his boxers and bit down on your lip you watched as his cock sprang up to his lower abdomen.

"Y-You don't have to-" Changbin was cut off when he let out a loud moan as you took the head of his cock into your mouth, swirling your tongue around the head while you looked up at him. His head was rolled back against the pillows with his eyes screwed shut, he was in ecstasy with every small kitten licks you were giving to him. Taking in some air you took all of his cock until he filled your mouth and hit the back of your throat. Scrunched your eyes shut you continued to bob your head around him, moaning whenever he would hit the back of your throat.

"Fuck Y/n. You're doing s-so good, oh fuck!" He grunted as he bucked up into the back of your throat. You hummed around him as he pulled your hair out of your face, staring at you to make sure this was okay.

"F-Feels so fucking good." He moaned out as he began fucking into your throat, his cock pushing in and out periodically making you gag around him but you did your best to keep your gags to a minimum wanting to please him. His grip on the back of your head tightened as he continued before letting go and letting you catch your breath, you pulled off and began pumping him.

"Look at you," He moaned out sitting up slowly as he ran his thumb over your bottom lip making you suck the string of saliva and precum from it.

"So fucking hot." He grunted out as you stared up at him, taking him back into your mouth and all the way to the back of your throat until you gagged again.

"Ugh shit," He moaned out as you began bobbing your head up and down around him, he could feel the smirk on your lips as you continued to take him into your mouth. You moaned out around him as you reached down to rub yourself through your panties, you hadn't realised just how wet you were getting from the ordeal.

"Do you want some attention now baby?" He cooed looking down at you as he removed his cock from your throat. You looked up at him with parted lips, nodding slowly. Changbin chuckled bending down to pick you up and lay you on the bed,

"Look at you," He whispered to you as he slowly pulled down the black lace panties yo were wearing and watch your arousal slowly stick to them. He chuckled darkly before kissing each of your thighs. Shyly you pressed your thighs together trying to hide from him but he spread them apart, kissing up to your core.

"You're beautiful, you don't need to hide." He promised you as he bit down softly on the fleshy part of your outer labia humming against your skin as you moaned.

"I've not even started yet," He chuckled before plunging his tongue between your folds, lapping over your clit as you bucked up against his mouth. Crying out his name as you screwed your eyes shut. Changbin chuckled against your core amused by the sounds you were letting out.

"You sound so good." He whispered to you as he continued pushing his tongue in and out of you, sucking on your clit whenever he wanted to. He laid your legs over his shoulders, pulling you to the edge of the bed to have better access to you.

"C-Changbin!" You gripped onto his black locks pushing him deeper into you as you began to feel dizzy from the feeling of him pleasuring you. Your toes were starting to cur as you felt your orgasm getting closer and closer with each flick of his tongue. Your mind was starting to go blank as he continued to fuck his tongue into you.

"C-Close." You whimpered as you looked down at him not knowing if he wanted you to cum on his tongue or not but the small pull on your waist as he stared into your eyes gave you all the confirmation you needed. He gripped onto your hips with one hand before pushing two fingers into you and began pumping them in and out of you. You screamed out as his name as your walls clenched around his digits tipping you closer to the edge.

"Fuck! C-Changbin please," You whimpered as you began to cry out his name, he continued with his thrusting fingers and he hummed against your core.

"F-Fuck!" You cried out as your cunt began to spasm out of control, clenching and unclenching around his fingers as your orgasm ripped through you. You were letting out loud desperate moans of his name as you bucked up into his mouth cumming on his fingers and tongue.

"Good girl," He whispered as he pulled his fingers from you, licking them clean as he kissed back up to your lips. Making out with you on the bed as he ground his hips down against your core, you wrapped your legs around his waist as you kissed him back.

"N-Need you," You whispered to him as you began pumping him in your hand between his legs, he looked at you nervously as reality began to set in. He had no condoms in the house since he'd not had any need for them the last couple of years.

"I-I'm on the pill and I'm clean," You whispered to him as though you could read his brain.

"M-Me too...N-Not that I'm on the pill that I'm clean-" You cut him off by kissing him again and giggling softly at how stuttery he was for someone who had just been eating you out like it was his last meal.

"Shh," You whispered to him as you began to line the head of his cock up with your entrance, running the tip over your core as you moaned out. He groaned out when he got himself wet with your juices,

"S-So fucking wet for me," He smirked going back to his previous attitude around you he continued to tease himself and you as he ran his cock over your opening. Pushing his hips forward until he sunk all the way into you making you cry out in pleasure and tilt your head back. Every inch of him was filling you up, you could feel him at your hilt.

Once he knew you were adjusted to his size he began to slowly push in and out of you, holding onto your hips as he made out with you lovingly.

"Mmm f-fuck," You cried out as your eyes screwed shut. His hips began to pick up speed as you dug your nails into his back.

"Y-You can go faster," Panted as you pulled away from the kiss, biting down on his neck urging him to snap his hips in and out of you. He grunted lowly as he positioned his hands either side of your head giving you the full view of the arms you'd dreamt over. His cock felt incredible inside of you, slamming in and out as he continued to piston his hips vigorously. You felt complete there with him, with his cock filling you up and every moan of your name that fell from his lips.

"I-I've been dreaming of this since the day you came here," He admitted as he continued to thrust into you, kissing down your neck as he held dug his hands into the pillows.

"M-Me too," You whimpered back to him tilting your head so he could have better access to your neck.

You were squirming and crying underneath him with every thrust, your heels digging into his ass as you tried to get him deeper inside of you as if it was even possible. It already felt as though he was rearranging your guts, you knew it wouldn't be long until you were cumming again.

"So fucking good." You mewled out as you looked at him, stuttering out the words as you lost the ability to speak the pleasure inside of you making your brain go numb. Changbin smirked as he began to fuck into you harder, moving his hands to hold your hips down to give him more leverage. Gripping onto your skin as he slammed into you, your screams filled the air with the sounds of your skin slapping together and wetness.

"Changbin!" You screamed out, gripping onto his huge biceps as he continued to fuck into you. Only getting encouraged from your moans, he looked into your eyes and chuckled. He could see how close you were getting,

"Close?" He questioned as he continued to slam into you, leaning down to kiss you sweetly, you nodded at him and grunted into your neck when he felt you clench around him.

"Cum for me," He whispered as he began to slam into you once again. Causing you both to cry out as your walls contracted around him. The walls of your cunt squeezed around him tightly as you felt your orgasm rip through you, Changbin moaned out loudly as he continued to fuck you through it.

You moaned out again when you felt him twitch inside of you pushing himself into place as he came into you, holding onto your hips as you kiss his cheeks and nose.

"S-Shit," You both breathed out heavily as he pulled out of you and laid down beside you on the bed both of you panting as you began to giggle softly turning your head to look at him.

"I-If it wasn't obvious before...I like you a lot." You giggled at him and he moaned out at the cheesiness of it.

"I like you too," He whispered as he linked your hands together on the bed, bringing your hand up to his lips as he gently laid a small kiss on it.

Changbin fed you strawberries as you laid on the sofa, you were dressed in one of his flannel shirts while he wore some shorts around the house.

"Open," You parted your lips waiting for the fruit and he smiled bending down to kiss your lips gently when he placed the fruit into your mouth you made sure to suck on his fingers and smirk up at him.

"What?" You giggled innocently and he shook his head,

"The real question is, are you ready?" You frowned at what he meant,

"Ready for what?" He began leaning down to you and kissed your lips, running his hands between your thighs and chuckling.

"Round 2." He chuckled evilly as he pulled you into a deep kiss, discarding the strawberries onto the table as he pulled you up to sit on his lap.

Humming to yourself as you rolled over you expected to find Changbin laying in the sheets with you but you were met by a cold empty bed, the sheets were cold so he'd clearly been out of bed for some time. You let out a whine as you thought about the night before, gripping onto the sheets around your body as the memories came flooding back to you. Round 1,2...3..4..eventually ending at 8 when Changbin couldn't keep going on or keep up but now the bed was empty you were confused as to where he could be. There was no note by the nightstand and his clothes were gone so you just assumed he'd gone back to working out front so you decided to surprise him. You slipped out of the sheets and walked over to the shirt of his you'd been wearing the night before and slipped into it, along with some panties and a pair of your short heading for the stairs. If he was outside working you would just take him a morning cup of tea and greet him with a small kiss, nothing seemed more romantic than that right now. Apart from maybe having Changbin back in bed where he could hold you for longer, you already missed his touch and longed for him to have his arms around you again.

"Morning, I made you a cup of tea..." You said to Changbin as you walked into the garage, he was covered in light blue paint, oil and sweat so he'd clearly been out here longer than you had originally thought. He was washing his hands on a towel when he came to face you, looking down at the towel instead of up at you.

"Why are you covered in paint?" You giggled as you handed him the warm mug of tea, taking in the appearance of his - what you assumed was originally a nice white tank top but now stained blue and black. He took the mug without looking at you and placed it down onto the table. He hadn't looked at you once which was starting to make you worry.

"I erm...I finished the car." He mumbled to you, walking in the direction of the garage doors. You frowned wondering which car he was talking about when you noticed the blue colour that he was covered in matched the same colour as your car but, you hadn't asked him for a paint job.

"Mine?" Your voice cracked as you questioned him. He began walking out of the garage nodding his head at you while he rooted through his pockets for something. You could hear all of the keys jingling around inside of there so he was probably looking for yours.

"I woke up at 2 am and I couldn't sleep so I just came and finished it. You can leave whenever you want." His voice was coming out cold as he spoke. You stared down at the floor he walked out without even so much as a glance at you, your heart was thumping against your chest.

Had the previous night's events meant nothing to him or had they completely slipped his mind? You felt the pit in your stomach begin to grow as you thought about him wanting to leave even after the night before. He told you he liked you, you spent the night together, kissing hugging, making love and talking with one another until you finally fell asleep with your head on his chest. It had been all you could think about since the moment you woke up and now that he was just brushing it under the carpet as though it happened all of the time for him. You worried if that was all it was to him, nothing but a one-night stand for him to shake off and leave. You hoped it wasn't but the ground felt as though it was pulling you into it with each passing second he had his back to you without mentioning the night.

"Do you want me to leave?" Your voice came out hoarse as you did your best not to cry right in front of him, the one thing you didn't want to do was influence his decision on letting you stay by your emotions. Changbin stared forward at your freshly painted car that was waiting for you to go of course he didn't want you to go. He wanted you to stay right here in his arms for as long as humanly possible but the thought of making you stay when you had so many plans to finish your road trip tore him apart. He didn't want to be the one to cut your dream short, he'd seen how happy and excited you were about the road trip, he wasn't going to be the one to ruin that.

"You have things to do. I have things to do." He said emotionlessly as he turned around to see you standing there in his shirt. His heart lept up at the sight of you in his clothes but then he noticed the tears welling up in your eyes as they began to turn red.

"R-Right...Yeah." You stuttered out blinking the tears away as you stared down at the ground, brushing your face off with your hands. He came closer to you to give you the keys to your car you snatched them from him rather quickly so you wouldn't have to look at him any longer,

"I'll pay you...T-Then grab my stuff." You mumbled to him as you felt your heart begin to ache with each passing moment he stared at you blankly. He pushed down the guilt he was feeling towards you all of the emotions he was feeling towards you and nodded his head.

"Sure. I'll write up the receipts for everything. The paint job was free." He grumbled as he walked past you without batting an eyelid, only confirming to you that last night had meant nothing to him. Sighing to yourself you began walking back to the house as quickly as you could not turning to look at him. Changing out of his shirt and putting on your own clothes.

Changbin stared down at his hands as he wrote down on the pieces of paper you would need for your insurance company, he couldn't help but feel awful for what he was doing to you but you deserved better than this. Better than him. He closed up the garage doors since it was closed for the day.

Felix: Get Y/n to come into the town when you've finished her car, I have cookies for her and you. It'll let her put the car to good use. Sighing to himself he locked his phone and looked over his shoulder, you were storming over to your car with tears gushing down your face. He already felt terrible for everything he was doing but he knew if he stopped you from leaving he would feel even worse. There was nothing worse on this planet than having your heart broken or your dreams cut short. Changbin had no idea that he was doing both of those with one swift action.

"Felix said he wants you to stop by town, he has some snacks," Changbin said as he brought over your receipt, you didn't say anything as you signed your details onto the form scribbling a signature along the bottom line and giving the pad back to him. Changbin frowned as he noticed it was yours and not some random insurance company that you were with.

"What?" You questioned looking at the expression on his face as you shut the hood of your car, taking the keys round to the driver's side door and opening it.

"Insurance companies pay for repairs, not people..." He whispered as he looked from the papers and up to your face.

"Not on mine. The car is too old." Your replies were coming out short and abrupt, Changbin didn't blame you since he was the reason you were upset in the first place.

"So where are you going next on your road trip?" He was doing his best to come across pleasant but you pulled you shook your head at him.

"Into town. Home. Can't afford the trip anymore and it seems like nothing is keeping me in Busan." You pushed yourself into the car avoiding eye contact with Changbin as you started up the engine resisting the temptation to tell him how great she sounded now. Changbin's heart fell into the pit of his stomach as he realised that you were just going to go home. Somewhere you had expressed multiple times that you didn't like and didn't want to go back to.

"Can I go now? Is the paperwork okay?" You questioned as you stared at him, he nodded slowly and you began backing out of the drive, ignoring the urge inside of you to look at him before leaving.

Changbin:: I fucked up. Make her come back, tell her she forgot something! Tell her to come back! Do something. Anything. You guys are good at lying! Changbin sent the text to the huge group chat that all of the boys were in and he panicked as he began to think of losing you forever. He didn't have a way of contacting you, your number wasn't on any of the paperwork just your name. He figured you would finish your road trip and move on but now that he knew you were just going to go back home he began to feel his heartbreak.

Changbin: Seriously this isn't a drill guys I need you to make her stay!!! He hit send followed by five of the siren emojis to show that this was an emergency and that they needed him t help fix this as soon as possible but none of them was replying to the messages. Just reading them without a word in response to him.

Hyunjin was the first to see, followed by Felix and Chan who were no doubt together at the markets which meant they could do something to help out. Fear began to set in as Changbin wondered if he could race into town after you and talk to you himself but he needed to stay here, in case with some kind of miracle the boys convinced you to come back.

Two hours later Changbin was sitting in his living still waiting for a response from one of the boys when his phone finally began to ping his text notification sound. He hadn't been able to sit still since the moment you left the drive. He'd been pacing back and forth having arguments in his own head about how he should have just told you to stay in the first place, there was no need for him to push you away when all of the signs pointed to you wanting to stay in the first place.

Felix: She won't stay. Says she's heading into Seoul for a few hours to sightsee? Maybe you can catch her? That was all Changbin needed just a chance, he could get to Seoul within four hours and make this all up to you. Fix everything and prove to you that this wasn't just a one night stand to him that the whole thing had meant more to him that he was letting on. Racing over to the door he grabbed the keys for his truck and began to rush out of the door, dropping the keys five times before he finally got into the truck and started it up. He would get to Seoul in four hours or less even if it resulted in some kind of speeding ticket he didn't care. All he cared about was seeing you one last time even if you yelled at him or cried at him for what he was doing he wanted to see you. Convince you to stay in Busan, with him...for as long as you wanted to.

Dropping the keys onto the table Changbin wanted to scream out in frustration. He'd gone into the city to try and find you but it was impossible since he didn't have your number and you hadn't told the boys the exact places you were going to go. He'd gone to every possible tourist place he could think of but you were nowhere to be seen so he headed home in defeat. Ringing the boys to try and get answers but none of the boys were replying or calling him back.

"Why the long face?" Changbin's heart jumped as he heard your voice come out of nowhere, you were standing in the kitchen pouring boiling water into eight different cups that were in front of you. He had been so lost in his own mind he hadn't even seen you walking around the house with the rest of the boys, all of them doing their own jobs in the kitchen and living room. As you poured out the water you turned to look at Felix,

"Lix can you get another mug?" You called out behind you but Changbin was just staring at you with wide eyes, trying to figure out if this was some kind of dream he was having but he didn't remember falling asleep. Maybe that he'd crashed on the way home and this was some kind of weird coma dream he was having about you.

"Jesus, you look like you've seen a ghost mate." Chan sarcastically called out as he walked into the house from the back garden looking around for some oil and the plate of meat Jisung was supposed to be prepared.

"What are you all doing here?" Changbin didn't mean for it to come out cold but he was confused as to what was going on around him, all of the boys were just chilling in the house. He stared at them all but his eyes went straight back to you as you looked up at him.

"I invited them over, I figured we could have a barbeque together. Chan brought his own, insisting it was better than the rust bucket you have sitting out there-" You mentioned as you walked over to Changbin, handing him the mug of tea as you smiled up at him.

"I agree by the way, why did you let it get so rusty?" You groaned at the thought of cooking food on something like that but Changbin stared at you as he shook his head, ignoring your question.

"I thought you left." He whispered confusingly, discarding the mug onto the table beside him and cupping your face in his hands as though you were the only ones in the room together. He ran his thumbs under your eyes and licked his lips as he resisted the temptation to kiss you.

"I did, I went to the markets and Felix showed me your many...many...many texts," You whispered to him putting an emphasis on 'many' since it hadn't just been two that Changbin sent to them all. When the boys began reading and not replying to him he began writing out essays about how he felt about you. Leaving out no details about why he wanted you to stay and how he needed you to come back to him.

"But I wanted to get back at you for making me feel bad...So I made them tell you I was out in the city while we came back here for this." You gestured around you as you looked around the boys who were all staring at you both waiting to see what would happen next. Changbin shook his head at you knowing he deserved a lot worse than just going into the city on a pointless goose chase.

"I don't deserve you," He whispered as he looked down into your eyes, leaning forward to kiss you. His eyes fluttered shut along with yours as your lips were about to touch when Jeongin cleared his throat. Standing beside you as he held out a bowl of potato chips for you to take some from, tapping the sides of the glass dish as he waited patiently.

"Kind of...Having a moment here-" Changbin nodded between you both but you grabbed the chips and smiled up at him innocently,

"I have to go and help cook. Go and change, you smell like oil and sweat." Tapping his chest playfully you headed out to the back yard where Chan was waiting for you to start grilling some meat with him. Felix smirked at Changbin who was staring off after you, only now did he realise you were back in the shirt from that morning. You had it tied around your midway as you paired it with some high waisted shorts, you looked amazing in anything but so much better in his clothes.

"I like her, she makes you work for what you want." Felix chuckled as he passed Changbin to head towards the back yard turning back to look at Changbin who was still a little lost on everything happening,

"She's right though, you stink." He called out right before going out of the door and greeting Chan and you with a hug.

Later that night when the boys were all passed out asleep in their spots on the sofa and the floor you were in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes. You wanted them to rest while you did the washing up since most of this had been your idea. Changbin walked up behind you snaking his arms around your waist and putting his head in the crook of your neck. He could feel your pulse began to quick against his lips as he placed a small and innocent kiss on your skin.

"I'm sorry," It was the first time he had said sorry to you for everything all night. You'd spoken to one another about other things but you never had enough privacy to talk about the one thing that was on his mind the one thing he needed to talk to you about.

"I never should have pushed you away...It was wrong." He admitted, looking at you in the small mirror above the sink, your eyes met as you smiled softly at him telling him it was fine with your eyes. He placed another kiss on your neck and you bit down on your lip trying to concentrate on the dishes rather than the way his lips were making you feel.

"I'm here now, aren't I?" You whispered to him as you drained the water from the sink turning around in his arms and wrapping yours around the back of his neck. He ignored the water trickling down the back of his shirt as he stared into your eyes. He had no idea how he was going to make up for what he'd done to you but, he was going to do whatever it took every day for the rest of his life if he had to.

"I never want you to leave again," He mumbled to you as he looked over at the boys, one of them was mumbling in their sleep as they turned over on the bed. Jisung snoring loudly, too loudly as though he was faking it so Changbin looked at you,

"Let's go somewhere we can talk privately." He pulled his arms away from your waist and took your hand into his, leading you up to the bedroom so you could talk without whispering or fear of being listened in on by some of the boys.

Laying beside him on the bed you let your head lay on his chest listening to the way his heart thumped against his chest as he drew patterns into your skin with his fingers. Neither of you had said anything since coming up the stairs twenty minutes ago, you just laid together in a comfortable silence just listening to one another's breathing. Enjoying the company you gave one another.

"I never would have pushed you away if I'd have known you weren't going to go on your trip...I didn't want to be the reason you stopped your road trip or your dreams..." He broke the silence as he said the same thing he had told the boys over their messages. He knew you already knew all of this but he wanted to tell you face to face. He owed you that.

"I pushed you away the first time because I was scared of what happened with Flair happening again...That night we spent together meant more to me than I could ever begin to tell you." His heart was beginning to beat faster as he told you everything that had been planning on his mind over the last couple of days. The truth spilling out of his lips like a tap that couldn't be shut off.

"Changbin you don't have to-"

"I want to." He stared down into your eyes as he sat you both up, sitting across from you as he stared back into your eyes. Crossing your legs you looked at him smiling weakly, you were getting tired from the night before and being up all day.

"For the first time in a long time, I've felt myself getting happier...To be honest for the last few days being with you has made me feel like I'm floating on a cloud." You laughed softly at the words he was using and he smiled, your laugh was like music to his ears he would listen to it all day if he could and would do anything to make you laugh.

"When Flair interrupted that kiss at the market it made me realise just how much I liked you. Before I would drop everything and go running back to her but with you it's different. You've taken over my heart and you're the only one who runs it now." You looked at him, your eyes were starting to tear up as he spoke exactly what was going on in his mind.

"I got scared. I pushed you away but I promise never to do it again if you promise to stay?" You looked at him turning your head to the side as if you were going to challenge him on what he was saying to you. You licked your lips slowly,

"Make me stay." You whispered softly to him challenging him as the corners of your mouth turned up into a smirk, he smirked back at you. Cupping your face in his hands before bringing you into a loving kiss just like the one from the night before, running his thumbs over your face. Sparks came flying from your body as soon as he touched you and your mind went blank, you wrapped your arms around the back of his neck as you rose onto your knees to deepen the kiss with him. Falling down to lay on top of him on the mattress as you both made out, slowly letting one another remove each other's clothes until you were in nothing but your underwear. It was going to be the best new start in a new town you'd ever had, you couldn't wait to spend the rest of your life there with him.

Tagline: @taestannie @kneel-begyourpardon @channiewoo @minholuvs @lkwonmj

891 notes · View notes

jazz-miester · 3 years

Text

Lying is supposed to be easy. So why do you make it so hard?

Pairing: Optimus Prime X Reader

Song: weathers- c'est la vie

Warnings: Bit of angst. Cursing.

An: A character/story idea I may never write. Let me know what all of you think!

A cigarette hangs loosely from thier lips. Unlit. The lighter they had pulled out wove around thier fingers. Y/n's mind still undecided if they wanted it lit or not. Granted, it wasn't a normal cigarette. Herbal. Some sort of lavender and chamomile medley.

They had promised to quite long ago. But some habits die hard and it's easier to find an alternative than fall back on old vices.

Thier hands shook slightly as they finally brought the lighter to the cigarette. On hand curling protectively around the flame and the wind howled around then.

Rain fell heavily down to the earth. The first rain in Jasper Nevada since god knows when. They needed it. Desperate for it.

God's knew they missed it. Some old memory locked away in thier mind. Cobwebs dusted away from thier not to long ago childhood.

They were barely into thier adulthood. Some would say.

It doesn't matter.

Smoke spilled out from between thier lips. Curling around and drifting into the cool air.

Thunder roared from the dark clouds. A sounding trumpet for lighting to follow.

Y/n's old chevy rattled with it. Thier heater sputtering a few times before finally giving up. Soon blasting cool air instead. They cursed. Smacking the dashboard.

"Mother fucker." They hung thier hand out the window. The cigarette almost put out by the wind. "First the fucking tire then this." Y/n hisses through thier teeth. They smack the dashboard one more time. "Last time I let someone else work on you." They turn the truck off. The silence sudden and heavy broken only by the rumbling thunder and rain smacking against the trucks roof.

Y/n checks thier phone. It was six now. Two more hours before nightfall. The tow company said they be here four hours ago. They wonder if the company decided to stay because if the rain. Wait for it to pass. Maybe this wind knocked down a power pole or two.

Or maybe the company was just lazy.

Y/n's stomach growled and they glanced over at the take out in the worn seat next to them. Chicken teriyaki and rice. Should they eat now? Probably. Before it got cold.

They blew out another huff of smoke. The window frame was wet now. As well as part of thier leg. They smashed the end of the cigarette into the ashtray and rolled thier window up. The hand crank sticking momentarily before letting go with a squeak.

They began to eat. Still keeping an eye out for the tow truck in the rapidly dimming light.

Halfway through eating thier phone buzzed. Rattling across the dashboard and onto the floor. Cursing they swallowed thickly and sputtered. Clearing thier throat before answering.

"Hello?" The phone cracked in and out. Reception was spotty this far out if town.

"We..... Can't..... Unable." Thier phone screen lit up. They held it out in front of then. The screen cracked. Obscuring part of what they could see. They looked at the number on the phone. Then to the one on the crumpled piece of paper.

"You have to be shitting me." They tossed the styrofoam back into the seat. The plastic fork falled to the ground. It was the tow company.

The bastards. Couldn't have called sooner.

Fuck it. They'd walk home and tow it themselves in the morning. Before work.

Or at least they would have if it weren't for the rumbling semi heading thier way. It came to a stop next to them. Engine deep and rumbling. It was fake. They knew. Ment to imitate earth's vehicles.

Thier phone rang. An image flashed across the screen with the caller id. Optimus. He had looked all to peaceful in that field to not take a picture.

"Hey Big Guy." They chuckled.

"Y/n. Hello. Is everything alright?" Y/n snorted. Oh fucking peachy they were. First they were late for work. Got yelled at by thier boss for shit they didn't do. Had thier piece of shit phone stolen so they had to go fucking find it. Paid sixty bucks to get it back. Had some dickhead think they didn't know shit about vehicles so they tried to scam them.

And the list goes on.

They looked over at the semi as they spoke.

"I'm fine Prime." Optimus rocked on his wheels.

"Are you sure? I was unaware one could drive with a blown tire." Y/n scoffed. Brows shooting upwards with disbelief.

"You sarcastic-" They cut themselves off. "You here to make fun of me?" The truck rumbled.

"No. I'm here offer help." He paused. "You have been here for over six hours." How. Oh ya. Patrol. They forgot he frequently came through here to and from base.

"I. Ya. I could use the help." They hated admitting that. That they needed help. They knew they could manage and y/n always felt like they owed the person back.

Optimus pulled in front of their chevy. An unspoken "I'll tow you" hung in the air. He would. Optimus knew they would come back shortly to get their truck back. Might as well help so they don't try to do it in the dark.

They were shivering and slightly soaked when they finally got in the driver's seat. Optimus wordlessly turns the heater on. Angling the vents to point at them.

"Sorry for tracking water in." Y/n muttered. Doing their best to wipe off any excess water that got inside.

"There's no need for apologies." The semi pulled away from the side of the road and began to drive. Slightly clicking gears as he rumbles downwards. Rain splattered across the windshield. Wipers working overtime to keep it away. They new it was more for them than him.

His headlights were dim, they noticed. Barley lighting up the old gray road.

It was silent. Comfortable.

It was dark now. Even more so without the full moon. Heavy cloads still cloaking the sky.

"Are the kids home?" Y/n broke the silence.

"Yes. I had to drop Rafael off at home." That's right. Bumblebee has been busy on a scouting mission. He's supposed to be back tomorrow. Short. By cybertronian standards.

It's been almost a month for us.

There's was flashing in the distance. Orange hues erie in the heavy rain. They can make out more shapes the closer they get. A red blob turning into a car. Two small blurs turned out to be a couple.

Optimus stops next to them at their urging.

Y/n hope out immediately. The rain quickly soaking through their thin shirt.

"What seems to be the matter?" Y/n asks. A woman turns around. Hand on her obviously pregnant belly. "Well shit." They mutter.

"Our tire blew out on the way to Jasper." The woman brushes a few strands of soaked hair out of her face. "Me and my son can't seem to get the tire changed. We umm." They look over at their kid. Some tiny teen trying to pull the bolts off the best they could. The car wast quite high enough off the ground either.

"Do you want help?" They already began rolling their soaked sleeves up thier arm. A simple tattoo wove from thier wrist up to thier elbow. A memento from a close friend. The woman nodded vigorously.

"Yes please." Y/n points the woman towards Optimus. They hope he wouldn't mind.

"Please Ma'am. I don't want you catching cold." Her cheeks flush. "The kid can help if they want. But they can get out of the rain if they want." The kid grins at them, missing one or two front teeth.

"I can help!" Y/n chuckles and pulls the tire iron gently from thier hands.

"Well then. Let's get going." They popped the bolts off one by one. They themselves straining despite the fact that could easily toss tires like these around. Y/n lifted weights to get stronger and boxed to defend themselves. Thier muscles flexing beneath thier shirt a testament to that.

"God. Who stuck these fu-friggen things on." The kid laughed.

"My cousin." Well damn.

It took a few moments and a bashed finger later to change the tire. Y/n was thoroughly soaked by the time they finished. Practically drowning from the rain.

They helped the women down and out from Optimus. Both of them none the wiser to the alien next to them.

The two got into the car and drove off. Y/n watches as the car gets smaller and smaller until the rain completely obscures thier view.

They grab into the handle next to Optimus's door and hoists themselves up. Smacking thier boots to get off any mud or debris before getting inside.

"Well now I'm even more wet." Y/n snorts and peels thier shirt off. They had a tank top underneath. It sticks to thier skin uncomfortably.

Optimus hums. The deep sound rumbling in the cab. Y/n pats thier pockets fully intending to light another cigarette before remembering where they're at. More precisely, who, they are with.

Instead they pull out a stick of gum. The minty flavor almost overpowering.

Optimus hums again. A sign they've come to find, was of him thinking. A habit he never broke of even after becoming Optimus Prime. Perks of being his charge they guessed.

They never knew why he did that. Became thier guardian. Y/n was well enough an adult. Had a house, payed the bills. They never understood and didn't plan on it anytime soon. Optimus was Optimus and he does what he does. He was one of the few people they never second guess thier opinion.

They held a lot of respect for the old mech.

More so than a lot of people in thier life. They wondered if he knew that. He could tell them to leap off a cliff and they would. Trusting him to be there to catch them.

It took a lot to earn that trust. And they had given it to him. With shaking palms and to high walls.

'Here'. Their actions said. 'Here is the key. Open the door and you hurt me. Guard it. Please. Because I am unable to anymore.'

And Optimus did. Because Optimus is Optimus. A being to good for this world.

