Synpopsis: You celebrate Luke’s birthday together with him, basically very fluffy and cute.
Genres/Tropes: Romance, Slow Burn, Coming-of-Age, Comedy, Angst, Friends to Lovers, Possesive x Possesive
Pairings: Luke x reader (nonMc), Caleb x MC, Caleb x nonMc
a/n: kinda long, oops.
Chapter 4: Happy Birthday Luke!
Three days before Luke’s birthday, you’re wrapping the last present for him in decorative paper, securing it with tape and putting a bow on top of it.
All the presents that you got him aligned with his interests; some riddle books, a small wooden storage box, and a key necklace that goes with the box to unlock it.
You thought about getting him a camera, but all of them were expensive and you didn’t have enough to get him one.
‘I’ll just save up and maybe get him one next year. If he doesn’t get one by then already.’ You thought.
That is…if he’s still around when next year comes.
You shake your head as you will yourself to stop thinking about that, redirecting your thoughts to how you’re going to give the presents to Luke.
Should you give it to him at school? Hmmm…no, you want him to take his time when he opens his presents. Maybe after school at his house?
At that thought, it’s like a light bulb goes off in your head as you get up off the floor and run downstairs; your heart racing as you dial his home phone number, hoping that his mother will pick up and not him.
The line clicks as a kind voice comes from the other side. “Hello?”
You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding as you sigh in relief. “Hello Mrs. Pearce.” You say.
“Oh! Hello!” Judging from her voice, she sounds pleasantly surprised. “How are you?”
“I’m good, how about you?” You say as you return her question.
“Oh I’m well, thank you. What can I do for you?” She inquires kindly.
“Well…if you don’t mind, do you think you can help me do something together?”
Three days later, it’s Luke’s birthday, and you and Rena have been putting together a plan to surprise him.
The plan was, on the day of his birthday after school, you have to keep him busy for the rest of the day until the evening while she prepares the house and decorates the cake for the surprise. Simple, right?
And the good thing is, you already decided where you were going to take him for the rest of the evening.
The bell rings as it signals the end of the school day, the mid afternoon sun shining through the windows and bathing everything in a bright yellow glow.
Closing your eyes for a second, you bask in the warmth of it as it shines on your face, letting out a content sigh as you pack your backpack and sling it over your shoulders, on your way to find Luke.
As you exit the classroom, you’re about to walk forward when you feel a hand on your shoulder. A part of you hopes it will be Luke when you turn around, but nope. It’s Emcee.
“Hey! Caleb and I were going to go to the new cafe that opened recently, want to join us?” She asks as she smiles at you, her eyes shining with hope.
For the first time in a while, you don’t even feel yourself hesitate when she asks you this; your mind made up days ago and your resolve strong.
You wanted to spend Luke’s birthday with him.
Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Luke making his way down the corridor away from you, the sun shining on his back as it illuminates his hair in a honey glow.
You feel something almost, but not quite like desperation as his figure becomes smaller and smaller as he continues walking away from you.
“Sorry, maybe next time,” you say apologetically, shaking her hand off your shoulder lightly as you jog your way down the corridor to catch up to him, “I have to keep the birthday boy busy today!”
You’re grinning now as you sprint down the hallway, leaving Emcee there by herself with all the other students preparing to leave and go home for the day.
Your heart is full and feels as warm as the sun when you catch up to him, lightly poking him on his back as you come to walk beside him. “Happy birthday Luke!” You exclaim happily.
His features light up in surprise when he sees you, but it quickly changes into a fond smile as he looks at you, letting out a light laugh. “Thanks, but, didn’t you tell me that this morning too?”
You hum happily, “There’s no harm in saying it again though! Anyway-” you change the subject as you walk in front of him, making him stop in his footsteps.
“Today, I’m taking you out!” You announce.
His lips quirk upward in amusement. “Like, on a date, or with a sniper gun?” He jokes.
You let out a laugh at the familiar meme as you continue walking forward. “I’ll surprise you.” You say with a hint of mystery as you smile to yourself.
Luke laughs, warm and brightly as he catches up to you, his voice taking on something curious. “Wait- seriously though. Where are you taking me?”
“The arcade?” He asks to not really anyone in particular, looking around the arcade and its bright neon lights as loud, playfully energetic music plays.
“Yep.” You say as you return with a bunch of tokens. “That is, unless you want to go somewhere else. It’s your birthday after all-” You’re about to offer another suggestion before he quickly cuts you off.
“No! It’s okay, I’ve been wanting to come here a while!” He exclaims as he reassures you. “Come on, I want to go to…that one!” He doesn’t give you the chance to respond before he takes off, leaving you to quickly follow him as you smile and laugh to yourself.
‘He looks so excited.’ You think as you look at his gleaming eyes and wide smile. ‘I want to protect his smile…’
Huh? What exactly are you thinking?
You catch yourself at the thought; why exactly were you thinking? You don’t know, and honestly? You don’t, or won’t, let yourself continue that thought.
“By the way,” he suddenly says, “you look like you’ve been lugging around your backpack all day. Is it heavy? Want me to carry it for you?” He offers.
Your eyes widen in panic as you adjust your backpack on shoulders, trying to make your voice sound as nonchalant as possible. “No, it’s okay. I can carry it.”
His brow draws down as he sees the way the straps are digging into your shoulders. “Are you sure? I can-”
You cut him off, “It’s okay! Really. It’s not that heavy, it’s just I have a few more books today than usual, that’s all.” If he holds your backpack, he might become suspicious since you’ve been carrying around his presents in your bag all day.
“Oh, okay then. If you’re sure.” He says hesitantly.
So the two of you spend the next couple hours or so playing games and winning prizes, you doing your best to distract him until you get a message from his mom to come home.
But it turns out that you didn’t need to try too hard, because right now, he was currently invested in his opponent that he’s been fighting for the past 30 minutes.
The claw machine.
You’ve been holding the bowl of tokens while he plays, him taking one after another every time he failed in getting the puppy plushie he wanted. You’ve thought about offering to get it for him, but it was his birthday, and after all, you wanted him to do whatever he so pleased today.
You watch with an amused but tired smile on your face as he fails once again, the machine letting out the same cute but now annoying chime for the upteenth time. “Awww, maybe next time! Try again!”
Luke groans in frustration as he glances down at the bowl in your hands, sighing as he scratches the back of his neck.
You also let out a tired sigh as you attempt to comfort him, and maybe also try to redirect his attention somewhere else. “It’s okay Luke, why don’t we try somewhere else? We only have a few tokens left after all.” You suggest gently.
You flinch as his head that was down suddenly snaps up, his posture straightening as he looks at you.
Luke suddenly smiles at you sweetly as he gives you his best puppy eyes. “But…I really wanted to get that plushie. Do you think…you can get it for me? Please?” He asks as his lips form into a soft pout.
‘No! Please not the puppy eyes!’ You think in a panic, but find yourself unable to look anywhere else but his pleading gaze.
You internally groan as his eyes shine pleadingly, unable to refuse him. Not that you would anyway, you’ve been itching to give it a try after all.
You let out a resigned sigh, “I thought you’d never ask.” You say as you hand the bowl to him and roll up your sleeves in preparation.
Luke grins in anticipation as you take a coin out of the bowl put it into the machine. Since each coin gives you two tries, you technically have 5 more tries if you don’t get it this time.
The claw moves as you move the joystick into position above the plushie, and deeming that it’s in the right position, you press the button as the claw lowers slowly.
Your heart beats in anticipation as you and Luke gasp in excitement at the same time, the claw picking up the plushie and carrying it over to the slot.
Only for it to drop it halfway there.
“Oh come on!” You exclaim frustratedly. “It’s fine, I still have another try.” You mutter in determination as you move the joystick above the plushie again, pushing the button as it lowers once more.
You glare daggers at the claw as it picks it up again and carries it over to the slot, as if you can will it to make it to the finish line. Meanwhile, Luke lets out consecutive excited ‘oh’s!’ behind you as it drops down the slot.
“Yes!” You and Luke exclaim at the same time as you get the plushie from the opening below.
You hand it over to him with a proud smile on your face, but pause when you see the way he’s looking at you.
He has a big grin on his face as he looks at you with a combination of awe and adoration, his eyes shining like coral gems in the sunlight. “Wow,” he breathes, “you’re amazing! You were able to get it in only two tries!”
Your pride swells at his praise as your cheeks flush slightly from embarrassment. “Hehe, well, I’m something of a claw machine master myself.” You chuckle proudly.
Luke lets out a laugh as his eyes fill with mirth. “Yep, you’re the best.” He says softly as he takes the plushie from you, your fingers brushing against each other when he takes it.
Your heart jumps at the contact, a tingling feeling left in its wake as the both of you quickly retract your hands, your cheeks becoming even more red than before.
Luke clears his throat as his face turns bright red, looking anywhere but you as he mumbles, “S-sorry.”
“Uhhh, don’t worry! I-it’s fine.” You stutter as your phone vibrates, giving you an excuse to turn away from him as you hide your burning face.
Luke stretches as he lets out a sigh. “Are you ready to go home now? I’m getting hungry.” He says, trying to change the subject; his stomach growling as if to emphasize the fact.
You put your phone back in your pocket as you turn to him with a smile. “S-sure, let’s go.”
Perfect timing, because you just got a message from his mom telling you that everything was prepared and ready for when you brought him home.
The sun has set behind the horizon by the time you get home, the view akin to an artist that brushed burnt orange and petal pink against a clear, evening blue sky.
As you approach his front door, you stand a few feet behind him as he knocks on the door before turning around to face you. “Aren’t you going to go home too?” He asks curiously.
“Yeah, I just make sure that you get inside safely.” You lie, giving him a big smile.
You don’t know if it’s because of the cold, but his cheeks suddenly turn a bright shade of pink as his eyes widen in surprise.
He looks down as he mutters sheepishly, “Heh, if this is how you treat me on my birthday, then I wish it was my birthday everyday.”
Now it’s your turn to blush at his sudden confession, clearing your throat before you speak. “It doesn’t have to be your birthday for me to do this. If you want, I can walk you home everyday. But, isn’t that the same as walking home everyday together?” You suddenly ask.
“Uhhh, w-well,” he stutters, “yeah, it is. Umm, just forget what I said! Thank you for taking me out!” His words come out in a rush as he grabs to door handle.
‘Man, why is this so awkward?’ You groan to yourself, but you don’t have time to dwell on it before the door opens.
All you hear is a gasp of shock from Luke and a, ‘surprise!’ from Rena as he walks through the door, you following close behind him with a big grin on your face.
The entryway is decorated with a banner that has big letters on it that says, ‘Happy Birthday Luke!’ with confetti scattered on the floor. Walking further in when you go to the living room, the lights are turned off, and the current source of light is coming from the little golden fairy lights that decorate the pillow fort that Rena made; different fluffy pillows and blankets under the white sheet that makes the ‘roof.’ A Christmas tree sits in the corner of the living room, the decorative lights on it the same colour as the fairy lights, bathing everything in the living room in a warm glow.
The ceiling has decorative paper stars that hang from it, stars that you and Rena made together the other day when Luke was at his martial arts class. The presents that she wrapped for him are to the right of the opening of fort, covered in decorative paper as well.
Luke looks around in awe with a big smile on his face, his eyes filling with childlike glee as he look at you and his mother. “Wait- did the two of you plan this? Wow! This- this is amazing!”
Rena comes to put a gentle hand on his shoulder, her smile mirroring the happiness in her gaze. “Actually, it was her idea, and I just helped her execute it.” She says as she winks at you.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, you try to brush off all the credit that she gives you. “Pshhh nooo, you helped me too. It wasn’t just me, you were the one that came up with the idea of paper stars.”
Luke lets out a happy laugh. “Thank you both!”
“Now then,” Rena suddenly says, clapping her hands together, “let’s eat, shall we? Then we can have cake!”
You already asked your parents if you could have dinner by his house to celebrate his birthday with him, so they already now that you’re here.
After dinner, you carry the cake over to the coffee table in the living room, setting it down in front of Luke as his eyes light up.
Lemon cake is what he asked for, and no, not lemon pound cake, but an actual cake with lemon curd and frosting.
Your mouth waters at the sight of it, it looked so delectable and beautifully decorated, you couldn’t help but admire it yourself.
Rena comes back with a lighter, lighting the one and six on top of the cake, the orange flames illuminating the cake in a warm orange glow.
She begins clapping her hands with a fond smile as she sings happy birthday to him, you joining in hesitantly as you also begin clapping your hands to her rhythm.
“Now, make a wish.” You say as you smile at him.
Luke grins, his coral eyes shining like marbles as they reflect the flames, making them look even more like evening summer sunsets, leaving you temporarily hypnotized by them.
But you soon snap out of your trance when he closes his eyes, clasping his hands together as he makes a wish.
He reopens his eyes with a smile as he blows the candles out in one blow, you and Rena clapping as you cheer. “Yay! Happy birthday Luke!” You both say at the same time.
He lets out a laugh as warm as the candles he just blew out. “Thank you!”
His mom cuts the cake for the three of you, putting them on plates as you take a slice.
The first bite you take is like fireworks exploding in your mouth; the lemon cake delectably moist with the perfect crumb, the lemon curd has the perfect blend of tanginess and sweetness, and the buttercream frosting ties it all together in the perfect bite.
Your eyes are blown wide as you chew, letting out an almost strangled sound as you swallow. “Wow, Mrs. Pearce…this is amazing!”
She laughs at your reaction, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiles. “Please, you’re too kind.”
“Mom’s cakes are seriously the best! She’s amazing at baking!” Luke exclaims, demolishing the last bite of cake on his plate. “Thanks Mom!” He says with a big toothy grin.
Her eyes soften, her voice taking on something fond. “You’re welcome honey.” She says, grabbing a napkin to wipe the frosting that he got on the corner of his mouth.
“Now then,” she suddenly says, grabbing two plates before standing up, “I’ll take these to the sink, and then we can open presents.”
“Oh, I’ll help you.” You say, grabbing the third plate and following her. “We’ll be back!” You call back at Luke as he nods.
As she washes the dishes and you dry, she suddenly says something that you weren’t expecting.
“Thank you for coming here, it’s nice to have a third person to celebrate with. It hasn’t been like this since his father passed away.” She says, her voice carrying a hint of sorrow.
That makes you pause, unsure what to say. It wasn’t that you didn’t wonder where his father was, you just didn’t want to ask in case it made him uncomfortable. After all, you didn’t think you were that close yet to talk about family matters.
And even now, you didn’t really want to push and question how he passed away, just in case it was still a sensitive topic. “It’s no problem, I’m glad to be here.” You say, trying your best to sound sincere and not awkward at all.
Suddenly, she laughs. “Please, it’s okay. No need to be so stiff.” She reassures kindly.
You lower your head sheepishly, your cheeks turning slightly pink. “Sorry.” You mutter.
“Ah, none of that.” She says, wiping her hands on the cloth to dry them as she pats you on your back, “Come on, let’s not keep Luke waiting any longer.”
You nod as you make your way to the living room where Luke is, his head perking up from his phone as you enter.
“Presents time~!” She sing songs as she sits down on the sofa.
You go to your backpack that’s sitting on the sofa, taking out the three presents that you’ve been lugging around all day.
Luke smiles knowingly as you place them by the ones his mom wrapped by the fort, glancing at him as you place them down.
“No wonder you didn’t want me to carry your backpack for you, you knew I might be suspicious if I felt the weight of it.” He smirks, his voice filled with amusement.
“At least I succeeded in keeping it a secret from you.” You say, sitting on the floor by the fort.
He chuckles, looking at the presents in front of him, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Now…whose should I open first? Hmm…” He hums as he picks up the ones his mother wrapped. “I’ll open Mom’s first, then yours. That way, I can build up anticipation.” He says as he smiles at you, making your pulse skip a beat.
What he got from his mom was socks, some mystery novels, and a fuzzy sweater.
“Thanks Mom!” He grins, getting up from the floor to give her a hug.
“You’re welcome.” She says, patting his back as he makes his way back to his spot on the floor.
“Alright! Your turn!” He exclaims excitedly as he opens the first present, letting out a gasp as his eyes light up. “Wow! Riddle books!”
He opens the next present, the small wooden storage box that you wrapped. “Oooo, this is nice. I can put all the antique stuff I find in here.”
And finally, the small box with the key necklace. He holds it up to the light as his face takes on something slightly confused, but before you can explain it to him, he quickly catches on with a gasp. “Wait- is this for the key hole in the box?” He asks, turning to you as if to confirm.
You nod. “Yeah, and you can wear it around your neck too.”
He lips slowly stretch into a grin as he suddenly wraps his arms around you, catching you off guard.
You’re enveloped by the warmth of his body and the solid hold he has on you; your nose tucked between the crook of his neck and shoulder as you inhale his scent, laundry detergent and something sweet like…lemon.
Your face goes up in flames as you hesitantly wrap your own arms around him, flinching when he suddenly whispers by your ear.
“Thank you.” He says softly, his voice like gentle ripples over water as he pulls away slightly, his own cheeks tinged a shade of pink as he avoids your gaze, suddenly shy.
“You’re…welcome.” You mumble, his shyness making you even more nervous for some reason.
“My, my.”
Remembering that his mother is in the living room with you, the two of you quickly pull away from each other as if you got burnt by something hot. At least…that’s how you felt.
My, my indeed. You’re not catching feelings are you?
‘Shut up!’ You think, your mind already a flustered mess, and all from a simple hug.
“Don’t mind me at all, please continue.” His mother says teasingly as she watches you with her arm on her knee as her hand cups her face, chuckling at how the two of you are the same shade of scarlet.
“Mom!” Luke hisses, embarrassed.
She laughs out loud, clearly amused by the spectacle in front of her eyes.
Meanwhile, you sit there in embarrassed silence as you internally groan to yourself, wishing the ground will swallow you whole right now.
“Alright, alright. I’ll stop teasing. It’s movie time now!”
What movie were you watching you ask?
Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone.
You liked this movie series, and the first movie really vibed with the current season.
