unwelcome visitor | found family au ⋆˚࿔
✩.* found family masterlist
summary: in which the guys come face-to-face with tom at a party, only for your ex to show up drunk outside your dorm hours later.
notes: hi! i hope you’re all well, thank you for your patience! 💌💌 i took a little bit of inspo from 'the score' for this part! i hope you enjoy! <3
warnings: angst, emotional manipulation, abusive ex, panic attack, harassment, physical confrontation, blood
the party is allie's idea.
not because she particularly wants to go, not because any of them do really.
there has been a strange heaviness hanging over everyone since yesterday, and allie has decided that staying trapped inside the dorm while you and garrett quietly avoid each other is not helping anybody.
you're sitting cross-legged on your bed when she announces it.
you look up from the book you have not turned a page of in nearly twenty minutes. “we are?”
allie stands in front of your closet with both hands on her hips, already dressed in jeans and a small black top, her hair falling loosely over her shoulders.
behind her, grace is applying lip gloss in the mirror while sabrina sits at your desk, pretending not to watch you carefully.
“there’s a party over at phi delta theta,” allie continues, a small smile gracing her features.
“we’re going to drink something terrible, dean is going to complain about the music, and logan will probably spend the whole night trying to convince somebody to let him control the playlist.”
grace presses her lips together, trying to stifle a laugh. “that does sound likely.”
allie turns back towards the closet, moving hangers, clearly searching for an outfit for you.
“i don’t really feel like going. garrett said he wanted space, so i'm going to give him exactly that.” the words come out sharper than intended. allie’s expression changes, not offended, just worried.
you immediately soften your voice. “i’m sorry.”
you look down at your hands. “i just... i don't think showing up is going to do any good. he asked for time, the last thing he needs is me ignoring that.”
you shake your head. “no.”
allie stares at you. “yes.”
you close the book, setting it down beside you. “you've all been hovering over me since yesterday.”
“we are not hovering” grace says, placing her lipgloss back into her purse.
you send her a look as if to say really?
she pauses. “okay, maybe we have been a little, but only because we want to make sure you're okay”
“i'm okay, please, you guys should go. have a drink for me!"
allie’s brows pull together, shaking her head. “we don’t care about the party, y/n, we care about you.”
"i’ll be mad at you if you do.”
she lets out a quiet breath, “that’s manipulative.”
“you’re not supposed to admit it!”
you almost smile in response to her words, almost. allie notices, seizing on it immediately. “come with us.”
you shake your head, her expression falls again. “i’m okay, i promise” you say quietly.
allie looks unconvinced, you can't blame her.
you have barely eaten all day. you spent most of the afternoon curled beneath your blankets, scrolling mindlessly past messages from garrett that you cannot bring yourself to answer.
did you get to class okay?
dean said allie mentioned you skipped dinner. please eat something.
the space garrett asked for has become something neither of you know how to cross. he still checks on you, still cares, but he does it carefully now, from a distance, and every restrained message makes something inside you ache.
you understand why he's hurt, you do.
but understanding doesn't stop the silence from feeling like punishment, a feeling tom had taught you far too well.
allie comes to sit beside you. “you’ll call me if you need me?”
“not after crying alone for forty-five minutes and deciding it doesn’t count anymore?”
you look at her. “that happened once.”
“it happened just this morning while i was in class.”
you drop your gaze, she nudges her knee against yours, her voice softening. “we don’t have to go.”
you gently knudge her chest, trying to usher her towards the door. “go.”
you hesitate. the honest answer would keep them here, so you do what you have always been good at. you smile faintly, before saying three final words.
the fraternity house is already crowded by the time they arrive.
music pours through the open front door, bass heavy enough to make the wooden porch vibrate beneath their feet. people are spilling out onto the lawn despite the cold, plastic cups held against their chests, jackets abandoned somewhere inside.
dean is waiting near the stairs. he sees allie first, immediately looking behind her, the question immediate. “where is she?”
allie’s mouth tightens, responding quickly, as though the answer is obvious.
garrett, standing a few feet behind him with logan and tucker, goes very still. it's almost imperceptible, a slight tightening through his shoulders, a flicker in his face.
allie notices anyway, making sure to catch garrett's eye. “she didn’t want to come.”
garrett's gaze moves to the street one last time before he nods in response.
dean's eyes shift between them.
he's spent the last twenty-four hours watching the two of you dance around each other, both too stubborn, too scared, or too hurt to be the first to reach out.
dean looks at allie, his voice laced with concern. “is she okay?”
allie gives him a look. “what do you think?”
dean’s jaw tightens, garrett looks down at the cup in his hand, tucker speaks before the silence becomes too uncomfortable, too unbearable.