Y/n had a scar that reached from thier shoulder to the small of thier back. It would have killed them if Optimus didn't step in. They got the relic. Optimus got thier trust and friendship.

"You do that often." Y/n head jerks up from where it had been resting against the window. Startled from thier thought.

"Do what, Prime?" Optimus slowed down. Rolling to a general stop at the battered stop sign.

"Help others without question. Despite it often being inconvenient for you." Y/n pops thier gum. Thinking.

They never really thought about it. They just did what felt right.

"And?" They scratch at thier neck.

"Why?" A simple one word question. Might as well been a loaded gun. They knew exactly where he was taking this.

"Because I can. Because it's the right thing to do. Because I'd want someone to do it for my friends and family." Optimus rumbled his engine. Pulling off to the side of the road.

Son of a bitch. He's gonna make them do feelings now?

Last time it was from a simple, yet self deprecating joke. Last thing they will joke about around him again was being dumber than a box of rocks. Who knew the old guy could be so silently, and heavily caring without a single word.

"And what about you? Would you not like help as well?"

The rain lessened to a drizzle now. No way we're they gonna do this shit. Not again. Don't make them face things yet.

Y/n reaches to open the door.

Optimus locks it shut.

"Fucken hell man." They mutter. Not for the last time they began wishing for an actual cigarette.

"Hmm." They sunk down in the driver's seat uselessly pushing at the gas pedal urging for him to go on.

"You can ask. You do know this." Y/n chuckles.

"I did." They wave thier hand at the steering wheel. "I called the tow company. Not my fault they didn't call me till forever later." Optimus sinks down on his tires. If they don't wrap this up now and tell him what he wants to here they'll be here forever.

But he can tell when they're lying.

They both loath and like it.

They can be truthful to him. But sometimes it hurts. Because he makes them feel. He makes them know.

They're people to. And they deserve so much more that they give themselves.

Deserve more than the punishing pace they put themselves through.

"And no one else? What would you have done after?" Y/n shrugged thier shoulders.

"Walked home and make tomorrow me deal with it. They're a bitch in the morning but they get shit done."

Shit.

"And you would call no one? Again?" They shake their head.

"It's just a tow Optimus. Not me bleeding the fuck out." They feel bad. A sour taste in thier mouth as they bite their answer out.

"You where feverish and unable to walk last time." His voice was low. Almost sad. He was upset without showing it.

He cares. Cares so much.

He cares enough about me for the both of us.

"It's fine."

"No."

"I.." I shiver. The heater turns on. "Lying 'spose to be easy. Why do you make it so fucking hard." Optimus rumbles.

"Because you care." He's right.

"And so do I. I am here. Always. No matter what. No matter how trivial you think it is Y/n. I am here. And, as you like to say, I am stuck to your side whether you like it or not." He begins to drive. His words stick to me.

"I know. It's hard." Its hard when you don't think you deserve it. Any of it.

I lay my hand on the center of the steering wheel.

"I know. I know. But I will tell you again and again. Until you truly believe it y/n."

I was lost before him.

God's I hate that he makes me feel. Feel more than I ever have. But he got me to quite one bad habit. And he's working on the other.

#maccadam #transformers #tfp optimus prime #optimus prime x reader #tfp optimus x reader #transformers fanfiction #transformers prime

233 notes · View notes

theyreonlynoodlesmike · 4 years

Text

Melting Wax, Crawling Vines (Vincent Sinclair x Fem!Reader)

Next Chapter ->

Warnings: knife mention, implied running away

Word Count: 2093

I'm warning y'all now that this is gonna be one of the darkest, if not the darkest, series I've ever written. There will be major trigger warnings later, and if you check out my ao3 you can get a feel for how bad they will be. Otherwise, enjoy!

You stared at the underneath of the hood of your car. Something was wrong, you just didn't know what . Sure, you knew how to change a tire and how to check your oil. You could probably put in a new battery if you really needed to. But when it came to just about everything else, well - You didn't know your ass from your elbows. It didn't help that you didn't necessarily have a tool box in your car. You used to, but you'd taken it out to make space for your move. Yeah, you had just about everything you owned that would fit into your little station wagon packed into it. Except a toolbox. The rest of your belongings was in a truck, which was definitely gonna make it to your new apartment before you did at this rate.

You sighed, running a hand through your hair as the Louisiana sun beat down on your neck. It was early July. You thought making the move before the fall started would've been a good decision, and it was one you'd stand by, but you just wished it wasn't so hot . It was early afternoon and the sun was at its highest. You swiped at the sweat on your brow, shut the hood of your car, and went to get the map out of your glove box. You tried to pinpoint where you were, but it was nearly impossible without any nearby towns to use as a landmark. Finally, you realized what you needed to do. Just as the first car you'd seen pass by started coming down the road.

You waved your hand, trying to flag down the blue chevrolet truck that was speeding down the back road. You almost expected it to pass you, but it slowed down to a stop. When it did, the first thing that hit you was the smell. You tried not to make a face of disgust as a man with a dirty face lowered his window to greet you. His driver side door was red, and he grinned out from under a green cap.

"Hi, there. Need a hand?" He asked, and you gave him a grateful smile. He'd stepped out to assess the damage, rubbing his hands together as he came towards your vehicle. You guessed the roadkill in the back was the cause of the smell, and you were too polite to comment. Instead, you told him your name and said,

"I'm having car trouble, but I- Well, I don't really know what's wrong with it." And the man responded with,

"The names Lester," And he paused to give you a friendly grin. "I'll take a look and see if I can figure it out." He said, and you quickly thanked him. You watched as his eyes landed on the things stuffed into your car. "You heading somewhere?" He asked, and you rubbed your neck before you helped him pop open the hood.

"I'm moving, or, at least, trying to." You supplied the name of the town you were moving to, and he gave you a grin as he looked up from where he'd been studying the interior of your vehicle to say,

"Oh, I know that town. About an hour- hour and a half from here?" And you nodded. That'd been your original estimate for your arrival. Now, you were lucky if you made it there today. The two of you chatted politely, but he ended up closing the hood with a click and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, miss, but this is beyond me." He admitted, and you still said,

"Well, thank you for trying. Do you happen to know if there's a tow-truck company nearby- Or a mechanic?" You asked. He stared at you for a moment, and he almost looked hesitant to tell you. He was thumbing his chin, before he finally said,

"There's one about fifteen minutes from here." And you tilted your head. You hadn't seen any towns on your map, let alone one that close. But you weren't one to argue with a local. He continued, saying, "Bo runs the car shop in Ambrose. I can take you if you want." And gratitude filled you. While you knew he was a strange man, you weren't exactly in the position to deny the kindness of strangers. Plus, Lester seemed harmless, even if you knew from experience that you weren't always the best judge of characters. Still, you reminded yourself that it was either hitch a ride with him or wait for the next car to come along. If any did come along . So, you pushed away any potential paranoia and asked,

"Are you sure? Only if it won't be too much trouble." You said, and you watched the way his grin grew wider and wider.

"No trouble at all, miss." And that was all it took for you to pile into Lesters truck. You brought a backpack of yours, and filled it with your wallet, a water, and a change of clothes with all your toiletries. You figured, worse case scenario, you ended up renting a night at whatever motel Ambrose held while Bo, the man Lester had mentioned, tried to fix whatever was wrong with your car. You’d made sure to lock it, hoping that no one would strip or break into your car.

The smell was stronger in his truck, but you did your best to ignore it. You figured it would be impolite to mention it, and even moreso to ask him to roll down the windows. Lester wasn't one for silences, and he asked,

"So, why you moving out here anyways?" He asked, and you thought that was a fair question to ask. You were from a more populated city, and your new town was nowhere near as crowded. You pushed your hair behind your ear, and supplied,

"Oh, new job." And Lester was quick to ask before you could elaborate.

"Oh, congratulations. What do ya do?" And you gave him a smile. He was friendly and sweet, albeit a little rough around the edges. He was one of the friendlier people you'd met, and you figured your new town would be just swell if it had more people like him.

"I'm a teacher. I teach ASL." You told him, answering what you guessed his next question was going to be before he had the chance to ask. When he turned to look at you, a small bit of confusion on his face, you were quick to say, "American sign language." And clarity washed through his face.

"Oh, why they need a- an ASL teacher over there?" He asked, and you played with the edge of your jeans. You knew about the job description, but you didn't want to tell him that you'd jumped at the first opportunity you saw to fill a position. Hoped for something as far from your hometown as possible. As far away from- You stopped that train of thought. You didn't want to think about him . This was supposed to be a new start, and instead you told him,

"I'm teaching some older students as a night class," By older students, you meant adults. "And then some kindergarten students." And you watched as a laugh escaped his lips. He slapped his hand against the steering wheel, before he said,

"What do kindergartners need to know about sign language?" And you bit your lip. You felt as thought you'd given this talk about a thousand times before, but it didn't stop you before you said,

"Well, some of the kids are deaf, but some of them may just be nonverbal. This is a way for them to communicate when speaking feels like too much. And the night classes are for their parents, I'm assuming, so they can understand their kids. It's important, y'know, for them to have a way to express themselves, even if it's different from how most people do it. Some kids are just special cases." You explained it kindly with a shrug. Surely, it seemed obvious to you, but you were well aware that not everyone knew how useful the skill could be. He made a face, one where he nodded and jut out his lip. He rubbed his chin again, before he asked,

"Nonverbal, huh? Like mute?" He asked, and you gave him a nod. He nodded back, before looking out the windshield. "Sign language for mute kids. Express themselves. Huh." The truck was only silent for a beat. “You get lots of special cases?” He asked, and you couldn’t stop the smile that graced your lips.

"I specialize in special cases." You joked, and Lester was quick to laugh. He made a little hoot, seeming pleasantly surprised by your willingness to joke or perhaps by how comfortable you seemed with him. You smiled to yourself, enjoying the company of your new friend. Even if he wasn't from the town you were headed, it would be nice to know at least one person nearby. You'd started looking all around the truck, before your eyes fell on the man besides you. it'd been a quick glance over, getting a good look at him. You hadn't noticed it before, but you saw a knife on his hip when he lifted his shirt to mop at the sweat on the back of his neck. You'd barely glanced at it for a second before your eyes were being ripped away by his voice.

"You like knives?" He said, a tone of excitement in his voice. "Tools of the trade. You wanna see it?" And you agreed. He pulled it out, flashing the blade to you and said, "That's a bowie. Cut through anything." He said, and you agreed with a nod. To make conversation, you reached into your boot and pulled out a small pocket knife. It was much smaller compared to his, and you said,

"All I got is this, but it does the trick." And Lester let out a low whistle. He sheathed his knife back its holder, and you offered it out to him for him to examine. He pressed the button, letting the blade switch out. He looked it over. It was small and thin, but, as you said, it did the trick with most things.

"Didn't peg you as the type. What does a teacher need with a knife?" He asked as he passed it back to you, and you pushed the blade away as you answered.

"Oh, y'know, cutting up all the apples my students give me." You said, joking lightly. Lester grinned again, and you tucked your knife back into your boot. Again, you didn't want to actually get into why you had the knife with him. It was a layer of protection, something to make you feel safe. And, after the past couple of years, you weren't going to deny yourself anything extra to do that. He stopped the car, and you looked up to look around where you were. He had stopped seemingly in the middle of nowhere, right in front of a small creek. "Why- why'd we stop?" You asked him, and, for a moment, a flash of alarm rang through your head. You'd never been the best judge of character, and, for a moment, you were worried that you'd gotten yourself into another sticky situation. The same type of situation as to why you slept with that very knife under your pillow, why you'd decided to leave town- But Lester was as nonchalant as could be as he opened the door and stepped out. He said,

"Oh, I gotta flip my hubs into four wheel. You just sit tight, y'hear?" And the alarm inside your head faded. You slumped a bit, a wave of relief washing through you. He was looking at you, his hand on the door. You looked at him, the creek, and then back to him before you offered,

"You need any help?" And that same grin came over his face at your offer. He braced his arm against the open doorway as he asked,

"You know how to change a hub?" And you supposed that his skepticism was warranted. He did find you on the side of the road with a car that wasn't working. Still, you gave him a smile and sassed him just the tiniest bit as you said,

"I'm sure I can figure it out." Earning a smirk and swipe of his cheek from the man. He motioned for you to get out, and said,

"Alright then. Lemme get that door for you."

#house of wax #house of wax 2005 #vincent sinclair #vincent sinclair x reader #lester sinclair #bo sinclair #mwcv #slashers

210 notes · View notes

svtwritess · 4 years

Text

Chapter 2

➫ word count: 11.6k (this got away from me to say the least </3) ➫ pairings: wonwoo x female reader, mingyu x female reader ➫ genre: fluff, smut, angst ➫ college!au, vampire!au ➫ warnings: sexual content, alcohol, food

“So are you gonna explain who that guy was?” Wonwoo asked, attempting to seem disinterested as he gripped the steering wheel of the moving truck tightly.

“His name is Mingyu,” you said defensively as you tried to hide your smile, “and he was just helping me move everything inside that’s all.” you shrugged as you looked out of the window.

It hadn’t been long since you parted from Mingyu, but you couldn’t get him out of your head. How did someone so tall, attractive, strong, and seemingly very sweet just… magically appear the exact second that you needed someone who was all of those things?

“Yeah, I’m sure that was it.” Wonwoo scoffed disapprovingly.

You whipped your head around to look at him, a frown evident on your features. He looked over at you and raised his eyebrow before returning his eyes to the road in front of him.

“What? You think he had some sort of ulterior motive?” you questioned, slightly offended.

“Um, yeah. Anyone with a brain would be able to figure that out.” Wonwoo said matter-of-factly, your jaw dropping at his words.

“Wh-“

“Just tell me this,” Wonwoo started again, “Did he or did he not say or do something flirtatious at some point in time?” he asked, sounding as if he already knew the answer.

Your instinct was to reply defensively and say no, but you quickly realized that you couldn’t. Very obviously checking you out when he first met you and asking you to promise that he’d see you again doesn’t exactly fall under the category of friendly.

“I- That doesn’t matter.” you said and crossed your arms. Even though he was flirting, it was harmless and there’s no reason for Wonwoo to be so judgmental about it. It was probably because the whole Joshua incident had literally just passed, so him being upset was understandable, but it’s not like Mingyu was feeling you up in front of him or something.

“Of course it doesn’t.” he chuckled lightly, clearly not believing you.

You rolled your eyes. “And you care so much about this why?” you asked, a tinge of annoyance in your voice.

“Cause I don’t trust him.”

‘Whatever,’ you thought, ‘it’s not like anything will come from it anyway’. Knowing your history with any guy that wasn’t Joshua, there was an extremely small chance that your relationship with Mingyu would amount to anything other than an acquaintanceship. You’d only spent around 2 hours with the guy, but even so, it was clear that he’s wildly attractive and that he has an insane effect on you. You hoped you’d see him again, really, you just didn’t know when or how.

Wonwoo pulled into a parking spot at the moving truck company. You unbuckled your seatbelt with a sigh, hopped out of the truck, and went inside.

The bright lights caused you to squint as they were a great contrast to the darkness outside, and the harsh air conditioning caused a shiver to run down your spine. The building was essentially empty except for a few lone employees.

You walked over to the help desk and told them you were returning a truck. You grabbed the key from Wonwoo, signed a form saying you returned the vehicle, and went right back outside to order an Uber home. Your parents offered the two of you one of their cars to take to college, but anywhere that you would need to go on a daily basis was walking distance. The walk could sometimes be further than you’d like depending on where you were going, but not far enough to work up a sweat, so it was something that you and Wonwoo were both thankful for.

You ordered the Uber and told Wonwoo it would arrive in 3 minutes. He just nodded and leaned against the concrete wall of the building.

“What’s your schedule like for this semester?” you asked, kicking around a small rock that was on the ground.

“Two classes on Monday and two on Tuesday, you?” he asked, arms crossed and giving you a curious stare.

“That seems like a lot,” you told him, but he just shrugged. “I have one in the morning everyday except Friday.”

“Eh, I’d rather just get them over with,” he reasoned, “Is your Monday morning class the one about Shakespeare too?” he asked and you nodded. You were going into creative writing and he was going into literature, so a few of your classes were the same.

“How did we not plan that?” you laughed, and he shrugged with a chuckle, not knowing the answer to your question either.

The Uber pulled up in front of you and you both climbed inside. You checked to make sure the driver was the same as the person on the app and after confirming that it was, you sat back in your seat and anticipated getting back to your apartment so you could finally sleep.

It was finally the first day of classes and you were the utmost excited. With a content smile on your face, you put the last of your necessities in your bag and threw it over your shoulder. After looking in the mirror and running a brush through your hair one last time, you headed into your living room.

Wonwoo was slumped down on the couch with his phone in his hand. He had a small pout on his face and looked more tired than you would have expected him to.

“Good morning!” you said happily, sitting down next to him.

He chuckled at your perkiness. “Well good morning. Why are you so excited?” he locked his phone and put it on his lap, looking up at you.

“I don’t know,” you shrugged, “it’s the first day of classes, isn’t that always kind of exciting?” you asked curiously.

“Eh,” he said as he sat up straight, “it’s just school.”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. He was right, it was just more school, but you were in college now, and everything was different, at least in your eyes.

“Well, would getting breakfast before class make it any better?” you inquired, and his face immediately perked up at your words. He nodded his head avidly and you smiled at his enthusiasm. “Okay, but we have to go now.”

Wonwoo stood up immediately and grabbed his grey bag that was sitting on the kitchen counter. He opened your front door and used his arm to motion outside.

“Then let’s go now!” he said, a new found energy in his voice. You laughed and stood up, exiting your new apartment with your best friend in tow. You took the key out of your bag, locking the door and setting off toward your breakfast destination.

You knew there was a coffee shop right by the campus as you had seen in when you toured the college almost a year ago, so you decided to go there. You and Wonwoo made small talk as you walked, Wonwoo still seeming too lethargic to discuss anything more than the basics.

You arrived at the small shop, the air conditioning cool and the walls a calming blue color. There were a few other people your age scattered around the cafe, presumably other students. They all seemed happy, which was a good sign from a place that served food.

You and Wonwoo approached the counter and a girl with a half up-half down hairstyle with a black apron on walked up to the counter to serve you.

“Hi guys! What can I get for you?” she asked, her voice cheerful and her smile almost overwhelmingly large. Wonwoo got a coffee and a muffin and the girl punched in his order as she spoke.

“O-okay,” she blushed, “anything else?”

You placed your order, which was very similar to Wonwoo’s, and pulled your card out to pay. However, you realized that she hadn’t punched anything into the cash register the entire time you were talking. She was staring off into space, or rather, staring way too intently at Wonwoo. You moved forward a little to try and catch her attention, and she was shaken out of her thoughts.

“Sorry, uh, what was that?” she asked, her blush worse than before. You repeated your order, admittedly a bit irritated, and moved to pay again. As you went to insert your card into the machine in front of you, Wonwoo stopped you.

“Here,” he said, reaching forward and inserting his card instead, “I got it.”

He paid for your order and the girl handed you a number card to put on your table, shyly telling you that your order would be right out. You walked over to a small table in the corner of the shop and sat down, placing the number card at the edge of the table.

“So she was obviously into you.” you stated, rather annoyed, and Wonwoo chuckled.

“Was she? I didn’t notice.” he smirked, “Why do you sound so bothered, huh? Got something you wanna confess?” he joked. You laughed loudly.

“Please,” you scoffed, “no. She just didn’t need to be so obvious about checking you out, that’s all.”

The same girl that took your order came over to your table with a tray in her hand. She set your coffees and muffins down on the table before standing there for a moment, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Thank you.” you said as nicely as possibly, attempting to make it obvious that she no longer needed to be standing there.

“Oh,” she said, clearly surprised, “yeah, sorry. Just let me know if you need anything.” she gave Wonwoo one last look before heading back to her position at the front counter.

“Well?” you asked Wonwoo, causing him to raise an eyebrow at you. “Do you need anything?”

He chuckled at your bitterness. “Yeah, I need to eat.” he picked up his muffin and took a large bite. You, too, were feeling rather famished, so you began working on yours as well. You ate and drank in silence, hunger consuming the both of you. You also wanted to leave as soon as possible so that you weren’t late for your first class.

You watched as Wonwoo chugged the last of his coffee and set the cup down on the table.

“Ready?” he asked, but all you could do was stare, as you had muffin threatening to fall out of your mouth. With ¾ of your coffee left and half a muffin in your hand, you shrugged and nodded. You could eat on the way and you’d hoped you’d be able to finish your beverage in class. You stood up from the table and pushed the chair in, making your way out the door.

Wonwoo pulled out his class schedule and found the class you were headed to.

“A-203,” he said under his breath, you assumed he was saying the building and room number.

You walked for a few more minutes, and soon your school’s campus came into view. It was the first time you were seeing the place in a few months and you could feel your heartbeat increase. You weren’t sure if it was because of excitement or pure anxiety, but either way, you were hoping for a good first day.

You approached the large sign with your school’s name on it as you took the last bite of your muffin, throwing the wrapper in a trash can that you happened to walk by. You took another sip of your coffee as Wonwoo spotted the building your class was located in and pointed in that direction. You checked the time on your phone as you walked and thankfully you still had 10 minutes to spare.

You approached the building and went inside. For some reason it was extremely cold, so you held onto your coffee hoping it would bring you some form of warmth. You climbed the stairs slowly, the feeling of the muffin that hadn’t yet digested weighing you down.

When you reached the top of the stairs and began walking down the hallway, Wonwoo read the room numbers out loud. But of course, the very first room was number 219, which meant that your classroom was at the very end of the hall.

You walked and walked until finally a sign with a big “203” on it was right in front of you. You entered the classroom, and wow was it big. Much larger than any high school classroom you’d ever been in. There were at least 10 rows of seats and the further back they went the higher up they were elevated. It all felt very… classy.

You and Wonwoo picked seats in one of the middle rows and sat on the very end. Wonwoo always liked being close to the door for some reason.

“Think the professor will be on time?” he asked, but you shook your head.

“Probably not.” you replied as you took your things out of your bags. You both pulled out your laptops, yours in a rather busy plastic case with stickers in some places and his completely bare, looking as if it had just come out of the box. Even when it came to your possessions, it was clear who the more organized friend was.

You checked your phone and there was now 1 minute until class was set to start, yet still no sign of your professor. Though as if the universe could read your mind, the door burst open and a middle-aged woman with grey hair entered the room. Her clothes screamed 70’s hippy movement and her glasses were about as thick as a bulletproof window, but she was pretty. She was slender and on the taller side, she definitely fit the stereotype of a professor who teaches Shakespeare.

“Hello all!” she said in a perky voice. “Now today we’re gonna be jumping right into the material, we’ve got a lot to cover. So take out whatever you’re using to take notes and let’s get started!”

You opened a fresh page, set the font and size to your preference and began typing. She started with Romeo and Juliet, which makes sense as it’s arguably Shakespeare’s most famous work.

As she rambled you typed, trying to digest the surprisingly interesting information she was relaying to you. Wonwoo looked just as immersed in his notes as you did, which is probably why he didn’t notice the girl further down the row staring at him. She was leaning forward to look past you with a dazed look in her eyes. Did he give out love potions to random girls at some point and not tell you about it?

You rolled your eyes, not wanting to think about how many more girls would fawn over your best friend this semester, and continued typing.

The 2-hour lecture went by fast, as your professor had a way with words and knew how to make even the most boring of facts interesting. You felt lucky for that, as you knew how much a bad teacher could affect a learning experience.

“Did you like it?” you asked Wonwoo as you put your laptop back in your bag.

“Yeah, I did actually. She’s a good teacher.” you nodded in agreement as you stood up, Wonwoo soon following suit. The girl down the row from you who was gawking at your apparently extremely attractive best friend walked past the two of you, giving Wonwoo an unmistakably flirtatious look before she exited the classroom.

“That’s the second one today.” you observed as you made your way toward the door.

“Oh you act like you don’t give guys looks like that when you’re into them.” he teased, but you shook your head.

“Maybe at a party or something where a look like that is appropriate, but not in broad daylight!” you stated as you descended the stairs together. “Girls didn’t look at you like that in high school, what’s different?”

“I don’t have Joshua next to me all the time.” he said in a low voice and shrugged. Sadly, you knew he was right. Joshua always got way more attention than Wonwoo in high school for some reason, even before his gigantic growth spurt. You felt your heart pang as you realized sleeping with Joshua probably didn’t make Wonwoo feel any better about himself at that time, but sadly, there wasn’t anything you could do about it now.

“Well then I would say it’s time to get some, wouldn’t you?” you suggested as you stood in the lobby of the first floor.

Wonwoo just laughed. “Yeah, sure…” he trailed off, itching the back of his neck. “My next class is just down the hall, see you when I get home?”

You nodded and wished him luck before heading back to your lovely, yet average, college apartment.

When you were walking home earlier, you saw a grocery store on your path and thought ‘why not?’

You went inside and grabbed the ingredients to make your favorite kind of pasta, as sort of a celebration that you and Wonwoo had successfully completed your first day of college.

The ingredients were cheaper than you thought they’d be, and on an even brighter note, the guy at the register was cute. He was tall and slender with fluffy hair and a cute little beauty mark by his lip, though the way you felt when he looked at you was nowhere near as intense as when Mingyu did. Even though you’d only met him once, any time you saw a guy you thought was even remotely cute, you started comparing them to him. For some reason, your heart seemed to be dead set in seeing him again.

When you got home, you took some time to get changed and relax. You threw on one of your favorite oversized t-shirts and a pair of shorts and realized that you were happy to feel so comfortable in your new home so soon.

You started cooking the pasta so that it would be done at roughly the same time Wonwoo was supposed to be home. You must have timed it perfectly, because low and behold, Wonwoo came through the door just as you were pouring the sauce over the noodles.

“Hey! How was your second class?” you asked excitedly.

“Not nearly as good as the first one,” he said, clearly exasperated as he fell back onto the couch, “and what’s that smell?”

“I maaaaay have made first day of class pasta.” you told him as you grabbed the only two bowls you had bought so far and a pair of tongs, using them to dish both you and Wonwoo some noodles. You got some utensils from out of one of the drawers and placed them in the bowls before walking over to Wonwoo and handing him one. As you sat down next to him, he immediately started eating.

“Wah,” he groaned, “this is amazing!” it was hard to understand him with his mouth full, but you appreciated the compliment nonetheless. “Thanks y/n.” he said sincerely.

Happily you nodded, a content smile on your face. “You’re welcome,” you replied as you began eating as well, the savory flavor meeting your tongue. Wonwoo was right, it was pretty amazing.

“Oh guess what! That girl from the cafe this morning? She was in my other class.” he said, slightly mumbling due to the overflow of pasta in his mouth.

You just sat there, looking at him blankly. “Really?”

“Yeah,” you could hear that he was smiling, “We sat next to each other. I, uh… got her number.”

Noodles almost fell out of your mouth when he said that.

“You did? Like you initiated the asking of the phone number?” you asked, extremely surprised.

“Yeah!” he laughed, “Why do you sound so shocked?”

“Because it usually takes a girl making it extremely obvious that she likes you over a long period of time for you to do anything about it.” you stated as if it was obvious.

“Well I was feeling confident today, sue me.” he shrugged, continuing to eat. You said nothing else and focused on your noodles. You weren’t sure if it was because you weren’t used to Wonwoo getting female attention or because you didn’t want anyone stealing any of your time with your best friend, but you didn’t like it. Though of course you weren’t going to tell him that, you knew that he deserved it. “Anyway, how were your 2 hours without me?”

You were just going to tell him that you only took a nap and made the food, but then you remembered something.

“I saw a cute guy at the store today. He was the cashier. Tall, nice hair.”

“Did you flirt with him?” he asked nonchalantly.

“No, just admired.”

“Ah, so he wasn’t as cute as Mingyu?” he teased and you whipped your head in his direction.

“What makes you think that?” you asked defensively and he laughed at your new disposition.

“Cause it seemed like you were pretty eager to flirt with him.” you glared at your best friend for a moment, but decided to do nothing but roll your eyes.

You quickly finished the rest of your pasta, anger slowly rising up in you. You didn’t tease him about the cafe girl, so why did he feel the need to tease you about Mingyu? Admittedly, it had been very easy for your mind to wander to thoughts of the tall and handsome stranger that you’d sadly only crossed paths with once, and you didn’t like the feeling of vulnerability very much at all. As much as you wanted to see him again, you were scared that the more you spent time with him, the weaker for him you’d become. It was cheesy, that you knew, but even after spending time with him on just a singular occasion, you were already smitten, and along with that, desperate to see him again.

You woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly well rested. You had gone to bed relatively early, mostly because Wonwoo went to take a nap at around 7pm and never woke up. When you checked your phone, it was already 9:00, so you only had half an hour to get ready and head out the door, as your class started at 9:45 and the walk took about 10 minutes.

You rolled out of bed and started getting ready for the day. After brushing your hair and teeth, applying some deodorant, and washing your face, you walked over to your closet and opened the door.

You stood there, arms crossed and foot tapping against the carpeted floor of your bedroom. You were in a good mood and you wanted to show it, but the question was, how would you do so? You looked through everything on hangers and everything in drawers, and after way too long of a time, you finally decided on an outfit.

You pulled a yellow dress with small flowers on it off of its hanger and grabbed a pair of white sneakers to match. It was a bit dressier than you were used to, but it called out to you for some reason. You put the dress on along with some socks and your shoes before grabbing your bag and exiting your room.

Wonwoo was sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal in his hands, his pajamas still on and his hair still messy from his slumber.

“Don’t you have class this morning too?” you asked suspiciously as you grabbed a cup from one of your cabinets, as well as the juice from the refrigerator, and poured yourself a drink.

“Yeah, not until 12 though. Then right after that one ends I have another one.” he said. You could practically hear the future exhaustion in his voice.

“That’s what you get for taking two classes in a row.” you shrugged. “When will you be home?”

“Probably around 3, you?”

“Right after class, so I guess around noon.” you told him and he simply nodded, his eyes drooping slightly. “You should try and get some more sleep before class, okay?”

You ruffled his hair with one hand and chugged the rest of your juice with the other, your gesture causing him to smile sweetly. After setting your empty glass in the sink, you headed out the door.

The sun was shining and the breeze was the perfect speed. Your hair was blowing in the wind, but it was in the luxurious movie type way, not the messy way, so you were okay with it.

Your English class this morning was in the same building as your class yesterday, but luckily it was downstairs. Sadly, downstairs was just as cold as upstairs and you had completely forgotten to bring a sweater. You sighed at your mistake, knowing the cold wouldn’t be easy to endure, as you approached your classroom and opened the door. Your jaw nearly dropped when you saw the size of it as it was about twice as big as the classroom you were in yesterday.