You were huddled under the pillow fort with snacks and fluffy blankets and pillows, the fairy lights draped over the sheet making it feel almost magical. It was a cozy experience, an experience that would be forever engrained into your memory
By the time the movie ended, it was after nine o’clock and time to go home.
You bid goodnight to Rena, and Luke offered to walk you home, saying that it was dark and not safe to walk home by yourself at night; even though your house wasn’t that far away.
No matter how many times you told him it was okay, he still insisted, and it would be rude if you kept rejecting him, no?
Now, you were walking side by side, albeit slowly, as if neither of you wanted this day to end just yet.
It was amazing really, how much fun you were able to have whenever Luke was by your side. You were convinced he had some good luck charm about him, because how was it that it seemed only good things happened when you were with him?
From everything that happened to arcade to now, it all made you feel very happy. Was it normal to feel this much happiness? Especially that hug. That hug was still fresh in your memory, making your heart race whenever you think about it.
The two of you mostly just bumped each other’s sides playfully, or would put a hand on each other’s shoulder. But that hug was the closest the two of you had ever been, and you were still a bit surprised from it really, making you question if that really even happened at all. The way his body felt so warm against yours was real though, too real, and the way his arms were wrapped around you made you feel so safe and secure…
“Thank you for today.” Luke suddenly says, making you snap out of your thoughts.
You mentally hit yourself for thinking stuff like that while he’s still next to you, grateful that he can’t see the flush creeping up your neck because of the dark. “Oh, you’re welcome.” You say.
Luke looks up at the starry, clear night sky as he continues walking forward. “And for the presents. I’ll really cherish it.” He says, suddenly stopping to look at you sincerely.
You hold eye contact with him for no more than three seconds before looking away, your heart beating erratically in your chest. He doesn’t know what he does to you whenever he looks at you like that, does he? “I’m glad you like it.” You mutter.
“Well, looks like we’re here.” He sighs almost disappointedly as you stop in front of your house. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?” He asks as he smiles at you warmly.
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” You reply, giving him a small smile of your own.
You stare at each other, your hesitance clear in the way you don’t go in right away, and the way he seems hesitant to leave. But eventually, you slowly make your way up the steps of your house, turning around after knocking when he calls your name.
He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly before raising his hand to wave at you, his cheeks flushing as he gives you a shy smile. “Goodnight.”
Seeing how he’s all shy and blushy makes you feel giddy for some reason, giving him a grin before the door opens. “Goodnight.” You say, looking at him one last time before you go through your door, shutting it as it locks with a click.
However, Luke still doesn’t leave right away as he stands there, watching the golden light in your window turn on behind the shut blinds, illuminating the sidewalk in a slightly golden glow.
As the light from your window reflects in his coral eyes, the only way to describe the way he looks is yearning. As if there’s a piece of him that he’s been searching for and missing, and he’s finally found it.
Reluctantly, he turns around and he makes his way back home as his figure becomes smaller and smaller, the moonlight illuminating his back as he disappears into the dark night.
a/n: Thank you for reading! 🥰 Also, I just thought I would say this again just in case, but the next chapter will be the end of winter arc, not this one. It would have been too long to include everything I wanted to happen, so the next chapter will be it!(⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎)
It was back to traveling with Caleb on foot or atop Sable once again, though nonmc was surprisingly okay with the change of pace.
Sure, she'll miss the friends she made and the pleasant break she was rewarded with in Gherandel, but even still, she longed to see the rest of the world that had been locked away from her due to her sheltered life.
And with Caleb at her side, a friendship having become something kinder and closer, she felt that sentiment even more.
Now, if only her body, a few days later since leaving the bustling city, would listen to her. But alas, fatigue had slowly settled into her weary bones and muscles in ways that was far from the normal.
Caleb was quick to notice how quiet she had gotten during their treks and that her once observant eyes were blinking more tiredly as of late. He tried to check in with her within the first day that he was able to pick up the signs, yet she downplayed it each time with a reassuring smile.
Despite letting her get away with brushing it off for the first two days, it was on the third that he couldn't let it go on any longer. After the first hour on horseback for the morning, he decidedly puts everything to standstill by having them take a detour into the woods.
Nonmc pouted to herself as he had Sable take a pause in a small clearing, Caleb's own body slowly sliding down from the saddle and already reaching around her sides to pull her down along with him.
"Take a seat on that stump over there. The shade from those trees will keep you out of the sun." He explains casually, gesturing his eyes over to the spot.
She hums softly, nodding along as she went over without complaint. If she didn't do it, she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from him. Having Caleb as her personal knight seemed to mean protecting her in every regard, even from herself.
With a heavy sigh, she plops herself onto the tree stump of the fallen tree, her legs stretching out across the grass in front of her. Her hands almost automatically reached for her calves, wincing subtly at how stiff they felt.
Nonmc still didn't feel truly suited enough to travel long distances even when it's been near two months now since she's first ran away from her home. She would've thought her body had adjusted better over time to this rough and tumble lifestyle.
That was hope, and yet her body was telling her that this wasn't the case just yet.
"Feeling tired again?" He asks aloud as he was making sure their travel packs were still secured well on the saddle.
She nods, curling her hand into fists before pounding them gently against the back of her calves in small tenderizing motions.
"Yeah, my legs are getting sore more often now."
Caleb hums in acknowledgement, but the tone was more troubled than a simple passing noise. After tightening some straps to their packs, he turns to head toward her with furrowed eyebrows.
"You've said the same thing two days ago. Is your blisters causing you trouble?"
"No, I don't believe so--" She answers with a shake of her head, only for her eyes to widen when he abruptly goes to kneel down in front of her, "Wha-- Caleb!"
His hands make quick work of one of her boots' laces before grasping the heel and sliding the whole thing out from where it was over her trousers.
"C-Caleb, the blisters have been getting better." She couldn't help but whine.
He frowns defiantly, setting aside her boot and taking her bandaged foot into his palm.
"Doesn't mean they aren't making walking harder to bear for you. When's the last time you changed these?"
"Well... not since yesterday."
"Yesterday..?" He repeats skeptically, making her huff in resignation.
"Okay, yesterday, as in during the night before I went to bed."
"So you mean over a day and a half now?"
Nonmc attempts to shake her foot out of her grasp, but that causes him to take his other hand to hold her ankle in place.
"All right, fine. Yes. I've been... too tired to do it, okay?"
Her honesty at least placates him to let her foot free, even if he was frowning in that way that was saying he wished to lecture her.
"...You have been sleeping a lot more since we left Gherandel. I almost feel bad to wake you up to head out." He notes as he goes about putting her boot back on, "Not enough sleep at night?"
She shrugs, looking a bit defeated the longer this conversation went. His concern was nice, even making heart do somersaults in secret joy, yet she doesn't want to feel like a burden to him.
"No, sleep has been fine. You don't need to fret over me, Caleb. I'm not fragile."
Caleb sighs through his nose in held-back annoyance, tying the last of her lace strings before pushing himself up to stand.
"I'm not saying that you are. I just can't help but worry about you."
She blinks at him in a stupor, her lips parted with slow surprise.
He was... worried about her? Well, she hadn't been the best in not getting herself into trouble since they started this journey. Perhaps it felt weird since these were his own words and thoughts, not something she was manipulating him to say.
Not that she would done so in any way, she didn't have that kind of bone in her body. Could he really be changing his view on her..?
She watched as his hand reached for the waterskin tied to his belt, unlatching it easily and offering the whole thing to her.
"Here, drink from this. Your cheeks look a bit flushed. I don't want to start thinking you've gotten a fever or anything."
Nonmc takes the offer, only to pout as looked between him and the waterskin held in her hands.
"....But this is yours, Caleb."
"Yeah, and you drank most of yours already. It's fine. Take as much as you need to, I'll be okay for the rest of the trip."
She hums quietly, uncorking the waterskin and taking the hearty sips she did actually need to take. Truly, she was parched, another symptom to her fatigue.
He kept an eye on her as she drank, despite how embarrassed she felt to be watched over so carefully. It wasn't a look of annoyance or scolding he was giving her, simply a neutral, attentive one.
It was difficult to pretend she still didn't hold feelings for him when he acted like this, as much as she tried to dampen them down these past few weeks on her own.
When he was cold and distant, it was easier to let those thoughts drift away as though they were grains of sand trickling down an hourglass. But how could she destroy such things completely when he's treating her this kindly?
Did that make her seem so easy and impressionable, over a little crumb of kindness she always wished to have from him? Maybe.
After nearly draining the waterskin to its last quarter, she hands it back with an apologetic look.
"Thank you, Caleb... And I'm sorry about making us slow down."
Caleb shakes his head as he ties the waterskin against his hip once more, quick to dash out her worries.
"It's okay. I wanted us to get to the next city by the end of the week but if you're not feeling well, we can always just stay in the closest town."
"Hm... Yes, I'm okay with that."
"All right, then that's what we'll do. Sun's still out so take all the time you need until we head out."
With that much needed break, nonmc was able to recollect herself for the rest of the way. Caleb would eventually point out the small town they were steadily approaching, its small hillside of rooftops and smoking chimneys creating a cozy sight.
"There. It won't be much of a full stop, but usually these small towns provide rooms for travelers if we're lucky. They're not really inns per say, a little cheaper I guess." He explains, making her nod as they continued along on Sable.
"A bed and breakfast..?"
"Yeah. You heard of them?"
"Briefly. It was topic amongst some nobles last season. They said if the civil wars were going to come to an end eventually, perhaps building more short-stay lodges would entice traveling and be for the betterment of the economy."
"Hm. Well, they have a point. The thing is right now these places are few and far in-between to do a dent like that."
Nonmc hums in acknowledgement, lifting her hand up to her lips as she contemplated.
"That's true. But maybe one day it can become regular practice."
"You think so?"
"Sure. Actually, I've already started writing in my journal about all the general areas we've camped out which would make for great spots to build."
He huffs a short laugh, raising an eyebrow to the back of her head.
"You already thought about something like that?"
"Mhm. It's probably the noble studies kicking in but... all of our camping so far has given me ideas."
"Sooo, you actually hate camping outdoors then?"
"Hah, not exactly! It could just be a safer endeavor, that's all. You know, for small groups like us or even weary families with smaller children."
Caleb blinks at her from behind curiously, before smiling to himself from how impressed he was at her way of thinking.
He had gotten used to MC, a girl of noble blood who despite her royal upbringing was someone carefree and found enjoyment in breaking through the constraints of high society. If MC could have done so, she would have become a knight herself if she hadn't been born a princess.
Nonmc, on the other hand, barely toed the line that separated nobles and the commonfolk. If anything, her running off was probably the first real moment of her breaking herself away from such chains of what's prim and proper. And from there on out, it only continued with each day.
She argued and bantered with him, a commanding knight, on the daily.
With her gentle charisma, she garnered friends who she would have never met in her entire life had she stayed in her family's castle.
On top of gaining calluses and blisters earned through tough trekking and training, she was everything her parents would admonish her for.
Even still, she was very much a noble lady despite now choosing to sleep outdoors with trousers and tunics. In the ways that she acts and talks, it followed her like a gentle reminder of where she belonged to.
If she wasn't as soft-spoken before escaping, perhaps her family would have seen her worthy of titles and pollical value from the start, instead of just a marriage chess piece for some nobleman.
"...You and journal of yours." He comments with another small laugh, "It almost sounds like you're thinking about returning back home."
Nonmc shrugs, her hands joining together on the saddle's horn as he slowed Sable down to a trot.
"Who knows. I could always send my research and findings back to the kingdom through mail if I had to."
"And have them take your credit? Hard pass."
She snorts, turning her head slightly over her shoulder to look at him.
"I'm not some genius, Caleb. Even with my start, they'd probably figure this all out on their own eventually on expeditions and such."
"Doesn't matter. They'll see the project for the money and political gain they can get out of it, you don't. That makes you better than them."
"Huh..? Are you... defending me?" She asks, a slow rise of astonishment found in her tone.
"What's wrong with that. If they won't, why can't I?"
Nonmc gazes at him through her peripheral, then around at the small town they've entered as to not make it any more awkward.
She started noticing this change from within him since she first bursted into tears after he saved her from those knights taking her away by carriage.
Her word seemingly meant more to him than any of her family, who rightfully are of higher standing than her. If word ever got out that he spoke ill of them, it could be considered high treason.
She wouldn't snitch on him, of course. With her own personal experience, she knew her family all but cared little of who she was as a person. Though, it was odd for her to feel so readily supported like this.
Instead of questioning him, she merely chuckles at his eagerness to take her side, keeping the moment lighthearted.
It doesn't take long for them to find the 'bed and breakfast' lodge, especially in this small, closely-knit town. With the evening already darkening the area, only a mere few buildings held any light from their dangling lanterns.
The brightest being the two-story cottage that had a wooden sign stating that they welcomed travelers.
After dismounting and hitching Sable, they would soon walk through the front doors, quickly enveloping themselves in the warmth created by the hearth within the lobby.
The fireplace was welcoming, easing the nipping cold right out from their bones. It was a promising introduction, especially when they catch the attention of the inn keeper at the front desk.
Sat there comfortably was a weathered but friendly-looking older woman with wrinkles and long graying hair telling of a multitude of stories she must hold.
"Ah, hello! Welcome in!" She greets, standing up from her chair.
"Hello, ma'am. Can we have two rooms, please?" Caleb asks as he took out the coin pouch, making the older woman nod enthusiastically.
"Of course, sir! Our first floor is occupied at the moment, so the room's will be right upstairs, the only two there." She explains as she received the payment, "We've even got a separate bathing room for that floor in case one of you need it."
"Thank you, ma'am. We greatly appreciate it."
The older woman lets out a laugh, waving her free hand up as she wrote in her logbook before trading the payment for the two keys she slides across the counter to him.
"Oh, just calling me Loretta is fine. And if the room's are in need of any fixings, be sure to tell my husband Morris. He's the one washing the dishes over by the kitchen right now."
"Duly noted. We'll be on our way now, Loretta."
"All right then, have a good rest of your night you two!"
Nonmc gives a short nod and smile in acknowledgement to Loretta, following right behind Caleb as they made the climb up the stairs. Once they reached the top, they both let out a sigh knowing the day would end nicely this time around.
"Bath's down the hall by your room. You go on ahead first." He mentions, "We can talk more in the morning after you've rested."
"Sure. Good night, Caleb."
"Good night, nonmc."
She spares him one lingering glance before heading towards the bathroom, ready to relieve her soreness with a good steaming bath.
That next morning, nonmc expected to feel well-rested and awakened by a beautiful sunny day. Instead, she's pulled abruptly from her sleep, the day still dark as she feels an unbearable sensation building around her lower abdomen.
She grumbled around a parched throat, her legs rustling under the covers. Getting up was the last thing she wanted to do, especially when dazed, but she needed to quench the thirst that was making it impossible to go back to her dreams peacefully.
With a resigned huff, she pushes herself up from the bed, rubbing at the crust gathered at the corners of her eyes. Her only consolation in this rude awakening was that her candle was still flickering dim light across the darkened room, a necessary measure for keeping the past memories of her lonely childhood nights at bay.
Her dangling feet reached for the slippers, keeping the scuffling of them over the floorboards to a minimum. It wouldn't be kind of her to accidentally wake anyone else in the lodge as she walked about the room.
Nonmc barely made it over to the table that had a carafe of water sat atop it before feeling a cold feeling in-between her legs and behind.
"What is..." Her whispered question to the room would immediately stop when her fingers reached around herself, feeling the damp material of her chemise and sleeping shorts.
She hesitantly brings her hand up, a soft gasp leaving her when she sees the dapples of crimson covering her fingertips.
"Oh no. No, no..." She whips her head around, her heart feeling like it was sinking as she approached the mattress in horror.
In the dim light, she could make out the blood where she had previously sat, the white cotton stained in red.
There were two reasons that something as natural as her bleeding cycle would cause such a shock within her. One, she felt utterly embarrassed to have dirtied someone's establishment. This wasn't her bed or home, and especially there wasn't anyone to quickly take it away for necessary cleaning.
And the most important reason of all... she had not had her period in almost a whole year.
When her mother sent a doctor to visit her, they could only conclude that it was due to as a result of stress and her strict diet. Both of which her mother downplayed as something normal for her children to have.
For months, the news of her being in an arranged marriage to Caleb had caused her immense guilt. Her initial happiness in getting to be with him after all those years was quickly diminished as the days of that announcement followed, her mind quite aware that her joy wasn't mutual.
There was particular afternoon early into the wedding preparation weeks that stayed ingrained forever. She had hoped to see Caleb off after he and his closest squad mates from the brigade were requested by her father to visit her family's castle, knowing that the luncheon would be inadequate for a personal conversation with him.
She had tried to gather the courage to seek him out before he would leave for military business at the royal capital, sneaking around marble columns until she found him at one of the gardens with one of close friends from his youth, Lieutenant Gideon.
Excitedly she kept herself hidden, waiting for the opportunity to speak up, only to falter when she heard the tail end of their conversation.
"...I've fought in these wars for years, just to what, be married off to a girl I don't even know? While the one I love happily accepts it?" The desperation was heard in Caleb's whispered yells.
"Hey, be careful what you say, Caleb. Someone might hear you."
"I doubt it. They're all too busy gushing over the wedding anyways."
"Still... that girl seems happy to be with you."
"Yeah, because she gets to marry a supposed 'famed knight' now. I doubt she actually cares about me."
That was one of the first seeds of doubt planted within her mind. That she was being cruel to Caleb, even if indirectly. That her feelings were merely childish infatuation.
She knew she couldn't beg her parents to annul the wedding, not with their eagerness for the whole thing to follow through. So, all she could do was let the remorse envelop her.
Meals were not as filling, the skies didn't look as bright anymore...
And with it, her bleeding cycle ceased to exist from then on. A reminder that she was truly not all right internally.
But now, with its presence making itself known after two months of having a life more freeing than ever before in her entire existence...
Was this a sign of her well-being returning? Why? Was she happier..? Healthier?
Either way, it didn't matter when her cycle was now cruelly causing disorderly spikes of pain around her middle section and lower back.
No, even if she was becoming healthy, the cycle would have its arduous toll in those first few days whether it was a blessing or not.