“we don’t have to stay long.”
“we’re not staying long" allie says.
dean reaches for her hand. “you want me to take you back?”
“y/n threatened to be mad if we stayed with her.”
despite the situation a small chuckle escapes from his lips. “that sounds like her.”
allie only offers a small smile in response, nodding her head.
grace and sabrina gravitate towards logan and tucker, allowing allie to pull dean slightly aside. she lowers her voice, clearly attempting to keep the next few words between them.
dean glances at garrett again. “i know.”
“no. i mean she barely slept last night. she hasn't really eaten, and every time her phone goes off, she looks like she's about to be sick.”
his expression hardens. “did you tell him that?”
allie follows his gaze. garrett is listening to something logan is saying, though from the look on his face, he isn't taking in a word of it.
dean shakes his head. “that doesn’t mean he gets to just bail on her.”
“he pretty much has, allie.”
"he reached out" she offers.
“i know he did.” dean rubs a hand over his face, clearly frustrated by it all. “but if she spent the last twenty-four hours crying, allie, then one or two texts don't suddenly make me feel better about it.”
she exhales, “please don’t start something with him tonight.”
“i’m not going to start anything.”
she stares at him, a clear warning in her eyes. he lifts his free hand in surrender, “i'm serious.”
allie doesn't look reassured. dean catches the look on her face and softens. he leans down, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.
“then i’m taking you home.”
together, they head inside.
the house is overheated and loud, every room crowded with bodies and voices. garrett ends up near the kitchen with the boys, leaning against a counter while logan argues with somebody from the hockey team about a missed call from a game that happened three weeks ago.
normally, garrett would have an opinion. tonight, however, he is quiet, unnervingly quiet.
his phone sits heavily in his pocket. he'd checked it twice on the walk over, once on the porch, then again ten minutes after arriving.
no missed calls, no messages.
he told you he needed time, now he hates every second of it.
he hates not knowing whether you ate, whether you're asleep, whether you're sitting alone in your room convinced he's leaving.
he keeps replaying the argument.
the way you had looked at him when he said you had taken the choice away, the way your face had changed when he told you he needed space. the quiet, broken way you had said okay.
he had meant a few hours, maybe a night.
enough time to stop feeling like an idiot every time he pictured himself laughing beside tom, enough time to sort through the anger before it became something unfair to you.
instead, the silence had lasted longer than he'd ever intended, and now, neither of you knew how to end it.
garrett exhales quietly, pulling his phone from his pocket. he hesitates for a second before pressing your contact.
then your voicemail sounds. his shoulders sink almost imperceptibly, ending the call before he can say anything else.
maybe you didn't want to talk, maybe he'd waited too long.
garrett slips his phone back into his pocket, trying not to let it get to him. he looks towards the front door again, except this time, dean notices.
garrett’s jaw flexes. “i know.”
garrett turns his gaze on him, eyebrows furrowed, clearly frustrated by his friends commentary. “you got something you wanna say?”
dean thinks about allie's warning not to start anything, it lasts approximately half a second.
logan abandons his argument mid-sentence, turning around to face the two of them, while tucker sighs, already anticipating the conversation.
“maybe not here” he says, placing a hand on dean's chest, a clear warning.
dean ignores tucker, his gaze refusing to leave garrett's. “you asked for time, fine, but she’s sitting alone in her room thinking you hate her.”
garrett’s expression darkens. “i don’t hate her.”
“i told her i just needed time.”
“and then you walked away.”
garrett pushes away from the counter. “careful.”
dean gives a humourless laugh. “you keep saying that like it scares me.”
“both of you” tucker says firmly. before either of them can close the distance, logan steps between them, planting himself squarely in the middle.