You wandered in, wide eyed and curious. As you scanned the room, you recognized a tall, tan, and perfectly built male figure. When he turned around, your heart dropped.

Mingyu.

As you were completely awestruck by Mingyu’s presence, you were totally unaware of the fact that he had seen you as well and was heading right toward you.

“Y/n!” he said happily, snapping you out of your daze.

“M-Mingyu! Hi...” you blushed, trying hard to maintain eye contact. His intimidating stare made you want to cower in fear and look away, but you didn’t want to appear as affected as you actually were.

“I see you decided to keep your promise.” he smirked and you let out a light, mostly nervous laugh.

“Yeah,” you quickly debated what to say next, “I guess you could say I was eager to see you again.” you genuinely couldn’t believe that you got the words out without stuttering, but that being said, you were very proud of yourself.

He crossed his arms and licked his lips, a smug, confident look plastered on his face. “Well in that case,” he stepped closer, “would you sit with me?”

You didn’t trust your voice any longer, so you nodded, probably a little too excitedly. He cocked his head as to say “follow me” and began walking up the stairs with you following closely behind.

He brought you to the 3rd row from the back, away from everyone else. It definitely confused you, but in an intriguing sort of way. When he sat down, you realized he didn’t have anything with him. No bag, no notebook. It seemed like he just had the clothes on his back.

“Where’s your stuff?” you questioned, sitting down next to him, the material of the chair feeling cool against your thighs, causing a shiver to run down your spine.

“Eh, don’t need any.” he said casually as he leaned back in his chair, his glorious thighs on display. You swallowed anxiously and tried not to stare at them.

“Why not?” you took out your laptop and turned it on, trying not to worry about Mingyu seeing and potentially judging the stickers you had put on it.

“I have a good memory.” he shrugged. You didn’t believe it was possible that someone could pass a class without taking notes, but maybe he only brought nothing because it was the first day of class and there probably wouldn’t be much work to do anyway.

Your professor walked in a few minutes after class was scheduled to start, but considering you made small talk with Mingyu while waiting for him, you didn’t mind. He was a short man with thick black hair and round glasses. A curious character, but he seemed interesting.

He ran through the syllabus rather quickly and jumped right into the material, which Mingyu did not seem to be happy about. He kept raising his hand and asking questions in an attempt to stall, but the professor seemed to know the game Mingyu was trying to play and was not having it, so he answered all of his questions with a mere sentence and moved on.

Mingyu was clearly confident, and was probably pretty popular as well. With those things considered, why was he opting to sit with you? He was talking to people when you came in and had apparently just abandoned them for you. You blushed at the thought of him prioritizing you over his friends, but you also felt a pang of guilt. It was only his second time meeting you so… maybe he was just as enchanted by you as you were by him?

Throughout class, you found yourself fascinated by every point your professor made. His perspective on literature was one you had never heard before and you were the utmost intrigued, attempting to type every word that came out of his mouth.

Sometimes, Mingyu would lean forward and ask you a question or make a clever remark, but even you were surprised at how you brushed him off. As much as you enjoyed listening to Mingyu’s voice, you were surprisingly enjoying the content of the lesson just as much. He seemed to notice your intense focus after a few of his comments and decided to lay off. He simply admired the way you would unconsciously nod along with the professor’s words with a smile on his face instead.

Your two-hour lecture was over far sooner than you would have liked, but you knew anything longer than 2 hours would probably kill most other students. You sighed contently and turned off your laptop before putting it back into your bag and facing Mingyu.

“So,” you smirked, “how much of the lesson do you remember?” you leaned on the edge of your desk and looked into his eyes.

He chuckled and leaned forward, lacing his fingers together on top of his desk. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I would, that’s why I asked.” you said smugly.

“Well it usually takes a little while for the information to sink in,” he said and all you could do was roll your eyes.

“I’m sure it does.” you said sarcastically and stood up, throwing your bag over your shoulder. Mingyu got up as well and walked over to stand right in front of you.

“I’ll even prove it to you, go to a party with me this weekend.” he proposed, catching you completely off guard.

“A-a party? What does that have to do with English?” you weren’t exactly sure why you were questioning him, but you decided to blame it on your nerves.

“Well we’ll be speaking won’t we?” he smiled as he stepped a little closer. You nodded and looked up into his eyes, which was a huge mistake. They were perfectly shaped and incredibly inviting, so it was definitely not going to be easy to say no. “Come? Please?” he asked quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Okay.” you said. You sounded more anxious than anything, but inside you were screaming like a little kid.

“Good,” he laughed, “I’ll text you the address later.” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He unlocked it and opened the contacts app before handing it to you. Your hands shook slightly as you put in your number and handed the phone back to him.

“Can I walk you home?” he asked in a gentlemanly fashion, and again you nodded before you exited the classroom together.

Mingyu offered to carry your bag for you, but you insisted that you could handle it yourself. You made small talk once more as you walked, simply enjoying his company. That being said, you were rather upset when you reached your front door.

“Thanks for walking me home.” you said, taking your key out of your bag.

“Don’t mention it,” he said sweetly.

You opened the door to an empty apartment, and that was when you remembered Wonwoo was still in class.

“Do you, uh… wanna come in?” you asked boldly, Mingyu simply smiling and nodding in response. You loved how much he smiled.

“Your friend isn’t here is he?” he inquired, almost sounding nervous as he entered your apartment.

“No,” you chuckled as you shut the door behind the pair of you. “Why, are you scared or something?” you teased, but he merely scoffed and sat down on your couch.

“Of course not. We just didn’t hit it off very well last time.” he stated, eyes on the ground in front of him. It definitely seemed like Wonwoo wasn’t fond of your new, handsome acquaintance, but it wasn’t your place to speak for him, so you decided to change the subject.

“Are you hungry?” you walked into your kitchen, “I can make you something.” you suggested.

“Hmm…” he pondered, “Whatcha got?”

You looked in your refrigerator and in all of your cabinets and could only find one thing that was even remotely suitable for a proper meal.

“Uhh, ramen?”

Mingyu looked at you for a moment before laughing and standing up. As he walked toward you, you wondered if you had somehow offended him by your offer.

“If anyone here is making ramen,” he placed his hands on your shoulders, “it’s me.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at his comment as he walked past you, searching high and low for the proper size pot. Once he found it in one of your lower cabinets, he filled it with water and turned an eye of the stove on high before gently placing the pot on top of it. He then opened the cabinet in front of him, took out two packs of ramen, and put them next to the stove. He turned around and leaned against the counter next to the oven. “I’m kind of great at cooking. No big deal though.” he shrugged. You couldn’t help but laugh at his borderline cockiness.

“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” you said in a sly voice as you stood directly in front of him. Your kitchen was on the small side and with Mingyu being as tall and broad as he was, you felt like the two of you were closer than you ever had been.

Admiration swarmed his brown orbs as he looked down at you. They were dangerously inviting. Subconsciously, you moved closer and closer to each other, until…

The water started boiling over the pot and spilling onto the stovetop.

Mingyu heard it and immediately turned around, moving the pot off of the eye and turning the temperature down a few notches. Once the water had settled, he returned the pot to the eye that it was cooking on.

“Guess that means it’s ready,” he mumbled before opening both packages of ramen and putting both blocks into the pot. “Sorry…” he said almost inaudibly. You didn’t know if he was talking about the ramen or the two of you almost kissing, but you decided you didn’t really want to find out and changed the subject.

“So where did you learn how to make such amazing ramen?” you attempted to tease, though you were still on edge.

“Well…”

Mingyu then proceeded to tell you (more like brag) about how he’d always had a knack for cooking, along with the fact that his taste buds were, in a word, immaculate. You simply nodded along and let him talk, finding joy in how passionate he seemed to be about culinary arts. It’s hard to think of merely making ramen as any type of art, but he had convinced you that he had mastered the art of making all types of dishes. You told him you’d believe it when you saw it as he added the flavor packets into the ramen and split the noodles into two bowls. He handed one to you and you thanked him before grabbing two pairs of chopsticks from a drawer and heading over to your couch.

You sat down next to each other and ate in a comfortable silence. You didn’t want to tell him and feed his ego, but the ramen he made was easily the best you’d ever had. Once the two of you had finished eating, you leaned back against your couch and looked at each other.

“What do we do now?” Mingyu asked. You couldn’t know for sure, but it seemed like there was an underlying playfulness in his voice, like he was hinting at something. Your mind went back to barely 10 minutes ago, when you could have sworn you were about to kiss, and your cheeks instantly turned a bright red color. You broke eye contact and stared at the ceiling nervously.

“We could, uh… watch a movie I guess? Unless you have somewhere to be...” you played with the hem of your shirt, anxiously awaiting his answer.

“Y/n?” he said sweetly, causing you to return your eyes to his. “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be right now.” his body was turned toward you and his head was resting on top of a couch cushion, making his cheek look extra squeezable. You blushed even harder and tried not to smile as widely as you felt you could; how was he so smooth? Usually someone being so blatant about their feelings for you, especially so early on into knowing you, would be a total turn off for you. It was just something about the way Mingyu carried himself that made you swoon so easily. He’s confident without being cocky, knows how to flirt with you in a way that doesn’t make you uncomfortable, and was just extremely enjoyable and easy to be around. You knew someone this great was bound to have some hidden baggage, toxicity, or secret that would eventually come to light, but you tucked that thought into the back of your mind and decided to enjoy the happy times while you still had them.

“Here,” you handed him your TV remote, “pick whatever you want.” you took his bowl and yours and set them on the coffee table in front of you. When you sat up straight again, Mingyu had his arm over the back of the couch He ended up choosing something animated that kind of seemed like it could be a kid’s movie, but it looked entertaining, so you had no complaints.

The plot of the movie actually seemed to be really good, but you were missing some parts of it because you were drifting in and out of sleep the entire time. It was probably because Mingyu was so warm and comfortable along with the fact that actively listening and taking diligent notes in class wore you out, despite getting a good night’s sleep.

By the end of the movie, you had fallen asleep against his shoulder. He was unsure of what to do as you looked so peaceful. He decided he would take a few moments to admire you before waking you up as gently as possible.

He took the time to really look at your features, almost studying you. He noticed the way your top lip curved, the height of your cheekbones, the complexion of your skin. In all his years of living, even after having known thousands of women, you were easily one of the most beautiful. You also intrigued him, and though it was only his second time meeting you, he’d been alive long enough to know when someone was worth his time.

“Y/n,” he whispered, shaking your body slightly.

You awoke in a startle, immediately sitting up and trying to remember what was happening when you fell asleep.

“Oh god,” you put your face in your hands in embarrassment, “I’m sorry.” you told him when you remembered that you completely knocked out during what was supposed to be ~quality time~.

“It’s fine, really. I should probably go anyway.” he said. You felt bad, as you didn’t want him to feel like he was boring or easy to fall asleep around, but when you checked the time, you saw that Wonwoo would be coming home soon. You really didn’t feel like trying to endure or get rid of that level of tension, especially in your tired state.

“Yeah, my roommate will be home soon…” you didn’t want to finish your sentence in fear of sounding rude, but Mingyu understood exactly what you meant.

“He doesn’t exactly like me, does he?” he chuckled as he stood up, offering his hand to you. You smiled and took it, getting up from the couch.

“You’re just… new. He doesn’t really do well with new.” you shrugged as you walked him over to the door. “Sorry again for falling asleep, I promise it had nothing to do with you.” you reassured him.

“Don’t worry about it. I had a really nice time.” he told you and you smiled up at him.

“Me too.”

“See you this weekend?” he asked hopefully as he reached for the door handle.

“See you this weekend.”

“A party? No.” Wonwoo said, immediately shutting down your idea. You had invited him to attend this weekend’s party with you, but it was a shot in the dark in the first place.

“Come on!” you whined, sitting down next to him on his bed. “I don’t usually like going to them either, but this one could be fun…” you tried to reason with him.

“Yeah? Why is that?” he paused the video game he was playing and looked over at you. You looked down at his comforter, twiddling your fingers in fear of his response.

“Because Mingyu invited me.” you said in the quietest voice possible.

“Mingyu? Seriously?” he said defensively, a rather disgusted look on his face. You simply nodded, then proceeded to give him the purest puppy dog eye look known to man. He let out a long sigh. “You’re gonna go whether I’m with you or not aren’t you?” you nodded again, smiling innocently at him, despite the not-so-innocent situation. Another sigh left his lips, this one more exasperated than the first. “Fine, I’ll go. But only because I don’t trust him.” he pointed his finger at you and resumed his game, which told you the conversation was over.

“Thank youuuu!” you said, very content with how surprisingly easy it was to get him to agree. You didn’t particularly like making him do something he didn’t want to do, but you also knew he’d drive himself crazy sitting at home wondering what you could be doing or why you weren’t answering your phone. You were also hoping he would make a friend that wasn’t coffee shop girl. Preferably someone who wasn’t interested in him sexually or romantically.

It was around 10 o’clock now, you had already showered and were in your pajamas, so you felt like there was nothing keeping you from going to bed. You shouted a “goodnight” to Wonwoo and headed into your room.

You fell onto your bed with an ‘oof’ before rolling over to where your nightstand was. You turned off your lamp, grabbed your phone, and rolled over to your other side. As soon as you began scrolling through one of your SNS accounts, you got a phone call.

From Mingyu.

Assuming that him calling meant that something was extremely wrong, you answered with no hesitation.

“Hello?” you said, worry evident in your voice.

“Hey y/n, you okay?” he asked you, sounding way more calm than you expected him to.

“Yeah, are you okay?” you were now sitting up on your elbow in utter confusion in terms of his reason for calling.

“Yeah. I just, uh, wanted to talk… is that weird?” he half-laughed at the end. You bit your lip in excitement.

“No, not really. I guess I’m just surprised.” you said, feeling at peace enough to lay back down.

“And why is that?” he questioned smugly.

“Well for one, no one really calls anymore.” you teased, even though you were more than okay with talking to him, despite the fact that you’d seen him earlier today.

“Let’s just say I’m old fashioned.” he reasoned.

“Alright, I’m okay with that.” you replied, smiling for a reason you couldn’t seem to point out. He’s really just that charming.

“Good. Soooo what’s your favorite color?”

During your 2-hour phone call, Mingyu asked you all types of get-to-know questions. He wanted to know your favorite animal, subject, food, favorite place to be, along with things like places you wanted to travel, where you wanted to settle down and live someday, and even if you wanted kids. You would ask him the same questions in return, and you both insisted that you explained your answers. Though the questions were pretty surface level, you felt like you knew a lot more about Mingyu and felt a lot closer to him.

Every night leading up to Saturday was filled with Mingyu’s phone calls as well. Only with each passing night, the questions became more revealing. Sometimes they’d be ethical, political, or even questions about your previous relationships. You only really had Joshua to tell about, and Mingyu didn’t seem to have much to tell about either, though it kind of felt like he was holding back when it came to the romance topic. Even though you were curious, you didn’t push it.

You were nervous to see Mingyu after getting to know him almost entirely over the phone, but at the same time, your heart skipped beats at the thought of being with him again.

You woke up on Saturday morning, anxiety along with pure adrenaline coursing through your veins as you thought about what would happen later that day. You knew you would be seeing Mingyu and you knew it would be at a party, so alcohol could easily be involved, and you were nearly jumping out of your skin thinking about what else could potentially happen. You weren’t necessarily expecting anything wild or super memorable to happen, but you definitely felt like there was a possibility for it. You got out of bed begrudgingly, knowing that your mind would be filled with nothing but thoughts of seeing Mingyu for the entire day.

When you stumbled into the living room, you found Wonwoo asleep on the couch. You let out a quiet laugh and rolled your eyes. You didn’t even want to know how he went from sleeping in his bed to sleeping on the couch, but you tried to be as quiet as possible nonetheless.

You got a pan from the cabinet and a carton of eggs from your sad, nearly empty refrigerator. Upon putting the pan on the stovetop and turning it on, you heard your best friend stirring on the couch. You turned to look at him and he was sitting up, his face confused and his hair a mess.

“Well good morning, did you sleep walk out here?” you asked as he stood up slowly made his way toward you.

“You know, it’s very possible, but I have no idea.” he replied, causing you to chuckle. He sat on the counter next to the stove and noticed that you were making breakfast. “Make me some?” you simply nodded in response and cracked four eggs into the pan, scrambling them as they cooked. Wonwoo made himself useful and grabbed two plates from the cabinet behind his head and placed them next to him by the stove. Once the eggs were done, you separated them onto the two plates evenly, turned off the stovetop, and walked over to your couch, breakfast and utensils in hand.

“Don’t you think we should get a table at some point?” Wonwoo asked as the two of you sat down.

“I mean technically we have a table,” you said as you motioned to the small, low-rising coffee table in front of you. “Is our twenty dollar, secondhand, barely holding itself together coffee table not good enough for you? Has college changed you?” you teased as you started eating.

“No, I just feel like most grown ups have a table you can actually dine at.” he shrugged. You gave him a weird look, as you didn’t really know why it mattered to him so much, and continued with your eggs.

“Are you excited for the party tonight?” you asked after a few minutes of egg-eating filled silence. You knew the answer was most likely no, but you were mostly asking because you weren’t sure if he even remembered that he agreed to go.

“Ugh,” he groaned, “that’s tonight?” he looked at you in distaste. You replied with a simple nod and he threw his head back in defeat. “Why did I agree to go again?”

“Because you loooove me.” you said playfully, smiling as you took the last bite of your breakfast. You watched your best friend turn beet red and avoid your eyes before you stood up and walked over to the sink, putting your plate inside of it.

You then went into your room to grab your phone. When you picked it up, you felt your heart flutter at one of the notifications.

Mingyu had texted you.

You ignored everything else on the screen and opened his message.

From: Mingyu

“phi kappa alpha house

10pm

don’t be late ;)”

For mystery purposes, you decided not to respond, but you clutched your phone in extreme excitement, a smile on your face. The party was still half a day away and you honestly had no idea how you were going to pass the time. You thought about going shopping, but now that you were an unemployed, full-time college student you were officially saving any money you could get your hands on. Though thankfully, you lived with your best friend, and hanging out with him would surely help the time go quickly. After all, time flies when you’re having fun!

You exited your room and sat back down next to Wonwoo on the couch.

“What should we do today?” you asked him. He merely shrugged, his eyes locked on his phone. “We could watch movies, or a TV show, or we could play video games…” you rambled, Wonwoo’s head suddenly whipping in your direction.

“You wanna play a video game?” surprise was evident in his voice, but you just shrugged.

“I honestly have nothing better to do.”

Wonwoo was not about to pass up the opportunity to play video games with you. It was one of his favorite activities and something that you basically never showed interest in, so with that being said, the two of you went into his room and played virtually every game Wonwoo owned. You ended up liking League of Legends a lot more than you were expecting to, which made your best friend extraordinarily happy.

You spent the most time playing that one, Wonwoo refusing to admit that he let you win a couple of times. Around 2pm your stomach started growling, so Wonwoo basically forced you to stop playing and eat something. You didn’t want to, but you knew he was in the right for making sure you ate.

After that, you played for about one more hour before you got bored. However, you were comfortably situated in Wonwoo’s bed and did not by any means feel like moving, so Wonwoo simply put on a movie for the two of you to watch. And then another one. And then you watched a few episodes of a TV show until finally, the moment had arrived. It was time to get ready.

You excitedly jumped out of Wonwoo’s bed and ran into your room, shouting at him to get ready as well before closing your door.

You picked up your phone and shuffled your playlist, wanting to add to the anticipation with some music. After that, you opened your closet and stood in front of it. You looked through all of your drawers, but found nothing even remotely appropriate for a party. You then looked through all of the clothes that you kept on hangers, and right when you were about to give up hope, you saw it. The little black dress.

You had bought it in high school, specifically for partying purposes, but you hadn’t gotten much use out of it since you purchased it. You only really went to parties when it was a friend’s birthday or graduation party, so needless to say it had likely been worn less than 10 times. You felt like it was an extremely cliché outfit to wear, but it was the most fitting outfit for the event you were about to attend.

You took it out of the deepest part of your closet and gave it a look of distaste. It wasn’t ugly, it was just not the way you were used to dressing. You figured you could have dressed like normal, but you didn’t want to stand out in an underwhelming sort of way, so you decided that since it was your first college party, you would dress the part.

You changed into the small, black article of clothing and immediately felt uncomfortable. Luckily, you had a little under an hour to get used to it before you had to leave.

You grabbed your makeup bag off of your dresser and laid everything you needed out in front of you. A full face of makeup was another thing you didn’t wear very often, but you had to admit that you really enjoyed doing it. Seeing the finished product also gave you a decently sized boost of confidence most of the time.

You took more time than usual, as you actually had a decent amount of time to do it, and you wanted it to look as good as possible. As for your hair, you figured you’d just run a straightener through it a few times right before you left and hope for the best.

As you got ready, you wondered why Mingyu hadn’t reached out to you at all today except for when he told you the information about the party. On one hand, you didn’t respond, so maybe he took that as you not wanting to talk? Which wasn’t by any means true, you weren’t really sure why you didn’t respond, you just knew that no matter the reason, the suspense you were feeling would make seeing Mingyu again much more exciting.

You applied your foundation diligently and followed up with some bronzer, blush, and highlighter before finishing off with some eyeshadow and mascara. It was a pretty basic look, but still more intense than normal. You grabbed your hair straightener from the bathroom and plugged it in by your mirror, slipping your socks and shoes on while you waited for it to heat up. While you were willing to sacrifice your normal clothing, you weren’t so keen on replacing your usual tennis shoes with heels, so you paired your dress with a pair of Converse instead.

You quickly checked the time on your phone and it read 9:58, which meant you’d be a little late, but you were hoping it seemed more fashionable than forgetful. You straightened your hair as quickly as possible and looked in the mirror one last time. “Wow,” you thought, “you did good y/n.” Giving yourself a mental pat on the back, you unplugged your straightener, grabbed your phone, and exited your room.

Wonwoo was standing in the kitchen with his back to you. Though you couldn’t see his face, you could tell he looked good. Like good good. He had chosen a pair of black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt that fit him perfectly. Okay it was a super basic outfit, but the way he made it look so good, and from the back of all angles, was the impressive part.

“You ready?” you asked, grabbing your house key off of the coffee table.

“I’ve been ready for like 40 minutes.” he laughed under his breath as he turned around to face you. When his eyes landed on you, they widened to twice their size. “Woah…” he walked toward you. “What is this?!” he exclaimed, using his hand to motion the length of your body.

“Uh, party clothes?”

He looked at you and you couldn’t tell if he was impressed or judging you. You gave him a look that said something along the lines of “stop looking at me like that” and eventually, he shook himself out of it.

“Do I look bad or something?” you asked, a hint of anxiety in your voice as you handed him the key and headed toward the door. He shook his head no as he opened the door, motioning for you to exit first.

“No,” he said as he closed the door behind you, “it’s just… weird.”

He locked the door and began leading the way, considering he knew where the frat house was for some reason.

“So it’s weird when I look good now? Thanks, rock bottom feels great.” you joked as you walked, arms crossed partially because you were cold and partially because you were feeling self-conscious now that you’d left the house.

“Shut up, you always look good. You just look different.” he said sternly, tucking the key into his pocket. You felt yourself starting to blush, but you knew he meant it platonically. He didn’t like it when you talked down on yourself. You didn’t like it when he spoke poorly of himself either, but luckily he did it way less often than you. Wonwoo was confident, but he was also very humble, and you thought that was a huge part of his appeal.

You walked in silence, taking in the nighttime sights of your university town. It was quite pretty, but you often didn’t notice as you were rushing to class or scrolling through your phone most of the time. It was a smaller town, but you preferred it that way anyway.

After about 10 minutes or so, you approached a house with very few lights on that had music blasting through the walls. It had some discarded red cups and a sign with Greek letters in the front lawn, and though you couldn’t read them, it was safe to assume that this was the house you were supposed to be at.

As you and Wonwoo approached the house, you noticed that there was a gaggle of people on the front porch. When you got up to the door, Wonwoo stopped to say hi to one of them. He was on the shorter side with high cheekbones and a cute smile. Before Wonwoo could introduce you, he spoke up.

“Who’s this?” he asked, motioning to you with the hand that had a drink in it.

“I’m y/n,” you replied. Normally when meeting someone Wonwoo knew, you would want him to introduce you, but this guy had an inviting way about him.

“Y/n? That’s pretty, I’m Seungkwan.” he said kindly and you simply nodded in response. “Oh Wonwoo, you know Jina’s here right?” the shorter male said before sending your best friend a knowing smirk.

You furrowed your eyebrows. Jina? You figured that must be coffee shop girl. Gross.

“Oh really? Thanks.” he said, excitement lacking in his voice. He began walking inside, so you followed suit.

“See you later! Nice to meet you y/n!” Seungkwan yelled after you. You waved at him with a smile and entered the large, testosterone-filled house. It was crowded with college students and was way more packed than any party you’d ever been to.

Your anxiety suddenly spiked at the thought of finally seeing Mingyu. The whole frat party scene was one you weren’t used to, so that wasn’t making you feel any better. Your hands started sweating and your heart was beating much faster than normal. You played with your fingers as you scanned the room for Mingyu’s tall figure.

“You okay?” Wonwoo yelled over the music, clearly taking note of your shift in mood. You simply nodded and continued looking for Mingyu, hoping that finally seeing him would relieve most, if not all, of your anxiety. It also could make it worse, you thought, but you decided to wait and see.

“I’m gonna get a drink, do you want anything?”

“No, it’s okay,” you yelled in response, “I think I’m gonna look for Mingyu.”

Though it was clear in his facial expression that he disapproved, he nodded and wandered into the kitchen while you made your way into the sea of college kids.

Since you couldn’t see Mingyu standing up, you assumed he either hadn’t arrived yet or was sitting down somewhere. There was a clump of couches by the stairs, so you decided to check there first. After weaving your way through the maze of sweaty college kids, you finally approached them, and low and behold, Mingyu was sitting on the loveseat against the wall. Though he was surrounded by people, he was only talking to the significantly smaller male that was sitting next to him.

You wormed your way through another mob of people to get near him, and the moment he saw you, he flashed you the prettiest smile you’d ever seen. The butterflies in your stomach swarmed worse than ever before as he stood up to greet you.

“Hi.” he said in a sultry voice, a small smile still present on his face.

“Hi.” you beamed.

“Wanna go somewhere quiet?” he asked as he gently caressed your arm before taking your hand in his. You nodded without a second thought.

He started walking toward the back of the house in which there was a large sliding glass door. When you reached them, he slid one open and stepped outside with you. There were still people out there, but not nearly as many.

He took you over to a large white cooler that was against the wall of the house and opened it. Though you couldn’t really see its contents due to the darkness, you reached in and grabbed 2 of whatever your hand landed on. He had chosen a beer for himself, which didn’t really surprise you.

Finally, he walked you to a wooden staircase that led to the roof of the house. You climbed up behind him and once you reached the top, you were amazed to see that there was no one else up there.

“Do people not know they can come up here or something?” you asked, sitting on the lone wooden bench that was sitting in the middle of the roof.

“I think they do, but most people that go to parties actually want to be surrounded by other people, you know.” he joked as he sat next down next to you. You smiled at his playfulness and looked over at him.

The moonlight accentuated his already perfect features, making your heart skip a beat. He took a sip of his drink and looked over at you, smirking when he realized that you were staring.

“See something you like?” he teased, running his hand through his hair for added dramatic effect.

“Yeah,” you admitted shamelessly, “I do.”

You didn’t try to hide your face, shy away, or even blush. The night was making you feel bold, though you weren’t exactly sure why. Your relationship with Mingyu already felt so easy, you were extremely comfortable with him. After all, you’d basically told him everything about your life up until this point, and his responses to your experiences were wise beyond his years. Whenever you’d thought you’d done something bad or wrong, Mingyu always came up with a reason as to why what you did made sense. The way he never once judged you for anything you told him, even when it came to your more shameful moments, made you feel like you could trust him. He made you feel safe.

The more you thought about it, the more you realized you didn’t want to let yourself think too much. Though you were already saying things that were out of the ordinary for you, you didn’t want to let your thoughts leave your head, at least not right now. That being decided, you made the choice to open one of the cans in your hand and down it in one go, because getting drunk totally wouldn’t put you in the position to say exactly what you’re thinking, right?

When you downed the last sip of bitter alcohol, you moved the can away from your face and brought it down into your lap. Mingyu was looking at you like you had two heads, but his expression only made you laugh.

“What? Impressed?” you looked at him teasingly, but he just shook his head in disbelief.

“More like terrified. Please tell me you’ve eaten today?” he whined, concern lace in his voice. You could only smile in response.

“Not since lunchtime!” you said perkily, setting the empty can down by your feet and picking up the full one. You knew drinking on a stomach wasn’t the smartest idea, but you figured you’d need a decent amount in your system if you wanted to do anything more with Mingyu than talk. And honestly, you wanted to.

When you sat back up, Mingyu had his arm stretched out on top of the bench, giving you a spot to cuddle up next to him. You leaned against him and rested your head on his shoulder, his scent filling your senses. His presence was familiar and comforting, and that’s when something suddenly dawned on you.

“Doesn’t this all feel a little… fast to you?” you asked, looking up into his soft brown orbs.

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe it’s just me,” you sat up straight so you could look at him head-on, “but I really like you. Like really like you, but it’s only what, the third time I’ve seen you in person? I feel like it’s weird...” you asked mostly because if he felt the same way then you would feel way less strange about having caught feelings for him so fast. The only person you had ever really had feelings for was Joshua, and you didn’t even know if that situation really fell under the “crush” category.

“I don’t think it’s weird,” he shrugged, taking a sip of his beer.

“Really?” you took a long sip of your drink.

“No. If someone’s right for you then they’re right for you,” he smiled reassuringly at you. “And if liking someone so quickly is weird, then I guess we’re both pretty odd.”

You felt your cheeks heat up and your stomach begin to do flips at his words. You smiled at him, clearly smitten, and getting lost in his eyes as you leaned closer to him without even realizing what you were doing. You stopped when you could feel his breath on your skin.

“Have you been drinking?” he asked sarcastically, booping your nose lightly.

“Yes,” you giggled, “but you’re the most intoxicating thing here.”

All traces of playfulness disappeared when you looked down at his lips. They were the most enticing shade of pink, along with being the perfect size and shape to send you spiraling.

“Y/n, we don’t-“

“Shhh, shut up.” you dropped the can behind you before grabbing his face and slamming his lips onto yours. They were just as soft as they looked and felt heavenly against yours. You kissed him passionately, saying everything you couldn’t say with words.

Mingyu’s hand moved to your waist as your lips moved in sync, squeezing lightly as a low groan left his mouth. The sound went straight to your core, a whimper leaving your lips as you swung your leg over his body. You moved your hands to the back of his neck, kissing him even deeper.