Nonmc took a necessary breath, steadying herself from every ache making itself known in that moment before peeling off the covers and sheets from the mattress. Her arms gathered them into a pile, hurriedly heading out of the room and into the dark hallway.
She was glad that her bedroom was closer to the bathroom than Caleb's, making it easier for her to not alert him out of his own sleep while she made a quiet run to it.
Once she slipped past, her hand pushed the door until it was slightly ajar. If the wood creaks any further or the lock latches into place, she knows it'll echo across the hall. Better to be safe than sorry.
What she hoped would be quick cleanup, however, ends up being a half hour of fruitless scrubbing. The stain was still faintly there, telling anyone what it was.
She wanted to cry in frustration, her sore arms leaning against the tub in order to take a break from holding the entire weight of the soaked sheets submerged in cold water.
None of it was working. Her body was in pain, a headache was pounding against her temple... Why did this have to happen now?
"...Miss?" A warm older woman's voice appears through the door, making her shoulders jolt.
Nonmc slowly turns her head, hoping the moonlight casting in from the window could hide her fear of having been caught.
"Ah... hello, Loretta." She manages through a stiff smile, shifting her hips away so she wouldn't notice the large stain forming over her clothing.
"My, you're up so early, miss. Is everything all right?"
"Yes... Yes, everything's all right..." She purses her lips, loosening her hands from the damp sheets that were making her skin feel icy.
The murky pinkish hue bathwater and cloth pile sitting within it made Loretta raise an eyebrow, her hand slowly pushing in the door.
"What's this..? Is something wrong with your linens?"
"No. No, it's just, well..." She slumps forward as a sharp cramp seized her body, "I'm-- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Loretta inches further in, her eyes darting to the tub and then at nonmc's form. As much as nonmc tried to sit over her bloodied chemise and sleeping shorts, it couldn't hide everything.
It was clear what was happening, and that was enough to make Loretta soften her gaze as she walked over to her slumped form.
"Oh, dearie... it's all right." Loretta whispers, the gentle nickname acting like a soothing balm, "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Lets draw you a warm bath and get you a new change of clothes."
Nonmc lifts her head, her eyebrows scrunched together in shame.
"But... the linens..."
"Don't you worry about that, dearie. I'll get you some clean ones, okay?"
"I... Okay."
Loretta wouldn't let her find any more reason to apologize, a look of understanding in her eyes staying as she helped get everything together with efficiency.
After nonmc's bath, she felt rejuvenated once she had returned to her room. The cramps prickled lightly against her abdomen at this point, but it was still a lot better than before.
With a tired sigh, nonmc was finally back in bed with fresh clothes and linens covering her body. Loretta, having felt accomplished, pats her arm above the covers like a doting mother.
"There we are. As good as new." Loretta notes with a wide smile, "It's already early morning, are you feeling hungry yet? I used to get quite the appetite when I still had my cycles."
"Hm... A bit, yes."
"All right, dearie. I'll brew some soothing tea while I'm at it. I'll bring it up after I get this done for you."
Nonmc hums in acknowledgement, nodding against her pillow. Loretta took that cue to head out, ready to leave when she hears nonmc's voice perk up.
"...Um, Loretta."
Loretta turns, tilting her head in question.
"Can you please keep this between us? I don't want my friend to know I haven't been well because of... this."
It takes a moment but Loretta seems to get the idea. Her friend, Caleb, in the other room. She could understand the sentiment to keep this sort of thing private.
"Ah... Sure, sure, I'll tell him you're feeling a little under the weather. Anything else you need, I can surely help get for you."
"Thank you, Loretta. I really appreciate it."
As Loretta promised, nonmc was able to get away with 'sleeping in late' once morning light rose over the small town. She could hear Caleb once he woke up, his room door opening and closing before taking in the familiar pattern of his steps walking their way over to her door.
He tried knocking gently on her door, a whisper of her name through the oak, but when he got no answer, he accepted it as such. With her unusual sleep pattern, he was none the wiser of it.
Eventually he leaves to go downstairs, staying on the lower level likely to get food for himself and potentially her as a head start. When he doesn't return within the hour, she assumes Loretta was able to explain the situation of her silence and absence.
By the next hour, Loretta returns to nonmc's door, sneaking in a meal for her to eat inside.
"I explained that you woke up early with a scratchy throat and happened to see me downstairs prepping ingredients. He's out right now trying to see if he can get you some medicine or herbs from the apothecary." Loretta explains as she handed over the tray of steaming porridge and tea.
"He won't get special medicine for colds, will he?" Nonmc ponders with a raised eyebrow while setting the tray down onto the nearby table.
Loretta shakes her head, tugging the door almost closed for her.
"We only have the general kind for pain relief. If he does get anything, it'll be no different than the ones in your tea."
Nonmc hums in understanding, her shoulders drooping in relief.
Ah, good. At least he wasn't running a pointless errand then. She'd hate for her little white lie to turn into something worse.
With everything going according to plan, she managed to stay the rest of the afternoon within the confines of her room, though not without him eventually making his way back into the lodge to check on her.
This time when he knocked, she played it off by coughing into her fist, making her voice sound raspier than normal.
"Ah, yes..?"
"Are you doing all right? Loretta said you may have caught a cold." Caleb's muffled voice filters through the barrier of her door, worry carried in his tone.
She coughs again for dramatic effect, rubbing at her 'scratchy' throat to get into character.
"Yes, I think so. I... figured staying here in my room would be for the best. I didn't want you catch it if it's for certain."
Silence follows for a moment, likely him contemplating something before he hums through the door.
"...I understand. I... also bought some herbs for you earlier. I'll ask Loretta to mix it into your food when she brings it to your door later."
"Mm... Thank you, Caleb."
She doesn't hear him leave right away, a faint 'of course' leaving him as his boots finally scuffled down the hall.
Nonmc felt a little bad to send him away like this, knowing he was probably conflicted on leaving her to fend for herself. Still, with her cramping coming and going in odd intervals, she was not ready to face him just yet. Perhaps in the next day or two when her bleeding lightens.
That was the plan until the next morning after Loretta brought her breakfast, she barely ate the soup and bread before feeling her stomach riddled with queasiness.
She had meant to leave her room in order to throw up in the bathroom. Her hand had even already unlocked the latch to leave out the hallway, but with how the food was coming up so quickly in her throat, she had to settle with keeling over a wooden bucket that had been filled with water.
The bucket was originally used for when she had wipe away any sweat during sudden heat flashes, yet this very moment called for a more dire reason.
Hacking and gagging filled her room, her watery eyes staring sadly at the contents floating in the water. She was particularly hungry from her bleeding cycle, and still her body refused to listen.
She sniffled to herself, swallowing down the phlegm and bile as she heared her door creak open hesitantly.
"Oh, dearie..." Loretta starts, her eyes worriedly looking her over through the crack, "The food's not settling well with your stomach?"
Nonmc lifts a hand up, wiping her mouth against her tunic sleeve when she gazed away in embarrassment.
"Mm-mm..."
Loretta sighed softly, slipping into the room to shut the door before kneeling down to pat her back with consoling circles.
"Is it usually like this?"
"I..." Nonmc purses her lips, past memories rising to surface, "...I don't remember anymore."
"You don't remember? Oh, dearie, has been it long since you've had it last?"
"...Yes. It's been... a long while..."
Loretta goes quiet at that, lips parting in bewilderment. She may not know the reasons on why its happened in such a way, but it was obviously not for good or understandable reasons.
"We're going to sort this out, dearie. Our town may be small, but remedies for this are bound to be at the ready from the local mothers here. I'll be back soon, all right?"
Nonmc nods haggardly, her eyes closing tightly to focus on stabilizing the vertigo inflicting her mind. With one last pat, Loretta goes back to stand, taking the tray of unfinished food with her.
Just as Loretta was turning back from closing the door behind herself, she gasps subtly at seeing Caleb standing out in the hall with an unreadable expression.
"S-Sir!" She stammers, clearing her throat.
"Hello, Loretta. Good morning."
"Y-Yes, a good morning to you too..."
Caleb's eyes darted down to the mostly full soup and barely bitten loaf of bread, assessing it carefully before looking back up at her.
"She didn't eat?"
"...No, sir. She's... still unwell."
The explanation doesn't ease his expression, not one bit.
"Yes, you've told me that since yesterday. Is she... still not recovered? Not even a little bit?"
"No, not quite yet, sir."
He sighs heavily through his nose, a frown forming as he made his way over with the full intention of walking past Loretta to enter nonmc's room.
"Then she needs a doctor. She can't stay here holed up like this. Her body might be running a fever and--"
"No, sir! You can't-- It's..." Loretta exclaims, taking a breath when he slowly turns back to her, "It's her bleeding cycle."
"Bleeding..? Why would she... Oh."
She nods as the flustered recognition took over his face that it made his eyes blink far too quickly, clearly signaling how out of his element he was.
"She didn't want me to tell you, sir. That sort of thing is, well, a personal matter."
"...Right. Right, yes... I apologize, I hadn't meant to pry."
"There's no need to apologize to me. I had felt bad for the poor girl when she mentioned not wanting you to know. She didn't want to worry you over something like this."
Caleb hums solemnly, the embarrassment turning it self-doubt. He had hoped nonmc would confide in him when she had already been looking worse for wear those couple of days. It really felt as though he wasn't protecting her as he should be.
"I'll... speak with her. If she needs anything from now on, I'll take care of it."
"Of course, sir. I'll be downstairs if you both need anything."
He waits until Loretta takes her leave, giving him that moment to look over at the closed door that separated nonmc from him.
This was a sensitive topic, he knew that. At a young age, it was instilled in him that some things were simply meant for women's eyes and ears only. But that was the rules made by noblemen who clearly found the subject uncomfortable.
Who cares about propriety or status? How can he stand here idly while she is left to deal with this pain that many shun despite its natural occurrence? Especially when she was here, away from the comforts of her castle walls and maids who could attend to her at every hour.
No, this wasn't her family's castle and she had no one to turn to right now. He had to step up too and make a valiant effort to support her through this, just like the kind older woman who didn't even know her that well.
With his mind set, he approached her door, knocking cordially to establish their own private conversation.
"Nonmc...? Can we talk?"
He hears her slippers pad across the wooden floors, rustling following after.
"I'll get better in a few days, I promise." Her voice, much father away from the door, answers.
She had probably collected herself and headed to the bed, as though to play it off that she was all right. But not again, he won't let her.
"...Why are you hiding away like this if you're in pain? How can I turn a blind eye to that?"
A heavy sigh, aggravated and troubled, leaves her lips in response.
"Caleb, it's... disgusting. Seeing me like this..."
"No. This is just your body working, that's all. I can prove it to you. Won't you let me? Please?"
He awaits her answer, every second she doesn't making his heart twist inside.
"...Only one chance, Caleb. You have to leave if you can't handle it."
"Understood." He simply responds, a small smile curling upward in accomplishment to himself.
Gently, he turns the handle to push the door in, his eyes looking around the room before finding her sitting on the bed with her gaze held down to her lap.
Caleb could tell she was ashamed of the poor state she was in. Disheveled hair and sleepwear, tired eyes from a lack of sleep, and hands holding the covers tightly over her lower body. He saw the bucket, the piles of blood stained rags meant to be taken out for the day.
Rather than disgust, he felt compassion for her.
Nonmc flinches subtly when he approaches the side of her bed, his weight dipping the mattress.
"Nonmc... Look at me. Does it look like I'm upset?"
She forces her eyes up, ready to curl inward in shame, yet he only smiles at her like she had done something to make him happy somehow.
"...N-No." She concludes, the answer foreign to her.
"No, right? How could I be? You're still you."
Her eyes started to sting for a different reason, her pout trembling with the emotions she held weakly at a bay.
"...I'm sorry, Caleb."
He shakes his head immediately, reaching for one of her tightly held fists.
"Don't be. It's okay. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
She hums quietly, her fingers almost fighting his trying to loosen them. When he manages to place their palms together, he lets out a short chuckle that tugged on her heart.
"Tell you what. Instead of hiding your pain by yourself, I'll take care of you. How does that sound?"
Nonmc's eyes widened, shaking her head comically fast.
"No..! I can't ask you of that."
"Why not? I'm your personal knight and friend."
"Neither of those things have such obligations, Caleb."
"Welllll... my personal moral obligation is telling me to make sure you get better. So that's what I'll do."
"Caleb--"
"Nope, you're not stopping me this time."
She harrumphs without thinking, his childish attitude making her forget decorum for someone of her nobility.
"Now you're just stubbornly nice instead of stubbornly mean." She grumbles.
Her other hand not held in his almost wanted to hit him when he dares to chuckle in her face again. It was unfairly cute to see him genuinely smile at her like a happy dog, but also infuriating to know that he was practically teasing her while he was doing so.
Though he probably knew that he was riling her up that way. Whatever will work to get her into a better mood than before, she supposed.
After clearing his throat from his fit of laughter, his expression looks more sincere this time as he rubbed his thumb subconsciously over her skin.
"I hate to get personal but... I was surprised when she told me why you were actually holed up in here. That it was because of your bleeding cycle." He explains, his eyes rounding in hesitant curiosity, "I've heard it's usually a, uh, monthly thing. Supposed to be, at least."
"Hm... You're not wrong. It's, um... It's been irregular for years. More so as of recently."
"Oh. Why, uh... How come?"
Nonmc sighs at that question, focusing her gaze on their held hands to prepare herself. As much as she wanted to keep her life a secret, especially from him, she didn't think they could move on without going through the ugly parts.
"The doctors said it was from stress.... and the diets my family had me go through in order to make sure the wedding dress stay fitted to my form. It's... common practice amongst nobles."
"Seriously? That's awful." He said with utmost disdain, eyebrows furrowing in offense for her, "Don't listen to them anymore, okay? I'm saying that you are allowed to do anything you want. Eat if you're hungry, sleep if you need to. Do whatever you need to do to make yourself happy."
She huffs an empty laugh, finding his adamancy to explain that her health should come first, ironic.
"Well, Loretta did let me know that my bleeding cycle appearing like this was probably a good thing. That my health was returning to me, you know. So, yes, I suppose your advice to eat and sleep is quite helpful too."
"Hah, right? I thought so."
She snorts as his shoulders squared upward triumphantly, as though he did a good job. He was, indirectly. Their time together on this journey was seemingly the reason she was mentally and physically getting better.
"Don't move a muscle. I'll get you anything you need for this week." He continues, making her roll her eyes.
"Caleb, you're my personal knight. Not my maid."
"Doesn't matter. Right now, I'm your friend who wants what's best for you. So command me as you wish."
"Wha-- Command you..? How could I do that? Oh... you're mean."
The mood had gradually held itself to a high point after reaching that understanding. Loretta and her husband were thankful to know it was no longer a hidden secret, since it meant that they all could openly help her in this time of need.
Caleb was definitely the worst of the bunch.
He went down to help with food prep right away, making sure there wouldn't be any ingredients that could upset her body. He even took the task of dealing with the pile of dirty rags and buckets of used water with no gloves!
"It's just blood." He would tell her when she was practically begging him to give the stuff back.
Obviously she would still tend to her own cleaning, but he was almost too happy to take the soiled items away to be replaced with fresh new ones. She even had to glare at him from the window when he smiled up at her, soaking and drying the bloodied clothes and linens outside without complaint.
Stupid Caleb... Crinkling his eyes at her with so much glee to be useful.
By nightfall, nonmc was pouting in annoyance at him being at her beck and call. She was barely finishing drying her hair with a towel before he's already fluffing up her pillow behind her.
She gives a momentary glance while she waited, scrunching her nose at him.
"I could've done that, you know."
"Why would you do that when I'm here?"
"Ugh, Caleb. You've done everything for me all day now! You haven't even gone to your room once!"
"So?"
"So go to bed!" She huffs, pushing at his body from where she was sitting, though his larger stature barely budges at her attempt.
"All right, all right. Just making sure you're comfortable."
"Hmph... I was comfortable already." She mentions, plopping her head onto the pillow with an audible thump.
Nonmc won't admit that the pillow was actually adjusted quite nicely, not unless she wants him to preen to an even higher degree.
"...And you can tone down on all of this tomorrow." She adds, making him hum petulantly while he stood there with a dramatic frown.
"Do I have to? It makes your life easier, doesn't it?"
"But I don't want to keep treating you as some attendant, Caleb!" She proclaims, huffing once more, "I... don't want to act like my family who would do that sort of thing."
Caleb goes quiet then, tilting his head down at her. He had been deflecting her complaints all day, but this one was the most honest.
"Who said you were? I never did."
"Caleb..."
"No, it's true." He states resolutely, "I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're nothing like them."
Her lips part but she was truly at a loss for her words. He took that as his initiative to continue.
"I mean it. These errands I've done for you today, I didn't think twice about doing them. Honestly, anything you ask of me feels like something I could do. Because it's you."
Nonmc huffs an empty laugh, shaking her head against the pillow in dismissal. His words felt too good to be true.
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I can, and I will. Go ahead, ask me. Whatever you need, I got you."
She rolls her eyes to hide her true feelings, that innate want to be something important to him. She felt as though she didn't deserve it, after all, he wouldn't be out here in the middle of nowhere if it wasn't for her.
It felt selfish and wrong to use his kindness, but... maybe all she needed was the comfort of his presence, even if she'll never have his love.
"...My hand." She mumbles, making him blink in slight confusion.
"Your... hand?"
"Could... you please hold my hand until I fall sleep?"
As soon as the question came out of her, she immediately looked off elsewhere, barely seeing that second of surprise appear on his face.
"I..!" She stammers, clearing her throat as a rising flush creeped up her neck, "I don't like to speak about my personal things but... I've been afraid of sleeping alone in the dark. It's why I usually keep a candle on wherever I am staying. I'm aware how wasteful that may seem."
She hears him hum quietly, the prickling anxiety of baring her vulnerabilities out in the open causing her to feel clammy even in a room cooling down from the nightly air.
"Oh... I see." He croaks out, nodding stiffly.
Of course that was a weird thing to ask for. She knew that as soon as it was said. How much more must she embarrass herself in front of him?