“great talk guys, really productive!” he says, sarcasm laced clearly in his tone.
dean’s eyes remain fixed on garrett. “you don’t get to punish her because you’re embarrassed.”
garrett’s face changes. “i’m not embarrassed.”
the word comes out harder than he intends, everyone goes quiet. garrett presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek, looking away.
“i’m fucking hurt, dean.”
dean’s anger falters, not entirely, but enough.
garrett keeps his voice low. “i spent an entire day with him. i laughed with him. i told him about her while he sat there knowing exactly who she was.”
dean’s expression sharpens again. “she handled it wrong, i'm not arguing that.” he shakes his head. “but fuck, garrett, haven't we all? she thought she was protecting you.”
he takes a step closer, pressing his finger into garrett's chest. “she fucking needs you.”
garrett looks at him. “i know that.”
garrett’s hand tightens around his cup, but before he can answer, somebody brushes past them. a shoulder clips garrett’s, the man turns, muttering an absent apology, before stopping dead in his tracks.
garrett recognises him immediately.
the room seems to shrink around them. tom is standing less than two feet away, not wearing his team jacket, not dressed like the careful, composed captain garrett spent a day beside under studio lights.
he's in a dark shirt, sleeves pushed up, a cup in one hand, smile already spreading across his features as recognition settles in.
garrett doesn't answer, dean looks between them, logan goes still, tucker steps closer without thinking, as if out of instinct.
tom glances at the group. “whole briar leadership committee.”
still, nobody says anything.
he seems entertained by that. “didn’t expect to see you here.”
garrett’s voice is flat. “could say the same.”
“friend of mine goes here.”
tom's smile widens slightly, it's clear he's been drinking, not enough to sway, but enough that the polish is beginning to come loose.
his gaze drifts past garrett towards the room. “she here?”
garrett’s entire body freezes, his knuckles tightening. dean answers first, his voice coming out sharp. “don’t.”
tom looks at him, eyebrows raised in mock amusement. “don’t what?”
“say another word about her.”
he studies dean with faint amusement, crossing his arms over his chest as realisation dawns over him.
“you must be the protective one, di laurentis, is it?”
dean takes a step forward, allie appears beside him almost immediately, fingers closing around his forearm in warning.
tom glances at her, recognition immediately gracing his features. “allie, right?”
her expression freezes, he smiles. “seen you in pictures.”
dean moves before anyone can stop him, not violently, just enough to place himself fully between tom and allie. “get the fuck away from her.”
people nearby are beginning to notice, the conversation around them dulling at the edges.
tom lifts both hands slightly. “relax.”
garrett’s voice turns cold. “what are you doing here?”
“then go have it somewhere else.”
tom laughs. “that changed quickly.”
garrett stares at him. he can feel the anger pulsing through his body now, hot, immediate. everything he has been trying to control for the last day is suddenly standing in front of him with a smirk.
the humiliation, the worry, the image of you crying. the knowledge that this man had spent years teaching you to doubt yourself.
tom takes a sip from his cup. “guess she finally told you.”
logan mutters, “walk away.”
it's unclear who he is speaking to, who exactly the words were directed at.
tom ignores him, his eyes remaining on garrett. “how’d that conversation go?”
garrett steps closer. “get the fuck out of my face, langford.”
tucker places a hand against garrett's chest. not to restrain him, not yet, just a quiet warning. tom glances down at it before looking back up, a laugh escaping him, clearly finding the whole thing amusing.
“you heard him” tucker says. the calmness in his voice is more threatening than shouting would have been.
tom looks around at all four of them. “she always did like having people fight her battles.”
dean jerks against allie’s grip. “say that again. i dare you.”
“dean” allie says, sharper now.
tom is looking at garrett, waiting. he knows exactly what he’s doing. “you know she used to do this with me too?”
garrett’s eyes narrow. “do what?”
“make everything bigger than it was.”
the cup in garrett’s hand crumples and liquid spills all over his fingers.
logan sees it, moving closer. “g.”
tom smiles without warmth. “everything had to become a crisis with her. every bad night meant i didn’t love her", he laughs to himself, as though the memory is humorous.
"it became fucking exhausting after a while.”
garrett lunges, tucker catches him around the chest, while logan grabs his arm. the movement sends partygoers nearby stumbling backwards, voices rising.
dean tries to move forward at the same time, but allie and sabrina both grab at him.