His hands immediately moved to your ass, pulling you as close to him as he possibly could. His tongue slid into your mouth and it took everything in you to suppress the sounds your body so desperately wanted to make. You ran your fingers through his hair, a light sweat making its way onto your skin.

You pulled away from the kiss, panting heavily, and kept your hands in Mingyu’s hair. You looked into his eyes before he buried his face in your neck. Then strangely, he had stopped all activity. You tried moving his lips closer to your neck, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Mingyu?” you looked down at him. His eyes were glued to the place where your bodies met, his chest rising and falling heavily. “Mingyu what’s wrong?” you asked, trying to make eye contact, but completely failing.

“We should stop.” he said sternly, removing his hands from your body.

Your heart dropped. Did you do something wrong? Did he all of a sudden change his mind about you? You were finally feeling the alcohol in your veins, which wasn’t by any means helping the situation.

“D-did I do something w-”

“No, no it’s not you. I just think I should go inside.” he avoided eye contact and attempted to move your body off of his, but you felt you were entitled to a slightly more descriptive explanation.

“Wait, can you just tell me why-”

“Y/n please-” he wrestled you off of his lap as gently as he could until you were standing. He tried to head for the stairs, but you grabbed his wrist before he could get there.

“Mingyu what is going on?!” you exclaimed, and Mingyu whipped around in response. Only he looked different. Much different. His irises were almost completely black, his eyes rimmed with red.

And in his mouth were two long, sharp fangs.

a/n: so,,,,,,,,,,,,, long, filler chapter, and FANGS!!!!!!!!!! i’m sure u saw it coming but .. now u know :D i’m not super proud of this but i hope you all like it :( i’ll have the next chapter up as soon as possible but i did just start classes again so i’m not sure when that will be </3 i’ll try to make it uuuuh not super long sskdkdks

249 notes · View notes

strawberrywritings · 4 years

Text

Meeting.

A/N: When I saw the prompt (find it here), my mind went straight to Angel. Here we are. I also haven’t written for him in a while, and I haven’t written in a while in general, really hope this doesn’t suck🙈

/ Masterlist

Summary: Angel + cheesy pick up lines.

Your eyes were fixated on your phone screen. Every number you had dialled had gone to voicemail or was busy, and there was only one left: Romero Brothers Scrap. You crossed your fingers, moving to rest your weight against your broken down car, and dialled the number.

It rang three times before someone answered.

“Romero Brothers Scrapyard, how can I help you?”

“Hi, uhm… my car’s broken, I have no idea what’s wrong with it. Could you come and take it?”

“Sure. Where are you?”.

Half an hour later, you saw the tow truck come into view and sighed, finally. The driver parked the truck in front of your car, then got down from the vehicle: he was tall, tan skin, tattooed.

“Thank you so much for coming”, you said and he nodded, “No problem”. He stuck his had out and you shook it. “I’m Angel”, his smile was cocky and beautiful. You replied and gave him your name.

He took a look at the car and then told you that it would take at least a few days to fix it, nothing too bad, though. He explained the procedure of what was going to happen once at the scrapyard, you had to sign documents and paperwork for the car. You two got on the truck and he started to drive back to Santo Padre. You two made small talk for a few minutes, him always giving you that smile of his that made you feel hot (and it wasn’t the weather).

As soon as you saw him change direction of the truck, you turned to him, “What are you doing?”. “I’m saving you from sitting in traffic, it’s terrible at this hour”. You made an appreciative noise and nodded, your stare going to the road again. But after driving around for fifteen minutes, you looked at him with a smile,

“You know, I think I would’ve preferred the traffic to getting lost”, you told him in a mocking tone. He now had his brows knitted together and you giggled. “We’re not lost. I just… don’t remember the road that well”. You laughed and he shook his head, a small smile on his face at the sound of your laugh, which, for a moment, was louder than the music he had put on. You started bopping your head to the rhythm.

“As soon as I get home, I’m gonna complain to Spotify about you not being this week’s hottest single”, he said, his eyes were on you for a second and then he was looking straight ahead again. You smiled and shook your head, “It must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pick up line”, you crossed your arms and turned the upper half of your body to watch him.

He wore an incredulous expression, no one had ever rejected him like this; truth be told, Angel rarely ever got rejected. His lips broke into a grin, your eyes locked and he bit his lip. You looked him up and down, taking in the way he was dressed, how he was sitting, and you couldn’t deny he looked damn good.

After ten more minutes, the truck pulled into the scrapyard, Angel helped you down from the vehicle as some employees came to unload your car. You were shown to the office, where you had to fill out some paperwork; Angel had his eyes trained on you, and you looked back at him before entering the small room that was the office. He winked at you, resting his arm against the truck, and you smiled back at him.

When you had signed everything, you got out on and found Angel with his back was against the wall, he was smoking a cigarette.

“Were you waiting for me?”, you said, putting a hand in front of your face to protect your eyes from the bright sun. “Thought you could use a lift home”, he said and you looked at your car, now parked in the parking lot and waiting to be fixed. You agreed and Angel made you climb on his motorcycle, bringing you home.

You got down from the bike and adjusted your clothes, then gave him back his helmet. “Thank you”, your smile was genuine, eyes shining in the sun. He smiled and shook his head, “No problem… sorry ‘bout before, my pick up lines”, it had never occurred to him that not every girl enjoyed it, and he was only saying this because Ez had reprimanded him for his behaviour towards you, who were also a customer, Bishop snickering in the back ground of it all.

“It’s fine, really, it doesn’t matter”, you said and chuckled, looking at him in the eyes and reaching for your keys in your purse. “Thanks again for the ride”, you turned around and started making your way towards your house, while he got back on his motorcycle. “My number’s on the paperwork, by the way”, you winked at him and flashed him a smile, right before opening the door and making your way inside.

He stood there, dumbfounded for a second, not sure he had heard right. When your words actually registered into his brain, he had a proud smile on his face, the smug air he usually had was back on and he drove straight to the scrapyard, shoving Chucky aside to get into the office and get you number as fast as he could.

taglist @scuzmunkie @woahitslucyylu @thickemadame @ifoundmyhappythought @everyhowlmarksthedead @gemini0410 @elcococruz @starrynite7114 @claytoncardenasbabymama @justahopelessssromantic @rebel-without-cause-x @cocotheclown

#angel reyes x reader #angel reyes imagine #mayans imagine #my writing

186 notes · View notes

waywardwrestlewritingwaif · 4 years

Text

Fortune’s Rule, Part 2

Here’s the second part of story. You can find the first part here. Damian does make his appearance in this one! I *think* the next part will be the final one.

Pairing: Damian Priest x OFC

Word count: 3,268

Content advisory: Nothing for this part, unless you count some references to the violent bits in the first part.

50 days.

You spin the plastic coin on the table in front of you and sip your beer while you contemplate it. The coin says 30 days because it counts from when you first started Narcotics Anonymous, but really it’s 50 days since you’ve taken any kind of drug except alcohol. You know that you’re not supposed to touch that either but it’s not like you’re getting dead drunk. Just a drink to take the edge off. You work in a bar. It would be a bummer for the clients and the rest of the staff if you refused to drink anything at all. Besides, alcohol was never the problem. The other stuff was the problem.

Still, you’ve avoided mentioning anything about working in a bar or having a few drinks a week to anyone at your NA meetings. You’ve told them that you’re a waitress at a restaurant. That’s almost the same thing.

You look around the cramped room that’s become home. It came furnished and the landlord lets you pay in cash every week, which is the arrangement you need, but it’s not exactly thrilling to come back to at the end of a shift. There’s a small table that looks like it’s out of the seventies that just barely fits between the end of the bed and the wall. And you have to be careful to push the sole chair all the way in when you get up or it blocks the door. There’s one grimy window that looks out onto the fire escape and the alley below where homeless people and hookers come to relieve themselves or take whatever drugs they’ve managed to get their hands on.

It’s irritating that you know you could actually afford a better place; not an expensive place but an actual apartment. Between the amount remaining in the bag you grabbed from the sinking car and the salary you’re pulling down from work (although that’s under the table), you’re doing better than the residents of this shithole building. But getting an apartment would mean putting your name on a lease, getting a credit check, declaring income. That’s still not safe. You don’t know if that will ever be safe.

45 days ago, you’d come to in the night lying face down in the woods, moss and twigs and dirt stuck to your skin everywhere. You felt like someone was pounding a railway spike into your forehead and when you touched the point where the pain was centered, you could feel a cut. Your arms hurt. Your ribs hurt. Your knees hurt. You were soaking wet. But you were awake and you had a bag of money underneath you.

The moon was so bright that it illuminated the area around you, not that it helped much. You were in the wild. After a few minutes, you became aware of some unnatural noise coming from near the river and squinted to see what was there.

The commotion was coming from the far side of the river, the whirring of a heavy engine and the grinding of tires against the ground, followed by men’s voices. This repeated a few times and you crept forward, staying on your stomach, to get a better look. That’s when you’d seen the lights. Flashlights, the flashing amber light of the tow truck, the blue and red of a police car parked a little further back. You had to squint because the lights hurt your eyes but squinting hurt even more. But gradually, you’d been able to see what was happening: they were pulling the car out of the river. It was agonizingly slow work but inch by inch, your boyfriend’s car was rising from its murky resting place.

“Shit!” yells one of the men. “Stop it, cut the engine, we got a body!”

A body. Just one? Or just one that they could see? Did one person escape? Was there another body in the river? Did they know that this accident was connected to a drug crime? Did they even know about what had happened at that downtrodden little house, the one you’d fled?

You never knew.

You’d curled up next to a fallen tree trunk and tried to stay warm for the rest of the night. The pain in your head kept you from falling asleep and early the next morning, you’d started walking. You didn’t go back to the apartment you’d shared with Johnnie. You didn’t even go back to the town. You’d kept walking parallel to the highway, occasionally checking road signs to get your bearings. You’d walked for five days. You rested as little as possible, although the longer you walked, the more rest you needed. You drank water from streams or springs when you could find them, or directly out of the river. You ate leaves. You ate tree bark. You ate dirt. You hadn’t known enough to try the berries or mushrooms you saw along the way.

After five days, you finally reached the city. You’d been there before but not in years. It was far enough away from your town to be a hassle to get to. It was far enough away for you to disappear and be safe.

You’d sat down at a fountain downtown and washed yourself off as best you could. Then you’d gone to the first greasy spoon you found and ate a huge breakfast. Then you’d found your way to the part of town where seedy landlords rented rooms to people who didn’t want to answer questions.

For two weeks, you’d barely left your room and even then, you only left after dark. You expected the police to arrive at any time and haul you back home to face charges or at least to answer a lot of questions but it never happened. After those two weeks had passed, you knew there was no chance that the story was still in the news, if it ever had been, and you’d started to look for a job. You also joined Narcotics Anonymous. You went to meetings in the evening. You worked at night. After a month, you still felt uneasy that people might get too good a look at you, that someone was going to come for you.

You take another gulp of your beer and touch your forehead. The cut has healed but it’s never stopped hurting. The pain wakes you up some days, bad enough to bring you to tears. But whatever damage you suffered, it’s going to have to get better on its own because going to a hospital is too risky. In case of an absolute emergency, you have your sister’s old driver’s license that you used to use to get into bars when you were underage.

Unconsciously, your hand falls to the leather bag at your feet. You’d replaced the satchel the day after you’d found this place. Nothing fancy, just an old messenger bag but it was sturdier and had a good thick double zipper. The bag went everywhere you went, no exceptions. You slept with your arms wrapped around it. It was a little lighter than it had been but there was still plenty left. You’d never even bothered to count it. You bought what you needed and very little else: cheap food, thrift store clothes, a few cans of beer from the corner store.

Your head throbs for a while, enough that the vision in your left eye goes a bit blurry, but then it subsides, as it always does. You’ve got this, you tell yourself. You made it out of the car. You made it out of the woods. You’ve bought yourself the time you need to figure out what to do next, how to make your life into something.

Rather than climb into bed, you open a second beer. You can tell this is one of those nights that you need to stay awake until your body simply can’t handle it anymore. If you let yourself drift off to sleep, you can tell that the nightmares are going to come, the nightmares where you’re back near the river, trying to lift yourself but your head hurts too much and your soaked body is too heavy. And as you’re trying to get up, you see them: Cynthia crawls from the river, her body shattered and bloated, her eyes opaque, and nearby you can see Johnnie staring at you. His face is unchanged, but there’s blood streaming from his nose and mouth. He doesn’t seem to notice. His eyes stay locked on you as Cynthia creeps ever closer, snarling and sobbing.

The best thing about your job is that you get some actual human interaction. You’re happy to talk to the regulars and to the ones who just stop in. It’s not a glamorous place but it’s a few steps above a true dive. There’s a long-standing clientele, people who were coming here before the current owner bought the place. But young people are showing up with increasing frequency, people desperate to find cheap rents and willing to take a chance on a neighborhood that’s still pretty scary. In a few years, this whole area is going to be gentrified and places like the one where you work will be hip hotspots and if you want to stay unknown, you’ll have to move somewhere else. Perhaps by then, you’ll be able to live something like a normal life. Perhaps you’ll find a way to a decent apartment and you’ll be able to make actual friends. Until then, you make friendly chit chat with the motley mix of patrons and keep yourself to yourself.

By law, you’re allowed to stay open until two but by about twelve-thirty or so, it’s always empty. Your boss has told you to lock up whenever it gets dead and trusts that you won’t just keep the place open to get an extra hour or two of pay. And you’ve never once taken advantage of him. Your nest egg means you don’t have to.

But sometimes, you’ll lock the door and pour yourself a drink (that you pay for) and sit in silence, watching the streets through the tinted windows, the cars of hollering college kids, the prostitutes hurling insults at drivers who disrespect them, the occasional wide-eyed suburbanites and tourists who came because a couple of edgy websites recommended a couple of nearby restaurants for a sort of “authentic” experience of the city.

Mostly, though, you find yourself watching for Him.

You don’t know who he is. You don’t even know his name, much less his back story, but the second you see him, it’s like there’s nothing else that exists. He seems to own, or at least be in charge of, the place across the street, the shop that advertises tarot, palmistry, charms, amulets, books of secret knowledge, and more. It has an inappropriate-seeming neon sign that screams “FORTUNES TOLD” and there’s a collection of strange trinkets in the window in front of a black curtain that obscures the interior.

Whatever goes on in there, the place keeps the weirdest schedule you’ve ever seen. You’ve taken to casing it, dropping by work when you’re not really needed so that you can try to discern a pattern, but there is none. Sometimes, the place is open in the afternoons. Sometimes, it opens in the early evening, around when your shift starts. Often, it opens during the night, or right at the end of your shift. Sometimes, it stays open all night, which you know because a couple of times you’ve sat here waiting it out. Other times, it’s like the place only opens for an hour or two.

The erratic schedule doesn’t seem to bother customers, though. They’ll show up whenever, sometimes visiting the bar and waiting until they see the sign flicker to life. Whenever he’s there, people show up. Especially women.

You can’t blame them for that. The first time you saw him, it was like all the oxygen was sucked out of your body. Your head started to throb a little and you shivered, despite the fact that it was summer. There he was, tall and muscular, his sleeveless shirt showing off his powerful arms, marked with tattoos. His dark hair was shaved at the sides but cascaded past his shoulders. He’s given to running his long fingers through it, the movement consciously slow and sensual, as if he knows he has an audience. Sometimes, he’ll come out and smoke a cigarette on the doorstep, stretching out every part of his long frame in a way that leaves your throat dry.

He seems to know a lot of the people who come to see him, or perhaps that’s just part of the act: he wants people to think he’s been waiting for them.

Tonight, it’s close to one when he shows up, casual as ever, and your eyes are fixed to him as he opens the security door and disappears inside. A moment later, the neon sign flickers to life. You bite down on your thumb as you imagine yourself crossing the street as if you’re just curious because you work so close, telling him that there’s a man you’re intrigued by but are too shy to approach, and asking him to do a reading to tell you if there’s a chance for you.

You’ve imagined this before. You’ve imagined this a lot. It’s a fantasy you’ve thought about many nights in your gross little room, thinking of how he’d grab you and throw you down on the table, tarot cards scattering everywhere, maybe The Lovers falling next to the two of you as you indulge your wild passions…

Once he’s been inside for a few minutes, you finish wiping up, packing the bottles into boxes for return, counting the cash, and starting the dishwasher. Your tasks completed, you head out, locking the door behind you. It’s only when you cut an inadvertent glance across the street that you see him on the step, eyes fixed on you.

He takes a drag from his cigarette and smiles at you, and you give him what you hope is a natural looking smile in return.

You start to head down the street when you hear a deep voice behind you.

“Nice night.”

He grins again when you turn to look at him, like he’s pleased he caught your attention.

“Yeah,” you answer, “very nice.”

The two of you lock eyes for a long moment and just as you start to leave, he speaks again.

“You should come by sometime. I’ll tell you your future.”

“I don’t know if I believe in that,” you stammer.

“Give it a shot. It’s on the house.”

He drops his cigarette and grinds it into the pavement with his heel, giving you another wicked grin as he steps back into the shop. And part of you wants to go rushing in after him but you stop yourself, because on the off chance that he is the real deal, you don’t want to risk anyone finding out who and what you really are. Better to go back to your dank little room and imagine what could happen from the safety of your bed. Which is exactly what you’re going to do.

A couple of nights later, he ups the ante.

Around eleven, he saunters into the bar like he owns the place and gives you a look like he can’t believe you haven’t taken him up on his offer.

It’s not busy but there are a few guys lined up along the bar and two or three clusters of people at the tables, and you’re on your own, which makes it tricky because all you want to do is crawl on top of him and tell him all the nasty thoughts you’ve had about him. This is made worse by the fact that he doesn’t ever seem to take his eyes off you, shifting however he has to in order to make sure he’s always got you in his field of vision. He’s being incredibly obvious and doesn’t seem to care.

“So what can I get you tonight?” you greet him brightly, trying to choke back your nervousness.

“You know how to make a whiskey sour?” he asks in a voice that’s almost unnaturally deep and earthy.

“Yeah, honey, I think I can figure it out.”

“Well, give it a try but I’ll warn you, I’m a pretty fussy guy when it comes to cocktails.”

“Oh good,” you sigh, “a critic.”

Truthfully, you don’t remember exactly what goes into a whiskey sour and you have to Google it. Then there’s the fun of finding the right ingredients, although you’re pleased to find out that the bar actually has them. You resist the urge to make a test one for yourself because you wouldn’t know what it was supposed to taste like anyway and whiskey has never been your thing.

When you go to place it on the bar in front of him, you feel a soft tremor run through your body, like you’re afraid of his judgment but also because, looking into his dark eyes, you feel this sense of fate. Yes, you’re attracted to him. You’re very attracted to him and you haven’t felt that in a while. And you have a bit of interest in what it is he does, whether he believes there’s magic and power in the things he sells or if he’s just making a few bucks off gullible people. You even catch yourself wondering if he could be the real deal.

He notices your hand shaking and gives a wry smile.

“Am I scaring you?”

“I haven’t been sleeping well,” you snap back, more curtly than you intended.

He raises his glass to you. “Here’s to the power of a good, long rest.”

Your head starts to throb a little and unconsciously, you touch your forehead, willing it to stop.

“Must have been a hell of an accident.”

That’s enough to distract you and you turn to face him again. “I’m sorry?”

“You just flinched like you were in pain and you touched your head. There’s a little scar where you touched it. So I’m guessing you were in an accident not too far back.”

You’d thought that the scar was healed enough that other people wouldn’t notice. No one had mentioned it to you but now you figure they were just being polite.

“Just a bump on the head. I made out ok.”

“But maybe someone else didn’t?”

Once again, your whole body shakes and this time, it’s like your skeleton becomes hot, burning hot, your ribs especially pressing with the force of iron tongs into your chest.

“What the hell are you talking about?” you hiss, hardly able to make sound.

He keeps smiling his mysterious little smile and takes a long sip of his drink. “This is pretty good. Especially for someone who hasn’t made one before.”

“I never said that I hadn’t made one before. Just like I never said I was in an accident with someone else.”

He takes another deep swallow of the cocktail and rises to leave. “But I’m right about both, aren’t I?” Seeing your scowl, he continues, “I’m Damian and I have a gift for knowing things about people. If you wanna see how much of a gift, like I said, you should come by and let me read your fortune.”

“Yeah, maybe.” You try to sound casual but you know, even before he smiles triumphantly, that you’re going to accept his invitation as soon as you close up for the night.

#damian priest fanfic #damian priest imagine #nxt imagine #nxt fanfiction #wwe fanfiction #wwe imagine #wayward wrestle writing

19 notes · View notes

godlyborn · 3 years

Text

will you be my breath through the deep, deep water? / beckett & hailey.

date: early april 2018 summary: beck’s addiction takes a toll on the twins. trigger warning: car accident, drunk driving, addiction

Beck wasn’t that sore, but he knew that he would feel everything tomorrow morning. Beck was pouting when the police made him take a breathalyzer, but did it anyway, knowing if he denied it, he’d get arrested anyway. Beck was slightly relieved when it came out just below the legal limit. Though he was nervous at how Hailey would react as her car was wrapped around a light pole, possibly totaled. The paramedics were checking him out now as he sat in the ambulance as they did so. He was mostly fine, probably from sheer luck, except for a nice seatbelt burn, a forming bruise on the same collarbone he busted going through a glass table when he was eighteen and wasted, and a cut on the side of his temple. The cut was what they were checking out mostly, to see if he needed to go to the hospital because of it or not.

Beck felt numb, and he was sobering up pretty quickly from the adrenaline rush that he was feeling after the crash. He hated the sobering part, he always felt so hit with numbness than intense emotion and he wasn’t sure which part of that was worse. Beck watched as a car pulled up, and he knew instantly the police had called his twin. It was her car wrapped around that light pole anyway.

Hailey had started feeling numb when the unknown number first called her. It seemed lucky that the call had come just as she walked into the locker room to change after her late night tai-chi class, but now that she was sitting in the car her co-worker was a saint to lend her, she wasn't really able to feel anything at all. The police hadn't given her too many details, since they still needed to verify her identity when she arrived on the scene, but had laid out the basics. There was crash that involved her car. Instantly, her brain went to her tossing her keys to Beck before leaving for her class, and the panic was just barely able to be contained under her skin as she struggled not to press the gas down harder, praying that her brother was safe.

It felt like a year, but eventually Hailey arrived at the scene of the crash. Almost instantly, the sight of her car wrapped around the pole made her want to vomit, though she assumed that was mainly the stress taking over. Her attempts at locating Beck were delayed as she was stopped by two cops, checking her ID and making sure her information checked out before allowing her under the tape. The first place her eyes darted to was the ambulance, praying that she wouldn't see Beckett laying on a stretcher, and she let out a sob when she saw him sitting instead. "Beck!" Her feet moved faster then her head, and before she knew it, she was throwing her arms around her twins neck and pulling him into her arms. At first, all that came out of her mouth was quiet "Thank you"'s towards the gods for keeping him safe, before she pulled back and cradled his face in her hands. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Beck definitely smelled like alcohol, it was either from just himself or maybe it was from someone who spilled some of their drink on him, he wasn’t entirely sure. A lot happened that night, he was sure that he was okay to drive. Beck made a face when she cradled his face in her arms. “Hailey, it’s okay, l’m okay,” he insisted. The paramedics cleared him to go, telling him he was lucky to not have a broken nose from the airbags and they wanted to know if he would want to go to the hospital to make sure. Which in return he denied. He knew that he had some ambrosia at home that would make him feel better than anything the hospital would give him. “I’m sorry about your car,” he said. Beck’s eyes flashed over from Hailey to the car, his face flooding with fear, only for a second. It was weird, it was like he knew he had been in there, but at the same time felt like he hadn’t, like it was someone else.

Not caring about the face he made, Hailey kept her hands where they were, doing her own inspection of his face despite the paramedics having already done the same thing. There was a slightly glazed look in his eyes that was clearing up, but that mixed with the smell of booze didn’t make it difficult to figure out what had happened. He was drunk. Of course he was.

Hailey could feel herself deflating as it processed in her brain and her hands slipped off of Beck’s face, her arms now moving to wrap around her torso, as if she needed help to support herself. “I don’t give a shit about the car, Beck.” She responded, stepping back as the paramedics moved back in to clear him. Her eyes moved once again to the car in question, wincing at how bad the damage was. It was definitely totaled. “Thank god for car insurance.” She mumbled, letting out an exhausted sigh before moving towards the wreck. Her feet felt like they weighed a ton each, but forced herself to keep going to see what she could salvage from the wreck.

It was like in sync, Beck shut down the minute Hailey deflated. He wanted to scream to her that he was scared, that he thought he was okay, to talk to him, say something to make him feel less alone, but no words came out. It was like a part of him was stopping him from stepping over that edge. That part would open the flood gates and he wasn’t sure if he could handle that, no he knew that he couldn’t handle that. “Hailey, I...” he started but trailed off. Then it was too late as she walked over to her car. Beck signed some papers, was granted a ticket from the police officer, and he followed his sister. He watched as the tow truck pulled up, and there was a glaze in his eyes, not from being impaired, but as he separated his emotions from himself. Hailey deflated and he needed to be okay, he already caused her enough pain tonight. “Hailey, the tow truck’s here,” he said.

It was a bit difficult to get the door open, but a few good tugs later and the metal bent in her favor, allowing Hailey access to her backseat. Crawling up and over the center console, she immediately reached for the keychain hanging from her rear view mirror - the same one that used to hang in their dad’s truck when they were younger, as well as the guardian angel pin their grandmother had given them before they were taken away from them. A few more minor things, most of them Hailey wasn’t even fully aware of grabbing since it all just felt like an out of body experience.

Beck speaking pulled her back to herself and she glanced up at her brother before nodding and crawling back over the console. Looking back over where her rear windshield used to be she knew there was no chance of getting the trunk open and mentally made a note of having to get a new set of jumper cables at some point. She took another second to rest her head on the backseat, forcing back the tears threatening to explode out of her, before stepping out of her car, arms full of her salvaged belongings. “You can get in the car if you want, I left it unlocked. I’m gonna make sure they don’t need anything else from us.”

Beck nodded at Hailey, getting into the passenger seat of her co-worker’s car. Beck leaned his head against his hand, against the car window. He watched as Hailey approached the car, a frown on his face knowing that he was the reason she looked so upset. He wished it was anything but that, he wanted her to scream at him, something. He deserved it after all, he had probably deserved it for a while. The silence was deafening. When she opened the door, “Hailey, please say something,” he said.

The tow truck driver was nice enough to give Hailey a plastic bag for her small collection, which was now dangling from her arm as she walked back to the car. She had been assured that they would get the report into her insurance company and hopefully some good news on getting a rental sooner rather than later. She took one more glance at the car she knew she was never going to see again, let out another sigh, then popped open the driver's side door and climbed.

Picking up on the tension between the two of them, Hailey said nothing as she started up the car, not sure what she was even suppose to say in a situation like this. Just as she was about to put the car into drive, Beck had to request her voice. Her hands clenched on the wheel, and she kept her eyes anywhere but focused on her brother. "Please, don't." Her voice was small - something that she had always resented, because she was anything but meak. But, she felt like there a weight pressing down on her body and she just wanted to get home and sob into a pillow for the rest of the night, rather then here in the car. "I just wanna go home, okay?"

Beck obeyed, knowing immediately not to push, not now. He looked out the window, watching the horizon as they drove home. He hated the tension in the car, he hated what he done, and there were so many pieces of his brain that were struggling to put themselves together. Inside his head, all the emotions were starting to hit him, he was stoic on the outside, but on the inside it was like he was screaming, his mind was racing. He was exhausted, physically and mentally.

The twins didn’t talk as they entered the threshold of their college apartment. He wondering if MIT would here about his ticket that day. He hoped Tyche would be on his side that night, though it seemed that she already had been. Beck stood, waiting for Hailey to say something when they got home, following her with his eyes. He didn’t dare speak again yet.

The longer the drive went on, the heavier the tension felt. Hailey knew that she had to say something, but she just couldn't find the words, so the drive was spent in silence instead. She couldn't quite remember the time between them leaving the scene of the crash and parking in front of their apartment, yet Hailey found herself shutting the front door and leaning her entire body weight against it, deflating once again. She covered her face with her hands, mentally and physically drained just like her twin.

"Please stop staring at me." Most of the drive must have been spent trying to get herself put back together, as her voice was stronger once again. Her hands fell away from her face as she looked over at Beck, hoping he couldn't see that her eyes were still glassy. "What exactly do you want me to say?"

Beck leant against the wall across from the door. “I don’t know,” he told her, making a shrug gesture with his arms. “Anything. Cry, scream at me, anything. I just totaled the car like an idiot, and you’re not even calling me an idiot.” Beck sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his head down. Beck could hear his heart beat in his ears. He felt sick. “Gods Hailey, I want you to be mad at me. I fucking deserve it.” He looked back at her with his own eyes, glassy. He sunk down the wall, before settling on the floor. Beck was unsteady, he was shaking, still trying to hold back everything he was feeling. God, he just wanted another drink. He wanted these emotions to go away, to get buried instead of them burying him. The anxiety finally was catching up to him after spending years of trying to avoid it. “Gods know if I could, I’d scream at myself. Hailey, I want you to tell my what you’re thinking.” Beck hated that he couldn’t read his sister’s face like usual. It was like everything that he had been doing lately has been tearing them apart and he didn’t know how to stop it, even though he wanted to. He couldn’t control it and it was tearing him apart.

Clearly, her twin had no idea how close she was to tears - something that would've been more shocking if her head was on right. Normally, the two of them could read each other like a book - sometimes it was infuriating how well if she was being honest, but it was like there was a wall between them, rather than the totally open space of their apartment. She watched him slide down to the floor and normally she would be walking over to hold his hand and reassure him, but tonight her feet didn't budge.

Hailey was beyond mad, that much she was aware of, but she was also stressed, tired and just done with this whole game they've been playing. "Fuck, Beck. Of course I'm mad, I'm fucking pissed right now." She could feel her throat tightened as the words left, but she did her best to push past them. "I'm so beyond pissed that you got behind that wheel, you have no idea. But I don't give a shit about the car!" Hailey's voice was slowly raising in volume and she could feel the tears burning behind her eyes. "What I'm thinking is that I'm so fucking relived that you were able to walk away. I thought I was going to show up and you were going to be seriously hurt, or worse." She definitely did not want to elaborate on that thought, or how it would have been her worst nightmare coming true.