"I'm-- I'm sorry. That was out of line. Just forgot I even asked."
Nonmc lets out a nervous chuckle in a poor attempt to treat it as some silly joke, but Caleb didn't take it that way. His body, now slowly crouching down to be at eye-level with her, wouldn't let her.
"No, it wasn't. Not at all."
Her eyes flit over to him with incredulous uncertainty, having no choice but to face his more earnest stare.
"Caleb, I was kidding..."
"No, you weren't. And that's okay. This is a request I can do."
"...Really..?"
He nods back, his expression unchanged. Before she could question him, he stands back up to sit on the edge of the bed, his hands unlacing his leather boots with quick, diligent movements.
She blinks blankly at his back as he goes about tugging them off, thereafter scooting himself up onto the empty side she wasn't occupying.
"Caleb, what... are you doing?"
Caleb lets out a long exhale through his nose to decompress, his body situating itself onto its side while he leaned his head against one palm.
"What you asked. Once you fall asleep, I can head back to my room. Easy."
Nonmc furrows her eyebrows, unsure on how he could be so calm being in her bed like this. If this was back in noble society, two unmarried individuals sharing a bed would cause a scandal.
Regardless of the place and situation, surely this should have been a difficult ask no matter what.
"You could have pulled up a chair..."
"And get a sore neck and arm? No thanks, the bed will do just fine. Unless... you're the one who's opposed to me sharing the bed temporarily."
Of course she wasn't. It was like a dream come true of hers. Though, those dreams were her imagining a loving relationship between them.
"It's not that. I just don't want you to be uncomfortable."
'With me.'
The implication was there, and that was enough to make him pat her pillow in gesture to lay down.
"If I was, I wouldn't have stayed around you for two months, would I?"
"I... Well, no, I guess not."
"Then there's nothing to worry about. I'll protect you from the darkness. It won't have a hold on you any longer."
Nonmc snorts, rolling her eyes and scrunching her nose at him as she finally adjusted herself to mirror his own position.
"Oh, don't be so condescending, Caleb."
Caleb chuckles, looking at her puffed-up cheeks and half-hearted glare in amusement while he helped tug the edges of the blankets up her shoulder.
"Come onnn, give me your hand."
She looked at his offered hand curling and opening between them, before tentatively sticking her own out from underneath to join his. Easily he clasps them together, letting his warmth seep into her cold fingers.
"Is this fine?" He asks, making her nod against the pillow.
"Yes, that's perfect."
She breaths out a soft sigh through her nose, blinking around idly. She couldn't stare at him long, not without getting mesmerized by his eyes or the way his bangs fell over them.
Yeah, it was too much like her dreams.
"...What do you do?" He muses suddenly.
"Hm?"
"When the darkness becomes too much... What do you do?"
Her eyes widen a fraction, the swooping feeling of dread going through her stomach. She ends up biting into her lip worriedly to calm herself, staring into the pillowcase in a dissociative manner.
"I... cry quietly to myself." She admits quietly, "That usually tires me out."
Nonmc expects a raised eyebrow to show his confusion to her answer, perhaps let out a derisive scoff to express how childish he felt she was being. Instead, his hand around hers tightens further, his rough palm firm against her own.
"Don't do that anymore. Don't face this alone."
The gentle, almost cracking lilt to his tone made her want to cry. He sounded so worried for her, like he wished to ease all the pain that she could ever feel in her life.
"Caleb..."
"No. Find me, always. We promised each other, remember?"
She wanted to reassure him that it wouldn't be necessary, that maybe one day they'll go their separate ways after this fairytale period of their journey ends. Maybe she'll find the means to face her family again and he could return to his own life.
That would be for the best...
"When you're feeling better, we'll get you out of this room." He adds, breaking her out of her melancholy, "Loretta mentioned there was a meadow nearby. Let's spend some time there."
"A... meadow?" She murmurs with quiet awe.
"Yup. So focus on getting better, okay? We don't have to rush to leave this town."
Nonmc couldn't force her smile without her bottom lip wobbling, her eyes blinking rapidly to stop the stinging of unshed tears.
"...Okay."
It was all she could answer with. Any more than that and she would have surely started bawling right then and there.
Not wanting to dwell on it, she let her eyes fall close, listening to the rustling of leaves outside the windows and soft breath passing through his nose.
For once, she felt protected, physically and emotionally. Enough so for her to welcome sleep readily.
The next few days of her cycle went similarly. She barely had to lift a finger with Caleb around to take on the hefty tasks, using this boyish charm around the owners as he helped out with the food or menial chores.
It was unexpected to see him so spry with energy to work so diligently each hour of the day. There was already enough dissonance from her previous notion of him simply being a charismatic boy who became a fierce knight.
He acted very much like a farmer boy in that week, one that anyone would assume lived here in this small town all his life if they've never met him. It was... cute, seeing this side of him.
She ends up developing a temporary habit of watching him through the window, sitting there on her chair as he chopped wood or cleaned more bloodied laundry. She could picture that this version of him would be how he'd act as a husband.
Resourceful, skilled, and caring.
While it made her happy, she was all too aware that such a thing was out of her reach. After all they've been through, a marriage between them had to be an afterthought.
That was the one rule she would abide by when it came to asking him anything. He can choose to love freely, and she would learn to let the love she had for him go.
Maybe not now. Slowly but surely.
Perhaps that's what got her to become more introspective the longer she sat there. Those feelings she held close were becoming a prolonging sense of guilt with each day she pretends to not have them.
How could she lie and act like simply looking at him doesn't make her yearn for a future of them together?
How could she deny that running from everything, when they were months away from marrying, didn't claw at her heart with deep underlying sadness?
Nonmc didn't know whether to feel selfish for wanting to proclaim something after so long, but if she doesn't... this friendship of theirs would continue to be a sham.
No. Caleb deserved to know the truth, however way she can explain it without damaging what they've built thus far.
With her motivations set, she waits until her bleeding cycle had fully passed and she was able to freely leave down the stairs of the lodge.
Caleb was not far off, his steps from the lower floor approaching after brushing away the debris of dirt and potato skin peels from his hands.
"There she is. Feeling better now?"
She offers a small smile in response, agreeing with a nod as she reached the last step to the main floor.
"Yes. A lot better."
"That's good. And I know the pain has ebbed away but..." He leans in closer to whisper, "How about the discomfort? Are you okay on that front?"
"Hm, yes, that too. The bleeding is gone now, so it's safe to say that the cycle has run its course."
He sighs in dramatic cheeriness, bringing a hand over to his chest playfully.
"Well, that's a relief. Seems like things are looking brighter already."
She chuckles quietly, getting him to do the same before he starts gesturing his chin over to the front doors.
"Ready to see that meadow I talked about?"
"...Huh? But the sun is already beginning to set."
"That's fine. You can use my cloak to keep warm. Besides, with night approaching, it means the fireflies will be out."
"Fireflies?"
"Yeah. Don't you want to see them?"
Saying yes would be an understatement. She's only ever heard about them in books since the gardens of her family's castle were meticulously made to ensure bugs and other such things had no place there.
When she was younger, she had thought her parents were being protective, but when she thinks about it now, it appears they were just taking the whimsy out of their lives.
No child of theirs would get to enjoy playing in the dirt and forests. Not if they were to exemplify their royal bloodline. It was quite a solemn look, to be honest.
"Of course I would." She answers enthusiastically, making him smile wider.
"Than come on!"
Caleb unties his cloak from around his neck, draping the whole thing over her shoulders before pushing her forward with a hand behind her back. She looked over at him as he guided her through the small town, mirth in her eyes with each step they took.
After a short walk, they cross over a stone bridge that overlooked a small river, the ripples of water glittering with the orange and purple hues of the sky soon welcoming the night.
Caleb soon brings them to a lined path of cobblestone fencing that separated the lush forest and the town, their crunching boots against tall grass stopping as soon as their legs touched the barrier.
He immediately glances her way once they've reached their destination, his arm hovering upward as though to the proudly display the area.
"What do you think? I'm sure it's nothing like the royal gardens but I hope it's serviceable."
Even with what he described to her days ago, it was nothing like she could imagine.
A myriad of bright colored flowers sat atop a bed of abundant foliage. Warm greens speckled with delicate petals and the glowing hues of fireflies. A painting come to life, the kind she always wanted to step through.
When her family first walked through the royal capital's galleries, her siblings usually weren't as interested in the commissioned paintings from famed artists. But not her.
Nonmc wanted to live and breathe in each one of them. The sights, the sounds, the smells... Her senses needed it to be real.
And here it was, this place that was like a gift to the girl who dreamed of a fantastical life.
"Are you kidding me?" She says in-between a wondrous giggle, "This place is beautiful."
She takes a seat atop the cobblestone fence, making him do the same. For a few minutes, they sit there in comfortable silence, taking it all in.
The breeze was starting to chill, but the aroma of wildflowers and nature was absolutely mesmerizing. If she could bottle up such scents, she would have.
Though after a long inhale of the world around them, her eyes would then glance their way over to his profile.
Caleb was admiring the scenery just the same, his features dappled with the fading sunset. Breathtaking, would be how she'd describe him in that moment.
"...Caleb." She mutters, making him hum and turn to her, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being here with me."
He lets out a laugh, leaning his hands more comfortably against the stone.
"I feel like you've thanked me enough on that front."
"Maybe. I just feel like I can't help myself telling you that everyday, you know. I've never been so free in my life before."
He offers a carefree grin in return, his shoulder closest to her side leaning more in her direction.
"I get it. Breathing the fresh air, away from duties and gossip... It's like none of it matters. We're just... people, like Loretta and everyone else. It's nice."
"And I couldn't have imagined speaking to you like this either." She follows up with.
"Hah, yeah, me neither. Can you imagine how stiff our conversations would be?"
Nonmc groans dramatically, her legs subtly swinging beneath the cloak with the lighthearted banter.
"Oh, yes. With the very watchful eyes of maids and attendants who are definitely in the pockets of our families."
"Exactly!" He exclaims with a toothy smile, "I'd be punished for so much as looking at you, let alone helping you through your bleeding cycle."
"Ugh, and the tea parties! Tea parties would have been dreadful if they heard about us becoming friends. The famed knight befriending the black sheep of her family."
It was meant to land as a joke, but his smile faltered as he caught that self-deprecating comment.
"Hey, you're nothing like that. People who believe it are wrong."
She gapes at how serious he looked, making her sputter around a fit of laughter. He kept muttering how honest he was being, which made her wave a hand up to stop him from starting a whole spiel about it.
"I get it, okay! You always know what to say to make me feel better about myself..." She takes a breath, matching his sincerity with a softened look, "I guess that's why I'm not afraid anymore to say what I've been meaning to tell you for so long."
Caleb furrows his eyebrows at that, causing a wave of apprehension going through nonmc's body in preparation. Even still, she needed to say it.
Because that's how much he meant to her.
"That... I love you, Caleb."
There's a long pause as she had expected, the natural world around them painfully quiet. She could see how the gears were turning in his head, slowly shifting everything he knew upside down.
"You... what..?"
"I love you, Caleb." She repeats more confidently, "I've loved you ever since we were kids. When I first saw you arrive with the other knights-in-training at the royal capital."
She takes a shaky breath, moving her gaze away as she continued.
"I thought it was simply a crush, something superficial that would fade with time as I got to actually know you. But since starting this journey with you, away from the titles and society, it's taught me that these feelings are real. If anything, they've become more real."
Caleb utters a sound, barely a word, like he was way out of his element once again.
"What... are you saying? Are you ly--"
"I'm not lying, Caleb. I would never lie about something this important."
"Then this whole time... You saw me in that way..?"
Nonmc nods, looking back at him with an unwavering gaze. She would not allow him to second-guess her truest thoughts that lived within her.
"I did. Caleb, from the bottom of my heart, I've loved you and still do. I was... happy in my own selfish way knowing that I was going to be engaged to you. And I'm not ashamed to admit that."
Her throat cleared, realizing that her confession was a bit more than she wanted to say, her hands waving up to metaphorically clear up any fog of misconceptions.
"Ah, but this is not to say you have to give me a response. I know how overbearing that can be to spring that on you. I simply wanted to tell you the depths of my feelings."
"Because now... Now, I'm able to see these feelings like you do. I can love you as just my friend, just like how you do with MC. Essentially, nothing has to change between us!"
She angles her body to face him more, her eyes crinkling with her widening smile in appreciation.
"So, thank you for existing, Caleb. For being in my life in some way. I would have never been able to learn love like I have if it weren't for you."
He was in shock with all that he heard. It felt almost foreign to him.
While he lived this whole only knowing her in passing, she had developed feelings so deep for him it made his that he once had for MC seem mild in comparison.
Every moment he raised his voice at her, looked at her in disdain... he was doing so to a woman who looked at him with love.
How could he comprehend something like that?
"Caleb..?" She calls to him hesitantly, "Have I made you uncomfortable?"
"What? No. No, it's not that. I just... wasn't expecting you to say that. I don't know why you would..."
Nonmc purses her lips at how frazzled he was becoming, her gaze going downward in thought.
"I won't lie. When we first met properly, I was... scared of you. I felt like my heart was shattering into pieces when we argued in that forest. But... I still couldn't hate you."
"You wanna know why? Because I did love you, despite everything that's happened. I was sad to think you left the first time, then I became even sadder when you left Gherandel. It's taught me that... I missed you more than anything."
His eyes shake lightly under the weight of each admission, every moment she speaks feeling like a bucket of cold water pouring down his face.
Just as she was going to push him for a response or anything to make her not feel isolated in that moment, a familiar voice carries over to them.
"There you two are!" Loretta yells from the path leading back to town, "Supper's just about ready!"
"We'll be on our way!" Nonmc answers for them, pushing herself up from the cobblestone fence with a small grunt, "...Don't want to keep them waiting."
"...Yeah." He mutters, almost inaudibly.
While nonmc led them back to the lodge with an unshackled heart and eased mind, Caleb was mechanically following behind, still processing everything.
As he gazed at the back of woman who wore his cloak, all he could think about was that there was more to her than the princess who escaped their marriage.
Synopsis: When you arrive home, Luke makes good on what he said when he told you you’d spend all your time together, because now, you’re always together. If somebody asked you when do you see each other other than in school, the better question should be when do you not see each other? Because one of you definitely won’t be seen without the other. And as November passes and December comes around, you need to figure out what you’re going to get for his birthday, except…you have no idea what he likes.
Genre(s)/Tropes: Romance, Slow Burn, Coming-of-Age, Comedy, Angst, Friends to Lovers, Possesive x Possesive
Pairings: Luke x reader (nonMC), Caleb x Mc, Caleb x nonMC (not a main ship)
Chapter 3: What Do You Like?
2:00 P.M.
You make your way up the stairs with your backpack and suitcase, opening the door to your room as you set everything down on the floor.
You flop onto your bed with a groan, relishing in the feeling of being back home and in the comfort of your own bed. You felt like you could fall asleep right now if you wanted to, which you will eventually; you were planning on taking a nap so you can be extra recharged for tomorrow. After all, you do have to go back to school.
You open your eyes when you feel your phone buzz, lifting it up to your face to see what it is.
Luke: Mom and I just got back home, wbu?
Your lips tilt upward when you see that the message is from Luke, quickly typing back a reply.
You: We just got back too, I’m about to take a nap.(_ _).｡o○
Luke: Wow! We think so alike! I was about to take nap too.
ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ
You: Lol really? Well, goodnight then, I hope you have a good nap!(=￣ ρ￣=) ..zzZZ
Luke: Lmao goodnight, or good afternoon? And I will, you too!
As you change into your pajamas and tuck yourself into bed, you can’t help but feel excited for tomorrow. You have someone you’re looking forward to seeing, after all.
Later when you wake up, you catch up a bit on studying and eat dinner. After you take a shower, watch show with your sister and brush your teeth, you begin to get ready for bed.
You turn on the lamp on your nightstand, the golden yellow light casting everything in your room in a warm and cozy glow. You’re plugging your phone in to charge when you get another text from Luke.
Luke: Wanna take the bus to school tomorrow together?
You: Sure, but wait. Do u live close by or something? How else will we be getting on the same bus?
Luke: !?(･_･;?
Luke: Oh sorry, my bad. I never told you lol, I live on the same street as you. I’m just around the corner.
(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))
You: You do??? Well that’s convenient, we can meet by the bus stop that’s close to here!
Luke: Yeah! I guess I’ll see u tomorrow then? Good night!
You: Good night! Sleep well.
You put your phone back on the nightstand and tuck your blanket up to your chin, still in slight surprise from the messages.
You didn’t know that he lived on the same street as you, in fact, he was just around the corner. It was a pleasant surprise actually, it meant that you didn’t need to go far if you wanted to see him in person.
With that in mind, you smile to yourself as you switch the light off on your lamp, welcoming the warmth and comfort of your bed as you’re whisked off into the land of dreams.
The sky is covered in grey clouds with the promise of snow as you make your way to the bus stop, your scarf wrapped snugly around your neck and up to your chin to shield you from the cold.
Your footsteps falter slightly when you see Caleb and Emcee standing there, and even more so when you see the way he’s looking at her while she talks and gestures animatedly.
The only way one can describe his expression is adoring, the wind blowing his bangs over his eyes to obscure the way he was looking at her; as if she was the one that hung the stars up in the sky herself.
As you slowly make your way towards them, you can’t help but wonder, has he ever looked at you like that? Probably not. After all, you were just a friend to him; his good, loyal friend. And you knew that won’t ever change, no matter how much you liked or cared for him.
Because you made that promise to him yourself, right?
Emcee notices you first, turning around to give you bright smile. “Well well well, look who’s awake! Any longer and you might not make the bus.” She teases you as the corner of her mouth quirks up into a smirk.
You let out a humourless laugh at her teasing. You weren’t really in the mood for this, especially at this time of the morning. The both of them knew that you weren’t a morning person since you were younger, but alas, you still have priorities. “Ha ha ha, very funny. You know I never miss the bus.”
You look up and accidentally make eye contact with Caleb, the warmth in his eyes gone and replaced by something more hesitant and cautious.