“get him out of here!” tucker snaps.
not to tom, to the others.
garrett is fighting against his hold now, eyes fixed on tom with a fury none of them have seen before.
“you don’t get to talk about her!” garrett says. his voice is rough, shaking with the effort it takes not to swing.
“you don’t get to say her name.”
tom watches him, swaying slightly from intoxication. “wow. she really has got you trained.”
dean shoves past allie. logan releases garrett with one hand just in time to catch dean by the shoulder. “jesus christ, leave it dean!”
tom takes another drink, clearly enjoying this. the realisation makes garrett somehow angrier. “she tell you everything?” tom asks, coaxing him. “or just the version where she did nothing wrong?”
garrett stops fighting tucker for half a second. the room around them almost silent now.
tom leans closer, lowering his voice until only garrett can hear. “she was always good at that.”
garrett’s face empties, when he speaks, his voice is quiet, but laced clearly with anger.
“you cheated on her with her best friend, you fucking prick!”
the confident, easy smile on tom's face flickers, only briefly. “is that what she told you?”
dean’s expression turns murderous, allie goes pale. garrett takes another step, forcing tucker backwards with him. “are you calling her a liar?”
your ex shrugs. “i’m saying relationships are complicated.”
“no” garrett says. “they’re not.”
something in his tone makes even tom pause.
garrett’s eyes do not leave his. “you lied to her. you tore her down because you were too much of a coward to admit what you were doing.”
tom's jaw tightens, as the amusement begins to slip. garrett sees it, yet decides to keep going.
“and now you’re standing on my campus, trying to make her sound crazy because you still can’t handle the fact that everybody finally knows what kind of person you are.”
tom’s expression hardens fully. “your campus?”
“tonight, as far as you’re concerned, i do.”
dean almost smiles, not because anything is funny, but simply because that sounds more like garrett, the one he knew.
your ex looks past him at the crowd. “this is pathetic.”
“then leave” tucker says.
he starts to move away, but not before turning back, his gaze finding garrett once more. “see you boys at the frozen four championship.”
dean laughs once, sharp. “if you make it.”
tom smiles, shoving garrett’s shoulder as he walks past.
garrett breaks free, this time it takes all three of them.
logan gets both arms around one side of him. tucker locks onto the other. dean catches garrett around the middle, partly restraining him and partly trying to get past him himself.
allie shouts dean’s name as people scatter.
“say it again! i fucking dare you.” garrett yells.
tom keeps backing away, grin returning now that there are bodies between them.
“see you on the ice, graham.”
“get him out!” somebody from the fraternity finally says.
the crowd shifts, tom disappears into it, garrett is still trying to follow.
“he talked about her like-”
dean’s voice cuts through the noise. garrett looks at him, dean is breathing hard, face flushed with anger.
“we heard him” he repeats. “and if you hit him here, y/n becomes news again.”
that gets through, not completely, but enough that garrett stops fighting. his chest rises and falls beneath tucker’s arm, logan slowly releases him, tucker waits another few seconds before doing the same.
garrett stands in the centre of the kitchen with crushed plastic still in his hand and a drink soaking the front of his hoodie. he looks around, noticing the staring faces, the phones people are pretending not to hold up, and his stomach turns.
“we’re leaving” tucker says.
the girls leave before the boys. allie barely waits until they're outside before pulling her phone out.
she calls you, thankfully, you answer on the third ring.
your voice is quiet, allie closes her eyes.
she looks back towards the house. through the front windows, she can still see dean pacing near the entryway while logan speaks to garrett, hand on his back in reassurance.
the lie comes too easily. “we’re coming home.”
she hesitates, grace and sabrina exchange a look beside her. “nothing you need to worry about tonight.”
allie’s heart drops. "who?”
“did something happen with him?”
allie steps away from the others, taking a deep breath before responding. “y/n. tom was there.”
“i’m here.” your voice sounds far away.
allie looks through the window again. garrett is standing near the door now, head lowered while tucker speaks to him. even after everything, even while the two of you are barely speaking, you're still worried about him.
you close your eyes on the other end, allie can hear the rhythm of your breathing change. “he shouldn’t have-”
“none of this is his fault.”