Beck felt himself flinch when Hailey’s voice grew louder. Beck looked at the ground, listening to Hailey’s word, and by the time he looked up, tears were streaming down his face. It was like something broke in him, something that was teetering on the edge of a countertop and someone just hit it over. “I thought I was okay,” Beck said, he wanted to add that he didn’t even blow the legal limit, but he couldn’t even say what really caused him to swerve on the road. He couldn’t piece together between leaving his friend’s and when the car was on the light pole. He shook his head, looking down again, letting the tears fall. Beck ran his hands over his face. “I thought I was okay,” he said, quieter this time. That time you could tell it meant more than just the car. He just didn’t know how to say it.

Hailey wanted to retort, say that clearly he wasn't okay, but she couldn't get the words to come out, especially as she watched Beckett break down on their floor. They both knew that this was about something way bigger than the car and that mixed with how broken her brother's voice was caused the tears to break through and stream down her cheeks.

Forcing her feet to move, she crouched down in front of her twin and reached out to grab his hands, her grip almost too tight, but she couldn't tell. "You have no idea how much it kills me inside that I can't protect you from this." Hailey has always been the type of person that couldn't comprehend how to deal with situations where she couldn't do anything physically. She could do something about him being getting hurt, but this? It was a mental thing and there was nothing for her to get her hands on and force away but Beckett himself, leaving Hailey to feel useless and defeated as she sobbed. "I thought there was a chance that I had lost you tonight and I have no idea what I would've done if I had. I can't lose you too, Beck, I can't do this without you."

Beck’s heart swelled at Hailey’s words. “I know, I know,” he replied. “I just,” Beck let out a sigh. “I don’t know what to do Hailey. I’m so scared.” Beck put his head in his hands, shaking it. Everything was coming out now. He couldn’t delay it anymore. “I’m so scared to deal with it all. I thought it made me feel better, that it was easier, but now I don’t know how to fix it. Everything is so messed up Hailey, and I’m scared.”

Suddenly, Beckett's hand were torn from her grasp and her hands fluttered around for a moment before resting on her knees. "I'm scared too, Beck. I'm so fucking scared, but I'm not leaving you to deal with this alone, okay? I'm here, whatever you need. We'll get through this." Fleeting thoughts of late nights spent in front of the computer, waking up on her desk with a blanket thrown over her shoulder came to her mind. She was nervous about bringing it up, but they may not have much of a choice anymore. "We'll get through this, Beck. I promise."

Beck looked up from his hands, his face tear stained, eyes red, and he was starting to get a migraine. There was a little blood on his hand from irritating the new cut on his head. “I thought I had it under control, Hailey, I really did. I didn’t mean to put you through all this. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said. He thought about when he really first sensed he had a problem, but he wasn’t ready to fix it, he wasn’t entirely ready to face everything sober. He couldn’t remember the last time he faced something fully sober. That scared him. He remembers trying to detox once, without telling Hailey, and he couldn’t get through it. It felt wrong, and it felt like something wasn’t right, he was so sick. Later he found out that it was really dangerous to detox from alcohol yourself sometimes. So he put it off out of fear, and anxiety to ask for help. It just spiraled more later, partly because he had the added stress of realizing his problem. He was then mostly drinking to keep himself from getting sick, going overboard on his more stressful days.

“Do you remember that packet of rehabs that just so happened to appear on my desk one day?” he asked, knowing that Hailey had put it there, trying not to force him. He appreciated that she never forced him, he’d just push her away more.

Beck took a shaky breath. “I don’t think this is something that we can do ourselves Hailey.” Beck said, vaguely. He didn’t want to admit it to Hailey how much he really drank to avoid getting sick.

Hailey's eyes fluttered up to the now bleeding cut on his head, as if she just noticed he had it. Her hand reached back out, gently wiping the blood off of her twin's face, dueling as her reassuring herself once again that he was in front of her. Not exactly okay, but still with her. It did wonders to soothe her heart and balm some of the anger and anxiety that remained. "We'll get through it." She repeated in response to his apologies, letting her hand come off of his forehead and rested it back on his.

The question made her pause for a second, then she nodded. "I do. Remember all the times you found me passed out on the desk?" The older they got, the better they knew the other then they knew themselves, which includes how to best introduce a difficult topic to the other. She had let him see what she was up, but never forced him to look at it, letting him come to terms with everything for himself. "I don't think we can either. So we get help."

Beckett felt like he was a child all over again, with his mother fighting his monsters, comforting him when he was scared. When it wasn't his mom, it was his older sister. Beck knew, despite the struggles he often faced, it was Hailey who would come and help fight his demons, though unseen, though only being seventeen minutes older than him. The twins may have lost their parents, but they never lost someone who looked out for them. They always looked out for each other. Beck didn't know when he forgot that Hailey was there for him, he had spent so long feeling like he didn't have that person like he once had when he had nightmares as a kid, or people picked on him for his interests in school when they lost their mom. Beck was starting to really see that Hailey was that person.

Beck leaned his head against Hailey's hand that rested on his, silent for a long moment. Beck let out a small laugh, and lifted his head. The adrenaline wearing off, and the slight pain starting to set in as he was really starting to sober up."Sorry, I just," he said. "I was just thinking, you're always there to catch me when I fall. I'm sorry I didn't realize until now. I'm sorry I haven't been a better brother. I just, I was really trying, Hailey. I just didn't want to worry you. It sounds ridiculous."

Hailey watched as Beckett seemed to stare right through her, eyebrows furrowing as she took in her brother's appearance. She hadn't seem him look like so....so deflated since they lost their parents, but it made sense after everything they've been through tonight. While she knew that she was older by a small degree, while they sat on the floor of their dimly lit apartment, the age difference between them seemed like years apart rather than a few minutes. For the millionth time that night, she thanked the gods that they hadn't taken him from her as he seemed to focus back in and speak again.

The tears were still dripping from her face, but Hailey gave him a small smile at his apology. "What are sisters for?" She was still unsure how she was feeling from the night's events and knew that sleep wasn't going to come easy tonight, if at all, but she did her best to push it aside and stand up onto shaky legs. Stretching her hands out, she offered them to her brother to help him to his feet as well. "Come on, we have ambrosia hidden around here somewhere." They'll take this one step at a time, but Hailey could already feel like things were changing, the wall between that had somehow gotten so big was starting to crack and she was more than ready to get her brother back.

#beckett #d:beck #d:beckhailey #beckhailey #discord #beckhailey2 #chris

2 notes · View notes

lady-divine-writes · 4 years

Text

A Change in the Weather AU (inspired by Cacophonylights's A Change in the Weather) - Chapter 33

Notes: I have some good news and some good news! I am sorry that this chapter is up late, and looks smaller than I claimed it would be. But that's because it's half of the original chapter! This chapter ended up being over 12k words long, and very heavy (emotionally) in some parts. Also, it went through an extensive re-write because some parts bothered me. But I feel that it is completely fixed and 1000 percent better. And the best part is, there will be a second chapter up today in a few hours! And after that, only one chapter left. So, as always, thank you all so much for following me on this crazy race to the finish. I hope you enjoy what I've written. Please be aware that in this chapter, Kurt and Sebastian talk a little more about his sexual assault so be warned. There's nothing graphic, but it still could be triggering.

Read on AO3.

It takes forty-seven minutes for the tow truck to arrive, and it’s by no means a run-of-the-mill flatbed tow truck like the one Kurt’s father owns.

No, the tow truck that pulls up to chauffeur Julian’s precious Jag home is a fully-equipped repair shop on wheels - a temperature controlled box truck with the name of the company (aptly called Luxury Tow) stenciled along the gleaming white outside in elaborate calligraphy, the script such a pale shade of silver, you wouldn’t see it at all if you weren’t looking for it. Kurt knows about these trucks. They’ve become something of a novelty among luxury car dealers and owners, the thought process being that no one should ever see a luxury car on the bed of a tow truck, and never, ever dragged on the asphalt.

Not for the preservation of the brand. His father has towed luxury cars on his flatbed just fine.

It’s for the preservation of the owners’ ego.

Emotional exhaustion is making Kurt catty on that point because the reality is it protects the overall investment that is an eighty-thousand plus dollar car. There’s less of a chance of getting your vehicle dinged up or expensive paint jobs scratched if they’re safe inside another larger vehicle.

The chandelier hanging from the top inside of the truck, however, Kurt can safely say might be a tad much.

Sebastian refuses to let go of Kurt while the drivers load up Julian’s car, but he is kind enough to re-position so that Kurt can get a better view of the inside. The tow truck is ridiculous, to be honest, and Sebastian acknowledges that with a sheepish grin, but their family has a membership, he explains, so it’s the only tow company they use.

Besides, it’s the height of excess, therefore it suits Julian and his car.

Kurt forgets how over-the-top rich people can be, seeing as, outside of Dalton, the only truly wealthy people he knows exist inside the spreads of magazines.

Sometimes he forgets just how frickin’ rich the Smythe family is, too, considering Sebastian didn’t even bat an eye when this truck appeared.

As to why the name of the company sans contact information is printed along the side in paint so light no one in the universe would ever be able to see it?

“They don’t need to advertise,” Sebastian says. “If someone can afford to hire them, then they’ll have their number already.”

Ouch.

Kurt doesn’t know why, but when Sebastian explains that to him, he feels like he’s been insulted.

After they see the drivers off, Kurt and Sebastian collect Julian from his booth by the window and lay him out on the backseat of Sebastian’s Mustang. Julian mumbles sleepily about the leather reeking of sex before he collapses on his face and starts snoring.

The drive from The Draft Room to the Smythe estate is another quiet one, with Kurt and Sebastian’s fingers laced together over the gear shift and Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 playing over the car’s speakers. To Kurt, even as a low hum, it’s an anxiety inducing piece, but the fast runs and rapid tempo help keep his mind from wandering. He wants to be available for Sebastian should Sebastian need to talk. Though what Sebastian feels comfortable revealing with his brother in the back seat, even asleep, Kurt isn’t certain.

As it turns out - he reveals nothing.

The tow truck is waiting at the gates of the estate when they arrive. Sebastian lets them in and leads them to the family garage. What follows is a blur of shuffling cars and signing paperwork. Sebastian sees the tow truck drivers off, then he and Kurt gather Julian up once again, help him to his room, and put him to bed, similar to the way Sebastian did for Kurt after the gala.

This must be why Sebastian was so good at it.

He’s had practice.

Sebastian’s phone buzzes, vibrating his pocket. He pulls it out, looks at the screen, and frowns.

“Who is it?” Kurt asks in the middle of removing Julian’s shoes.

“It’s Olivia.” Sebastian stares long at his boyfriend undressing his brother, in his bed of all places. Kurt reads the discomfort on Sebastian’s face. He stops at Julian’s shoes, pulling a blanket over the rest of his clothed body, and Sebastian seems to relax. “I should really …”

“Go on and take it,” Kurt says. “Give her my love. I’ve got this. I’ll be with you in a second.”

Sebastian doesn’t seem too ecstatic about leaving his boyfriend in a bedroom alone with his brother, but he steps out into the hallway anyway, shutting the door till only a sliver remains.

Kurt pulls the blanket up to Julian’s neck and smooths it over his shoulders. He fetches a waste basket from the bathroom and sets it next to the bed just in case. Kurt isn’t sure how much Julian actually drank before they got there, doesn’t know how well the man handles his alcohol.

Or if there was only alcohol involved in his pity party.

Kurt stops a second before turning out the light to steal a glance at Julian’s room. He’s been in here a few times, done an investigative sweep. As with Sebastian’s room, when he first came in here, he didn’t know what to expect. Probably the same thing he’d expected of Sebastian’s room. But the reality is more startling than what it could have been because Julian’s room is so similar to Sebastian’s room, they could have belonged to the same person at different points in their life. They have different furniture - Julian’s is a golden, honey wood as opposed to Sebastian’s dark. But they both have walls covered in photographs and art, shelves filled with CDs and books galore.

The thing that strikes Kurt as most interesting is that Julian has posters of obscure French bands framed on his walls that Kurt would think he’d see in Sebastian’s room, too, since Sebastian has t-shirts for one or two of them. Which makes their absence significant in Kurt’s mind.

Just another mystery for Kurt to puzzle through when he gets the time.

Kurt’s eyes pave a path across the walls, then back to Julian passed out on the bed. He sighs. Things could have been different, he thinks. He doesn’t know how different. He doesn’t know how much of Julian’s actions had an effect on which part of Sebastian’s decision making, but it still stands.

Things could have been different. They should have been different.

Kurt switches off the lamp, intent on leaving, but Julian’s hand locked lightly around his wrist stops him. Julian looks a mess - creases from his jacket imprinted on ruddy cheeks where he laid against his sleeves; eyes shimmering from a steady leak of tears; his lips swollen from biting.

A certifiable mess, but a breathtaking one.

“I know what you probably think of me,” Julian starts in a calloused voice. “Knowing what you know now.”

“I don’t think you do,” Kurt says soothingly, carefully removing his wrist from Julian’s grasp and tucking his arm back beneath the blanket.

“I just want you to know … I had no intention of taking you away from him. I know how I come across but that’s … that’s not what I was ever trying to do. I wasn’t going to let history repeat itself …” Julian’s disarming smile returns for the fleetest of seconds “… no matter how pretty you are.”

“Thank you. That’s good to know.”

“The two of you belong together.” Julian rolls to his side, gathering the edge of the blanket and holding it tight under his chin. “I knew it from the first time (*yawn*) I heard Sebby mention you.”

“And when was that?” Kurt asks, not sure what he expects to hear. Sebastian told his brother about their ruse, so Julian should know that any tale Sebastian told him is a work of fiction, not fact.

“Don’t remember,” Julian mumbles. “Dad asked Sebby what you did that won him over, and he said …” He stops, literally can’t continue past a sudden bout of snickering.

“What?” Kurt asks, burning with curiosity.

“... that you said …”

“What!?” Kurt groans, eager to get this over with so he can get back to Sebastian.

“... he smelled like Craigslist.” Julian snorts. It’s such an obscene sound, Kurt laughs out loud, and not politely. It’s not until Julian’s breathing begins to even out that Kurt realizes what he said.

Smells like Craigsllist? But that was …? Could he really …? No, that can’t …

When Kurt first met Sebastian’s father, he’d said they’d heard so much about him. He’d never ventured to ask how much. Maybe he should get around to that one of these days.

Now seems a good time.

“Wait … what? Julian? What did you just say? Julian?”

Kurt comes close to shaking him to get him to answer, but he doesn’t. Before Kurt can press him for more, he’s fast asleep.

***

Sebastian isn’t waiting in the hallway when Kurt finishes in Julian’s room. He’d taken Olivia’s phone call into his room and started getting ready for bed. Shoes had been kicked off and socks flung aside. He was in the middle of slipping on a pair of sweatpants when Kurt heard him say goodbye with the added, “Kurt sends his love,” followed by a, “yes, I’ll tell him. I already said I would. Geez.”

“Tell me what?” Kurt asks, letting himself in the open door.

“Just that she misses you,” Sebastian relays, turning off his phone.

“That’s nice,” Kurt says, honestly beaming. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Sebastian walks over to his desk and deposits his phone on the blotter. “They wanted to make sure we’re all good, that we have everything we need, that sort of thing. Like I’ve never spent the night alone in my own house before. How about Julian?”

“Sleeping it off.”

“Good. He could use it.” Sebastian meanders around his room, mindlessly relocating books and papers from one place to another with seemingly no purpose. “I laid out some clothes for you to sleep in.” He walks over to his bed and sits down beside a pile of carefully folded pants-shirt-underwear.

“Thanks.” Kurt removes his shirt, then his pants. No longer does he scurry to the bathroom to change. He has nothing to hide from Sebastian now.

He hopes Sebastian feels the same.

“Are you tired?” Sebastian asks like he’s feeling Kurt out. “Do you want to go to sleep?”

“I’m kind of wired, to tell you the truth.”

The look on Sebastian’s face becomes tentatively brighter, like that was what he was hoping Kurt would say. “Do you mind … can we talk?”

Dressed in Sebastian’s clothes, Kurt drops down on the mattress across from him. “Sure. What did you feel like talking about?”

“Can I talk to you about … that night?” Sebastian asks, that smallness from outside the bar returning, mostly to his eyes that aren’t begging Kurt to say yes. They’re begging Kurt not to reject him, which is a wholly different thing, but one Kurt understands.

He did the same himself, every time he was on the cusp of telling his father he was gay, praying that his father wouldn’t stop loving him.

“Not all of it. I’m not … I’m not ready for that yet. And tonight’s been kind of …”

“Yeah,” Kurt agrees without Sebastian needing to finish.

“No one outside my family knows about it,” Sebastian says. “I mean, aside from my therapist. And I love my parents and Olivia to death, but when it comes to this, they’re difficult to talk to. They offer, say they’re open to listening, but when I do open up to them, I get the feeling that they don’t so much want to discuss what I went through and how I feel about it, how it affects me to this day, as they hope if I get it out of my system, I’ll forget it. And I understand that. It has to be torture knowing that something like …” Sebastian’s teeth grind to a halt around the words. In the end, he simply omits them “… that happened to one of your children and there was nothing you could do to stop it. Especially considering the circumstances. I mean, when you think about it, I should have been in the best possible hands.” Sebastian shrugs to himself. “To be … to be honest … the assault wasn’t the worst part of the experience. It was terrifying. It gives me nightmares. But … but it’s been the easiest part of that night to work through.”

Kurt tilts his head. “How?”

“It’s the uncomplicated part. The guy who …” Another grinding halt “… he was an asshole. A sick, disgusting, drunk asshole. It helps that he was a stranger, if that makes sense. There was no personal motive behind what he did. It was more a matter of I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. An easy target.”

“Whatever happened to him?” Kurt asks, careful not to make it sound like a demand. He doesn’t want Sebastian thinking he has to answer his questions simply because he asks them.

“Julian wouldn’t let him leave the bathroom. He got a few punches in. Good ones,” Sebastian recalls with a vindictive chuckle that almost sounds proud. “Knocked him out cold. He called the cops and the guy was arrested. But things didn’t go back to normal after that. Nowhere near it. I was afraid of running into him for a while even though I knew I wouldn’t. It became so unbearable, I wouldn’t go out, couldn’t sleep nights. But then I left the country, and for the first time, I wasn’t looking for him in crowds or around corners, anything like that. Because I knew he wouldn’t be there.” Sebastian pauses, looks down at his hands, running the pads of his fingers over his nails, pushing at his cuticles while he gets his thoughts together. “I wasn’t planning on coming back.”

“So … what was the worst part about that night? If you don’t mind …”

“I don’t mind,” Sebastian says softly. Another long pause, but Kurt is willing to wait as long as it takes. When Sebastian finds the strength to look up again, he’s shaking his head, his cheeks wet with tears. “H-how could he do that to me, Kurt?”

“Who?” Kurt more than assumes Sebastian is talking about the man who assaulted him, but it’s never a good practice to assume.

And this time, he’s right not to.

“Julian,” Sebastian says, his voice cracking. “I look back at that night now through jaded eyes and I see it for what it was, what I felt. I had a crush. Just a crush. Not having that guy obviously didn’t destroy me, right? But at the time, it felt like it would. It felt like my entire life was …”

“Over?”

“Yeah.” Sebastian sniffles. “I wasn’t a bad brother, Kurt. Maybe I was a little annoying but I looked up to him. I idolized him. I wanted to be like him.” Sebastian reaches blindly for a tissue from the box by the head of his bed. Kurt gets up and gets it for him. Sebastian takes it with an unspoken thank you. “I guess … in the end … that’s what I did, huh? I became my brother. None of the interesting parts, though,” he adds with a self-deprecating chuckle. “Just the asshole parts.”

Kurt doesn’t know what to say. He could prepare for weeks and still not know what to say. Part of him wants to storm down to Julian’s room and slug him in the face. But Sebastian forgave him. Julian said that when he found Sebastian, Sebastian got in a few punches and then said he wanted his big brother back. There are times when this rift between them seems as far from water under the bridge as they can get. But this all happened long before Kurt even knew the Smythes existed so he should forgive Julian, too. And Kurt can.

But how does Sebastian do it? How do you forget about something like that? All of it? The violation of your body coupled by the betrayal of someone you love? Someone you trust? Kurt knows a little of what that’s like, but he’s not going to pretend that it even compares to what Sebastian went through.

Sebastian sniffles again, blows his nose. He reaches for another tissue but somewhere in between he falters. The tension that’s been hanging around them, binding them together with brittle arms, collapses. Sebastian is the first through the breach. He falls into Kurt’s lap, arms winding around his waist, sobbing into his borrowed white shirt. And since Kurt can’t think of the right thing to say to comfort him, he says what’s in his heart, and hopes that it’s enough.

“I love you, Sebastian,” Kurt whispers, wrapping his arms around Sebastian’s head and leaning over to press kisses into his hair. “I love you. I love you so damn much, and I’m so lucky to have you. I’m yours, and you’re mine. And please …” Kurt chokes on words and tears and a thicket of emotions, but he refuses to let that stop him from saying what he needs to say “… I’m here … and don’t ever forget that.”

***

“So, where do you want to go for lunch after we visit my dad?” Kurt asks, scrolling though dining options on his phone. Kurt doesn’t usually do much in the way of eating out in Lima. With the exception of The Lima Bean and Breadstix, he pretty much avoids Lima, Ohio cuisine like the plague. His father, however, is a huge fan of Lock Sixteen Steakhouse, and Finn and Puck swear by Sir La Charreada. Of course, the top three items on any of their menus are meat, cheese, and some kind of meat bathed in cheese.

The fact that Kurt knows this comes as a side-effect from spending too much time around junk food addicts.

“I don’t know. What is there around here?”

Kurt rolls his head to the left and shoots Sebastian an incredulous look. “Sebastian, this is Lima. It’s a town named after a bean. And not even one of the good ones.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s named after Lima, Peru.”

Kurt side-eyes him, wondering how in the hell he would know that!? He doesn’t even live here! What? While he was collecting blackmail material on him and all his friends, was he digging up dirt on the city Kurt lived in, too?

“Shares a name with, then.”

Sebastian nods. “I see your point.”

“We can swing by Columbus and pick up some sushi. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten any ice water poured in my crotch.”

“Ha-ha,” Sebastian deadpans, though he smiles when Kurt starts laughing and can’t stop. “Just for that, I’m gonna …” Sebastian’s sentence dies on his lips, his expression freezing solid on his face.

“What … what’s wrong?” Kurt follows Sebastian’s eye line out the window towards his house, expecting to see yellow caution tape and an ambulance parked outside since that’s exactly the look Sebastian is wearing. Constantly on edge about his father’s health, it’s the first thing that comes to Kurt’s mind that could put that look on Sebastian’s face.

Sebastian heads for the curb, and immediately Kurt’s own expression goes from afraid to angry.

“What in gay hell …?”

Sitting on Kurt’s front porch is, of all people, Cooper Anderson. And beside him, curled into a ball, hugging his knees …

… Blaine.

Sebastian parks his Mustang in front of Kurt’s house and kills the engine.

Kurt thinks he should feel an overwhelming tide of emotion seeing him. That it should knock him back about twenty feet, transport him through time to a place where he swore he would always love Blaine, where nothing would change that. But what he feels when he lays eyes on him for the first time since the beginning of summer is barely a swell. The boy who used to be perfection by Kurt’s standards is riddled with flaws. Kurt finds himself comparing Blaine to Sebastian the way he used to compare Sebastian to Blaine, but this time Blaine is the one who doesn’t measure up.

“Hey guys!” Cooper greets them as they climb out of the car. “Nice to see you both again.”

“Why are you two here?” Sebastian asks, barreling towards them, taking the lead. And Kurt lets him have it. He has every right to read Cooper for filth and besides, Kurt has forgotten how to make his voice work.

“I got a hold of Olivia. She said you guys were heading to Ohio so we took a chance and came here.”

“So you … just … showed up at my boyfriend’s house and took a chance that we’d stop by?”

Cooper winces at that, as if he was hoping that the subject of Kurt being Sebastian’s boyfriend might conveniently not come up. “Yes? Your dad’s not home, Kurt, but I was going to call if we waited longer than an hour.”

“And you don’t think that plan is a little insane?” Sebastian asks.

Cooper sighs. It almost competes with the sound Sebastian made when he realized Julian was driving back to Westerville and they’d have to follow. “It’s been a long couple of days.”

“Really?” Sebastian says sarcastically. “Why don’t you tell it to someone who cares?”

“I’m sensing a little animosity here. “

“No, you’re sensing a lot of animosity!”

“Look, kid, we’re just here to talk.”

“What happened to you, man? Why would you ghost my brother like that?”

“I wasn’t ghosting him!” Cooper suddenly sounds desperate, like he needs to convince Sebastian he’s telling the truth. Like he needs him on his side, which makes Kurt wonder what, if anything, Olivia said to him. If she read him the riot act, Kurt is going to buy her roses. “I was getting ready to go out there but Blaine called me, said he …” Cooper glances down at his brother, still motionless on the porch “… said he wanted to come home, that he couldn’t get a flight out and was hitchhiking. He’s my brother! What was I supposed to do?”

“Why couldn’t you give him a head’s up? Give anyone a head’s up?” Sebastian’s voice gets louder as he talks till Kurt begins to fear a neighbor might peek a head out, call the police. “He was waiting for you! You just disappeared! You didn’t even send him a text! Why couldn’t you send him a fucking text!?”

“It’s not that simple!”

“Save it!”

“I panicked, alright!? I thought that if I told Julian the truth, he would think I was making excuses, that I was going back on my word. And if I told Emily, my dad would find out. I didn’t know what to do!”

“So you did nothing.” Sebastian shakes his head. “What a supreme fucking disappointment you turned out to be. Well, I know what you should do.” He steps up to Cooper, gets in his personal space, and all Kurt can think is he’s about to show him what he can do, and with what part of his body. And though Kurt is confident Cooper can defend himself against a teenager, if he wants to stay out of prison, he won’t.

“Bas …” Kurt puts a hand on the crook of Sebastian’s arm. The sound of his voice, speaking for this first time during this confrontation, has a compounded effect. On Sebastian, it makes him soften, makes him back down. It also draws Blaine’s eyes up from the ground. But when he sees Kurt touching Sebastian, his eyes return to his shoes again.

Sebastian’s jaw works around a dozen swears and just as many threats. But his cooler head prevails. “You should go check on Julian,” he says evenly.

“I’ll … I’ll call him. Right now.”

“You’re past that. He’s at the house. You should go up and see him.”

“What about Blaine?”

“What about Blaine?” Sebastian sneers, glaring at Cooper, utterly refusing to even acknowledge Blaine. “He’s your brother. You figure it out.”

Kurt looks at Blaine, sitting at his brother’s feet. He’s staring down at his hands wrapped around his shins, looking very much like an abandoned puppy waiting to be taken to the pound.

And Kurt hates that.

A few months ago, he’d have hated it because he hated Blaine looking lost and hurt and lonely.

But right now he wishes Blaine would stand the fuck up and act like an adult. Look him in the eyes like an adult.

Own up to his actions like an adult.

Kurt has asked himself a dozen times since he found out Blaine cheated what does he want from Blaine?

That’s what he wants. He wants Blaine to step up.

It doesn’t mean Kurt will take him back, but it might give Kurt a better opinion of him.

“I’ll take him home,” Kurt decides.

“What?” Cooper says, looking more confounded than Kurt has ever seen him. And Kurt has to believe him because he’s not that good an actor.

“What?” Sebastian says. “No!”

“Someone has to take him home. I really think Cooper should go see Julian. Immediately, if not sooner.”

“Well I … I’m coming with you then!”

The twinge of absolute panic hiding beneath the anger in Sebastian’s voice skewers Kurt, but Sebastian’s coming with them isn’t a good idea. He’s more than likely going to take the opportunity to lay into Blaine, and Kurt needs some time alone with him.

He has some questions that deserve answers.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think you should go to Westerville with Cooper. Mediate between him and Julian. At least be there if things go south. I’ll deal with Blaine.”

“Why? Why do you need to deal with Blaine? Alone?”

Kurt takes Sebastian by the arm and leads him off the porch to talk in semi-private. “I want an explanation,” Kurt says, lowering his voice, hoping Sebastian will follow suit before a sheriff shows up. “He may not give me one if you come with me. And besides, I really think Julian needs you right now.”

“So, what? You owe it to him to hear his side?” Sebastian practically yells in Kurt’s face, apparently unable - or unwilling - to follow social cues. Kurt wagers on the latter. But instead of rising with Sebastian’s anger, Kurt puts his arms around him and holds him, rocks him gently from side to side. That’s all it takes to get Sebastian to fall in line, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and calming down.

“No. He owes it to me to tell me why he took everything I thought was sacred and threw it away. That’s all I want from him. As soon as I can, I’ll drive up and meet you. We’ll have that big house all to ourselves.” Kurt bites his lower lip. “Who knows what kind of mischief we can get ourselves into …”

“Well, relatively to ourselves. Julian will be there.”

“Your door has a lock on it. I think we’ll be fine.” Kurt presses his forehead against Sebastian’s and rubs their noses together. “I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you, Sebastian. And nothing Blaine can say is going to change that. But until then, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian says sardonically, most likely realizing by now that nothing he can say is going to change his boyfriend’s mind. “And what’s that?”

Kurt smiles, brushes their lips together in the most chaste of caresses. “Have a little faith in me.”

Sebastian glances down at his shoes, at his feet that refuse to move from this spot as long as Kurt is in his arms, refuse to leave Kurt alone with the boy he’d planned on spending the rest of his life with.

But there is no moving forward if no one takes a step.

“Always,” he says resignedly.

“Thank you,” Kurt says, mouthing over Sebastian’s mouth, teasing him with the promise of a kiss to be continued.

#acitw #acitw au #kurtbastian #sebkurt #sekurt #spread the love!