Ah, that’s right. The two of you didn’t really talk since that argument you had regarding Luke in the mountains. He didn’t say anything to you, and you were too sensitive at the time to approach him to talk about your dispute. But your mind was clearer now, and even though it would be uncomfortable to talk to him about it, you wanted to clear things between the two of you so your awkwardness won’t make the people around you uncomfortable.
“Morning Caleb.” You greet him casually and lightly as you smile at him.
Seeing how you weren’t in a bitter mood anymore, he visibly relaxes a bit, offering you a small smile of his own. “Morning.”
You look down both sides of the sidewalk in hopes of seeing Luke walking down, but unfortunately, he isn’t here yet.
‘Maybe he’s still sleeping,’ you think.
Beside you, Emcee suddenly groans, throwing her head back dramatically. “I just remembered that we have a test in a few days! Darn it, I didn’t even study yet!”
Caleb tsks in disappointment next to her, a sign that he was about to give her a scolding. “You didn’t study yet? And how many times have I told you to when you were busy playing games with your friends?”
“Hey! I was busy before! I wasn’t just playing games, and after that we went away! It’s not my fault.” She retorts angrily.
You sigh, tilting your head to the side to escape the noise of her yelling. “Hey hey, calm down all right? We still have a few days before the test, you can still make it.” You reassure her.
Honestly, you knew that if she actually paid attention in class and did her homework instead of procrastinating, she wouldn’t be struggling as much as she was now. However, it wasn’t your place to say that, and you didn’t want to voice your opinion in case she got mad at you. After all, it was your role to keep the peace in the group.
Just when you feel like your head might combust from their arguing, you catch a figure skidding around the corner of the street and running down the sidewalk towards you.
Your face visibly lights up when you see Luke, a big smile that you can’t control spreading across your face when he comes to a stop in front of you.
His hands are on his knees as he pants, his breath coming out in white puffs of air as he catches his breath. “I-I made it,” he huffs a couple more times, “good morning.” He smiles sheepishly up at you as he pants. “Sorry, I accidentally overslept.”
You shake your head as you reassure him. “It’s okay, you made it right on time. The bus will be here soon.”
“Really? Oh good, that’s a relief.” He sighs in relief as he straightens up, but pauses when he catches Caleb and Emcee’s eye.
He shifts a little where he’s standing, bringing his hand to the back of his neck as if he’s about to scratch it, but catches himself and lets it flop back down by his side. “Um- good morning.” He presses his lips together in a polite smile, but it only makes him look stiff and awkward as his cheeks puff out slightly.
‘Kinda cute…’ you think as you look up at him. But realization dawns on you as you slowly turn your head to the side in shock so nobody can see your expression, your mouth agape as your eyes widen like saucers. ‘Wait- WHAT DID I JUST THINK?!’
“Morning.” Caleb answers cooly, his face devoid of any expression.
“Morning Luke!” Emcee says cheerfully.
Luke nods stiffly, but relaxes a bit as he turns to you, cocking his head to the side in curiosity as he looks at your face. “Are you okay? Your face is a little red, are you cold?”
“I-I’m okay,” You stutter slightly, sniffling to pretend the reason why your cheeks are red is because of the cold, “just a little chilly.”
“Well, hopefully the bus comes soon so we can get out of the cold. Especially because…your legs are exposed.” He mutters as he looks down at your legs. But his cheeks turn pink as he looks to the side, clearing his throat as if he just got caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing.
But you don’t think much of it as you think, ‘oh, that’s right,’ as you look down at your uniform.
While your skirt hits a little bit above your knee, Emcee’s hits higher because she has longer legs.
‘Damn all these people and their long spider legs. I wish mine were longer.’ You think bitterly as you try not to stare, instead focusing on looking down the road. Thankfully, you see the bus making its way down the street as it comes to a stop in front of you, the doors opening as you all file in one by one.
You take a seat by the window as Luke settles down beside you, and out of the corner of your eye, you see Caleb pause slightly before taking the seat behind the two of you next to Emcee.
Suddenly, Luke turns to face you, the sudden shift making you look away from the window and at him.
“By the way, did you study for the test as yet?” He asks you.
You nod. “I did, did you?”
He nods. “Yup! I wanted to make sure I was prepared for the test, so I studied a lot before we left for vacation.”
Behind you, you hear Caleb scoff to himself slightly. But it seems you were the only one who heard, because Luke doesn’t react at all; unless he couldn’t care less and decided to just keep talking.
“Oh!” He exclaims as his smile brightens. “The trip was so much fun wasn’t it? The mountains were so beautiful!”
At his mention of the trip, the…mostly wonderful memories that were created there come back to you like a warm blanket wrapped around your body. You feel yourself smile as you recall the fun times that you had there. “It was, wasn’t it? Especially the sunsets! The sunsets were so pretty!”
While you’re happily talking with Luke, Caleb is quietly judging from behind. The way you were smiling and even talking excitedly…he hasn’t seen you like that in a while. When was the last time you were like that with him and Emcee?
But he soon snaps out of his thoughts, because Emcee starts talking to him. His eyes regaining their warmth as he smiles at her, paying attention to every word that leaves her lips.
After all, nothing matters more to you than your pipsqueak…right?
Time skip to lunch break, you’re about to go and get your food when Caleb suddenly grabs you by your forearm and pulls you into an empty classroom.
You let out a yelp at the sudden shift, momentarily stunned as Caleb shuts the door and turns to you.
You stare up at him wide-eyed as your mouth hangs open in surprise. “What the heck?” You yelp, pointing a finger at him disbelievingly, “what are you doing here? Aren’t you in an entirely different grade?”
Caleb sighs tiredly, raking a hand through his hair as his amethyst eyes settle on you.
Your heart jumps at the way his piercing gaze is looking right at you, as if he’s trying to burn a hole into your head to let all the thoughts spill out onto the cold floor.
‘But wait…aren’t I alone in this room with him?’
Ooooo what if he brought us here on purpose~
‘Stop being delusional.’
Your stomach does a weird flip at the thought, but you will your racing heart to settle down as Caleb starts speaking to you.
“I know, I’m just here to talk to you quickly. It’s about…” he trails off, hesitance clear in his tone as his eyes wander around the room. He clears his throat before he continues speaking. “Our fight. In the mountains.”
You knew it. You knew this was coming, that’s why you prepared beforehand what you would say to him when either of you brought it up. But before you get to open your mouth to speak, Caleb speaks first.
“I’m sorry,” He begins, “for what I said. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” He looks up into your eyes apologetically as he comes closer to you.
“And I didn’t mean to hurt you. If I did…I’m sorry.” He quietly says the last part as he hangs his head down in shame.
You don’t say anything at first as you let the silence stretch on, doing your best to gather your thoughts together before responding. “It’s okay. I…I’m also sorry…about the way I responded to you.” You say reluctantly. As much you hated saying sorry and didn’t necessarily think there was anything you needed to be sorry for, you still said for the sake of peace. Just in case.
Caleb looks up, his eyes shining with hope as his posture relaxes, letting out a huff as he smiles. “You don’t need to be sorry. It was my fault, so I will make it up to you. Remember how I said I would get you whatever you wanted? I’ll also use that as an apology gift to you.”
Oh, that’s right. Caleb promised that he would get whatever you wanted in exchange for giving Emcee those fairy lights.
You look off to the side in thought as you think about what you want; quickly coming to a conclusion as you snap your fingers and face him with a sweet smile, interlacing your hands behind your back.
“I want strawberry milk tea. With boba. But-!” You quickly interject as he’s about to open his mouth. “You can’t use that as an excuse for saying you already got me a birthday present.”
He chuckles, his eyes filled with something close to mirth. But you don’t get to study his expression properly before he turns around and makes his way towards the door. “Of course of course. Don’t worry. And I’ll get you your tea after school so you don’t have to chug it down before lunch is over. Come one, we should go now.”
However, you don’t immediately follow him, feeling like this conversation isn’t properly over. After all, you haven’t even addressed the elephant in the room yet.
A wall was built between you and Caleb. A wall built to protect the peace and stability of your friendship, a wall built to protect the feelings you don’t want the other to see from overflowing. This wall was built years ago when you first made that promise to him, the promise that sealed your fate from the moment you said those two words.
However, this wasn’t about you, no. This was about the person who made you believe in sincerity again, the person who made you believe there were good, genuine people out there. And as his friend, you would be damned if you let people say whatever they wanted about him.
So it didn’t matter how anxious or nervous you felt about speaking up, you had to address this now before it festers into something bigger.
You swallow the lump in throat and take a deep breath as you speak in a firm, but gentle voice. “Caleb. Luke isn’t a bad person.”
His hand pauses on the door handle, and for a few seconds, he doesn’t move. The feeling was akin to watching a bomb being held above the room, and at any moment, it might drop if you weren’t careful with what you said.
And just as you began to regret opening your mouth, he lets out a huff, slowly turning around as he faces you with his head down.
“You…like him a lot, don’t you?” His voice comes out soft, but his words feel like a thousand needles being pricked into your skin.
His question caught you a little off guard, your thoughts swirling around the word, ‘like.’
“W-what? I-I mean, of course I do, he’s my friend.” You stammer, surprised by his sudden accusation.
You shuffle in your place when he suddenly looks up, his piercing gaze looking pointedly at you. “Friend? He’s your friend now?” He scoffs, looking off to the side as he clenches his jaw.
His attitude was starting to make you feel anxious, and when you’re anxious, sometimes you start to scratch at your skin. But instead of doing that, you fist your hands in your skirt to fight the urge to claw at yourself.
“Caleb…I don’t get why you’re acting this way.” You mumble anxiously, fiddling with the hem of your skirt as you avoid his intense gaze.
He’s just jealous
He rakes a hand through his hair again as he sighs in defeat, his arms flopping down by his sides. “Sorry, I-I just…I’m just trying to protect you.”
He feels like you’re replacing him
“I know, and I appreciate it, really. But you don’t need to worry, Luke is a good person.” You reassure firmly, your brows drawn down in concern by his attitude.
Caleb just nods solemnly, giving you a small smile as he turns towards the door again and he looks back at you, nodding his head as a sign for you to follow him.
You jog after him as you two make your way down the corridor side by side, on your way to finally get lunch.
And didn’t know then, but this? This was the beginning of an entirely different wall being built between you two, a wall that neither of you may be able to cross over.
By the time you make it back to the cafeteria, Luke has already finished his lunch by half, and Emcee is sitting across from him. She’s talking to him about something enthusiastically, but he only seems to be half listening, only giving the occasional polite nod and hum of acknowledgment.
But when he looks up and sees you with your food tray, his eyes and smile brighten as he calls and waves at you. “Come sit over here! Next to me.”
You walk over as he scoots down the bench, setting your tray down and taking a seat next to him.
Caleb also comes over and takes a seat next to Emcee as she looks up. “Hey, what took the two of you so long? Did you get in trouble with the teacher or something?” She asks teasingly.
Caleb chuckles as he ruffles her hair, which causes her swat at his hand in annoyance. “Hey! Caleb!”
“Don’t be silly pipsqueak, you know she never gets in trouble. We were just discussing something, that’s all.” He says casually, looking up to give you a smile.
He really needs to stop smiling at you, because he has no idea what it does to you whenever he does.
You just blink at him as your cheeks turn slightly pink, then give all your attention to the food in front of you, not paying any mind to what people would think about you stuffing your face in big bites. You’ve been starving since this morning, after all.
The only time that you do look up is tell Luke this, “The food is actually really good today, it doesn’t taste like slop,” before going back to eating.
He let’s out a laugh, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he speaks. “Yeah, it is isn’t it? Especially the stew, the stew isn’t bad today.”
You just nod in agreement as you continue eating, finishing the last bits of food on your tray.
Caleb looks on coldly as Luke continues to look at you fondly. However, what he doesn’t notice is way Emcee is also looking at the way you two interact…
After school, Luke told you he has to stay behind because he was assigned cleanup duty, and that he would complete it as soon as possible so you can go home together.
You both agreed to meet at the tea shop Caleb was going to take you to get your tea, and you would go home together from there.
Now, you’re holding your strawberry milk tea outside as you stare at Caleb nonchalantly. “You guys are meeting up with friends? Okay.” ‘Just abandon me here.’ You think.
“Ummm, do you want to come? The three of us could go together.” He offered, not noticing your inner displeasure.
As nice as the idea was, you told Luke you would meet him here, and you weren’t about to back out on your word. “It’s okay, I told Luke I would meet him here before we left school. You two can go ahead, he’ll be here soon.” You reassure as you sip your boba.
“Oh…you’re waiting for him? I know! Why don’t we wait for him and then we can all go toge-” She suggests but doesn’t get to finish as Caleb puts a hand on her back.
“Come on pipsqueak, she said it’s okay. Let’s go.” He guides her away with his hand before looking back to flash you a charming smile. “You’ll be okay waiting, right?”
“Yes yes, go along now.” You say as you use your hand in a shoo gesture like a grandmother.
You watch as they make their way down the street, sighing before going back inside the shop to escape the cold.
Allllll byyyy myyyy seeeEelf
Don’t wanna be, alllll byyyy myyyy self, anymore
You take a seat by the window and put your backpack on the chair next to you as you sip on your boba.
You look around the shop, taking in the cutesy interior and bright pastel colours of the place. The shop doesn’t only sell different kinds of tea, but different kinds of cute styled pastries and cakes as well.
You’re so absorbed in looking at the interior and food, you almost don’t notice the tall figure standing right by the window.
You jump in your seat when you see that it’s Luke looking in right at you, a mischievous glint in his eye and a bright smile on his face.
You start laughing as your pulse calms down from the scare, Luke coming into the shop also laughing.
“You should’ve seen your face! Your eyes went as wide as saucers!” He falls into another fit of laughter, so bright and contagious, it’s impossible not to laugh along with him.
The laughter dies down as Luke takes a seat across from you, but pauses as if realizing something. “Wait- are you here alone? Where did your other friends go?” He inquires as he looks around, as if trying to find them.
You pick up your cup and swirl it around, watching the ice and boba swirl around like a tornado. When you speak, your voice comes out indifferent, “They went to hang out with their friends at the arcade or something. They didn’t explicitly tell me where they were going.”
When he doesn’t say anything, you glance up, but pause you see the look on his face.
His usual warm coral eyes have turned seething and slightly dull, a deep frown set on face as he works his jaw. “And they left you here alone? Didn’t they at least offer to take you with them?” He hissed.
You blink at him, confused. Why did he seem so upset? “Well, Caleb did offer. But…I don’t know any of their friends, so it would be uncomfortable and awkward for me if I went with them.”
You observe his face as you finish speaking, taking in the way he clenches his jaw and takes slow, controlled breaths.
But suddenly, he flashes you a warm smile, as if he wasn’t even upset in the first place. “You know what? I think I’ll get a drink too, and then if you want, we can take the bus and let it drop us off a little farther from home, then we can walk the rest of the way. Only if you want to of course!” He offers brightly as his eyes shine with warmth, any trace of anger gone like clouds when the sun comes out.
Though you were still slightly confused by his sudden change in attitude, you can’t help but give him a small smile of your own, the warmth of his smile radiating into your heart. “Yeah, I like the sound of that. Let’s do it!”
After Luke gets his tea, you two take the bus and let it drop you off just a little farther from home.
Now, you’re walking side by side as you both sip on your tea, the sky above you still grey and gloomy as it was earlier in the morning.
“Hey.” Luke suddenly says thoughtfully.
“Hm?” You hum as you look up at him.
He lets out an amused chuckle, as if he just realized something funny. “Isn’t it funny how we’re drinking cold tea even though it’s freezing outside?”
You let out a small laugh of your own at the simplicity and absurdity of it. “Pfft honestly? I drink cold drinks all the time in winter.”
Luke’s mouth falls open in shock as he look at you. “No way, are you serious? How?!”
You can’t help but laugh at the shock induced look on his face, almost choking on your tea in the process as you let out a cough. “I don’t know, I just do I guess. I honestly don’t know myself.”
As you continue to walk forward, a sudden thought comes to you that makes you want to ask Luke something. “Hey Luke, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, what is it?” He inquires.
“Do you…have any other friends?” You ask hesitantly, but realize that the way you worded it probably sounded bad. “N-not that I think you don’t have other friends! That’s not what I meant…” You trail off, hoping he doesn’t take offense to your question.
“It’s okay! Don’t worry.” He reassures kindly, then continues thoughtfully, “Hmmm…all the people I know are more like acquaintances than friends to me, but I sometimes hang out with a couple of the guys from the basketball team.”
“Oh.” You mutter.
“Ah! Not you though! You’re my friend, not an acquaintance!” He reassures quickly, his eyes filled with panic as he misinterprets your ‘oh.’
You chuckle. “Don’t worry Luke, I didn’t misunderstand.”
He lets out a slight sigh of relief. “That’s good, I just wanted to make sure.”
Then he asks a question you were both expecting and not expecting at the same time, “What about you? Do…you have any other friends than those two?”
You hesitate, but reply calmly to his question, “Other than you, no. I don’t.”
Past memories resurface like thorns as you talk him. “Back when we were younger, it was just the three of us. But they got other friends as we all got older.”
It was only to be expected, after all, they were both outgoing and approachable people. You remember how back then, when you asked them if they wanted to hang out, they would tell you they had plans with their other friends. You didn’t mind, really, but as it began to happen more often, you just assumed they found their friends more fun than you.
You don’t blame them, after all, you didn’t think you were the most fun person to hang around with. But the thought always brought a pang of jealousy and loneliness in your chest. You would think, if only you were more outgoing, if only you had more to say, maybe it wouldn’t be like this.
As if sensing your self deprecating thoughts, Luke puts a gentle hand on your shoulder, effectively snapping you out of your dark thoughts.
You look up into summer sunset eyes, the warmth of them somehow always able to bring peace to your troubled heart.
Luke gives you a gentle smile, his voice as soft as pure silk. “You have me now, alright? You don’t need to feel alone anymore.”
It’s strange, really. The way he talks to you sometimes makes you feel as if he’s witnessed everything you’ve went through. But then again, that was the thing about Luke, whenever you were with him, your negative thoughts always seemed to vanish into the air. Talking and being with him was just…easy.