“and it isn’t yours either y/n.”
“i’ll be back at the dorm soon.”
you sigh deeply before responding. “okay. i'll see you soon.”
allie hangs up, turning back towards grace and sabrina. “she knows.”
sabrina’s face tightens, grace wraps her arms around herself. “should we all go back?”
allie shakes her head. “i think she’s overwhelmed.”
“i don’t want her alone.”
suddenly dean steps onto the porch behind them, allie turns. “where’s garrett?”
“tucker and logan are taking him back to the house.”
dean gives her a look, shaking his head, causing allie to let out a quiet sigh. after a moment, dean glances back towards the street.
by the time allie arrives at your shared dorm, you have moved from your bed to the floor. you're sitting against the side of the mattress in an oversized sweatshirt, knees pulled to your chest, your phone hanging loosely from one hand.
the room is dark apart from your desk lamp, casting a soft, warm glow across the room. allie opens the door slowly. your eyes lift, moving past her almost immediately.
dean is standing in the hallway.
your gaze flicks back to allie, confusion written plainly across your features. "you brought dean?"
“he invited himself” she clarifies, sending you a warm, comforting smile.
“correct” dean says. he steps inside without waiting for permission, closing the door quietly behind him.
you don't have the energy to protest.
allie drops her bag by the door before crossing the room. instead of sitting on the bed, she lowers herself onto the floor beside you, mirroring the way you're curled against the mattress.
allie's eyes travel slowly over your face, taking in the puffy redness around your eyes, the sweatshirt sleeves swallowed over your hands, the way your knees are tucked so tightly against your chest.
dean sighs quietly from where he's leaning against your desk. "bad lie, y/n."
your gaze lifts to him. his face is still faintly flushed from the party, hair messier than usual, jaw tight enough to make the muscle tick. he looks angry, but not at you.
allie glances at dean, he answers before she can. "your ex is a dick."
an unsteady breath leaves you, "i know."
dean lets out a humourless laugh. "apparently not enough people do."
his shoulders loosen a fraction. "sorry."
silence settles again between the three of you. you tug your sleeves further over your hands, avoiding both of their eyes. "what did he say?"
dean's expression hardens almost immediately. "nothing important."
your eyes lift to meet his gaze. "allie said garrett almost hit him."
"garrett almost hits people all the time."
you stare at him, not buying it for a second. the room stays quiet until dean finally sighs through his nose.
he rubs a hand over the back of his neck. "he said some things."
your stomach twists. "what things?"
dean shakes his head. "you don't need to hear them, y/n."
he pushes himself away from the desk, "and i'm saying no."
your head lifts properly for the first time since they'd arrived. "you don't get to decide that."
the words come out sharper than you intend. the room stills, dean freezes. you hear it the same moment he does, too close, too similar to the conversation with garrett.
allie hears it too, her eyes flicking quietly between the two of you.
after a beat, dean gives a small nod. "you're right."
guilt settles immediately in your chest, causing you to look away. "i'm sorry."
his voice is softer now. he drags your desk chair over, the legs scraping gently against the floor before he lowers himself into it, sitting directly in front of you instead of towering over you.
his forearms rest on his knees. "he tried to make it sound like you were difficult."
your gaze drops back to the carpet, dean watches you carefully as he continues. "he said you made everything into a crisis."
"said you were exhausting."
your fingers curl tighter inside your sleeves. they shouldn't hurt anymore, they're old words, old insults, ones you've heard in that voice so many times they've almost become familiar.
too emotional, too sensitive, too much.
allie's hand quietly finds yours, she doesn't say anything, simply threads her fingers between yours and squeezes.
his eyes stay fixed on your face, trying to work out how much damage those words are still capable of doing. "he was just trying to get a reaction, y/n."
his voice is gentler now. "we all know none of it's true."
a weak laugh escapes before you can stop it. "well he got one."
"from us." dean doesn't hesitate. "not from you."
he shakes his head once. "no, it doesn't."
another silence stretches across the room.
it's you who breaks it. "garrett shouldn't have to deal with this."
dean's eyes narrow immediately, "don't."