27 notes · View notes

supernaturalfreewill · 5 years

Photo

Day 5 You stood helplessly at the front of your car, the snow bank up over the tops of your boots, and stared at the front of your vehicle. The front bumper was wedged into the snow pile on the edge of the road and the front of your car was sitting high on the piles of ice. You were stuck. Worse yet, the snow as still coming down. You swore under your breath at the moron who had almost slid into you on the icy road, causing you to turn sharply and end up with your car stuck in the snow on the side of the road. It was piled high from the snowplows. And the asshole hadn’t even stopped. Another string of expletives left your mouth and you tugged your hat tighter down over your ears and adjusted your scarf over your face. And of course you had no cell service. Dammit. You always carried a shovel and sand for traction in your trunk this time of year, but you already knew that it wouldn’t cut it. You heard tires crunching on the road and looked around your vehicle to see a car stopping. For a moment you were apprehensive--wasn’t this how horror movies start? Good samaritan stops to help a stranded motorist only to kidnap them and murder them later? You clutched your keys in your pocket and eyed the driver who was climbing out of their car and running over to you through the somewhat blinding snow. “Hey, are you okay?” His voice was deep and a little gruff. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket. And shit. He was hot. Like... really hot.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. Some asshole driving too fast lost control and almost hit me. I swerved and ended up in the ditch... Didn’t even stop afterwards.” He scoffed and shook his head. “Prick,” he said. He walked around toward the front of your car and took a look. “Damn,” he said. “I think your high-centered up front here. Probably won’t be able to push it out or dig it out.” He stepped back and stared at it. You saw now that his eyes were olive green. The steady falling snowflakes were sticking to his hair and catching on his eyelashes occasionally. He kept blinking them away. “Uhh...” he seemed to be thinking hard for a moment, tryin to solve your problem. “It’s okay,” you said, waving him off. “I’ll figure something out. Someone will come along eventually with a truck or something.” He considered you for a minute. “Yeah... Yeah. You know what? Hang on a minute. I’ll be back.” He started back toward his car but stopped halfway and looked back at you. “You’re sure you’re okay?” You nodded, squinting in the blowing snow a little. “Yeah. I’m fine.” “Okay. I’ll be right back. I have an idea.” You watched him climb into his car--a vintage Chevy Impala. It was a good looking car but certainly no help in your current situation. The purr of the engine faded and you were again surrounded by the silence, the snow acting as a blanket over all sound. The only thing you could hear was the whispering of the wind past your hat and through the icy tree branches nearby and the soft sound of the falling snow. You had climbed back into your car to warm up when you caught a glimpse of headlights pulling up behind you. A truck was stopping. Yes! You jumped out and stood by your car again. You were surprised when the same handsome guy who had stopped before stepped out and grabbed what was apparently a tow rope from the back seat. You walked over to him and watched as he hooked it to the front of the truck and then bent down to find a place to attach it on the back of your car. “You have a vintage Chevy and a huge truck?” you asked. He looked up at you from where he was kneeling at the back of your car, hooking the rope on. The snowflakes were landing on his cheeks and nose and melting into his freckles. You felt your cheeks blush as he looked up at you, his attention and those green eyes so fixated. “Uhh... not exactly,” he said, climbing to his feet and dusting the snow from the knees of his jeans. You tilted your head in an unspoken question. “I--I borrowed the truck,” he said, clearing his throat and heading back around to driver’s side door of your car, and opening it for you. “Borrowed?” you repeated. Something about the way he said it caught you. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Okay. I’m gonna back up a little to take up the slack in the rope and then when I start pulling, give her a little gas in reverse and then be ready to brake. Otherwise you’ll going into the front bumper of the truck and between that and your car my money is on the truck winning.” You nodded. “Okay. Thanks for doing this. Really.” “Well, don’t thank me yet. You’re still stuck,” he said. He gave you a crooked, boyish smile and you felt like your heart was melting right then. It worked! Your car was back on the road, dislodged from the snowbank, and you were rushing out of your car to thank the handsome stranger again as he unhooked the tow rope. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t stopped. And you really went to a lot of trouble--going to borrow the truck and all... Tell your friend or whoever owns it thanks from me too.” He laughed for some reason as he tossed the tow rope into the back seat. “It was nothing.” It was then that you caught a glimpse through the open driver’s side door and noticed the wires hanging down underneath the steering wheel. You gave him a suddenly sharp look. “Wait--borrow?” you repeated. “Did you--did you hot wire this truck to pull me out?” He winced a little and brushed the snow from his hair, chancing a glance up at your expression, trying to read how horrified or freaked out you were. “Yeah, well... I said borrow. I’m going to go put it right back.” You stared at him in disbelief. “Who are you?” “I’m Dean,” he said. “Dean Winchester. And you’re--?” “Y/N,” you said, your guard definitely up now. Who hotwires vehicles? Criminals... Criminals hotwire vehicles. He noticed the sudden distrust in your eyes and glanced back at the truck behind him. “Yeah, okay, maybe the hotwiring was a little much. But you couldn’t just stay stuck here. Someone else could not see you and slide into you and the roads are only getting worse.” You continued to consider him. “Look, I swear I’m going to put the truck right back.” He made a small cross sign over his heart. “Scouts honor,” he said. His green eyes were a little pleading, but with a mischievous spark that was irresistible. You allowed yourself a small smile. “I have a feeling you’re not a boy scout,” you said. A wide grin grew on his face. “Guilty,” he said. “Look, it’s cold and snowy. The snowplows aren’t going to get out here for a while. Why don’t you at least let me make sure that you get back into town okay without getting stuck?” You raised an eyebrow at him. “I’ll even throw in an apology ‘sorry I hotwired a car to pull your ass out of a snowbank’ hot cocoa. If you’ll have me. Please?” You couldn’t help but smile. “Are you asking me out for a drink?” He leaned back against the truck. “Yes. Yes I am. Look, this is a pretty amazing ‘How we met’ story. You have to admit. In no time we’ll be telling your friends about how I hotwired a truck for you and how you couldn’t resist my rugged good lucks and natural charm.” “Oh really?” you said with a laugh, swiping a mitten over your cheek where a clump of snowflakes had just landed. “Really. Trust me. I can feel it in my gut.” He paused for a moment and his expression turned more sincere. “But really, I just can’t stop thinking about how amazing you look with those snowflakes sticking in your hair and on your eyelashes.” You felt your cheeks grow warm with a blush. “Alright, Dean,” you said. “First, we return the stolen--” “--borrowed,” he emphasized. “--borrowed truck. Then, hot cocoa,” you agreed. He smiled at you. “I told you. Natural charm.” You laughed and shook your head. “We’ll see.”

104 notes · View notes

tomlinson24 · 4 years

Text

Reckless Behavior ~Chapter 3

“Paige!” Kyle shouted as he pounded on the bathroom door. “You told me to be ready to go by seven. I’m ready, let's go!”

“I would be ready to go, if someone didn’t take twenty minutes in the bathroom!” I yelled back and threw a towel at the door.

The towel fell to the floor with a thump and he pounded on the door again. I rolled my eyes and began to brush my teeth. I wiped my mouth and opened the door to Kyle who was leaning against the wall smiling. I brushed past him and grabbed my duffle bag and backpack and walked downstairs with Kyle trailing behind me.

“Did you have breakfast?” I asked grabbing my keys off the kitchen table and turned to Kyle.

“Wasn’t hungry. But I made you a bagel.” he said taking my bags and pointed to the bagel sitting on the counter. “I’ll be in the car.”

I picked up the bagel and grabbed my coat off the hook by the door and saw that Robert’s gun belt was gone. He already left for work after being up most of the night looking for Kyle. I frowned and walked to my car eating my breakfast. At the car Kyle was sitting in the passenger seat on his phone, headphones in his ears -meaning that he didn’t want to talk - but that was too bad.

I started the car and pulled out of the driveway and headed to school. Kyle was nodding his head as he looked out the window listening to his music, that I could hear faintly, since he had it up so loud. I pulled one of his earbuds out and he turned and glared at me.

“What the hell!” He said and pushed my hand away.

“Kyle, where were you last night?” I asked

“I already told you, out with friends.” He snapped and put his earbud back in.

I huffed and continued to drive giving up talking to him. All Kyle does anymore is just hangout with his friends, he’s barely ever home and when he is, he’s in his room, avoiding everyone. He’s been like this since our parents were killed, over a year ago. It feels like I lost my whole family when they were killed. Robert is always working, Kyle never home or just avoiding me.

I pulled into the school parking lot and parked the car. Kyle jumped out of the car with his bag and walked away as I pulled my bags from the car. I frowned as he walked over to his group of friends, who were crowded around another car.

“Kyle!” I yelled. “I can’t give you a ride home because I have football practice.”

He waved his hand in answer and I turned and walked to the doors of the school rubbing at my eyes. Once I walked into school someone linked their arm with mine and pulled me down that hall to our lockers.

“Morning, Maddy.” I said and glanced at her. She was smiling back at me.

“Morning, Paige. Ready for practice.”

“Yeah. How was your night, after you left me at the club.” I asked stopping at my locker and placed my duffle back inside and closed the locker.

“Left you? I thought you already left.” She said and rubbed my arm.

“Nope. I was still there. Some random man tried to kiss me on the dance floor and then some mad, helped me and then brought me a drink and wanted to talk, but I ran away and walked home.” I said as we walked to our first class. “Don’t ask me to be the third wheel on any of your dates again.”

“Then, we’ll just have to get you a boyfriend.”

“Already had one and that didn’t end well.” I said and walked into the classroom.

“Then we’ll get you one from a different school.”

I rolled my eyes and sat down as she laughed and pulled her phone out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“If I call your name, you’ve made the team for this season.” Coach Adam said and held up his clipboard. “When your name is called see Coach Jim to get your uniform.”

I sat on the ground next to Maddy fanning myself as sweat dripped off my body. The coach began to call off names as Maddy sipped from her water bottle. I began to fan myself with my shirt as my name was called. I stood and smiled and walked to Coach Jim for my uniform as Maddy’s name was also called. I collected my uniform that sat back down on the ground as the Coach talked about practice and game schedules.

Once conditioning was over Maddy and I walked to our cars in the parking lot that was now empty. My legs hurt and I was still covered in sweat and really just wanted to shower. Once at my car, I placed my things inside and waved bye to Maddy then started my car, well tried to start it. The engine would not turnover and I sighed and rested my head against the steering wheel.

I pulled my phone out of my backpack and called the nearest towing company, since I couldn’t get anyone to jump start my engine because of sitting in an empty parking lot. The phone ended with the guy saying he’d be there in ten minutes. I got out of the car and pulled my things out and rested against the car and debated who I could call for a ride home.

Robert was working, Kyle was mostly likely with his friends and would ignore my call anyway. Maddy was probably with her boyfriend, so I don’t want to be stuck with them anyway. I guess I’ll just walk home, at least it’s not raining.

I looked up as the tow truck pulled into the parking lot and then stopped in front of my car. The man turned the truck around then got out of the car. A blonde jumped out of the truck carrying a clipboard, he looked the same age as Kyle, which was sixteen and another man got out and came around the truck, this one had light brown curly hair. He stopped in front of me and I could see the name on his jumpsuit was Liam.

“What is the problem?” He asked.

“The engine won’t turnover, it just makes a clicking sign when I try to turn it on.” I said.

“Okay. Could you pop your hood and try to turn it on.” He said with a smile then turned to walk to the front of my car.

I opened the hood and put the key into the ignition. The car just made a clicking sound and Liam came back around the car waving his hand. I pulled the key from the ignition and got back out of the car.

“Okay the engine is dead, and a belt fell off which has caused your engine to die. We’ll have to tow the car to the shop and you could pick it up after school.”

“Okay. Here’s the key.” I said and handed Liam the keys.

“Luke here will give you all the details and you’ll have to sign a few forms.” He said and closed my hood and began to hook up my car.

I signed the papers and got a copy of the details for my car and by the end Liam had my car hooked up and they were ready to go. I waved as they pulled out of the parking lot and I sighed and grabbed my bags and began to walk home.

I was about three blocks from my house when a car pulled up next to me. Unlike last night this was Robert, since it was a black mustang with black out windows. My hands tighten on my bags as the driver side window rolled down. I glanced at the driver and saw the dark black hair that rested against his forehead, this time he was not wearing a black tank top, but a plain white t-shirt. I could still see his tattoos on his arm. I was Zayn, the guy that helped me at the club last night and who I also ran from.

“Hey, Paige.” He said as he reached to turn the music down.

I gave him a small smile and began to walk again. I can’t get over the fact that he looks so familiar to me, but I know I have never met him before. There is just something about him that gives me this feeling that I should know him. Zayn -still in his car - was slowly following me down that road trying to talk with me.

“You really shouldn’t be walking around by yourself. It’s not safe.”

“Also not really safe to talk with strange men, who follow me in their car.” I said and looked over at him.

“I’m not a stranger, you met me last night.”

“I know your name, that’s not really meeting someone. You also seem really creepy, following me with your car.”

“Then let’s go on a date and we’ll get to know each other.” He stopping the car and got out.

He stood in front of me and my hands tighten on my bags as I stepped away from him. He was dressed in the black jeans and boots. I really wished I had my keys with my pepper spray that Robert gave to me.

“I-I-I’m good.” I stuttered and I could feel heat coming to my cheeks and I tried to move around him.

Zayn stopped me by grabbing my arm and my breath caught. Then he lowered his arm and stepped away from me. I stared down at the ground because I didn’t want him to see the heat in my cheeks.

“Hey, I don’t mean to scare you or be creepy. I just thought you were pretty and seemed nice and I wanted to take you on a date to get to know you.” He said and held his hands out. “How about I just get your number.”

“Fine.” I said and he handed me his phone.

I typed my number in and saw a police car turn down the street. I gave Zayn his phone back and ran into the middle of the street to flag the police car down. The car stopped and the policeman got out as I heard a screech behind me, it was Zayn. Hde drove off as the officer yelled my name.

“Miss. Bolton, are you okay.”

“Yes. Could I get a ride home though?”

Officer Logan nodded his head and then led me to his car. He took my bags as he opened my door for me and closed it behind me as I put my seatbelt on. I closed my eyes as Logan began to drive.

#zayn malik #Reckless behavior #zayn malik fanfiction #zayn malik smut #liam payne #luke hemmings #one direction fanfiction #one direction

11 notes · View notes

geewithluv · 5 years

Text

ESOTERIC [one]

ESOTERIC: intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

The ins and outs of the prominent gang, Bangtan, can seem esoteric to the general population that is most affected by their actions.

Ｓｙｎｏｐｓｉｓ： ❝ Jimin is going to take over Bangtan after Hitman falls ill. Not feeling confident that Jimin is ready, Hitman pulls in the pacifistic daughter of a (now deceased) close associate. Kit hasn’t been around Bangtan for years, but now she’s forced to in order to help the remaining members of her family. ❞ Ｐａｉｒｉｎｇ：Jimin x Female OC (ft. the rest of BTS, Bang PD, members of Seventeen & BlackPink) Ｇｅｎｒｅ：mafia!au, slight angst Ｗａｒｎｉｎｇｓ： cursing, mentions of terminal illness, death, drug addiction, and injuries as a result of violence. ＷｏｒｄＣｏｕｎｔ：3.6k ｍａｓｔｅｒｌｉｓｔ

Why is the parking garage so far away? This was a question Kit Briar and most staff at the hospital had asked after every shift. She pulled her jacket tighter around her as the wind started picking up. If the shuttle between the hospital and garage were more consistent she would like to think she would take it. That wasn’t a given though, some of her co-workers were a little too friendly and out-going. She rolled her eyes as she sees an unfamiliar car on the first level where only the staff is allowed to park. It was usually someone with a less than urgent concern insisting that they were justified in their parking while they argued with a tow truck driver on why they ignored the clearly labeled signs.

The surprise came when she saw a couple of men smoking cigarettes, leaning up against the dark SUV. She reaches into her pocket, grabbing her keys between her knuckles, surprised she had walked all this way without doing so. A deep breath to calm her nerves as she nears her car. She hears some mumbling from the men before they start walking. She picked up her speed wishing she had parked closer, wishing she had waited for the shuttle, wishing she hadn’t taken this shift, wishing-- “Kit Briar!” Her heart dropped to her stomach as she turned around, she’s not actually sure why she did. Maybe she knew there was no way escaping two men who clearly knew her, maybe she hoped it was someone from high-school or college that she hadn’t seen in a while, maybe an old friend of her brother’s or of her parents’.

It wasn’t. Of course, it wasn’t. She looked into the first man’s eyes and she was sure her trembling body was shaking the whole parking garage at this point.

“Look, I don’t know who you are or what you want but I don’t have anything.” She takes a small step back, gripping her keys tighter in her palm, sure she was only hurting herself at this point.

“Well, it’s been a while hasn’t it? Since your dad stopped bringing you around.” The guy laughed as he raised the brim of his baseball cap. Kit wasn’t sure if the feeling in her stomach was more worry or surprise.

“Hoseok.” She said softly and she wanted to collapse onto the ground, her legs threatened to give out. “Wh--what are you doing?” She didn’t know if she wanted the answer.

“Looking for you.” He said simply, his hair was a lighter shade of brown than she remembered.

“Well, I realize that…” She sighed, removing her hand from the grip on her keys and tightening her ponytail. “But why are you looking for me?” Both guys look around them before motioning her to continue down the garage. They walk on either side of her and she realizes the other guy is Taehyung, who she also hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Hitman wants to see you.” Taehyung explained, taking a long drag of his cigarette, she refrained from scolding him on this habit. She’s sure he already knows, and she’s sure he doesn’t care.

“Why?” She leaned against the hood of her car.

“Various things.” Taehyung seemed to be comfortable taking the lead on the conversation, something that would’ve been atypical a decade ago.

“Please don’t be so...avoident.” Kit begged.

“He wants to--needs to--talk to you.” Taehyung spoke as Hoseok drops his own burning death-stick to the ground, putting the small flame out with his shoe.

“He can want to, or need to, talk to me all he wants. But I’m not meeting with him. I have nothing to say to that man. My ties to him died with my father.” She stands up, pulled the cotton fabric of her shirt back down, and moved to unlock her car before her arm is yanked back by Hoseok. “Please don’t do this.” She whispered, unsure if it was to either man, herself, or whatever high power may be listening.

“We’re not prepared to take no for an answer.” Hoseok kept the firm grip on her arm.

“Well, you need to become prepared. I’m not a child anymore, we aren’t children anymore. I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions. And I will not be meeting with Sihyuk Bang.”

“Either you willingly follow us, or we put you in the back of our car and take you.” Taehyung’s eyes narrowed. Even as a teen, Taehyung had been able to intimidate her, and many others, just by the look in his eyes which is why he was such a valued asset to Bangtan. As an adult, the effects were even stronger.

“Fine.” She yanked her arm back from Hoseok’s grasp and unlocked her car. Letting out a huff when she notices Taehyung’s eyes brighten again and his signature smile, still the same as when they were school-aged.

“Don’t do something stupid.” Is all that Hoseok said, almost begging, before he and Taehyung start walking to their own car.

It’s hardly 8 o’clock yet it’s practically pitch black outside. The darkness is even more pronounced by the bright lights at the large estate that houses Bangtan at least a mile from the main road and a solid 5 miles from the nearest street light.

“You took that big oak tree down?” Kit motioned toward the now empty piece of land she had once found so much joy in.

“Didn’t have much of a choice.” Hoseok shrugged, she didn’t ask why. She didn’t want to know. Taehyung opened the door and the smell of the home is still somehow so familiar to her, all these years later. Her feet start moving her toward the living room but both men stop her, knowing she’s moving on autopilot.

“We’re going to his room.” Taehyung kept his voice low and ignored the confused look on her face. She had never been in the leader’s room, she’s not sure anyone who wasn’t about to have sex with him had, and even then some of the higher paid women had only gotten to the living room. She shuddered at the thought.

“Fucking finally.” She heard a sigh and meets the eyes of the eldest, Seokjin. He gave her a small smile, trying to comfort her, before opening the large wooden french doors leading in the main bedroom. Kit isn’t quite sure what she expected from the room. But she wasn’t expecting to see the man she had feared all her life sat up in a king-size bed with more tubes going in and out of his body than she had seen on patients at the ICU. He has multiple IV’s in his arms, oxygen filling his nostrils through clear tubes, a pharmacy worth of prescription bottles sat on his nightstand. He’s paler than she remembers, paler than she thinks she’s ever seen a living person. A soft beeping of a heart monitor fills the room. 4 other men, 4 former friends, stand in various places in the room.

“Kit, you came.” His voice is rough and shaky. She felt bad. She felt so bad that one of the most feared men in the city was tied to his bed. She felt bad that for once in her life she wasn’t scared of him.

“They didn’t give me much of a choice.” She tried to be stern. She failed to be stern. Even if she wasn’t fearful of him as much as she was when she was 10, she’s still scared of talking back to anyone and she’s positive every guy in the room has at least one weapon on them.

“They follow directions well.” He laughed, or tried to, before coughing harshly. “What do you want to know first, what I’m dying from, or why you’re here?”

“I could look at three of those bottles and figure out what you think is wrong. I doubt you actually sought out a professional because I can tell from here that none of those bottles have your name on it.” She sighed before continuing. “Why am I here? What could possibly be so urgent? I’m a nurse, not a doctor. I cannot save you.”

“I don’t need your medical expertise. I need your interpersonal expertise.” Kit is silent for a while, trying to figure out what he’s referring to. He’d always been a little vague, assuming you’d figure out what he meant but boasting in having to explain it to you. She remembered the trait well.

“You can’t possibly think that your parents just joined this lifestyle and prospered by chance. They were naturals. And you are too.”

“You think I’m a natural-born criminal?” Kit scoffed.

“In more words or less. Jimin--” he coughed “--hand me that book.” He pointed toward a bookshelf that had no need to be so large considering the lack of literature decorating it. Jimin obeyed, handing him a leatherbound journal. He was taller than she had remembered, in fact she was hardly sure it was really him. Before she can fully relish in the view of this man she hadn’t seen since he was a boy, Hitman continued. “It’s your father’s. You’re not easy to reach, you know?”

“I like to keep it that way.” She said, her voice softening as she grasps the journal, feeling the soft leather in her hands as she recalls how often her father had written in it. The pages were seemingly endless. She opens it to the page bookmarked by the thin red ribbon attached to the binding.

My lovely Kit is way too smart for her own good. Marianne is worried about me bringing her around Sihyuk. Kit notices way too much, she’s like her mother in that way. She’s too aware of the world before she’s even hit her teenage years. She got into a pocket knife collection this morning and quickly learned a few tricks, much to her mother and I’s surprise and concern. She’s very skilled, but I don’t think Marianne would take well to me saying that. I’ll stop bringing her around once school starts back up. She’s close to some boys that hang around. They’re a couple years older and take care of her well, but they’re getting into this life now. She’s just a baby. Only 12 years old. I can’t believe she’s 12 already, but that’s a conversation for another day. She needs good friends and she needs a life outside of the Bangtan estate. She’s destined for great things, whatever they may be. Maybe it’s running the country, maybe it’s saving the rainforests, maybe it’s running a group of dangerous criminals. Whatever it is, it’s going to be great. Just like she is.

-Gus

Kit hardly noticed her eyes flooding but quickly blinked the tears away as she closed the book, meeting the unwavering eyes of Hitman. She moves to hand the journal back to the elder who simply shook his head. “It’s rightfully yours.” He said.

“What do you want from me.” Her voice cracked.

“I think by now you know I’m dying. I don’t have a lot of time left. And not nearly enough time to properly train any of these guys.” Kit looked around the room, quickly meeting the eyes of each of the 7 men.

“What does that have to do with me?” Her eyebrows furrowed.

“Jimin will be taking over.” This was a shock. Kit was sure she remembered their birth order and Jimin wasn’t nearly the eldest. A lot must’ve happened since she last saw Bangtan. “But, as much trust as I put in him, he’s not ready for this alone. You’re a stable, clear-minded, person. I want you to assist leading Bangtan.”

“Oh no, you have to be crazy.” Kit let out a loud laugh, shaking her head. “You’re fucking joking.” Her voice softened as his expression doesn’t change, still as stern as ever. She hopes he’s had a sudden bout of facial paralysis.

“I’m not one to joke.”

“Absolutely not. Thanks for the offer, I guess,” she scoffed, “but you must be brain dead if you think I’m going to do anything to help any of you.”

“I had a feeling you’d say something along those lines.” Hitman sighed, clearing his throat and with a little help from Jimin and Yoongi, he adjusts in the bed. “Your mother is still,” the man hums in thought, “worse for wear.”

“She’s dying. Don’t sugarcoat it. I’ve had more than enough time to become okay with the fact that my mom is dying.”

“I’m afraid I’m not at the same place.” He grumbles. “My point, though, is that there are many treatments available. Many highly skilled doctors all around the nation who are more than equipped to provide better care to Marianne.”

“She’s getting good care.” Kit finds herself tenser than she had been just a few minutes ago. “Are you not aware that my mother is a patient at the hospital I work at?”

“But it could be better. We both want her to get the best care possible.”

“You’re really trying to offer the possibility of my mother’s survival in exchange for me joining this...whatever this is?”

“And Oliver.”

“My brother is perfectly--”

“Don’t lie to me, Kit. My guys are well aware of your brother’s current lifestyle. He’s a consistent and high paying customer, as much as that hurts to say.”

“I don’t think it hurts you at all.” Hitman sighed in response to the quip, Kit wasn’t sure if it was from his physical pain or if he actually felt something thinking about her brother’s addiction.

“A bed at a highly reputable rehab can be easily arranged. Your mother, your brother, and yourself will all be made very comfortable in exchange for your help and cooperation.” A silence fills the room. Kit closes her eyes as she finally nods, not wanting to look at the man as she agreed, or at any of the 7 other men in the room watching her every move.

“Okay.” She whispered, knowing he wanted a verbal agreement, she was sure he probably had recordings going at all times. A nod means nothing. She knows this well.

“You’ve always been so very intelligent.” Kit opens her eyes to see a seemingly genuine smile on the bed-ridden man’s face.

It takes a mere 3 days before Kit really had to confront her new life. 3 days before it’s no longer just some information being thrown at her by Jimin and some of the other boys. 3 days and she answered her door to see Jimin standing on the welcome mat outside her apartment.

“What are you doing here?” Kit’s face was expressionless as she blinked, having just started to doze off in the middle of a show she was only moderately interested in.

“Bleeding and bruising, are you going to let me in or not?” Jimin huffed.

“Why are you bleeding and bruising?” Kit is now more awake than she thinks she had been all day as she moves aside, closing the door behind Jimin and locking it.

“Why didn’t you say your apartment was annoyingly close to Seventeen’s territory?” Jimin slumps down on the sofa, making Kit cringe at the thought of any blood staining the light grey fabric.

“Because I have no idea who that is, and if I did it probably wouldn’t have come up in conversation.” Kit crossed her arms before walking into her bathroom.

“I am one hundred percent sure I have mentioned those fucks to you at least a dozen times. They are our rival group. Do you even listen to me when I’m goin--”

“What injuries do you have.” She yelled out, cutting him off, as she grabbed a first aid kit and a couple of other supplies from around the bathroom.

“I don’t know! The painful kind that come from getting jumped.” Kit swore she could hear him rolling his eyes and staining her couch, but when she comes back into view he’s standing in the middle of her living room with his shirt off.

“Nevermind?” She hummed, looking at the ink on his torso.

“Wha-- oh. I forget I have that thing.”

“I would too.” She sets the box down on her coffee table. “Who gets ‘nevermind’ tattooed on them? And in that font?”

“I’m not here to discuss my tattoo choices.” Jimin scoffed.

“Why are you here? Why were you coming to my apartment that’s ‘annoyingly close to Seventeen’s territory’ anyway?”

“That’s not the point anymore so could yo-- fuck!” He nearly screamed. Kit was all too familiar with that scream.

“Don’t be a baby, I’m just cleaning the cuts.” She tutted.

“Well a little warning would be nice. Don’t you warn your patients?” Jimin grunted.

“You’re not a patient, you are an unwanted guest, a pest if you well. I don’t warn spiders before I kill them.”

“I have a hard time believing you kill spiders. You either coo at them or scream until they run away from you. If anyone is a baby here it’s-- you bitch!”

“You’re not a baby, you’re a pussy. I haven’t actually done anything, you’re lucky you don’t need stitches. I’m lucky you don’t need stitches.”

“Are you done yet?” He narrows his eyes at her.

“No other wounds?”

“No.” He rolled his eyes, reminding Kit of all the times her mother scolded her and insisted her eyes would get stuck if she kept doing it.

��“Really? Cause I’m looking at a couple on your face right now.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Does it make me look badass?” A corner of his mouth quirked up.

“It makes it look like you got jumped trying to stalk my apartment.” She folded her arms over her chest and now it was her turn for an eye roll.

“You talk a lot of shit for a girl who almost had a panic attack looking at a gun.” Kit’s jaw tensed remembering how Jimin laughed at her just 36 hours ago when he brandished his weapon.

“You talk a lot of shit for a guy who nearly cried during Neosporin application. Let me get that one on your cheek.”

“Fine, but it’s not a big deal.” He ran his fingers through his thick dark locks, flinching for just a moment at the sudden jolt of pain from his shoulder.

“It could get infected or something.” She moved his face while holding his chin and looked over the cut. “Since when are you this tall?” She murmured as she shuffled closer.

“Shoes add an inch or so.” He shrugged, flinching slightly at the pressure on his cheek.

“No wonder you lost, you were wearing heels.” She joked.

“Who said I lost?” His eyes widen before a look of confusion paints his structured face.

“Are the others okay? Should som--”

“Don’t worry about them.” Jimin quieted her as she lowered her hand from his face, deciding that it’s thoroughly cleaned and coated with an antibiotic.

“My job consists of me worrying about other people's well being and trying to fix it.”

“They’re not good people. They deserve everything they got and more.” His face scrunched up at the thought of anyone, especially one of his own, trying to help a member of Seventeen.

Kit’s eyes widened with the realization of his words sinking in. “Do they know you came here? Do they know where I live? Are they going to--”

“Don’t stress yourself out. I’m not dumb, and I’m not going to let any harm come to you.” Jimin took her hands into his. Floods of memories of her when they were children come back, including the massive crush he had on the girl, now a fully formed and beautiful woman.

“Promise?” Kit’s voice is soft and almost pleading.

“Goddamn, you really are so innocent.” A breathy chuckle escaped full pink lips as he shakes his head at the girl, gazing into her bright eyes. The seriousness is evident on Kit’s face. “I promise.” He whispered, knowing she wouldn’t take anything else for an answer. “I promised you over a decade ago that I’d protect you. I keep my promises.”

“I should put this stuff back.” Kit sighed looking down at her coffee table, but she didn’t move. Jimin placed a hand to her cheek before moving to tangle his fingers in the thick curly strands of hair falling out of her ponytail.

“Jimin…” She muttered, meeting his unwavering gaze, his eyes filled with an emotion she couldn’t decipher before he closed his eyes. Her’s doing the same as his lips press gently against hers. His lips closed around her bottom lip when she doesn’t push him off. Kit savored the slight metallic taste that dances on his tongue with the bittersweet taste of some drink he must’ve had before he came over. Jimin let his other hand slip under her shirt to rest on her lower back, pulling her closer. He surprised himself, keeping the slow pace of the kiss, letting the moment last and lovingly linger. When they pull apart, Kit spoke again. “I don’t know if that was a good idea.” Kit didn’t look at him, instead, taking more interest in the pendants of his necklaces hanging between toned pectorals.

“There are hardly ever good ideas. Some are just better than others.” He placed his hands on her cheeks and made her look at him.

“Didn’t know you were such a philosopher.” She bit her lip to keep from smiling.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, kitten.” He said using his childhood nickname for her though it seemed more intimate now at 23 than it did when she was 7. This was real. She was really back with Bangtan and everything it entailed.