You nod and give him a small but grateful smile, hoping it can convey everything you were feeling at the moment in your heart.
Luke reciprocates your smile, and with a warm and gentle hand around your shoulders, he guides you home as soft snowflakes begin to fall from the cloud covered sky.
As the weeks pass by, you and Luke continue to spend more time together. You eat together all the time at lunch, help each other study, do your homework together, and go home together at the end of the day too. You text each other random memes, and say goodnight before going to sleep.
And now that the end of November is fast approaching, you’re trying to figure out what you will get him for his birthday. You vaguely remember him mentioning that his birthday is on the fifth of next month, but the thing is…you don’t know what to get him.
So today was the day you were going to ask him what he wants and likes, and figure something out from there.
You’re now studying together in the kitchen table of his house as you sit across from him with your hands clasped together in front of you, your face one of absolute seriousness.
“What do I like?” He asks as he blinks at you.
You nod firmly, “Yeah, and what do you want for your birthday?”
Luke puts his pencil down as sips the hot chocolate his mother left on the table for the both of you, his face taking on something thoughtful.
“Hmmmm….what I like? Oh!” He mutters the first part before looking up suddenly, “I like riddles! And mysteries! Oh, and photography too!”
Seeing the way his eyes light up like a young boy when he tells you what he likes makes you chuckle. “Riddles and mysteries? I like mysteries too, but I’m not that great at riddles.”
He gasps, “You like them too? That’s great! And if you want, I can teach you how to solve different riddles, and we can do them together!” He offers enthusiastically as his eyes shine with hope, the idea of having a partner to do these things with making him ecstatic.
You don’t have it in you to refuse him from the way he was looking at you. Not that you would reject him anyway, you also liked the idea of doing these things with him. “Yeah! I like the sound of that!” You agree.
“Great! We can be like Sherlock and Watson! I’m Sherlock, and you’re my Watson!” His smile is bright and unrestrained, and warm enough to melt the snow and ice off the coldest of days.
You nod in agreement, your smile just as big as his.
And so, that’s how Sherlock and his loyal Watson was born. And they didn’t know then, but they would do anything for each other, and follow each other to the ends of the earth if they had to.
how it feels having the deep seated belief that you're inherently unlovable and insufferable so every friendship you make is just a matter of time until they get tired of you and leave
Synopsis: You and Luke bond more as you spend the next couple days together, though, in the back your mind you’re wondering if you’re opening your heart to someone new too easily. Doubts begin to creep in as you wonder if the reason why he approached you in the first place was because he pitied the fact that your friends, in a way, ‘abandoned’ you. What makes it worse, is that Caleb’s not so good opinions about him make some of your greatest fears resurface. However, you slowly come to realize that not all people are like that, and that there are truly sincere people out there.
Genre(s)/Tropes: Romance, Coming-of-age, Comedy, Angst, Friends to Lovers, Possessive x Possessive (kinda)
Pairings: Luke x reader (nonMC), Caleb x MC, Caleb x nonMC (background ship, mostly used for angst)
cw: couple use of swear words, Caleb is kind of an ass, reader is doing her best to guard her heart but is failing miserably at keeping Luke at arms length lmao, reader deals with anxiety.
Chapter 2: 3 Days worth it
Day 2 (first full day)
You wake to the feeling of being surrounded by warmth, the weight of your body sunken into the soft mattress as the thick duvet is pulled up to your chin. Your eyes are still half shut, bleary and heavy with sleep as you shift from your side to your back, letting out a soft groan.
You lift your arm to reach for your phone on the nightstand, letting out a wince of pain as you feel an ache go from your shoulder to your arm. Your mind is still foggy from sleep, your thoughts bouncing around as you feel the ache in your legs too, trying to recall why you would feel this way in the first place.
Memories surge over you like a tidal wave as you remember everything that happened yesterday. From scouting the hills alone, meeting and sledding with Luke, losing track of time as the both of you had fun until the sun set, to Caleb and Emcee eventually finding you as you all made the trek back to the resort together. The flurries that once fell in soft flakes turned into a slight blizzard, as if the clouds opened up a trapdoor and emptied all of the frost onto the already snow covered earth. The heavy downfall slightly obscured your vision, but you all made it back safely nonetheless.
You check the time on your phone, 8:30. ‘Crap! Breakfast ends in one hour!’
You panic as you fling the blankets off, your skin greeted immediately by the chilly air; teeth chattering as you pad your way to the bathroom. You quickly use the bathroom, brush your teeth, wash your face and do your skincare before you’re running back to your room to get changed and fix your hair.
You’re about to open the door to leave when you see someone sitting on the sofa out of the corner of your eye.
“Well, hello hello~” A sing-song lilt enters your sisters voice as she gets up from where she’s sitting and walks over to you.
You stare at her slack jawed. “Wait- you’re still here? I thought you went down already, how long were you here for?”
“Hmmmm,” she hums, thinking contemplatively, “I woke up around 30 minutes ago, when I woke up, Mom and Dad just started heading out the door. They asked me if I wanted to go with them, but I told them I would wait until you got up to go down with you.” She finishes with a nod.
“Oh. Okay.” You mumble. “But you should have woken me up, that way we wouldn’t have to rush.” Warmth spreads throughout your body, you feel touched that she would wait for you, really.
“Aish, don’t worry about it,” she reassures as she opens the door, the two of you exiting and making your way to the elevator. “You fell asleep while we were talking last night. I was a little surprised really, when you stopped responding to me. I guess you were really tired from playing yesterday huh?” Her lips quirked into a teasing smile. “You didn’t even finish telling me everything that happened with the boy.”
You feel your cheeks flush slightly from embarrassment as you enter the elavator. “Well, he also said that we should hang out together again.” You say as nonchalantly as possible, trying to ignore the way you feel your heart flutter at the memory; his coral eyes looking at you so eagerly, and the way his smile was so bright.
“Oooooo~” A smirk formed on her face as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down at you, nudging you playfully with her elbow.
You couldn’t help the small smile that tilted your lips upward at her teasing. “Stop, it’s not like that, we just met. Besides-”
You don’t get to finish your sentence as the elevator dings and the doors open. Externally, you freeze, internally, a red blare alarm goes off as your emotions scramble around.
‘Ahhh, shit.’
“Oh?” Luke’s face lights up with a surprise, his lips slowly stretching into a smile of recognition. “Oh hey! Good morning!”
You give a small smile and mutter a, ‘good morning’ back as you feel your face go up in flames from anxiety; your heart erratically beating in your chest.
He enters the elevator with a woman behind him, probably- oh crap, is that his mother?
She’s a petite but tall woman, with honey brown hair the same colour as Luke’s, and kind, deep brown eyes. Her face is equally kind as she smiles warmly at you, calming the anxiety in your heart a little bit.
“Is this by any chance…the girl you were talking about Luke?” She whispers to him, her eyes and smile taking on something slightly teasing.
“Yeah, this is her.” He turns around to smile at you, his eyes suddenly wandering to look behind you as he tilts his head curiously.
“Oh! Are you with your sister?” His mother asks the question Luke was most likely wondering.
At the mention of her, you feel yourself visibly relax, a reminder to yourself that you weren’t alone in the elevator with someone you just met yesterday, who was also with his mother. “Yes, this is my older sister.” You say, turning to her.
“Nice to meet the both of you, my name is Rena.” She says, smiling at the both of you.
The both of you smile and nod your head at her politely as the doors open to the first floor. The four of you exit the elevator as you make your way to breakfast area, all the while your sister is side eyeing you with a shit eating grin.
You sigh as you think to yourself, ‘this is gonna be a longgg day.’
You don’t even know how it happened, but you shouldn’t say you were surprised. Right now, you were walking in the small town here in the mountains, the ground beneath your feet covered in snow and ice.
Little shops lined up along the streets, luminous Christmas lights lighting up all different kinds of items in the display windows; from toys and dolls, skis and ski gear, clothes and winter jackets, different decorative cakes, candied fruit and desserts; and they even had a store that selled home decor.
The air is crisp with the smell of hot chocolate and what you can guess as different kinds of soup; a row of restaurants along the strip puff out smoke from the snow covered roofs, offering hot food and warmth to those who need a break from skiing or sightseeing.
The reason why you were here in the first place, was because your parents and Josephine met Luke and his mother at breakfast. It all started with small chatter, which then turned into you all eating at the same table, which then turned into discussing plans to head into the town together.
And yeah…that’s you ended up here.
Emcee skips up next to you as she loops her arm through yours. “Let’s go check out the toy shop! I saw that they also sell decorations too!” Her smile and eyes are giddy as she looks at you.
You feel someone come over to your other side to loop their arm through yours, looking over to see your sister, a hint of challenge in her eyes. “I think we should go check out the clothes store, I saw that they have some cute pieces in there. What do you say?” She challenges, looking at you.
“No! Let’s go check out the toy shop first!” Emcee argues adamantly as she tugs on your arm.
“Nuh-uh, I think we should go check out the clothes first.” Your sister refuses to give you up, also tugging on your other arm.
You feel the corner of your mouth lift up in amusement. “Ladies ladies, please! You can all have your turn!” You announced jokingly. “Let’s do one thing at a time, okay?”
“I know,” Caleb suddenly says, coming up behind you to put a hand on both of you and Emcee’s heads, “why don’t we go to the toy shop first, and figure out the rest after, hm?” He concludes with a charming smile.
Your sister quirks an eyebrow at him, clearly not impressed by his problem solving. “Well, I’m gonna go check out the clothes with Mom and Dad,”then she turns to you, “you coming?”
“Uhhhhh…” you hesitate, looking between the two parties. “I think…I’ll go with them. I want to check out the decorations.”
“All right then.” She shrugs. “But can always come over if you don’t see anything, it’s just across after all.”
You nod. “Okay.”
You watch her walk off, sighing as you turn on your heel to catch up to Caleb and Emcee who already started making their way to the store.
A bell dings on top of the door as you open it, your senses immediately enveloped by the different kinds of scents. The store smells like wood and nutmeg with hints of vanilla, everything clean and polished except for the wet boot marks from people coming in and out. It turns out that the store not only sells toys, but different arts and crafts kits, candles, decorative fairy lights, and even keychains.
You look around in awe, making a beeline for the fairy lights as soon as you set your eyes on them. You’ve been wanting to get some to put in your room, but there weren’t any good ones that you saw back home. “Twenty bucks? That’s not a bad price considering the length of it.” You muttered to yourself.
“Are those fairy lights?”
You turn around to see Emcee coming up to you, Caleb following close behind her. Her face lights up as she sees them, taking them off the shelf to look at them. “Wow! I’ve been meaning to get some for my room too!”
Caleb takes them out her hands to look at it. “Huh, it’s not a bad price. Want me to get it for you pipsqueak?”
You pause, feeling like a rock was hovering above your head and it was about to crush you at any moment.
“Oh but..” she hesitates, looking at you as if she’s bracing herself for disappointment, “weren’t you going to get them?”
Caleb looks over at you as if he just acknowledged your presence. “Oh? Were you going to get them?”
You hesitate. “Um, I-”
“How about this,” he cuts you off abruptly, making you snap your mouth shut from whatever you were going to say, “when we get back home, I’ll get you something you really like, whatever you want.”
The rock comes down and crushes you like a squashed tomato.
He really only cares about her, doesn’t he? What about our feelings?
“…whatever I want?”
“Yep, whatever you want.”
“…fine, but no takebacks.” It’s best not to complicate this situation by saying you wanted them too, and it’s not as if this hasn’t happened before.
How many times have we given her something we wanted? Thisreallyisn’tfair
“Really?! But-” she begins, but you don’t let her finish.
“It’s okay.” You pressed, giving her a reassuring smile. “Really, just take them.” You don’t wait for her to respond as you leave that section and go to the candles, an attempt to make it seem like you found something more interesting.
You don’t even look at the names of the candles as you idly pick them up and smell them, your jaw clenching and unclenching as you try to calm yourself down. ‘It’s just fairy lights. It’s an object, it’s not as if it’s a person…never mind.’
As you’re taking deep breaths to calm yourself, you don’t even realize someone is beside you until a candle comes in front of your face.
You startle slightly as your eyes widen, looking up to see Luke holding out a candle to you; his eyes searching and his brow furrowed slightly as he looks at you. But he quickly masks his expression with a smile as he nudges the candle towards you. “This one smells like hot chocolate! Take a sniff!”
You blink at him rapidly as you carefully lean forward, sniffing the candle. “Mm, yeah, it smells nice…” You mumble, turning to look at the shelf of candles so he doesn’t see your face.
Luke pauses, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly before he puts the candle back on the shelf and picks up another one, sniffing it. “Oooh! Cinnamon buns!” Again, he holds it out to you for you to smell it too.
You hesitate. Why is he doing this? Did he…see how you were upset earlier, so he’s trying to cheer you up? You look up at him, your brow furrowed with suspicion.
There’s a hint of awkwardness in his eyes, and he’s smiling brightly as if he’s trying to project it onto you. Your eyes soften as you swallow, hard. For some reason, his sudden presence brought a small sense of calm to you, like warm sunlight that illuminates every single snowflake on the ground after a heavy snowstorm.
You lean forward. “That one smells really nice.” You say softly, hoping he doesn’t hear the way your voice quivers slightly. Pulling back and reaching to get a different candle from the shelf, you bring it to your nose as your senses are filled with something pepperminty and sweet. “Mm…candy cane.” You hold the candle out for him to smell.
He leans forward sniff it. “Mmmm!” He closes his eyes shut as he sighs blissfully. “Candy cane with hot chocolate…I could use some of that right now.”
You can’t help but let out a soft laugh at his reaction, putting it back and getting another candle. “This one smells like…pine?” Your nose scrunches up at the scent.
“Does it? Let me smell.” He gently grabs your wrist to guide the candle to his nose, but he sniffs it a little too aggressively as he begins to cough.
“Woah- are you okay?” Your mouth quirks upward in amusement as he sneezes.
“I’m,” he coughs again, “okay, don’t worry.” He coughs a couple more times as he clears his throat, his watering eyes shining from choking on the scent.
Your pulse quickens as you realize that he’s still holding onto your wrist, the warmth of his hand somehow seeping through your jacket and warming you up from head to toe. But you don’t say anything. You don’t know what to say without making things awkward anyway.
It’s only after Luke finishes catching his breath that he realizes that he’s still holding onto you. “Sorry!” He snatches his hand back as if he got physically burned by something hot, a rosy hue beginning to bloom across his cheeks. “I didn’t realize that I…” He trails off as he uses the same hand to scratch the back of his neck again, a nervous tick of his probably.
“It’s okay.” Your mutter as you turn away from him and put the candle back on the shelf, using your cold hands to cool down your now warm cheeks.
The silence stretches on as your eyes dart anywhere but his eyes, pretending to look around the store as you try to calm your pulse down.
Luke breaks the silence first though. “Hey…you know, I saw a place that sells different kinds of skewers a couple stores over. Are you hungry? Wanna go get some?”
You finally turn around to glance up at him. “But…didn’t we just eat breakfast?” Actually, you didn’t eat much at breakfast because you felt nauseous from anxiety.
“Yeah but, I’m still kinda hungry. Can you blame me? I’m still growing.” His lips form into a soft pout as he stares at you with pleading eyes.
You raise an eyebrow as you stare at him, but close your eyes as you let out a sigh. “Fine.” You relent, caving in to his needs. “I’m kinda hungry too after all.”
You spend the rest of the day shopping and trying new food, your mood and heart warm despite the biting chill in the air, your earlier resentment long forgotten as you laugh and joke around with Luke and your sister.
The sky is clear from the gray clouds earlier, and has fully darkened by the time you eat dinner and make your way back to the resort; the moon illuminating every hidden shadow on the street as the stars twinkle brightly.
Your steps are light with something akin to glee as you stare up at the moon, contentment filling your heart as you walk back. Tomorrow is your last day here, which means you will also be trying skiing for the first time. You smile as you feel excitement bubble up in your chest, and can’t help but think that you were right. This trip was definitely worthwhile.
However, you fail to notice the piercing gaze behind you as you walk and talk with Luke, his back the target of Caleb’s smouldering glare.
His jaw clenches as he sees you laugh at something he said, your eyes shining with mirth as you look up at him. He scoffs out a huff, wondering why he feels so bitter whenever he sees you with him.
Kind of ironic, is it not?
Day 3 (last full day)
As you look down the skiing hill, you can’t help but wonder what will happen if you lose your balance and hit your head. ‘No no no, none of that. Positive thoughts! Remember?’ You think to yourself as you swallow nervously.
You feel an arm around your shoulder as you look up, Caleb looking down at you with a comforting smile. “Are you nervous?” He asks, a slightly teasing lilt entering his tone.
“A l-little, yeah.” You stutter, looking down the (to you) steep hill again.
As if reading your thoughts, he lets out a chuckle. “The hill isn’t that big, don’t worry. It’s definitely not as big as what those Olympic athletes ski down.”
That does little to quell your nerves, however.
“Hey.” He says softly, causing you to glance up at him reluctantly. You loved and hated when he used that tone with you, because it always made your heart do a stupid little flip in your chest whenever he talked to you like that.
“Don’t worry, alright? I’ll help guide you through it the entire time.” His amethyst eyes shine in the sun as the wind blows his ashy brown hair, his attempt at comforting you only making your heart beat faster, not from anxiety this time.
You nod, because you don’t trust your voice to answer him right now.
“Great! But, safety first.” He states as he puts a helmet on your head, clipping the buckle underneath your chin.
“What about Emcee?” You ask as he adjusts the helmet to make it more comfortable for you.
“She’s alright. I taught her everything yesterday, so she knows the basics and precautions. Pulling?” He inquires.
“No.”
“Good, let’s go now.” He says as he hands you a pair of goggles.
Caleb guides you through it the entire time like he said he would, never once letting you out of his sight. You slipped a couple times, but by the third time you went down the hill, you were a lot more stable. It was fun, you realized, and not as scary as you thought it would be.
