“You can’t bail on us!” Kira pouts, knowing that Jackson is weak to her charms. He scrunches his nose up and then swings his face away from hers.
“Nope. Sorry, I am not missing the opportunity to mess with Stiles on his Tinder date. You’ll have to survive without me,” Jackson says, shaking his head. “You can’t persuade me, Kira. Not with those eyes of yours. Nope, nope, nope.”
“Jacksonnnn,” she whines. She’s not above whining. “But you know that Erica cancelled. It’ll just be Boyd and I. I’ve never hung out with Boyd alone before. What if it’s awkward? He doesn’t talk much, and I talk too much, and--”
“Kira,” Jackson says, putting his hands on her shoulders. “You’ll be okay. You’ve got this. Don’t worry.”
She swallows. “Fine. But I want you to get over your Stiles fascination by next movie night, okay?”
“I do not have a Stiles fascination!” Jackson protests.
“Hmm, what do they say about those who protest too much?”
Jackson dives towards her, picking her up by the waist, and swinging her around. She laughs and swats at him. “Jack, put me down! Put me down right now!”
He does, and holds onto her as she steadies herself. “Leave me alone, Kira. I don’t protest too much.”
“Mhm, okay. And who’s his Tinder date?”
“Derek Hale. Captain of the lacrosse team.” Jackson rolls his eyes. “How Stilinski ever ended up getting him on a date, I’ll never know.”
Kira snorts. “You’re just jealous.”
She laughs as she runs away while Jackson playfully chases her, all her anxieties about movie night with Boyd forgotten.
“Hi!” Kira says, stepping into his apartment with Erica. She rubs the back of her neck, unsure what to do now. Movie nights usually consists of five of them: Erica, Stiles, Jackson, Boyd, and herself. It’s a tradition they’d started about a year ago instead of hitting up Thursday night parties since all of them had had an eight a.m. class on Fridays together. That semester may be over, but the habit had been created.
“Hi, Kira,” Boyd says, giving her his usual warm smile. “Did you bring the snacks?”
“Definitely.” She holds up the bag. “I went to Dollar Tree and bought way too many things. I figured it’d be nice to binge out without Stiles the Stomach to scarf it all down.”
Boyd laughs, and Kira relaxes immediately. She was so worried about this night, but she had forgotten how easy it is to like Boyd. He’s a man of few words, but the ones he says usually count for something meaningful.
As per tradition, they settle in on the couch, having decided the movies of the night last week. Kira dumps the bag of candies, chocolate, and chips onto the coffee table, and spreads it all out.
“I know. I went a little crazy.” Kira laughs, but she doesn’t think that Boyd’s judging her at all. “I did, however, remember that you love Rockets.”
Boyd’s eyes widen a bit and then he leans forward, shuffling through the items for the bag of Rockets. “Sugary goodness.”
Kira grins. It’s nice when someone can do something good for Boyd, since he’s always laying himself on the line for everyone else.
“I also bought you something.” Boyd gets up and goes into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he comes back with a bottle of wine and a single glass. “I figured I could have some in a glass and you could finish the rest.”
“Boyd, you know the way to my heart.” Everyone knows Kira isn’t a classy woman. She likes drinking wine straight from the bottle. “Thank you.”
They settle into the couch, eating and drinking, and Kira finds herself slinking a little closer to Boyd. They feel so far apart, and it’s weird not having everyone else here to squish together on the couch.
After the first movie, Kira yawns. “I didn’t expect to be so tired.”
“Oh.” Disappointment fills Boyd’s voice. “Do you want to go home or--?”
“No! No,” she says, laughing awkwardly. “It was just a long week, that’s all.”
She glances at Boyd, feeling something shift in the air. She can’t say what it is though.
The next movie passes by slowly. They’ve taken it upon themselves to mock the entire thing together, laughing, and throwing popcorn at the TV. “This is the worst!”
“Wait until you see the next movie. I’m pretty sure it’s the worst. I’ve only seen part of it, but that was enough.”
“So, why did you let Stiles choose it?!” Kira asks, laughing.
“Because! Stiles loves weird movies like that.”
“Oh my god. So the rest of us have to suffer?” Kira throws popcorn at him, laughing in surprise when Boyd quickly catches it with his mouth. “Damn, look at you go.”
They share a grin. Boyd pops in the next movie. “You ready?”
It’s probably one of the best movie nights she’s ever had.
Kira yawns, rubbing her eyes. She stretches out, only to find something in her way. Eyes popping open, she turns around to see that she’s sprawled out on top of Boyd.
“Shit, shit, shit,” she whispers. She shifts and adjusts herself to get up off him, but in his slumber, he wraps an arm around her and holds her close.
Then one of his eyes opens. “Kira?”
“Oh!” He immediately starts moving. “I’m so sorry. I must have drifted off and--”
“Don’t apologize! I drifted off on top of you. That movie was a real snooze fest, huh?” Kira adjusts so she’s sitting upright. “Sorry.”
“No need to be sorry.” Boyd gives her his infamous warm smile again, and this time...it hits differently. Kira swallows. Hard. Boyd rubs her arm gently. “I didn’t mind it.”
And before Boyd can say anything else, Kira’s grabbing her stuff, and rushing out of the apartment.
“You left,” Jackson points out. “Kira. Boyd’s going to think the worst! You know how he is. He doesn’t let people in very easily. Having a movie night tradition was a hard enough sell.”
“I...I just didn’t expect to have feelings for him.”
“No need to apologize. I clearly crossed a line, and I--”
“Boyd, you didn’t! You didn’t cross any lines. You’ve been nothing but the perfect gentleman. I just...”
Kira sighs. Jackson told her she had to apologize, and here she is, messing that up too. She runs her fingers through her hair. “You don’t understand, and I’m not making it easy for you to understand, but--”
“But,” Boyd says, reaching out for her hands. He takes them in his. Squeezes gently. “But something happened.”
“No! No, of course not.” Kira lifts her head to look into his dark brown eyes. They take her breath away for a moment. “Boyd, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not okay! I’m a mess and I’m messing it all up and--and--and I like you, okay? I like like you. I don’t know how or when. Suddenly, there it was. And I don’t want to be the girl that breaks your heart. But I will be. I broke Scott’s, and he doesn’t even hang out with us anymore.”
Boyd pulls her close, and kisses the top of her forehead. “You won’t break my heart, Kira.”
“How can you be so certain?” she asks, voice muffled by his chest.
“Because you’re good. You’re kind. You’re sweet.” Boyd pulls back to look her in the eyes again. “Because even if you do, it’ll be worth it.”
Tears might be at the edge of her eyes, ready to fall, but she holds them back long enough to press her lips gently to his. “Boyd...”
“Vernon. Call me Vernon.”
“Vernon, how can you trust that I won’t mess this up?”
“Because I’ve been madly in-like with you for months.”
Kira laughs, tears falling anyway, and Boyd brushes his hands against her cheeks. “It’s okay.”
“And then what happened?” Jackson asks.
“And then we kissed a bunch.”
“I know. If only that could be you and Stiles, eh?” Kira teases.
“If only. The stupid idiot had a great time with Derek. It’s gross.”
Kira gives her best friend a sympathetic expression, but it lasts for seconds. The smile just can’t be torn off her face today.
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