▂▂▂

End of Part One. I hope you liked this. I’m planning on 6 parts as of right now. I have 3.5 done so I’m not 100% sure. Thanks for reading!

#bts reactions #bts scenarios #bts imagines #bts reaction #bts scenario #btswriterscollective #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts imagine #bts fan fic #my writing

35 notes · View notes

piccolina-mina · 5 years

Text

But Who Takes Care of You?

Fandom: Roswell, New Mexico

Pairing/Characters: Kyle Valenti and Maria DeLuca (Kyluca)

Inspo: Who takes care of the caretakers?

A/N: Because the show really needs to let Kyluca be great (preferably better than this, but it’s something).

They’re the best apart, and they’d be even better together if they ever got more screentime. It’s a random freestyle I wasn’t sure if I would share, but #KylucaRights.:)

~~~~

The desert air made him instantly feel at home.

The sun beamed down as he inhaled deeply and ignored the jostle of folks scurrying in and out of the airport.

“Ay Guapo!”

He didn’t have to see her to recognize the voice. His lip curled up into a genuine smile. His eyes darted around him until he saw her standing a few feet ahead holding a “Dr. McSexy” sign and smirking at him.

He sauntered over to her, his carry on in tow, and pulled his sunglasses off when he got closer.

“Are you posing? Rubbing it in with those cheekbones,” she snorted. “Every time I see you, you get hotter, Valenti.”

Maria flashed him that stunning smile that made him return one in kind.

“I would say the same, but you’ve always been hot. A little hard to improve on perfection.”

She rolled her eyes but grinned widely and before he realized it, he was wrapped up in her arms.

He squeezed her back, basked in her scent of sandalwood and vanilla, and the shea and coconut that clung to her hair.

They hugged for what felt like an eternity, but it was only a few moments.

He didn’t know when it happened exactly. He and Maria socialized in school, but they were never particularly close.

He was more than aware of how much of an ass he was back then, and she didn’t hesitate to remind him. Rosa’s death changed everything.

Their world tilted on its axis. He never anticipated how one tragedy could change the trajectory of their lives.

He didn’t know Rosa enough to feel like he lost her, but he lost Liz. Those years after were life-altering.

Any opportunity he had to make it back home, outside of his mother, the only constant was Maria. She was there, and familiar, and somehow they developed a bond over the years.

She kept up with his life on social media – the graduation ceremonies, the late-night bitching during residency, and her personal favorite thirst posts on Instagram.

He kept up with her too. She told him things his mother never did and updated him on old friends, like Alex.

He visited her at the Pony when he was in town, and sometimes they would catch a movie at the drive-in and reminisce on the old days. Mainly, they would imagine what Liz Ortecho was up to.

“I thought you were driving?” Maria squinted up at him. She nudged him until he started walking, and it was only when they neared her truck did he realize she was driving him.

“I planned on it, but I got called into the hospital early at the last minute,” he stopped at her car and leaned against it taking in his surroundings and smiling fondly.

“Admit it, you were homesick and wanted out of Iowa,” Maria teased. She raised a brow daring him to refute.

“It was very cold and very white.”

Her laugh was contagious, and he found himself joining in with her.

“I just told mom before I boarded the flight. How’d you find out I was coming in early?”

“I’m psychic, remember?” She winked at him playfully, and he couldn’t stop grinning.

Maria always had that effect. She had a way of making everyone around her smile. She was comforting and real, and he never realized how much he missed her energy until he was sucked back into her orbit.

“You didn’t have to come for me,” he said quietly. “I know my way home.”

She shrugged, signaled for him to toss his luggage in the back and disappeared into the driver seat before he could read her expression.

He took his time arranging his luggage and sliding into the passenger seat. He sensed she needed a moment to regroup and put on that fun-loving facade he adored but knew she clung to more than she let on.

“Seriously, Maria. I know you’re busy,” he said carefully.

She reached out now and then for inquiries. His mother was the one who told him about Mimi’s mental deterioration, how she had bad days, and Maria juggled the Pony and looking after her mom.

He tried not to pry, but from what he knew, no one could figure out what was wrong.

“All work and no fun makes Maria a dull girl,” she drummed her fingers against the steering wheel as they waited for the cars ahead of them to pull off.

“I take off on special occasions,” she honked her horn, and he winced at the person flipping the bird back at them.

“I’m a special occasion?”

He went for sly, but something about the way her eyebrow rose equal parts impressed and flirty gave him the impression it sounded more suggestive than he intended.

But Maria always gave as good as she got.

“Only if you’re lucky, Valenti. You’re not that lucky.”

“The Insta comments say otherwise,” he teased her.

She shot him an annoyed look utterly ruined by her scrunched up mouth as she tried to keep from laughing.

Finally, a break in the traffic and Maria shot forward. He gripped the seat and instantly recalled her penchant for going above the speed limit.

“It feels like a special occasion anytime anyone makes it back home.” She was serious, and something about the tone of her voice made him want to squeeze her hand, but he refrained.

“Everyone deserves a welcome wagon, Kyle.”

‘It doesn’t get any warmer.“ He tilted his head to the side and added. “Thanks to you.”

And in a quintessential Maria move, she turned up the volume. He didn’t contain his excitement when the car flooded with Regulate.

Somewhere between the highway and his mother’s house they ended up in a heated rap battle sing-along, and he didn’t care what Maria said, he won.

Returning home came with its share of memories, many of them painful.

But it came with friends too.

ii.

"Right or wrong. Don’t it turn you on–“

“Maria?!” He called out. The second he unlocked his apartment, her voice bounced across the no longer bare and no longer white walls.

“Can’t you see we’re wastin’ time, yeah,” she continued.

From the way she was swinging her hips and bobbing her head, he suspected her music was up too high for her to hear him.

“Maria!’ He called out louder, as he dropped his keys on the counter and shut the door behind him.

"Do you wanna touch …Yeah.”

“Maria!’ He tried again to no avail. He had to give it to her; she was committed. Her long legs and short overalls were splattered in paint.

She had her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she was retouching a small spot with the last of the paint.

He leaned against the kitchen island and for the first time took in his apartment. She had rearranged his furniture, finally putting it in place after far too long spent collecting dust in the first place the movers sat it down.

All of his boxes were emptied, and everything was seemingly put away. Instead of the college frat boy vibe happening from the moment he moved in, his place looked every bit the trendy bachelor pad that it was.

"Do you wanna touch– FUCK, Kyle!”

Maria spun around mid-dance move, and if he didn’t literally know any better, he would have thought he gave her a heart attack.

“You scared the shit out of me,” she tossed the paintbrush into the pan and swiped hair away from her forehead.

“Funny you should say that,” he tried to suppress his laughter, but it didn’t work. She rolled her eyes at him and plucked her earbuds out of her ears.

“I had the same reaction given there was someone else in my apartment. It’s been a while since I came home to a woman playing house.”

“See, this is the kind of tea I like to hear, and yet you keep withholding.”

He shook his head and padded to the refrigerator for a drink. Halfway through guzzling an iced tea, he noticed she was actually serious about her statement.

He made his way around the island until he was in front of her. Handed her a bottle and rested against the back of the couch.

“Fine, she was a live-in girlfriend for a year. She worked at the hospital too.”

Maria squealed. He found her way too thrilled about his love life, but who was he to deny her the small joys of gossip when she had done so much for him?

“Did she greet you at the door with a martini in hand?” She joked.

“Nah, usually she was naked,” he winked at her.

“Hate to disappoint you, Valenti, but I took a more practical approach.”

He softened staring around his apartment and all the changes she made.

His mother had got on his case for weeks about making his apartment into a home, but between work and sleep, he hadn’t gotten around to it.

She bought the paint, deliberately pushed boxes into the middle of the floor and hoped it would be enough to prompt him to get to work, but two months later, his apartment wasn’t that different than when he moved in.

Until now.

He didn’t recognize the curtains framing the windows or the area rugs, but given the color and flair, he knew it was all Maria.

His kitchen appliances were where they should have been. Throw pillows made his leather couch pop, and the tv no longer sat atop sturdy boxes but rather an actual stand.

For the first time, his apartment actually felt like home.

“Maria,” his dark eyes met hers, and he could hear the emotion in his voice. He tried to keep it at bay as he internally processed why this touched him so much.

“You didn’t have to do this,” his eyes landed on a frame on a shelf, a picture of his father, and his mother’s rosary resting over it.

He pulled Maria to him with one arm before she could react. He pressed his lips to her hair before clearing his throat and stepping away.

“You really didn’t-”

“Hey,” her eyes sparkling like glitter was the only indication she gave him that she was emotional too. “It’s no big deal. The Wild Pony flooded today, damn pipe burst, so I’m losing a day and a half. I needed the distraction.”

She cupped his face tenderly, flashing him a half-smile before giving him a light smack, breaking the spell.

“It was getting depressing, Kyle. Two months of your shit lying around, if I didn’t do it, would you ever have gotten around to it?”

“You sound like my mother. I have my doubts, but I’m guessing that’s how you got in?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” she sing-songed backing up. “And you may want to enhance your security, just an FYI. I’d hook you up with my handy guy, but you two always had bad blood.”

He snorted. Not much changed between him and Michael Guerin since high school, but apparently, Maria developed a soft spot for the broody cowboy over the years.

“Hey, mind if a grab a quick shower before dinner?”

She asked, but it wasn’t lost on him that she was already headed towards the master bath.

She clearly had made herself at home.

“Why start asking now?” He plopped on the couch, finally getting the chance to put his feet up and relax after hours spent in the OR.

“Did you say dinner?” He bellowed from the couch.

“It’s on the way. I’m starving, and you’re paying. Don’t forget to tip,” she called out.

She peeked out from his bedroom dangling one of his workout shirts.

He could have sworn they were still packed in a box that morning, which meant Maria unpacked his bedroom too. The thought of that should have concerned him, but he pushed it out of his mind.

“I’m borrowing this!” Her head disappeared before he could so much as respond, and he chuckled to himself.

Before he knew it, he was tipping the delivery boy from his favorite BBQ joint, and Maria was setting up dinner in front of the big screen.

She smelled like his body wash, and she curled up on the couch next to him, cross-legged in his oversized shirt, and he didn’t even want to think about what of his she borrowed as bottoms.

“What’s your pleasure, D? Rom-com?” He took a bite of his brisket sandwich and hummed in appreciation.

“I know, right? The good stuff.” She mirrored him, a healthy bite making her cheeks bulge. “I don’t sniff at a good rom-com, but it’s an action kind of night.”

“Thank God,” he kicked his feet up on the coffee table and grabbed the remote. To his surprise, it was already keyed up for one of the Mission Impossibles.

“It’s OK, you don’t have to say it. I know I’m the best.”

He stole a french fry off her plate and laughed when she swatted his hand away. After a while, they settled into a comfortable silence watching the movie.

Truthfully, she really was.

iii.

On the anniversary of his father’s death, he learned to throw himself into work.

In the early days, in his youth, he would toy with a bottle of whiskey, roll the top between his fingers. He would inhale, slow and deep and wonder if he’d find a reason for why he had to lose his father so early in the bottom of a bottle.

He thought it would bring them closer together … him closer to understanding the man who he worshipped and ached for every day.

His father found answers at the bottom of a bottle, why couldn’t he?

But it was a slippery slope, and he knew that.

He’s not an addict, but he could be, and the thought of slipping into the darkness scares the hell out of him.

So he directed his energy into something else, usually picking up other shifts. And while he and his mother checked in with each other, their grieving processes were different.

He never gave it much thought. He didn’t want to intrude.

But when he got a text from Maria, he realized maybe, since he was home again, it was time to grieve together.

The Wild Pony was packed, as usual, and he felt out of place in his scrubs he didn’t bother to change out of.

He glanced around, afraid of what he might find. Maria reassured him in brief texts, but that day he wouldn’t get any comfort until he saw his mother for himself.

Maria was serving up drinks with a tired smile, and when her eyes met his from across the room, she nodded.

He followed her gaze to the back of the Pony. His mother was in her street clothes. Her hair was loose and obscuring her face – a black curtain falling over her eyes and dipping into what appeared to be a lukewarm cup of coffee in front of her.

He sighed. The other drunks and regulars didn’t seem to notice her or him for that matter. His father got away with a lot, but he doubted his mother as a female sheriff could. Small towns meant lots of gossiping.

“Mom,” he squatted down in front of her, his knees groaning with the action after a long shift. “Let me take you home, mom.”

She looked at him with bleary eyes and tear-stained cheeks. She didn’t see him at first. It was like she was looking through him, but when he folded her hands into his, she finally did.

She didn’t say a word; she merely nodded and reached out to stroke his jaw.

The only thing that rivaled the sadness in her eyes was the shame. She stood and grabbed his arm like it was the last thing keeping her from drowning. When he saw how broken she appeared, he thought maybe he was.

“Take me home, perrito,” her voice was hoarse, barely a whisper as they shuffled toward the door.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and bit his lip to keep from crying. The burning warmth on the side of his face as he guided his mother through huddled bodies was like its own hug.

Maria eyed him from behind the bar her brows knit in concern and mouthed, ‘Are you OK” or something akin to it.

A curt nod was all he could muster before they slipped out.

The drive to his childhood home was short, but the process of getting his mother settled down was long.

She refused to sleep in her bed– the bed she shared with his father for years. She settled on the couch, and after he slipped into some old clothes of his lying around, he did too.

She slumped into his lap and curled up on the couch like a small child. He could still smell the stale beer and gin. He stroked her hair – his nimble fingers ghosting across her forehead and pressed a cool compress to her neck.

The blinking light on his phone caught his eye, and he checked his messages.

Maria texted once to ask if he was alright and called once too.

He wasn’t alright. He was far from it, but there was nothing that could be done. His father’s old clock sounded, and it was only then when he realized it was past midnight.

But it was too late; his fingers worked of their own volition calling Maria before he could think.

“Hello,” she sounded tired but also concerned. The whooshing in the background meant she was driving home for the night.

“Kyle,” she breathed. He looked down at his mother softly snoring in his lap, and then the photo on the coffee table, a family portrait, but he couldn’t bring himself to respond.

“It’s OK,” her voice was soft and soothing. “You don’t have to talk. I promise I won’t hang up.”

His eyes prickled with tears he had managed to restrain all day. A gurgled sound crawled up his throat, and he inhaled sharp surprised the choked sob came from him.

He pressed the heel of his palm to his eyes trying to staunch the dam, but it was no use.

He could hear Maria hum soothingly, but it only made him cry more.

And that was how they stayed. He heard her car stop, the sound of the key scratching against the door. He heard her breathing as she went about her nightly routine.

He heard the water running, the soft creak of her climbing into bed, her sighs as her body relaxed after a long day.

“Thank you,” his voice was hoarse as he whispered into the phone, but at least his words were back. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Of course, Kyle,” she sighed into the phone. “How is she doing?”

“Resting,” he whispered, not wanting to rouse her.

“How are you?”

The question caught him short. He exhaled slow, but it didn’t make his voice sound any less small and fragile. “I miss him,” he said honestly. “We both do.”

“I know,” Maria whispered back. “I know.”

And he knew she did. Her mother was still alive, but it was like she wasn’t there at all. Sometimes he wondered if that would feel worse; missing someone who was still there.

“I need to do better – be better,” he stroked his mother’s hair and bit back another strangled sob. “I’ve been so busy. We don’t check-in enough, and I–”

“You’re a good son, Kyle,” Maria yawned into the phone. “She talked about you nonstop, and she still does. She’s so proud of you.”

He sniffled and nodded his head, looking down at the woman in his lap. “Maybe so, but I should – ” he cleared his throat. “I just need to do a better job taking care of her too.”

“And you do, Ky…” Maria mumbled into the phone. Her speech slowed down as she struggled to stave off the slumber but failed. “But who takes care of you?”

He listened to her soft snores over the phone for a moment – the breathing of both women oddly relaxing him.

“Goodnight, Maria,” he whispered into the phone hanging up and succumbing to his own exhaustion.

iv.

He learned over the years that Maria had a knack for scaring the shit out of him, but it wasn’t until later he realized it wasn’t intentional on her part.

Somewhere between jamming out to his playlist and waiting for a gaggle of tourists to cross the town square, his passenger door opened unexpectedly.

Before he could so much as yelp in surprise, Maria slid in all flowy skirt and a hint of sandalwood.

“Shit! Maria, what –” one glance in her direction stopped him cold.

“Just drive, please,” her voice was raspy as if she had been crying, but he saw no traces of it.

“You want to talk about it?” He asked gently.

She placed bare feet up on the dash, her skirt billowing around her knees, and he refrained from lecturing her on the pitfalls of being in such a position if they ended up in an accident.

“No,” she said quietly. She pressed her face to the window and hugged herself.

He reached across the console and fastened her seatbelt for her, and turned the music up.

He didn’t know what was troubling her, but he understood the need for distraction.

He didn’t pry, but he did sing-a-long to his Latin mix badly. He could make Spanish sound the opposite of sexy when he made an effort, and while she didn’t join in, her lips would turn up just a tad during a particularly bad note. Her eyes were dark pools of sadness though.

She didn’t budge when he dropped letters off at the post office. She stared at the mechanizations of the car wash with that childlike wonder one never seemed to lose.

She tipped the young pimply-faced teen drying the car before he could dig out more singles, but she never said a word.

It was like he was on his own and Maria was his shadow.

She hopped out when it was time to go inside the grocery store. She tagged along like a bored kid, except she wasn’t so much bored as unusually quiet and distracted, with her mind a million miles away.

“I can feel your judgment from here,” he joked when he put a dozen frozen dinners into the basket.

“Inquiring minds want to know how are you a doctor with a body like that,” she gestured at him. “Living off of frozen dinners?”

“They’re quick, easy, and delicious. Don’t act like you don’t eat this shit too.” He tossed a box of Easy Mac into the basket and glowered.

“I’m poor, Kyle. Of course, I eat this shit,” she countered throwing two boxes of Pop-Tarts in with the other groceries.

“I’m poor too,” he smirked at her dubious expression. “Student loans.”

She nodded. “Touchè.”

To his surprise, shopping with Maria became an adventure. She tossed more crap into the cart, most of which he snuck out when she wasn’t looking.

She was a natural haggler too. She charmed the butcher into giving her, well, him, a deal on a couple of steaks which she promised to make for their next movie night.

They only had one mishap when he accidentally hit the back of her ankles with the cart, and he almost saw his life flash before his eyes when she glared at him.

They settled on a pint of ice cream, he caved to cookie dough because he promised her it would make her feel better, and they snagged a few spoons from the hot food bar before hitting the register.

She opted for the self-checkout, and he figured out it was for the best when she dug through her huge purse for a handful of coupons she knew she had in there.

He wasn’t a coupon person, and it embarrassed him a bit until he saved 13 bucks. He could live with Maria’s smug response after that.

She was lighter and happier, the Maria he was most familiar with by the time they settled down on a park bench to relax and share their pint.

An ensuing war over a coveted chunk of cookie dough led to a spoon battle and his utensil falling to its death in a pile of dirt.

“Mine!” She crowed claiming the piece.

He couldn’t resist laughing at her victory dance as she hummed in satisfaction at the sweet confectionery goodness melting on her tongue.

She didn’t see him coming when he plucked her spoon out of her mouth, dove into the pint and shoveled a hunk of ice cream into his.

“Hey, asshole!” She shrieked ignoring the dirty look a mother with her children shot her way.

“Sharing is caring,” he said around a mouthful of ice cream.

She rolled her eyes, snatched the spoon and pint back and went to town.

“This is the most fun I’ve had adulting in a long time,” he admitted truthfully.

“That’s because adulting isn’t meant to be fun,” she shrugged. The smile on her lips settled into a hard line.

“Let’s hear it, Maria.” He gently knocked his shoulder into hers. “Not that I didn’t enjoy you practically hijacking my car today, but what’s wrong?”

“They still don’t know what’s wrong with her,” she whispered. “Another specialist. More money that I don’t have spent, and no answer.”

She met his eyes briefly, and he saw the tears she was fighting back. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and offered a comforting squeeze.

“Maria, I can loan you–” he started even though he felt her tense beside him.

“No, Kyle. I can’t. You’ve helped me enough. Your colleague back in Iowa at least didn’t treat me like a crazy person or treat Mimi like an inconvenience. He was good, kind, and a breath of fresh air.

God knows I’ve run into my fair share of assholes. Not to mention the entire healthcare system is fucked…” she sighed.

He clenched his jaw as it pulsated with his own frustration. “Trust me, I know better than anyone.”

“It’s just every day I feel like I’m losing more of her,” she stared at a young mother helping a toddler climb on a plastic turtle.

“I know it seems like I …” she blew out a puff of air and distracted herself with stirring the remnants of ice cream until it became soupy.

“Losing pieces of her is like losing myself,” she shrugged. “She’s my compass, and she grounds me, without it – without her, I’m lost.”

He nodded. He understood that feeling after his father died.

“I think it’s incredible, the way you take care of Mimi…” he knew she didn’t always take compliments well, but he didn’t consider it a compliment so much as the truth. “It’s hard, and I can’t even begin to imagine, but I admire you, Maria. I hope you know that.”

She didn’t respond. She looked away instead, but he saw the way her cheeks were the slightest tinge of red.

“You take care of your mom, and you feed the community every month, and … ” he sighed, frustrated for his friend. “You need to let someone take care of you some time.”

“I’m a big girl, Kyle,” she went for light and flashed him that irresistible smile. “I can take care of myself.”

He wanted to add that she shouldn’t always have to, but in addition to knowing how hypocritical that would be of him, he sensed she wanted to drop the topic.

So he did.

“I’ll deny it later, and don’t let it get to your head, but I’m glad you’re back, Kyle.”

He chuckled, snatched the ice cream soup out of her hand and downed it.

“I am too,” he said after a while.

And he was.

There were days when his job was the worst in the world.

Losing a patient never got easier, and no amount of experience could make delivering the news to the family less difficult.

His chest still ached from a pummel of fists hitting him as he eased a sobbing woman to the waiting room floor and held her.

His skin was blotchy and bruise. It was tender to the touch, but he welcomed the pain.

The pain reminded him that he was still alive, but it also reminded him that his patient wasn’t.

It took him a while to find a routine – something to direct all his energy towards in those dark moments.

Otherwise, the darkness would consume him. It would take a toll on him, but more importantly, it would interfere with his ability to be effective at his job.

He could never risk that; it was too important to him.

He retreated into himself. He declined the offers for drinks or dinner. He hit the gym and worked himself out until he collapsed, and then worked himself out some more.

Angry beats, a cacophony of harsh lyrics, blared in his ears as his feet slapped hard against the treadmill.

Sharp jabs against a punching bag until his knuckles were sore.

Shadowboxing, more often than not, was easier on his hands; but sometimes he wanted to punish them for failing. For not healing. For allowing someone’s life to slip through their fingers.

He knew there was nothing he could have done, but feelings aren’t logical.

Then he hit the showers, hot water at a punishing setting sluicing against his skin in rivulets.

He drove home in silence, and sometimes he prayed and hoped the next day would be better.

On particularly hard days, an anguished scream would claw its way up to his throat, and he would cry. The echos of distraught family members and friends haunted him.

He would throw on a reality cooking competition and eat a frozen dinner until he fell asleep.

Everyone had their process.

His was almost complete until he arrived home and saw the kitchen light on over the stove.

He cursed to himself when he dropped the keys on the counter. He couldn’t… be if his mother dropped in.

She knew what it was like losing a person, but her way of coping differed from his.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk,” Maria came out of the bathroom not the least bit surprised by his appearance.

“I heard … that accident,” she wiped her hands down her sides to get off the remaining moisture. “I’m not staying. I just brought you something to eat.”

He was frozen in place, and he couldn’t meet her eyes. “Thanks,” he responded sharply.

He didn’t trust himself to say more, and fortunately, Maria seemed to understand.

He dropped his gym bag on the floor beside him.

His hair was still dripping from the shower, and his body already ached, and he just wanted to fall face-first into the couch, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

The intrusion threw him all out of wack. Any move could lead to him being more vulnerable than he wanted to be in anyone’s presence, even hers.

But then there was something about her presence …

“I’m heading out now,” she said softly. “Text me later.”

She gave him a sympathetic smile as she brushed past him. She squeezed his shoulder on her way past. “Sorry for your loss, Kyle.”

His hand entangled with hers before he could think about it, grabbing and locking her hand in his as she breezed past.

“Stay,” his voice was gruff even to his own ears. “Please. If it isn’t too much trouble.”

She squeezed his hand and nodded.

He went around the island and peeled back the foil on the plate she left him. It was still hot.

He shuffled to the couch and collapsed on it like the wind had been knocked right out of him.

He turned on an old Master Chef and ate in silence. It wasn’t until a sweaty bottle of root beer was placed in his hand that he noticed Maria hadn’t sat beside him yet.

She was standing off to the side, and it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks that she was trying to give him space.

Larger than life Maria DeLuca was making herself small for him, and that wouldn’t do.

He knew she meant well, but it made him feel shittier.

“I promise I don’t bite,” he went for a light joke, but it fell flat.

“No, you don’t,” Maria finally sat beside him, and his body relaxed. “You don’t need to make me feel comfortable, Kyle. I just wanted to give you space.”

Her hand entwined with his, and they sat in silence. But then it switched to Master Chef Juniors, and he lost it.

A toothy 10-year-old, eerily reminiscent of his patient, smiled into the camera. To his utter embarrassment, he began sobbing.

“He was only seven,” he sputtered. His voice was choked up and every attempt to rein himself in failed. “He loved wrestling and Spiderman. He wanted to be a fireman when he grew …” he couldn’t finish – cut off by his own sob.

He felt her shift closer, her arms wrapped around him tight enough to stop the onslaught of anxious breathing.

He buried his face into her neck, his embarrassment abandoned in favor of the full-body release of his sadness, anger, and pain.

Maria clicked her tongue, rocked him gently, and brushed her lips across his temple and damp hair.

“I’m s-sorry,” he choked out, aware of how he was dampening her neck and shirt with tears and God knows what else.

“Shhhh,” she hummed soothingly. “Talk it through. It’s OK if I don’t understand the procedure; just talk it through.”

He ran through the entire surgical procedure. Every step leading up to Levi’s surgery and every tool he used.

Maria stopped him on occasion to confirm it was the proper protocol, the proper utensil, and so on. When he was done, she made him repeat it all over again.

They were settled into the couch by then, his head resting on her chest wedged beneath her chin.

She scratched at his scalp, and at some point, his tears subsided, and his breathing matched hers.

“You did everything right, Kyle,” she said after a while.

“Bless that sweet baby’s soul and his parents. You didn’t make any mistakes. There’s nothing else you could’ve done. He had the best care by the best doctor until he closed his eyes, and he went peacefully. Mourn him, but don’t let it eat away at you.”

He nodded. Knowing the truth and hearing the truth were two different things.

At some point, he felt he should have extricated himself from her embrace, but a selfish, lonely part of him relished the comfort.

As if reading his mind, like the psychic she proclaimed to be, she hugged him tighter.

Her heartbeat lulled him into the soundest sleep he had in months.

When he woke up, he was hugging a pillow that still smelled of her. it was a quarter past two.

He scanned the room bleary-eyed, the throw tossed over him tumbling to the floor with the effort.

The blinking on his cellphone let him know he had a text.

Had to run. Rest up and start again tomorrow. ♡

He shuffled into his room and fell onto his bed. He expected to feel a wave of regret and embarrassment, but it never came.

Instead, he felt unburdened.

vi.

He didn’t sign up for this. Him, Liz, Rosa, Alex, and Maria. None of them did.

But extraterrestrial bullshit invaded their lives, and they made do with it. Whether it was love and feelings or a birthright, the alien fight became their own.

But they weren’t resistant to attacks. They weren’t immune. They were fragile and susceptible.

They weren’t soldiers; they were humans. Assets. Liabilities. Victims.

Rosa was a victim once. It was something he fought to make peace with, and that took a long time. But now she was a victim too.

Flashes of the past two days flickered through his mind like an old film.

Another survivor from the crash was in their midst. What began as a tenuous partnership to help revive Max turned into lines drawn and a declaration of war.

All wars have casualties, and Maria was nearly one.

He couldn’t shake the image of Michael carrying her lifeless body across the desert.

It was the most distraught he had seen him since the prison explosion. Liz and Rosa flanked his sides.

Alex and Max were closing in behind them. There was blood everywhere.

He did what he could to stop the bleeding while Michael sped to the hospital.

He worked on her all the way to the OR, straddled over her form on the gurney willing her to live.

He physically fought his colleagues trying to rip him away.

As a general rule, no one is supposed to work on family and friends, but some rules were meant to be broken.

He couldn’t leave that OR if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to. There was no way in hell he could sit idly by when he could help.

He left the questions to his mother and Max. They could sort out the stories on their end, and he could do everything in his power to make sure his friend came out of it on the other side on his end.

He hadn’t slept in two days. He hadn’t left the hospital. He barely left her room at all.

He couldn’t lose anyone else. He got a second chance with Rosa, but second chances were anomalies, not the norm.

He rubbed his temples, closed his eyes and sighed.

“Y-you,” Maria croaked before clearing her throat with no success. “You look like shit, Valenti.”

She coughed and laughed at the same time before her body alerted her that both were a terrible idea. “Oww!” She groaned.

He was at her bedside in two long strides. His body relaxed for the first time in days as he poured her a cup of water and smiled fondly with utter relief as she drank it greedily.

“Take it easy,” he cooed, as he stroked her hair.

“I’m assuming I have a couple of cracked ribs?” She asked, her voice raspy.

“You would assume correctly.” He looked down on her and smiled. “I want to tell you that you look like shit too, but it would be a lie.”

“Flattery … will get you … everywhere,” she rasped as she tried to get comfortable. “Although …”

He scanned the machines and checked her vitals, and signaled the nurse that she was awake.

“Although, what?”

“Although, I briefly remember you on top of me, and…” she ran her fingers across the bandage on her chest. “You lucky bastard, you already saw me naked,” she joked.

“Ah. But the circumstances weren’t like I imagined. It would require a do-over.” He moved out of the way for the nurse to check out Maria.

After what seemed to be an eternity she left urging him to let Maria rest and get some himself.

“You imagined me?” It was like Maria to pick up where they left off.

He felt his face heat up.

“You scared the crap out of us, Maria,” he plopped on the bed and grabbed her hand.

“Nice swerve, Kyle, but I’ll allow it,” she squeezed his hand back. “Where is everyone?”

Her voice was small, and he wondered if she had an irrational fear that no one else showed up for her.

“I texted them that you were awake,” he replied running his fingers feather-light against the pulse in her wrist.

“Visiting hours are over, but almost everyone has been here,” he fretted over her. He knew he was doing it, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

“Almost everyone?” She looked wary. He could tell she already had her suspicions before he could confirm.

“Michael was thrown out two days ago,” he couldn’t hide his annoyance mentioning the most volatile of their pod squad acquaintances.

“He was too … aggressive. Others were complaining. He couldn’t be reined in. He really cares about you, you know?”

“I know,” she shook her head.

“And Rosa wasn’t happy that she couldn’t come,” he flashed back to how volatile his half-sister was. Max’s apartment was probably a wreck.

“Which one of them slugged you?” Maria ran her bandaged hand with the IV across his jawline.

“Rosa has a mean right hook,” he admitted not hiding how impressed he was by that.

“She always did,” Maria agreed. “How’s that going?”

“Still adjusting, I guess.”

“To know you is to love you, Kyle. She’ll come around,” she squeezed her eyes shut tight and exhaled slowly.

“Are you in pain? I can get you some more–”

“I’m fine, Kyle. I don’t need anything. I’m probably going to wish that alien bastard had finished the job when I get the medical bills though,” she blinked back tears and forced herself to smile.

“Maria –”

“Go figure, I got probed and in none of the fun ways. Stabbed in the chest by glowing alien paraphernalia and left to die in a cave is not how I expected to go. I’m guessing Max still can’t tap into his healing powers?”

He wanted to say so much – comfort her better, but he settled for going along with her topic change. “No, Max is still blocked. But Michael tried to heal you,” he met her eyes and shrugged.

“But Michael can’t heal…” her confusion was almost endearing to him.

“Didn’t stop him from trying,” he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He was still fretting and busying himself. “You had a close one. We thought we lost you twice, and none of us can bear losing anyone.

He was tired, and doctor mode bled into friend mode. He didn’t realize he was pulling back her gown and checking her bandage.

Her surgical wounds would heal nicely, if he said so himself. He secured the bandage tight, poked and prodded until he was satisfied.

At her cough he yanked out his stethoscope and listened, nodding to himself after confirming her breathing was fine.

He flashed a light in her eyes, studied her pupils and ignored her scrutiny.

He knew he looked like hell, bloodshot eyes, and dark circles around them. He hadn’t shaved in days, his dark stubble uncharacteristic. His hair was matted except for the tufts he mussed from constantly running his fingers through his hair.

“When’s the last time you slept, Kyle?” She asked innocently enough.

“I’m fine,” he lied. “Remember? I do this for a living.”

She raised her brow but dropped it. “What’s my prognosis, doc?”

“You look good,” he replied, his voice soft and worn even to his own ears. “You had a concussion, but we kept an eye on it. Your surgical incision looks good. You’ll barely have a scar.”

“Scars mean you lived – they mean you survived,” she replied.

“Yeah,” he rubbed his thumb across her hairline. “Yeah, they do. Vital organs were missed, so that’s –”

“When do I get out of here, Kyle?”

Leave it to Maria to get to the bottom line. It killed him that even then, her concern was financing. They probably didn’t require exceptional healthcare on whatever planet the others derived from.

“If you promise to take off and settle in at home, preferably somewhere with room and a simple floor plan, then I’ll get you out.”

Max’s spacious home came to mind, but there was also the cabin or even his apartment.

“But you need to rest, Maria.”

“Pot meet kettle, Kyle. Pot meet kettle.” She shuffled in the bed and winced and gasped in pain.

His jaw clenched as he bit back a sharp reprimand. She patted a spot on the bed beside her and raised her brow.

“Maria,” he started, too tired to argue with her but gearing up for one anyway.

“Don’t,” she glared at him. “Just for a little bit, please.”

She didn’t want to be alone. He understood that.

“Just for a little while,” he ignored her triumphant smirk. She acted as if she didn’t have a knack for making people bend to her will.

He slid beside her. The hospital bed was more comfortable than he cared to admit. He checked her vitals again, slid his arm beneath her, and gingerly pulled her into his chest.

It was a small enough bed where snuggling was the only option. She didn’t seem to mind. She burrowed herself into him.

He tucked the covers around her and double-checked to make sure her water pitcher was full. When she thought she hid a grimace, he upped her morphine drip.

He felt her soft laugh reverberate through him and how she shook her head infinitesimally.

“What?” He yawned. “Do I even want to know?”

“Always fretting,” she patted his hand gently. “You’re always taking care of everyone, but who takes care of you?”

He wanted to laugh. Instead, he rested his head on hers. He allowed her warmth and the sound of the heart monitor to lull him into a sleepy daze.

His eyelids were heavy, his voice husky with exhaustion as his lips barely grazed the shell of her ear.

“You, Maria.” He could tell he caught her by surprise. Her breath hitched, and admittedly, it made him smile.

"It’s always you,“ he whispered as he finally drifted off to sleep.

—-

#roswell new mexico #Kyluca #kyle valenti #maria deluca

33 notes · View notes

calpalirwin · 5 years

Text

According to Plan

A/N: I dunno anymore guys. Chapter 7 coming at ya!

And away and away we go!