On your way back up, Caleb suddenly brings up something you weren’t expecting. “Y’know, you’ve been spending a lot of your time with that Luke kid. Is he that fun to be with?” He says it casually and lightly, but he doesn’t look at you when you turn to face him.
“Why? Are you curious about him?” You tease. “I think he’s really nice.”
He scoffs out slightly. “Really nice, huh? I was just wondering, because you never know…he might not be all that nice as you think he is.”
Where in the world is this conversation going? You don’t know why, but his seemingly casual remark pissed you off a little. “Then, what are you trying to say? That…Luke is a bad person? Did you see him do something that made you think that?” You argued.
“I’m just saying,” he snaps, finally turning his head to look you in the eyes with a look of annoyance, though not directed at you, “to be careful. You never really know a person. What if he’s actually a trickster? What if he’s just getting close to you now and forgets about you as soon as we get back home?”
That makes you pause, the argumentative words you were about to refute back at him dying on your tongue.
The past couple almost blissful days turned into cracked glass in your memory. What if he…does forget you? What if he just sees you as his temporary activity buddy? And after all of this is over, will you go back to just passing each other in the corridors without looking or greeting each other? Even though you knew to an extent what Caleb was saying was sound reasoning, you would like to think that he was genuinely a nice guy. But it’s also like he said, you never really know a person…
Caleb doesn’t know, but what he said reawakened deep rooted fears that you thought you overcame. People who you met that called you their friend, only to find out that they only kept you around them because you were, ‘useful.’ They either wanted to be your ‘friend’ because you actually paid attention in class, which meant they could copy your notes and ask for your help only when it was convenient for them, or they saw how you were friends with Caleb who was quite popular in school, and wanted to use you to put in a good word for them.
Whether it be guys because they thought he was cool, or girls who had a crush on him; the memory of their fake smiles and sweet words towards you made you feel sick in your stomach. The familiar, ugly claws of bitterness and resentment begin to wrap your heart up in a vice grip, wounds and scars that haven’t fully healed beginning to rip back open, bleeding crimson onto the pristine white snow.
Don’t let him plant a seed of doubt in your mind.
But what if it is like that?
You wonder what kind of expression you’re making right now, because Caleb’s face immediately washes over with regret as his voice softens, so much different from the harsh tone he used with you earlier.
“Hey hey, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to snap, I just…I want you to be careful.” He reaches out to gently put a hand on your arm.
You’re grateful that you reached the top of the hill, because it gives you an excuse to pull away from him.
He calls after you as you storm off, the swarming thoughts in your mind starting to become too much for you. Right now, you need quiet.
You turn sharply on your heel to face him, your jaw clenched and your brow furrowed. “I know. I’ll be careful Caleb, so don’t worry about me, alright?” You hiss through gritted teeth.
You don’t wait for him to respond before you stalk off, leaving him there by himself in the icy wind as cold as your heart.
Whatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatif
Your mind is a frenzy as you shut your eyes tightly, as if that will shut out all the negative ‘what if’s’ that are swirling around in your thoughts.
You groan as you get up from where you’re sitting under a tree, staggering forward almost zombie like.
What if he does forget us?
You need to find your mom.
What if these past few days meant more to us than it did to him?
You need to find your dad.
We never really learn our lesson, do we?
You need to find your sister.
What if Caleb is right-
“Hey!”
You look up when you hear someone calling your name, your half lidded eyes coming into focus as you see someone running towards you in the distance.
Luke comes to a stop in front of you, his face and voice full of excitement. “I saw a really good steep hill! If we sled down it, we’ll definitely go flying!”
You swallow the lump of emotion in your throat when you see him, your shoulders hunched as you look down at the ground. When speak, your voice comes out small.
“Luke…can I ask you something?”
Taking in your hunched shoulders and the way your voice comes out small and slightly hoarse, his brow furrows in concern.
“Hey, are you okay?” He reaches out to put a hand on your shoulder, but pauses and thinks better of it, letting it flop back down by his side. “Are you tired? Or, are you hurt? N-no wait,” he stammers, his words jumbled together in fast sentences, “you wanted to ask me something? What is it?”
You shuffle your feet in the snow, refusing to look up at him. “Have you been having fun these past couple days?” You mumble.
Luke’s brows draw down in confusion, when he speaks, his words come out incredulously. “Of course I have been, haven’t you?”
You nod, still not looking up at him. “Then when we go back…will we…” your voice shakes slightly, and you clear your throat in an attempt to steady it, “still talk to each other?”
The silence is so loud you can hear your own shallow breathing, and it makes you wonder if Luke can hear it too. When he doesn’t say anything, you panic, quickly trying to do damage control to save face and not make things awkward for him. But before you can say anything, he lets out a surprised laugh.
“Of course we will silly, what makes you think we won’t?” His eyes have softened at the edges, and he’s looking at you with a mixture of surprise and confusion.
You swallow, you can’t show him how vulnerable you feel right now. Vulnerability is dangerous, especially when it comes to being so with someone you just met. “I was just…wondering that’s all.”
He studies you quietly, his eyes searching. You weren’t looking at him, which meant you either didn’t want him to see the look on your face, or you simply just couldn’t.
Why would you ask that? Were you…worried about something? He didn’t want to push you to tell him what was wrong, after all, he didn’t want to want to overwhelm you more than you looked right now. But he still felt like he should say something to reassure you.
“We’ll exchange numbers so we can be in contact with each other all the time.” He starts, his voice cautious but gentle.
“We’ll walk or take the bus to school together, and if we don’t, I’ll come find you. At lunch, we’ll eat together and judge how bad the cafeteria food is. We’ll study together and help each other improve our grades, we’ll tell each other bad jokes and laugh until we can’t breathe. And at the end of a long day, we’ll go home together side by side.”
It’s the way he looks so sincere while he says this with so much conviction that makes you look up at him; your throat burning and your eyes glassy from unshed tears. His words felt like wrapping a warm blanket around your wounded feelings, bringing warmth and comfort to your burdened heart.
Hearing his words and seeing his expressions made you realize something. You can’t judge someone based off of just one opinion, and you can’t let said opinion dictate whether you should think that way too.
Yes, to an extent Caleb’s reasoning was sound, but that doesn’t mean you should let the way he sees Luke affect your perception of him. You had to remind yourself that you were your own person with different thoughts and feelings too.
Even though you were still cautious when it came to meeting new people and letting them into your heart, you dared to let yourself hope that Luke was different from the rest.
So with that in mind, you say something that you hope you won’t regret in the future. “Then,” you croak out, taking a deep breath as you say your next words carefully, “doesn’t that technically mean that…we’re friends?”
His brows that were drawn down shoot up, his face morphing into one of pure happiness as he grins at you, bright and unrestrained. “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying! It’s just,” he pauses, rubbing the back of neck sheepishly as he looks away from you, “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to or…” he trails off, his words turning into a nervous mumble.
It takes you second to process what he said at the end before it dawns on you. “Huh? No! I-I mean…I would like to be friends with you.” You quickly reassure, not wanting him to misunderstand.
His brief earlier nervousness vanishes like mist in the wind, replaced by his usual bright smile. “Great! It’s settled then, we’re officially friends now! Now then,” he extends a hand to you, a playful glint entering his eye, “are you ready to go down that hill partner?”
Your lips can’t help but quirk up into a smile as you take his hand, letting him guide you. He’s saying something about the hill and the speed of which you will be able to go down, but you’re not really paying attention to what he’s saying. Because for the first time, you feel something you haven’t felt in a while, at least not like this.
Pure, untainted hope.
tag(s): @thirstblogforaparchedgirl
a/n: sorry this is kinda long lol, but this is the end of the ski trip era, so now we’re moving on!💃 Also, sorry if this is kinda unrealistic and annoying lol. I’m still trying to work on my writing skills.😅
p.s. I would also like to know what you’re speculations are on the italicized words👀
Synopsis~ Satoru Gojo never noticed you. You were just the ugly duckling cousin of the prettiest girl in the neighborhood, maybe even the entire city. But the Gojo that returns from war is different. Eyes to bright, smile too tight. This Gojo finds you fascinating.
Tropes~ One Sided Love, she fell first, he fell harder. Forced relationship?
Tw/Cw~ WW2, mentions of war, dark themes. Sexisim (not from Gojo)
Author's Note~ I just realized how writing a Japanese character during WW2 may be perceived. I do not intend to minimize or change history. My great grandfather died because injuries he got fighting in the pacific. Gojo plays the part of a Japanese American soldier, which did exists though they are often looked over. I would never write anything supporting the Japanese empire, Gojo will be fighting for the allies.
Divider by @/saradika-graphics
Some people are born with everything. Brains, looks, money. You were one of the poor souls who hadn’t been born with any of those. But you did have family. An aunt who hosted socials and whose lipstick was never smudged. An uncle who spent his mornings at the bank and his weekends at the country club golfing with his bosses. A cousin who was the prettiest girl in the whole neighborhood, maybe even the city. Mable was the type of pretty that made men stop and stare from across the street. She was popular too; she was in every club and committee back in high school.
You leaned against the bannister. At least you had family. You weren’t entirely sure what you were going to do now that you were out of high school. You had always figured you would be married by now or at least have a beaux and a prospect of marriage and security. You were pretty sure your aunt and uncle didn’t know what to do with you either. You could find a job, but you wouldn’t earn enough to support yourself. Maybe I can meet someone at a job. You could imagine him, tall with light hair and blue eyes. He should have blue eyes. He would be a regular at the soda shop you worked at (because of course you would work at a soda shop!) He would have an un-godly amount of sugar, and you would shake your head, while he grinned at you over the counter. Eventually he’d take you out, and treat you like a lady. Then you’d marry him and live in a nice house, not too big like your aunt’s, or so old where you could feel the ghosts watching you.
A car pulled in, you could hear it from the rumble of the motor. You straightened up and stood as quick as you could. You rushed up the stairs. You could hear your aunt calling to Mable, telling her she’d greet Satoru while Mable freshened up.
You made it to your room. Quickly, you slapped yourself across both cheeks to bring out some color. You opened your music box and pulled out the blackberry you’d hidden that morning from breakfast. You let some juice colour your lips, staring at your reflection in the mirror. You knew better. Aunt liked fresh faced girls, and she’d tell you she’d never seen Mable doing such a thing. Well, you didn’t have Mable’s looks.
You walked calmly down the stairs, your heart thudding in your chest.
Your aunt said your name. “Go help Amelia get the table set.” Amelia was your aunt’s maid. She was nice enough, but you had thought that you might get to entertain Satoru with the rest of the family before supper.
“Yes ma’am,” you said, nodding.
“Oh, and wash that off your mouth, dear. I didn’t raise no hussy.”
Shame curdles your excitement. You help Amelia silently while she chatters about how her beaux is getting shipped out to the Pacific in a week or two. She didn’t know because his letters were full of marks where the army had blotted out stuff she wasn’t supposed to know. Eventually you join the family at the table. Only your aunt acknowledges you, her eyes darting to your lips to make sure you had done as she said. Your uncle is staring down at his salad, probably thinking about shares and stocks, or whatever bankers think about. Satoru is staring into Mable’s pretty brown eyes.
They look good together, brown curls and chocolaty brown eyes, against snow white hair and eyes bluer than blue. They're in love. The realization seeps into your skin like the summer sun. Satoru is going to marry Mable. And you’ll be there, Mable will probably ask you to be one of her bridesmaids even though you aren’t that close. Satoru will be wearing his uniform, because all the fellows have signed up by now. Even Satoru, he’d signed up to fly planes, you’d overheard him bragging to some of his followers.
The realization follows you the entire evening. But when the night closes and Mable and Satoru are standing at the front door, you remember. You rush upstairs and open the little music box on your nightstand. You pull out the little paper and hold it tight. You went out the back door and around the yard to the front yard. Mable’s already gone back in. You know she’ll be in the sitting room on the telephone telling her best friend about everything that happened that night.
He’s walking to his car when you catch up to him.
“Satoru, wait,” you huff, reaching out,
He turns, brows furrowed. He looks at you for a second like he doesn’t recognize you. Then he smiles. The one people give to a kid they want to go away. Satoru sticks his hands in his pockets, peering down at you.
“I know you’re shipping out soon, so I wanted to give you this.” You rush out saying. You extend your hand, the paper clasped between the tips of your fingers.
“What is it?” He asks, his hands still in his pockets.
“I painted the stars. I know the stars are different out there,” You look up at him. “I wanted to give you a piece of home - I heard you tell that Nanami boy that you want to study physics - so I -”
He cuts you off. “Physics isn’t astronomy, idiot,” his lips curl and though he doesn’t say anything else, his face practically screams “look at the idiot kid who doesn’t know anything.”
You feel like an idiot. You should be anywhere but here. You don’t say anything else, the silence just sort of sits in the air.
Satoru frowns. “Hey, don’t look like that - I’ll take it,” he says. He reaches and grabs the paper, shoving it into his pocket.
Your heart soars. He took it! His hands touched something your own hands had made. You beam at him.
“Be safe I - we’ll be waiting for you.”
You turn and flee like a child. Your cheeks are hot, from the exhilaration, the humiliation, and maybe even the thrill of being acknowledged.
If you’d turned back, you would have even his form illuminated in the street lamps. Watching you, his face unreadable, hands tucked in his pockets. After a minute, he turns and walks to his car, his hands still in his pockets.
You lay awake that night, curled up and giddy. For a few hours you felt like the hussy your aunt thought you were. You had promised yourself to never look at Satoru that way again, he was Mable’s fellow - her future husband. Then the next few hours, you giggled to yourself and imagined yourself as the one Satoru would come home to after the war.
Contrary to popular belief, Satoru doesn’t marry Mable before he ships out, he doesn’t even propose to her or make her any promises he can’t keep. He kisses and promises her he’ll write. You knew that because you overheard her telling her best friend.
The years pass, Mable gets even prettier, you get a job. You work at a factory, you wouldn't have been allowed to before the war, but every woman must do her part. Satoru Gojo slips from your mind, and Mable’s she meets a navy officer on medical leave. Before he ships back out they marry. You’re her bridesmaid of course.
Life moves on. When Mable mentions one day offhandedly that the fellow she used to see, Satoru, you remember him? He had been missing and assumed dead, shot down somewhere over the pacific.
You set your fork down. You close your eyes and say a little prayer. Memories of him come flooding back, it's been three years though. You have put away the dreams of little girls, but still, no one wants the fairytale prince of their dreams dead. Either eaten by sharks, or dead on impact, or worse a prisoner of war. You’ve heard the rumours, seen the articles about what they do to pows on the pacific front. He’d be better off dead then in one of those camps.
Please come home, Satoru. Come see our stars again.
A man looks up, his hollow face glares up at the stars. Starvation has made him see and hear things before, but he thinks he really did see her. She was eating king cake, grinning at him. “Come on, come home to me.” He stands wincing, the scars in his back have grown infected, and any movement sends pain shooting across his body.
He’ll go home. He has to. And when he does, he’ll take what should be his by right.
Synopsis: You’re starting to get fed up with Caleb and Emcee’s shenanigans, so imagine how you feel when your parents tell you that you’re going on a trip to the ski lodge in the mountains with them and their grandmother. But you’re determined not to let that ruin the experience for you! And who knows, maybe you’ll end up meeting someone who will make the trip even more worthwhile.
Pairings: Luke x reader (nonMc,) Caleb x MC , Caleb x nonMc (a minor ship, mostly for angst)
a/n: This chapter takes place when reader is 15, and Luke is the same age as reader. The characters will get older as the story progresses! Also, since this is an AU, Luke’s mother is alive and well in this story.o(｀ω´ )o The picture above is just used for reference as for what will happen in this chapter, not necessarily that reader (nonMC) is Rosa! @mariahuchiha90 I hope you enjoy this part!
cw: use of a swear word, probably inaccurate school schedules (but for the sake of the plot and buildup I had to), no use of y/n cuz I think about the y/n and the ceo meme whenever I see it.💀 This chapter is also kind of long oops.
You’re half awake as you’re eating your breakfast, warm sunlight streaming through the windows despite the cold morning. You shiver as you wrap your robe tighter around yourself, eating the rest of your food on your plate before you put it in the sink and trudge up the stairs to get ready.
You brushed your teeth before you ate, so since that’s out of the way, you go strait to fixing your hair and changing your clothes. Your movements are sluggish as you braid your hair in two, put on jeans, a vest and a sweater; since it was the beginning of November, the mornings have been getting more and more cold. You yawn as you put on your socks, letting out a yelp as you feel yourself tip to the side, losing your balance as you fall onto your bed.
You let out a tired sigh as you lie there, the faint warmth of your blankets still there from when you woke up, making you tempted to fall asleep again. Your mind wanders to the trip, thinking about the people you’re going to have to spend it with. 3 days. You’ll be with them for 3 days, but that’s not bad, right? It’s not as if it’s a week. You could just avoid them and spend that time with your parents and sister, take nice pictures…
You groan as you shoot up, shaking your head as if that could empty the thoughts out of your mind. You really weren’t fond of the idea of spending a trip in the mountains with them.
You double check your suitcase to make sure you have everything before zipping it shut, your sister appearing in your doorway as you stand up.
“You got everything?” She asked.
You sling your backpack over your shoulder as you grab your suitcase. “Yep, you?”
“Yeah, I got everything- wait, my pillow! I almost forgot my pillow!” She exclaimed as he ran to her room to get it.
“Oh yeah! I almost forgot mine too.” You went to your bed and grabbed your own pillow.
“By the way,” your sister began as you met in the hallway by the stairs, “I recently got premium so we can listen to music while we’re on the road! Look.” She said as she showed you her playlist.
You scrolled through her playlist, seeing many familiar songs since you both shared the same taste. “Ooooo nice! You have a lot of bangers here!”
“I know right? C’mon, let’s go.” She said as she went down the stairs, you following close behind her. “Oh, also.” She suddenly turned around, her eyes softening as she looked at you. “You don’t need to feel obligated to spend time with them, just have fun and do whatever you want, ‘kay?”
Your heart warms at her words, bringing a sense of calm to your earlier frazzled thoughts. Before, you didn’t want to burden your sister or your parents with your feelings, constantly telling yourself that maybe you were just overthinking your interactions with them. But like you, your sister was also observant, and she noticed the way your spirit would dampen whenever you came back home from an outing with them.