"don't make this about what garrett has to deal with."
his voice is calm, but firm. "it's about a drunk asshole showing up somewhere he knew he'd cause trouble."
you shake your head, slowly, firmly. "none of this would be happening if i'd told everyone earlier."
dean leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. "he would still be a piece of shit, y/n."
you finally look up at him.
"garrett would still hate him”, another beat, “i would still hate him,” his eyes flick briefly towards allie, "allie would still hate him."
the corner of his mouth lifts just enough to soften the room.
"logan and tucker would probably hate him more politely...but the result would be exactly the same."
allie's thumb brushes absentmindedly across the back of your hand, attempting to provide you with reassurance.
you swallow. "is garrett still mad at me?"
it's so quiet dean almost doesn't hear it. allie's expression falls. dean looks down for a moment before answering, "garrett's mad at everything, y/n."
your eyes stay fixed on the floor. "that's not what i asked."
the room feels impossibly still. when dean speaks again, his voice is almost gentle.
your mouth trembles. "that's also not what i asked."
dean holds your gaze for a long moment. "it's the answer that matters."
you blink hard against the fresh sting in your eyes. without saying a word, allie shifts even closer until her shoulder presses lightly against yours.
this time, you don't pull away.
for the next hour, the three of you stay in the room, not talking about anything important.
dean finds a terrible reality show on allie’s laptop, allie orders food you insist you don't want before placing fries beside you until you start eating them without noticing.
dean takes your phone when it begins lighting up with notifications from people who were at the party, turning it face down on your desk.
you don’t even bother to argue.
by midnight, grace and sabrina have checked in from their dorm.
logan has texted allie that garrett is home, tucker has texted dean that he has calmed down.
none of them mention the way garrett sat on the edge of his bed for twenty minutes staring at your contact before locking his phone again.
he tells allie he is staying until you fall asleep. you tell him he’s being dramatic, he says you’re welcome.
it’s almost one in the morning when the first knock comes. not a normal knock, a hard, uneven pounding against the door.
all three of you freeze, dean looks towards it.
allie’s laptop continues playing, laughter from the show filling the sudden silence, before another pound sounds.
your entire body goes cold, you recognise the voice immediately, even slurred, even muffled through wood.
your hand closes around allie’s arm, she looks at you, noticing the colour draining from your face.
dean stands. “what the fuck.”
another bang rattles the door. “i know you’re in there, y/n!"
dean looks through the peephole, his posture changing instantly.
allie gets to her feet. “is it him?”
dean turns around, his face hard, serious. “call campus security.”
your breathing becomes shallow. “how does he know where i live?”
“doesn’t matter right now.”
outside, tom laughs. the sound is ugly, wet with alcohol. “still hiding behind everybody else, y/n?”
you flinch, dean’s head snaps towards the door.
“don’t open it” allie says.
he looks at her like she has suggested something absurd. “i’m not letting him stand there and talk to her.”
another bang. “come on, y/n!”
your lungs stop working properly, the room seems to tilt around you. allie grabs her phone, calling security, giving the building and your room number in a rush.
dean unlocks the door, you stand so quickly the blood rushes from your head.
he turns, you have never seen dean’s face like that. he’s not angry in the loud, impulsive way he often is, he’s cold, controlled, terrifyingly certain.
“he doesn’t get to get away with this anymore, y/n.”
tom is leaning against the opposite wall. he looks worse than he did at the party, eyes glassy, shirt untucked, one side of his mouth lifted in a lazy smile.
when he sees dean, the smile disappears.
dean steps into the hallway, pulling the door almost shut behind him, leaving only the narrowest gap. “you need to leave.”
tom laughs. “i came to talk to her.”
“she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“funny. didn’t hear her.”
dean takes one step closer. “you’re not going to.”
you clap a hand over your mouth at the familiar sound of your exes voice, allie wraps both arms around you.
“come out and tell me yourself!”
dean shoves the door fully closed behind him, the latch catching with a sharp click. you can't see them anymore, you can only hear them.
dean's voice drops dangerously low. “you say her name again, langford, and i swear to god-”
“what?” tom scoffs. “you'll hit me?”
“keep pushing and you'll find out.”
tom lets out a short laugh. “you all act like she's some victim.”