~~~

Chapter 7

Madison

~~~

His lips were soft, but the kiss was fierce. One of his hands wove its way into my hair, while the other wrap around my waist, pulling me in. I sighed, and felt myself melt into him. God, he felt so safe.

We broke away after a few moments. Wow, I signed, breathing heavily while my heart pounded fast in my chest.

“Wow, indeed.”

Yeah, I like that. Do that more.

“I will then,” he smiled. “Good night,” he said before jogging to his truck.

I watched from the porch as he drove off before going into the house. “Some kiss, huh?” Mike’s asked when he found me still sitting on the porch after getting back from taking Crystal home.

I felt my face flush red.

Mike laughed. “I’m going to bed. I apparently have church in the morning. You wanna come with? Or do you want to to swing by and pick you up after?”

I’ll go to church with you.

“Okay. It starts at 10, so be ready.”

It was my turn to laugh. You’re the one who needs to be ready.

Mike shook his head and laughed. Then, he went inside and upstairs to his room.

I made sure all the doors were locked and the lights were off before heading to my own room.

The next morning my alarm went off at 6:30 like it did every day, the alarm flashing brightly in my otherwise pitch black room. Ten minutes later I was out on my morning run. At eight, I was in the shower, after eating my typical breakfast of toast and oatmeal. I was reading when Mike poked his head in from the bathroom that connected our rooms around 9:30. “Hey, I wanna leave in like… is that what you’re wearing?” His hair was still damp from his shower, and he had a toothbrush in his mouth.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing my usual outfit: shorts, a tank top with a thin flannel over it, and my sneakers. This is what I own. It was mostly true. I only had jeans, shorts, tank tops, and flannels. It was what I liked to wear.

“Yeah, but it’s church. Put on one of your dresses.”

Which one? I signed as I opened my closet, revealing the three dresses I owned: the one for funerals, the one for nice events that weren’t funerals, and the dress the girls had helped me pick out for my date with Ashton.

“That one,” he pointed at my not-for-funerals dress. “And wear the shoes that go with it. The sandal things.”

I sighed and took the dress off its hanger. I laid it on my bed before retrieving the sandals that I bought to wear with it. I quickly changed into the new outfit.

“Much better,” Mike said, poking his head in again. He took one last look at himself in the mirror. “Okay, ready?”

I nodded and followed him downstairs.

“Where are you two going all dressed up?” Dad asked.

“Church,” we told them.

Our parents exchanged a weird look. “Well, have fun, I guess?” Mom said slowly.

In his car, Mike blasted his music, 1.) because he liked it that loud and 2.) I could feel my seat vibrate so I could hear it in my own way.

We didn’t talk as Mike drove his way to the church. For a southern town where going to church was the norm, we were surprised that there was only one church. When we pulled into the parking lot, it made more sense: there wasn’t a single space available. “Shit, I’ll have to park across the street,” Mike muttered as he maneuvered his way out of the parking lot and into a spot across the street.

Inside the church, people milled around, waiting for the service to start. “Looks like we’ll sit here in the back.”

I nodded and followed him into the pew. A man stood up to the podium at the front of the church and everybody went to their seats. I saw a glimpse of Ashton with his family near the front.

I peacefully watched the preacher’s lips as he gave his hour long sermon, always curious about how it was meant to be heard.

“C’mon, let’s get outside before it gets too crowded,” Mike said, once the service was over.

We made our way outside and stood under a tree near the front. It was already uncomfortably hot outside, even in the shade and with a small breeze blowing by every now and again. I sat down in the grass and pulled out a book from my bag. Mike waved his hand in front of me and shook his head. “No, they’re all coming out, see?” he pointed. “Crys!” he shouted, waving his hands.

Crystal, at the front of the church, turned in Mike’s direction and smiled. She grabbed the hand of an older man in a suit and dragged him our way. “Daddy,” her lips moved fast as she smiled as she got close, “this is Mike, and his twin sister Madison.”

“Nice to meet you, sir. Great service,” Mike croaked out, shaking the man’s hand.

“So you’re the boy from Hollywood,” Reverend Leigh said, looking Mike up and down.

I rolled my eyes. Why did everybody keep saying we were from Hollywood? We were from California, yes, but California was a big state. Hollywood was actually pretty far from where we had lived in the central part of the state.

“Hey, y’all made it!” Riley said, coming up to us, Calum in tow.

I smiled and waved hello.

“Ry and I were gonna go grab some lunch with Lu and Si, did you guys want to join us?” Calum asked us.

“Ash will be there, too,” Riley said, looking directly at me so I could read her lips.

“Sounds great!” Crystal said. She then had a small conversation with her father who gave Mike once more look over before walking away.

“Yeah, sounds good. What do you think, Mads?” Mike asked me.

Sure, I nodded. I looked around for Ashton, and spotted him a few feet away, talking with his family.

His eye caught mine and he waved and smiled that damning smile of his. He said something to his family and then jogged over. “Hey!” he said, hugging me and kissing my cheek. Damn, you look good, he signed so no one else could know what he was saying. Well, Mike could, but he had the courtesy to pretend not to notice.

My face flushed red. I was really starting to like this dating thing.

“Alright, so the diner down by the pier?” Calum was saying, “Luke and Sierra already left to save the booth”

“If they’re already there, then why are you acting like we have a choice in where we’re going?” Riley teased.

Calum shook his head, laughing. “So, who’s driving and who needs a ride?” he asked, dangling his car keys.

“I brought my truck, cuz I figured we’d be going to eat after,” Ashton said.

“Same,” Calum agreed.

“I drove here with Mads,” Mike mentioned.

“I came with my parents,” Riley said, looking over at the parking lot, “and they’ve already left.”

“Well you can ride with me, I guess,” Calum told her.

“You guess?” Riley asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“I came with my parents, too. Mike, can I ride with you?” Crystal asked.

“Yeah, I need someone to tell me where to go anyway. C’mon, I’m parked over there. You coming, Mads?”

I pointed at Ashton.

“Alright, I’m parked over here,” Ashton said, grabbing my hand in his. We walked hand in hand to where his truck was parked. “Is this dress also new?”

Not really. I got it for Mike’s soccer banquet back in March.

“It looks really good.”

Thanks. I went to open the passenger door, but he stopped me and opened it for me. I can open a door, y’know.

“I know. I’m being a gentleman, though.”

I shrugged and got into the truck. He closed my door before coming around to get into the driver’s seat. Just like yesterday, I pressed my hand against his speakers as he turned on his truck. I closed my eyes and breathed in the moment: the sun beating down on us, the air whooshing through the rolled down windows, the music pulsing through the stereo and against my palm, his fingers probably drumming on the steering wheel. When I opened my eyes he was smiling at me. I never wanted to forget how I felt in that moment- young, free, and falling fast for a boy I barely knew- like any other seventeen year old girl.

We enjoyed lunch at the diner, the seven of them chatting and me signing, teaching them as I did so, before we all went home to change out of our church clothes and into something more suitable for a soccer game. About an hour later, the eight of us meet up on the soccer field, along with several other boys from the soccer team.

I sat in the stands with the girls, snapping pictures of everything with my camera. “Damn, you’re a good shot,” Riley said, peering over my shoulder as I flipped through the pictures.

“I like that one,” Sierra commented, as I stopped at a picture of Ashton on the sidelines, pushing his hair back, a huge grin on his sweaty face.

Me too. My heart was pounding fast in my chest. It was a really good picture of him.

The game slowly died down as the boys either got tired, or claimed to have other last day of summer plans, eventually leaving just Ashton, Calum, Luke, and Mike.

“Hey, do you finally wanna watch that movie?” Ashton asked once he made his way to where I was, his hair and face wet with sweat.

Sure. My house or yours?

“What kind of movies you got?”

More than you. Which was true. While his collection was good, it was small.

He tilted his head back to laugh. “Your house it is, then.”

Well, this is it, I gestured once we got to my house and up to my room.

“It’s so organized,” he commented, looking around.

Thanks. My movies are on that shelf right there.

He scanned the shelf before he selected on one. “Sweet, my favorite!”

I looked at the DVD in his hand: The Lion King. It happened to be my favorite as well. Same. I took the movie and put it in the player. I’m gonna go make us popcorn. Did you want anything to drink?

“Sure, I’ll go with you.”

5 minutes later we were on my couch, with a bowl of popcorn and our drinks- me, a water, him, a soda. I grabbed the remote and hit play.

Throughout the movie, he would occasionally look at me and smile. Every time he did, my heart pounded a little faster. When our hands touched in the bowl of popcorn, I swore even I could hear my heart beating. Instead of moving his hand away, he grabbed mine, his bigger hand covering my smaller one, and squeezed. Then, he flashed that smile of his. Damn, I loved that smile.

When the credits rolled and the menu screen popped up, I turned off the television. The popcorn bowl was long empty, with just a few unpopped kernels at the bottom. Ashton got up off the couch and stretched before looking at his watch. “Now what?”

Videogames?

“Sure,” he smiled.

We made our way down to the basement, stopping at Mike’s room to see if he cared to join us. He waved us off, his lips still locked with Crystal’s.

In the basement, I quickly set up the game and made myself comfortable on the couch. Ready?

“Yep,” Ashton said, settling in next to me.

We played game after game, in comfortable silence, occasionally glancing at each other to share a smile or quick kiss, or reaching out to squeeze each others hands. It felt nice having him next to me and I realized that I could easily do this every day of my life if I was lucky enough.

After one of our games, Ashton glanced at his phone to check the time. His eyes went wide as he slid his phone back in his pocket. “I should probably get going. I’d rather not get grounded for being late again.”

You were late yesterday?

“Only by like 2 minutes. It was okay, but I probably shouldn’t do it twice. Especially the night before school. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Okay. G’night.

He leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips. “Night, Mads,” he murmured softly as he pulled away.

My face flushed red. I really liked kissing him. I really liked him. My lips were still tingling long after he left. They were still tingling when my phone vibrated and flashed.

I had a great time with you.

Me too. Did you make it home in time?

Yeah, I got here in plenty of time.

That’s good. I don’t want to get you in trouble.

I wouldn’t mind.

You say that now…

And I mean it. Kissing you is worth being a few minutes late.

Well good. I was worried that I was bad at kissing.

Nah, I like kissing you. A lot.

I like kissing you too. My lips are still tingly.

Oh, are they now?

Ha-ha. Night, Ash.

Night, Mads.

I smiled at my phone for a bit before getting ready for bed. Even as I tried to sleep, my mind raced with thoughts of him. I was so preoccupied by Ashton that I even forgot to be nervous about tomorrow.

The next morning, I did my typical routine and was ready by 8:30. Both of our parents rushed out the door and off to work when I was coming downstairs. “Bye, have a good day!” they hollered as they left in a hurry. “Bye,” Mike called back to them as he came down the stairs, his backpack slung over one shoulder. “Ready?” he asked me, reaching into his pocket for his truck keys.

Yep.

“Cool, let’s go.”

The drive to school was a short one. Every drive in this town was short. “Alright, got your schedule?” Mike asked as he pulled into a spot.

Already memorized.

“Locker combo?”

That too.

“Cool, I’m gonna go fin- oh, there she is. Crys! Wait up!” he shouted as he climbed out of the truck. “I’ll see you at lunch, Mads, okay? Text if you need me.” And he was off, already basking in the glory of his senior year.

I grabbed my bag and got out of the truck. I locked my door and slammed it shut with my hip. I took a deep breath and whirled to take in the place that would shape the rest of my year here- for better and for worse.

I took another deep breath and made my way across the lot, up the stairs, and into the school to find my locker. I quickly undid the lock and slid my locker open. I opened my bag and pulled out my six folders and two notebooks. I placed the three folders I wouldn’t need until after lunch, along with the notebook for them in my locker. Then, I carefully pulled out my camera and placed it inside my locker as well. I double-checked to make sure everything I needed was still in my bag and everything I didn’t was in my locker before slamming my locker shut and spinning the lock.

I looked at my watch to check the time just as it vibrated its reminder for me to go to class. I made my way carefully through the mass of students who rushed to their lockers, or to chat with their friends, as I went to homeroom. The freshmen were easily distinguishable as they walked in groups and wandered around looking lost. Nobody seemed to be in a hurry to get to class. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to find Ashton. “There you are!” he signed as he spoke, before he picked me up and swung me in a small circle. He set me on my feet and kissed me quickly on the lips. “I’ve been looking for you,” he grinned.

My head spun at his sudden burst of boyfriend-ness. I was at my locker, I signed once my world had stopped spinning.

“Oh. Where are you headed?”

Room 7.

“Sweet, me too. C’mon, I’ll walk with you.” He grabbed my hand and led me through the hallways to room 7. “So, I know we have almost all the same classes, but what’s your schedule look like?”

I pulled out my schedule from my pocket and handed it to him.

He glanced at it then smiled, handing it back to me. “Nice! We’re together every class except 6th period.”

That’s nice. I don’t usually have friends in my classes. Much less a boyfriend.

“Didn’t you have any classes with Mike?”

Yeah, but it’s not the same.

He shrugged, stopping in front of a classroom. “C’mon, let’s find a seat. Where do you like to sit?”

I looked around the room before I took the first seat of the first row by the door. Here I put my bag down and took a seat.

He grinned and sat in the desk next to me. “Perfect,” he said, still smiling as he took his own seat.

A minute before class started, Ashton glanced at the door expectantly.

There’s still a minute left, right?

He nodded, then “There’s a warning bell at the nine minute mark, though.”

Sure enough, the classroom that had been empty, began to fill up as students filed in and found seats. “C-Swizzle!” Ashton said, as Calum crossed into the room.

Calum looked our way, nodded, then made his way over. “What’s up?” he greeted as he slid into the empty seat behind Ashton. “Little close, huh?” he gestured with his head.

I need to be in the front to read the teacher’s lips.

Calum nodded understandingly.

Ashton clapped him on the shoulder. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Across the hall in room 8. Luke didn’t want his mommy twice in a day.”

Ashton laughed at the joke that I didn’t understand just yet.

My watch vibrated to signal class starting and the teacher shut the door, much to the protest of a few late arrivals. The lady shrugged, “Come back with a late slip, you know the rules.” She then turned his attention to the rest of the class. “Alright class, I’m Mrs. Hemmings, hope you all had a great summer. Now, as a reminder, I have 2 rules: 1.) Be in this class before that second bell rings otherwise you’ll have to deal with the office. 2.) No disruptions- some people, like our athletes, need to hear the announcements- so whatever work you need to do, keep the level at a whisper. Any questions?” When we all shook our heads no, she started to talk again, “Alright, let’s take-”

My mind made the connection between Luke’s last name, our homeroom teacher, and Calum’s joke. I laughed to myself before I looked at Ashton and tapped his shoulder, questioning why our teacher had stopped talking.

Announcements.

Oh.

Mrs. Hemmings clipboard, sat in her chair and stared at the intercom, waiting patiently. After a while, she grabbed the clipboard off his desk. “Alright, back to attendance. Anderson, Ben?”

Ashton and Calum exchanged a look and groaned as the boy raised his hand for attendance. “It’s gonna be a long year…” they muttered as they scanned the classroom for other people they might know.

“Clifford, Madison?”

I raised my hand and cleared my throat as loudly as I could.

“Clifford… I’ve never had you before, have I?” Mrs. Hemmings asked, looking puzzled.

I shook my head and Ashton spoke up for me, “Nope, she’s new, Mrs. H.”

“Thank you, Mr. Irwin. But, in the future, I’m sure Miss Clifford can speak for herself.”

“Yeah, shut it, Irwin!” a boy- Ben- spoke from across the room. Even I could sense the hostility as his mouth moved.

“How about you piss off?” Ashton spat back.

Ben stood up from his seat, his chair scraping across the linoleum.

“Settle down! Honestly, you’d think a summer would have cooled you both down,” Mrs. Hemmings said sternly.

As Ashton continued to glare at Ben as Ben sat back down, Calum took it upon himself to act as my advocate. “Mrs. H, Madison… she’s…”

A flicker of recognition flashed across Mrs. Hemmings face. “Oh, right. My apologies, Miss Clifford. Let me know whatever accommodations you need.”

I nodded and sunk low in my chair. Ten minutes and I already wanted to disappear.

“You okay, Mads?” Ashton asked, reaching his hand out to grab mine.

I looked up and smiled painfully at him. Me? Oh yeah, I’m fine.

“I’ve told you you’re a bad liar, right?”

Why was that boy so angry?

“Oh, that,” Ashton waved his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing.”

“Now, who’s the liar?” Calum joked.

“Shut up,” he told Calum, giving him a shove.

I looked at them and raised an eyebrow. Okay, since Ash is being stubborn. Cal, what happened?

“I’m not stubborn,” Ashton told me. “Anderson and I just don’t like each other.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Calum rolled his eyes.

I shook my head and pulled out a book, looking at their mouths for movement from the corner of my eye.

Ashton sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Look, maybe it’s time to put it in the past?” Calum suggested. “You and Claire have been over with for a long time. You’re with Madison now. It’s a new school year. Let it go, man.”

I closed my book and looked Ashton dead in the eye. Wait, this is about that Claire girl again? Are you sure you’re over her?

“Ben’s one of the reasons I broke up with Claire,” he explained.

Oh.

“It’s nothing though. We’ve never gotten along.”

Oh.

“It’s true,” Calum put in. “And Claire, well, she didn’t exactly help make the two of them best buds.”

Oh.

“You okay?” Ashton asked.

Yeah. You have a past. Obviously not all of it is good. My past isn’t exactly glamorous either.

He smiled at me. “You’re great, you know that?”

You smile a lot, was the retort.

“He does,” Calum agreed. “But, after a glum summer, it’s nice to see him smiling again.”

It is a nice smile, I agreed.

My watch vibrated, signally the end of class and cutting off our conversation. “Mads and I are off to Econ. Where are you headed?” Ashton asked Calum, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

“I have Government with Riley. I think Mike and Crystal have Econ though.”

“Sweet, we can all walk together.” He tapped my shoulder, Ready, Mads?

I looked up from securing my bag. Yeah, I’m ready.

“Cool.” He threw his arm around my shoulder and the three of us walked out of the room. In the hallway, Crystal and Mike, along with Luke and Sierra were mid-makeout, while Riley leaned against the wall rolling her eyes. “There you are!” she said, slapping Crystal on the back.

Crystal pulled back from Mike, “I’m a little busy, Ry,” she muttered before Mike pulled her back, both giggling. “Bother Lu and Si, they’re doing the same thing.”

Riley gave them another eye roll. “Getting caught making out with the new kid won’t make you any cooler.”

It was Mike’s turn to break away. “Being cool is for suckers.”

I laughed, Easy for you to say, Mr. Popular. Can we go now? I reached up to grab Ashton’s hand that was still around me. I felt him shiver next to me, before he rubbed his thumb over my hand.

After a few more stolen kisses and eye rolls later, we made our way to our first class. We bid farewell to Calum, Luke, Sierra, and Riley as they went next door to Government, and the rest of us went into Econ. I took the same seat in the front corner and Ashton followed, taking the seat next to me. Mike took the seat behind Ashton and Crystal took the seat behind me.

I busied myself with getting my desk ready with my folder, notebook, and pencil case. I was so preoccupied it took me a moment to notice the sneakers stopped in front of Ashton’s desk. “Hey, Ash,” Claire was saying when I looked up to read her lips. “How was your summer?”

“Don’t you have someone else to bother?” Crystal asked with a level of snark that made Mike laugh.

“Nobody was talking to you, Crys. Hi, I’m Claire.” I could tell she was flirting by the way her face took on a pleasant look and she flipped her hair; it made me sick to my stomach.

“Mike,” Mike nodded, looking her up and down.

“Oh, hell no. Sweetie, you better back away from my man.” Crystal glared as she got up out of her seat. “Run along, homewrecker.”

“Oh, like you didn’t swoop in on Ash the second he was free?” Claire shot back.

“Unlike you, I can handle being single without attaching myself to the nearest set of lips. And just because Ash won’t hit a girl, doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass, sweetheart. I may be a preacher’s daughter, but I ain’t no saint.”

Claire made a tight lip smile before walking off.

Mike looked at Crystal with a look of shock and awe. “Damn, woman… That was sexy as hell, but relax.”

Crystal sat down with a huff. “I’d hate to call another girl a bitch, but… well, Claire is one. The way she bounced around between Ash and Ben the last three years never making up her mind was just a bitch move.”

My eyes lit up and I turned to Ashton. You dated her for three years?! No wonder you react the way you do.

“I told you that I dated her for a while,” Ashton shrugged.

Yeah, but you didn’t mention the “three years” part.

“Three-ish.”

“Yeah, you know, except for all those times you caught her making out with Ben Anderson,” Crystal grinned at us.

Hmm… that makes a lot more sense now. If I was Ashton, I would be hostile towards Ben and Claire, too. It sounds like they did quite a number on him.

Ashton’s hand went through his hair, stopping at his neck. “Yeah, it was a mess.”

I reached over to squeeze his hand reassuringly before I pulled out my book to read until class started. Occasionally I would look over at Ashton who was looking around bored or doodling in his notebook.

The next 2 classes followed a similar structure, where the eight of us would walk to our classes before going our separate ways. I would take my seat and Ashton took the seat next to me. I’d busy myself with getting ready for class. I’d look up to see the look of relief that fell on Ashton’s face when the bell rang with no Ben or Claire in the room. The teacher would drone on while I jotted down whatever I thought I would need, while Ashton doodled or stared into space. Then the bell would ring, while my watch buzzed and the routine would start all over again.

“Finally! Man, I’m starving,” Ashton said when the bell for lunch rang after a particularly boring English class. It was the only class we had alone.

I laughed, Good thing it’s lunchtime then. I laughed again.

He threw an arm around me as we made our way to the cafeteria. “So, your watch buzzes to let you know the bell rang?” he asked, gesturing at my watch.

I nodded.

“Cool. Did you need to stop by your locker?”

Not right now. I gotta find Mike, though.

We found the rest of the group in the cafeteria at the table that seemed familiar to everyone but Mike and me. “Hey, Mads, here’s your money,” Mike said, digging a few crumpled dollars out of his pocket.

Can you keep it in your wallet next time? I don’t like it all crumpled up. I tried my best to smooth the dollars out against my shorts.

“I’ll try to remember,” he said, gripping my shoulder as he got up to go get lunch.

“Where’s Cal and Luke?” Ashton asked Riley and Sierra.

“Getting our lunch. We’re holding down the fort today,” they told him.

He nodded. “C’mon, let’s go eat,” he told me, steering us in the direction of the line.

We got our lunch, paid, and made our way back to the table. As I set my tray down, Mike looked at it- a grilled cheese sandwich, fries, an apple, and a bottle of water. “Way to spice it up, Mads,” he muttered sarcastically.

Ha-ha, very clever. I signed before flipping him the finger.

“Do you always eat the same thing for lunch?” Ashton asked.

More or less. Some cafeteria food is risky. Grilled cheeses are pretty safe.

He laughed. “Better safe than sorry huh?”

Exactly.

“And does Mike always hold your money for lunch?”

I nodded. I can’t feel my phone too well if it goes off when I have money in my pocket.

“Why don’t you just carry the money in your wallet in your bag?”

I shrugged. Habit at this point.

“No, not habit,” Mike explained. “People used to take the money from her bag. Easy target, right?”

I rolled my eyes at the memories of middle school kids all grinning at me weirdly while some kid patted my back and thanked me for my generosity as they slipped my lunch money in their pocket. Jerks.

“For real? Wow, that sucks.” Ashton reached out to squeeze my hand and smiled at me.

We ate our lunches, having conversations about our classes and what we were gonna do after school. Since the boys wouldn’t have soccer practice after school until after winter break, they were looking forward to enjoying their afternoons. The girls, not wanting to watch them play videogames, were going to hit the mall for the end of summer sales. When they asked me if I wanted to go, I shook my head. No, thanks.

“You can come play videogames with us,” Ashton offered. The boys shot him a glance that suggested they weren’t all that excited about that plan.

I shook my head again. That’s okay. I’m gonna get started on some of the homework we have. In truth, I wanted to spend the afternoon by myself. I had been spending so much time with them that I was actually missing being alone.

“Oh, well maybe I’ll stop by and we can study for a bit after dinner.”

My face scrunched up. Man he was persistent. I looked at my watch, then got up from the table. I got to stop by my locker before class.

I hurried to my locker, feeling really embarrassed that I couldn’t just say I wanted to be alone. I flung my locker open, suddenly feeling angry that I couldn’t bring myself to just admit to wanting to be alone. I switched out my folders and notebooks before carefully setting my camera in my bag, slowing my movements to get as much time away as I could to recenter myself. I whirled around, ready to go back to the table and hoping everyone had moved on.

I stopped mid-whirl and jumped at the sight of Ashton. How long had he been standing there? Did Mike send you to check on me? I signed, with anger that wasn’t meant for him, but I couldn’t get rid of either.

“No.”

Good. The anger melted. Now, can you leave me alone, please?

“If you tell me why you left,” he told me.

I sighed. I do want to spend time with you. I like spending time with you. And with our friends. But, I haven’t really had time to myself, so I wanted to spend the afternoon alone. But, I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, or embarrass you in front of everyone. Or worse, make you mad. As hard as it is for me to guess your mood because I can’t hear it, I know not being able to hear my tone is hard for you, too. It’s not a rude thing. I just… I like to be alone sometimes. And I’m not used to having to ask for alone time. If that makes sense...

He pulled me towards him, “You could’ve just told me that instead of running off and worrying us.”

I pulled back a little so he could see my hands. You wouldn’t have been upset?

“Maybe a little, but who cares?”

Me. I care. I pulled back a little more so I could look at him and those hazel eyes with their flecks of gold and green that I never wanted to see angry at me. I care a lot.

He laughed with his eyes. “Well, I don’t. Look, you don’t have to be scared to tell me what you need. I’ll take a little embarrassment and bruised ego if it means you’re happy.”

You’re sweet. I reached up on my tiptoes to kiss him.

#according to plan #chapter 7 #ashton irwin #5sos #galcal irwin

7 notes · View notes