“get the fuck away from her door.”
dean takes another step forward, the scrape of his shoes carrying through the wood. “i know enough.”
“you know what she tells you.”
“and i know what you say when she's not there to defend herself.”
tom snorts. “she always needed defending, that's the problem.”
a deafening crack echoes through the hallway as dean's fist slams into the wall beside tom's head. you gasp, as shock floods through your entire body. allie tightens her grip around you out of instinct.
dean's voice is no longer controlled, every word is ripped free of restraint. “i'm asking you one last time. leave her alone."
doors further down the hallway begin opening.
tom raises his voice deliberately, smirking, as if this was all some joke to him. “you hear me, y/n? you still doing this? still crying until everybody thinks you're the good one?”
your knees buckle, allie catches you before you hit the floor.
“no, no, no.” she cups your face. “look at me, y/n.”
you can't, you can only hear him.
the past folds over the present so completely that, for a second, you're not in college anymore.
you're eighteen, standing outside his house while he tells you your best friend understood him better.
you're sitting in his car while he tells you your insecurities are ruining the relationship.
you're apologising for finding out about the cheating.
“you always were fucking dramatic!” he shouts through the door.
dean grabs him. you hear the impact of a body hitting the opposite wall.
allie flinches, calling out after her boyfriend. “dean!”
a second later, footsteps stop directly outside your room. the handle rattles, then the door flies open. dean has one fist twisted in the front of tom's shirt, his forearm pressed across his chest, stopping him inches from your doorway.
tom is laughing breathlessly. “there she is.”
dean slams him back against the wall. “don't you dare look at her, even for a second.”
tom's eyes find you over dean's shoulder. you're on the floor in allie's arms, crying so hard you can't breathe.
something in his expression flickers.
not guilt, recognition. he's seen you like this before, he knows exactly what those sobs mean.
dean's fist connects with tom's face before another word can leave his mouth.
tom's head snaps sideways. for a heartbeat, the hallway goes completely still. nobody moves, all you can hear is your own uneven breathing and the ringing in your ears.
blood drips onto the carpet. tom spits red onto the floor, laughing anyway, as though it means nothing.
allie screams dean's name, dean grabs the front of his shirt before he can straighten.
“you stay the fuck away from her!”
heavy footsteps echo down the hallway. two security officers round the corner at a near run, taking in the scene instantly.
dean's bleeding knuckles, tom's split lip, you on the floor, allie kneeling beside you.
dean releases tom a split second before they reach him. tom stumbles backwards, one hand flying to his mouth. blood glistens against his fingers.
one officer steps between them, holding an arm out. “everyone please back up!”
dean points towards the stairwell. “get him out of here.”
the officer doesn't take his eyes off tom. “sir, step back inside.”
“we understand. step inside.”
tom wipes the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, still smiling.
dean surges forward. the second officer catches him by the chest before he gets more than a step in. “inside. now.”
allie is beside him instantly, wrapping a hand around his forearm.
his chest heaves with every breath, every muscle in his body still coiled tight, ready to throw himself straight back at tom.
then he looks at you, really looks.
you're folded in on yourself on the floor, one arm wrapped around your stomach, the other pressed against your chest as though you're physically trying to force air into your lungs.
for a second he simply stares, until the anger leaves him so quickly it almost looks painful.
tom twists around one last time as the officers begin escorting him towards the stairs. “good luck with graham, y/n.”
dean instinctively moves, allie plants both hands against his chest.
that gets through to him. dean looks back at you, really looks. he crosses the room in three quick strides before stopping short, something seeming to occur to him all at once.
you're frightened enough already.
the anger drains from his expression. with deliberate care, he lowers himself onto the floor in front of you, leaving enough space that you don't feel cornered, but close enough that you know he isn't going anywhere.
“you are.” his voice is steady now, firm without being harsh. “it feels wrong, but you are. look at me.”
your eyes finally find his.
allie kneels beside you as dean lifts one hand between you, his palm open. he doesn't touch you, he doesn't move closer, he just waits.
several long seconds pass before your shaking fingers finally slip into his. only then does he curl his hand around yours, carefully, gently.
you shake your head violently. “he knows where i live.”
dean glances instinctively towards the still-open door. one officer is speaking quietly into a radio, as the other disappears around the corner with tom.
only when he can no longer hear tom's voice does dean look back at you. “security has him.”
your crying turns ragged. “i didn't want him here.”
dean's face breaks. “i know, y/n.”
his thumb brushes gently across your knuckles. “trust me. i know.” he gives your hand one last squeeze. “he's gone. you're safe.”
your gaze drifts towards the open door. “garrett.”
your hands fumble blindly for your phone where it had slipped onto the floor beside you. it takes two attempts just to pick it up.
the screen lights beneath your thumb as you switch off do not disturb, notifications flood in all at once.
your breath catches at one particular notification.
your stomach drops, he had called.
he'd tried, before any of this. your thumb hovers over his name, your hands trembling so violently you almost drop your phone. dean notices immediately, crouching a little closer.
you look at him through fresh tears. "he called me."
dean's eyes flick to your screen, his expression softening.
you swallow hard. "i... i have to-"
your fingers refuse to cooperate, you can't even unlock the screen. dean gently takes the phone from your shaking hands, sending you a warm, reassuring smile. "i'll call him."
you look at him, completely terrified. "he's still upset with me though i-"
dean's jaw tightens, before he shakes his head.
"not enough to matter right now."
garrett answers on the first ring.
“dean?” his voice is tired, guarded.
dean steps into the hallway, leaving the dorm room door open so he can still see you both. “you need to get over to y/n and allie's dorm now.”
then garrett's entire tone changes. “what happened?”
there is a pause so complete dean checks the screen.
“he showed up drunk. started banging on the door asking to speak to y/n.”
garrett is moving before dean finishes. he can hear it, the scrape of shoes, a door opening, logan asking what's going on somewhere in the background.
the answer comes bluntly, garrett stops breathing for half a second, fear evident in his tone. “did he touch her?”
garrett's voice turns lethal. “where?”
another silence. under different circumstances, garrett might have something to say about that, however tonight, he only asks, “is she hurt?”
garrett exhales, it sounds broken. “i'm coming.”
dean looks back into the room. you're leaning into allie now, your face buried against her shoulder.
“whatever the fuck you're feeling right now about everything else…”
dean's eyes stay on you. “leave it outside.”
garrett doesn't answer immediately.
then, quietly, he responds.
you hear him before you see him.
footsteps thunder down the hallway, fast enough that someone calls after him. he doesn't answer, doesn't slow. a second later he appears in the doorway, breathing hard, as though he'd run the entire way here.
garrett's eyes find yours immediately. his hair is damp from the cold outside, his jaw is tight, his face looks exhausted, eyes tired in a way that makes your chest ache.
for a moment, nobody moves.
his gaze sweeps over the hallway in a single second. the open apartment door, the fresh dent in the wall, dean's split knuckles.
then it reaches you once more.
curled against allie on the floor, eyes swollen, hands still trembling from a panic you haven't escaped yet. something in his expression gives way.
not the hurt, that still sits heavily between you, but the distance he'd been forcing himself to keep, the part of him that had been keeping himself away from you.
✩.* taglist; @05gwyn | @alwaysclassyeagle | @casiiopea2 | @nexisphere | @imstressed17 | @legendarychrattgirl | @ethanthequeefqueen | @wiishies | @legendarychrattgirl | @tabisswag | @corvusmorte | @mariiibash| @stevesxwhore | @choppedpartymuffinwinner| @flannelshirts-and-fingerguns | @leilareads58 | @nikfigueiredo | @archxve | @s0ftdr1nks | @persasseajackson | @avengersheart | @brxght-world | @plants-w0rld | @hamilronweasley | @dyslexicepicfan | @livformadrid | @cosmosnkaz | @behindthescreenobsessed | @mothericraveviolence57 | @purplerainx1 | @dancerbailey3 | @kingshitonly | @melodypvnk | @mothericraveviolence57 | @danis-angels | @chronically-jess | @brekkershadowsinger | @run-for-the-hills | @rrosiitas | @nishiisdownbad | @angelnameddani | @simp4f1 | @ilocuras24 | @mattssweetheart | @scorpiodiosa | @sstevesgff | @katrinaellie | @jujubeaz | @straykids1011 | @idunnowhattonamethis | @olivetreesposts