When she casually confronted you about it one night, you told her that you just felt a bit frustrated about Caleb and Emcee, that’s all. You told her about the odd timing of when they would invite you out with them, and how you felt like a wingman more than anything else; but maybe it was just you overthinking everything.
Needless to say, she told you to stop gaslighting yourself, and encouraged you to respect yourself and your feelings more.
“Thanks sis, I will.” You say, giving her warm a smile, hoping that it will convey the gratitude that you felt in your heart.
She gave you one last smile before going down the rest of the steps. You went outside where your dad was packing up the trunk, handing him your bag so he can put it in. “Do you want to put your backpack in too?” He asked.
“I’ll put it where I’m sitting since all my entertainment is in here.” You said, giving your bag a pat.
“All right.” He chuckled.
You walked over to the car door to put your bag on the floor, putting your pillow on the seat as well. Pulling your toque further down your head to cover your ears, you gazed up at the for now clear blue sky. The weather forecast said it was supposed to snow in the afternoon, but you hoped you would be able to reach the resort before it starts for the sake of your dad driving.
You were so lost in thought staring at the sky, you didn’t even realize someone was calling your name until they placed a hand on your shoulder. You jumped slightly on instinct, turning around with a frown to see who was disturbing your peace.
Caleb.
He blinked at you as his eyes danced with amusement, a smile slowly creeping to his lips as the annoyed frown on your face quickly turned into one of surprise.
“Wow, your facial expressions never change, you know that?.” He said with a grin as he removed his hand from your shoulder.
“What are you doing on my driveway?” You asked, half jokingly.
His expression turned into one of mock hurt as he dramatically clutched his hand to chest. “You say that as if you aren’t happy to see me.”
Blinked at him twice before you turned around to adjust your belongings in the car. “I never said that.” You muttered.
He smiled as his hand came up to ruffle your head playfully. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Are you all set?”
“Hey! My toque!” You exclaimed as it almost fell off your head from his ruffling, quickly adjusting it back on your head. “Yeah, I’m set. What about you?”
“Yeah, I just finished packing the trunk. Though, pipsqueak still hasn’t given me her bag yet.” He said with a shrug.
“She usually packs stuff last minute, doesn’t she?” You weren’t surprised, she’s been this way since you were younger.
“Yeah, no matter how many days in advance I told her to prepare, she still doesn’t listen.” He sighed with a fond smile on his face, as if talking about someone stubborn but endearing.
You swallow the lump in your throat as you feel the familiar sting of jealousy in your chest, but like always, you try your best to ignore it.
“Caleb! I brought my bag!”
You both looked over to see Emcee standing on the driveway of her house, holding up her bag to Caleb to prove she did.
“All right all right, I’m coming!” He called back, glancing over at you one last time before jogging over to her.
“Geez! What did you put in here? It’s so heavy!”
“Essentials! You wouldn’t understand anyway!”
You sigh as you turn around, willing away the negative feelings that begin to bubble up. Why should you even feel jealous in the first place?
Because he likes her, not you.
Your mother and sister come outside, all of you climbing into the car as you prepared to depart. Despite it all, you were determined to have a good time.
You arrived at the resort and checked in at around one in the afternoon. The trip there smooth and the weather held up nicely, the snow that the forecast said was supposed to happen in the afternoon changed to flurries tonight until morning. You only had a couple bathroom breaks, mostly listening to music with your sister and watching shows that you downloaded on your device beforehand. Honestly, you slept for most of the trip, since you didn’t get much sleep last night because of excitement.
After you checked in, you all went to get lunch. Thank goodness, because you might have felt like your stomach was going to eat itself if you didn’t get something soon.
Now you were back in your room, getting ready to go skiing or sledding with Caleb and Emcee. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” You asked your sister as you put on your jacket.
She was lying on her bed in your shared bedroom, scrolling through her phone. “I can’t.” She said, rolling over onto her stomach. “I’m so full I feel like I can’t move.” She groaned.
“You just rolled over like a walrus though.” You said with a laugh.
“Hey!” Even though she looked offended, she laughed along with you.
“Caleb and Emcee are here.” Your mother said as she popped her head into your room.
“Okay.” You said, getting your hat and mittens as you made your way out the door. “But you’ll come down soon, right?” You asked her one last time.
“Maybe. If anything, we can go together later.” She replied.
You couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by her answer, you hoped she would go with you. “Okay then…byeee.” You waved at her as you exited the room, her waving back at you. The way she was positioned right now reminded you of a cute seal waving, huffing out a small laugh as you left.
Caleb and Emcee were standing by the door waiting for you, Emcee perking up when she saw you. “There you are! Come one let’s go!”
“Be careful alright?” Your mother said as she came to see you off.
“We will. Bye dad!” You called out to him.
“Bye! Be careful.” He said as he came to stand by your mother.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be responsible for them.” Caleb said, giving your parents a reassuring smile. “All right, let’s get a move on.” He turned towards you and Emcee as he opened the door for the both of you.
“Let’s go let’s go!” She exclaimed, grabbing your arm as she ran out the door with you.
Don’t forget, have fun, okay?
The cold air bit at your cheeks as you scanned the landscape; pine trees covered in pure white snow, big mountains in the distance with snow tipped peaks. You inhaled the fresh air, relishing in the way it made you feel alive, even though the cold air burned your nostrils.
Caleb and Emcee were putting on their ski gear, while you stood off to the side with your sled, looking for a good hill to go down. It’s not that you didn’t want to ski, it is something that you would like to try, just not right now. Right now, you felt like sledding.
Emcee glides over to you with the ski’s on her feet. “Are you sure you don’t want to ski with us? I’m sure it will be fun!” She asked.
You gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, you have fun with Caleb. I’m gonna test out the hills so I can tell you which one is the best to go down.”
“Come on pipsqueak! Or I’m gonna go without you~!”
She whipped her head around to where Caleb was waving at her. “Caleb you dummy! Wait for me!” She exclaimed as she quickly glided over to him.
You watched him tease her, him laughing while she was hitting his arm. “So this is my destiny huh.” You muttered to yourself. “It’s fine, I’m fine. I’m used to this.”
The snow crunched beneath your boots as you searched the hills, your breath coming out in white puffs as you exhaled. Finally, you came upon one that you found suitable. “Hmmm…it’s not too steep so it shouldn’t be too hard to walk back up after.” You take into account the depth of the slope and distance you may travel when you reach the bottom.
“Wanna go sledding with me?” A playful, but warm voice asked.
You froze in place. ‘Was that voice talking to you?’ You thought as you turned around cautiously, finding a boy around your age, a big smile on his face as his hazel eyes looked at you expectantly.
“Me?” You asked hesitantly, pointing to yourself as if to confirm he was actually talking to you.
“Mhm! We could go together.” He said as he came to stand next to you, looking down the hill you were scouting out. “It’s steep, but not to the point where it’s a struggle to climb back up…you have a good eye!” He said, turning to give you a big grin.
“Uhhh…thanks.” You didn’t know what to think honestly. I mean, what were you supposed to think when some random kid comes up to you and asks you if you want to sled with him?
Taking a moment to study him briefly, you step back slightly to observe him. He’s tall, light brown hair and hazel eyes that now that he’s closer, you can see they have a bit of a coral tint to them. You can’t tell what kind of build he has since he has a thick coat on, but you guess he might be a bit lanky. His vibe doesn’t feel bad, rather, it feels friendly and almost…familiar? You can’t put your finger on it, but you feel like you’ve seen him somewhere before.
As for what he asked you…honestly, you weren’t fond of the idea of sledding with a stranger, but then again, you didn’t want to do it alone. So coming to the conclusion that he posed no possible threat to you at the moment, you thought, ‘fuck it we ball.’
“Sooo…should we go down the hill?” You ask, glancing up at him.
His head whips towards you, a big happy smile on his face. “Really?! All right, let’s go!”
You put your sled on the ground, sitting up in front as he settles behind you, the warmth of his body enveloping you from behind, making your nerves jump up and down as if they were on a trampoline. “Wait a minute, I don’t even know your name!” You say incredulously, turning your head around to look at him.
He blinks at you wide eyed, his face lighting up as realization dawns on him. “My name is Luke! Luke Pearce, what about you?”
He smiles warmly at you as you tell him your name, repeating it as if to test how it will sound on his tongue. “Well then, let’s go shall we? Are you ready?” He asks softly.
You nod, holding onto the string as Luke uses his feet to push the sled forward.
“Here.”
You push forward.
“We.”
A little bit more, almost over the edge.
“Go!” He lifts up his feet as he holds onto the sides of the sled as you surge downward. The snow covered trees pass by in a blur, the cold air whipping your face as you squint your eyes to prevent them from watering too much from the wind.
Luke is laughing gleefully behind you, the sound causing you to smile and let out a laugh of your own as you speed down the hill.
Slowly come to stop as you reach the bottom, you and Luke are laughing as you get off the sled. “That was awesome! We should try out that hill next!” He says excitedly, pointing to a bigger and steeper hill not too far away.
You smile and nod, making your way up the hill next him. Rather than walking up in silence, you take this as an opportunity to ask him a few questions you’ve been wondering. “Are you here for a short vacation as well?”
“Yep, I’m here with my mom.” He says, glancing at you. “Are you here with your family too?”
“Yeah, my family and a couple friends.” You reply as you dig your boots into the snow for leverage.
He looks over at you. “So those were your friends you were with earlier? Then why are you sledding alone?” He asks, pulling up the sled to hold it instead of lugging it behind him.
Because I’m boring and no fun to be around
“They wanted to ski, but I wanted to sled. So I told them I would scout out the hills and tell them which one is the best.” You shrug, your breath coming out in white puffs as climb up.
“Well…” He begins contemplatively. “At least now you don’t have to do it alone! Since I also don’t have anyone to sled with.” His mouth turns into a slight pout as he says this.
You let out a soft laugh. Despite the fact that you’ve never met him before, you felt happy that this random stranger asked you to sled with him. “By the way, I know this may sound weird…but, have I seen you somewhere before? I feel like I have.”
His head whips towards you as you make it to the top of the hill, his face one of disbelief. “No way…I mean, I knew you probably wouldn’t know my name, but you don’t recognize my face at least?” He asks disbelievingly as he points to his face, his expression looking liking that of a kicked puppy. “We pass each other all the time in the corridor at school!”
You pause, staring at him. From an onlookers point of view, they would have laughed out loud if they saw the way your face changed expressions in a matter of seconds. Going from nonchalance, to vague recognition, to the realization fully dawning on you. “Ohhhhhhhhh wait- you’re the kid that moved to Linkon, right?”
He lets out a tired sigh as his hand flops back by his side. “Yep, that’s me.”
“Sorry, my brain must be fried from a lack of sleep, cause I definitely would’ve recognized you when I saw you.” You say apologetically, awkwardly kicking the snow with your feet.
He waves his hands frantically, as if trying to physically emphasize that you didn’t need to feel bad. “It’s okay really! Don’t feel bad, if anything, I should be apologizing to you for approaching you so abruptly. Asking someone to sled with them as an introduction? Really?” He tsks, as if shaming himself for what he did.
“No it’s fine! If anything, I’m happy you did.” You physically cringe at your self as soon as the words leave your mouth, heat flooding to your cheeks in embarrassment.
Luke doesn’t see to notice as he lets out a sigh of relief. “Phew, that’s good. I’m glad.”
“…if you don’t mind me asking, where did you live before you moved?” You ask, looking up at him curiously.
“My mom and I lived in Stellis before. It’s a pretty nice city.”
“Why did you decide to move then?”
“…the increase in crime rates. Our apartment almost got robbed twice before.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah…”
“Sorry I asked, that was intrusive of me.”
“Not at all! It’s fine.”
“…”
‘I really have zero social skills, huh?’ You think to yourself.
Luke breaks the awkward silence first. “Come on! Let’s go down that hill!” He exclaims, waving for you to follow him.
You let out a relieved sigh as you jog after him, grateful that he broke the awkward ice that was caused by you.
Don’t worry, it’ll get better.
You two sled together until the sun sets behind the snow peaked mountains, the sky turning golden orange with pretty pink hues, casting everything in a warm glow. The air is filled with playful laughter as you and Luke throw snowballs at each other, the embodiment of youth happening in the scene that’s playing out in the sunset-kissed snow.
“Haha! You missed m-oof!” His victory is short lived as you throw a snowball right at his arm.
You’re full on belly laughing now as you dodge the snowballs he’s throwing at you, one eventually coming into contact with your forearm as you shield your face.
Luke is now running towards you with a huge grin on his face and a mischievous glint in his eyes, telling you that he was plotting something that would probably end with you on the ground.
“No! Don’t come any closer!” You yell at him, laughing as you try to run away. But alas, the snow is quite deep and your boots are heavy, so he was able to catch up to you in no time, tackling you to the ground as the warmth of his laughter and body envelop you completely. You roll in the snow together until he rolls to your side, the laughter and adrenaline eventually subsiding into light sighs.
You both look up at the darkening sky, the moon beginning to come out of its hiding spot as the stars twinkle faintly in the night. You close your eyes as you take a deep breath, letting all the worries and stress that accumulated in the past week from school, and the concerns you had regarding your friendship’s release into the night. Right now, all you felt was…peace.
“Hey, look at that!”
Luke’s voice brings you out of the moment as you open your eyes, widening at the sight around you.
All around you on a few pine trees, little golden lights twinkled on the branches as flurries began to fall; making everything seem as if you were in a snow globe.
“Wow…” You breathed in awe, snowflakes falling onto your lashes and reddened cheeks as you looked up at the sky. “It’s beautiful…I guess they already started decorating for Christmas.”
“Yeah…” Luke breathed next to you, equally in awe at the sight before you.
The sound of someone calling your name brings the both of you out of your daze, looking over to see Caleb and Emcee jogging towards you.
“Hey.” Caleb’s brow is etched with concern as he comes to a stop in front of you. “Where have you been? We were looking for you.”
You feel your mood dampen a little as you realize something; they didn’t come looking for you even though you’ve been gone for a couple hours, which means they were probably preoccupied with having fun themselves. You and Luke made sure you didn’t wander too far from the resort, so if anybody came looking for you two, they would have found you fairly easily.
“Sorry, I was busy having fun and lost track of the time.” You say sheepishly, getting up from the ground and dusting the snow off your pants and jacket.
Caleb sighs. “Well, at least we found you, I was beginning to think something happened to you. Pipsqueak wouldn’t stop worrying.” He says with a smirk as he looks over at her.
“I knew she would be fine Caleb! It was you who couldn’t stop worrying!” She shot back at him with a glare.
You feel someone’s eyes on you as you glance to your side, finding Luke’s gaze fixed on you with an expression you can’t quite read.
It was then that Caleb looked over at Luke, his eyes looking him up and down. “And who is this?” He asks lightly, but you can hear the slight tension in his voice.
You open your mouth to say something when Luke speaks up. “Nice to meet you! My name is Luke.” He introduces himself with a polite smile on his face.
Emcee looks at him as surprise lights up her features. “Wait, aren’t you the transfer kid that moved to our city?”
Luke nods. “Yes, I am.”
You wonder how many times he was referred to as, ‘that transfer kid.’
Caleb crosses his arms as he looks at him. “Huh, is that so? Well, thank you for keeping her company Luke, we should all get back to the resort now. It’ll be completely dark soon.” He nods his head towards you. “Come on, let’s go.”
Your brow pinches in confusion. Was it you, or was he being cold to Luke? But why? It’s not as if he did anything. “Umm, okay.” You turn towards Luke. “You should come with us, since you’re staying in the same resort, right?”
His face lights up as he smiles at you, the string lights from the pine trees illuminating his face in warm gold. “Yeah! Now that I think about it, my mom is probably worried about me.” He says as he scratches his cheek sheepishly.
“Well, let’s go then.” Caleb says, his voice indifferent as he begins walking off with Emcee, you and Luke trailing behind them.
“Hey.” Luke whispers towards you as you lean closer to hear what he’s saying. “I had a lot of fun today.”
You give him a small smile as you whisper back. “I did too.”
He grins at you wide and without restraint. “Let’s do other fun things together tomorrow! What do you say?” His coral eyes look at you expectantly.
You already feel the excitement bubbling up in your chest as you grin back at him. “Yeah! Let’s do it!”
See? I told you it would be worthwhile.
a/n: CHAPTER 1 DONE ONTO CHAPTER 2 WOOOO✌️I hope you enjoyed! Feedback is appreciated so I can improve my writing in future chapters!
Synopsis: You’re starting to get fed up with Caleb and Emcee’s shenanigans, so imagine how you feel when your parents tell you that you’re going on a trip to the ski lodge in the mountains with them and their grandmother. But you’re determined not to let that ruin the experience for you! And who knows, maybe you’ll end up meeting someone who will make the trip even more worthwhile.
Pairings: Luke x reader (nonMc,) Caleb x MC , Caleb x nonMc (a minor ship, mostly for angst)
a/n: This chapter takes place when reader is 15, and Luke is the same age as reader. The characters will get older as the story progresses! Also, since this is an AU, Luke’s mother is alive and well in this story.o(｀ω´ )o The picture above is just used for reference as for what will happen in this chapter, not necessarily that reader (nonMC) is Rosa! @mariahuchiha90 I hope you enjoy this part!
cw: use of a swear word, probably inaccurate school schedules (but for the sake of the plot and buildup I had to), no use of y/n cuz I think about the y/n and the ceo meme whenever I see it.💀 This chapter is also kind of long oops.
You’re half awake as you’re eating your breakfast, warm sunlight streaming through the windows despite the cold morning. You shiver as you wrap your robe tighter around yourself, eating the rest of your food on your plate before you put it in the sink and trudge up the stairs to get ready.
You brushed your teeth before you ate, so since that’s out of the way, you go strait to fixing your hair and changing your clothes. Your movements are sluggish as you braid your hair in two, put on jeans, a vest and a sweater; since it was the beginning of November, the mornings have been getting more and more cold. You yawn as you put on your socks, letting out a yelp as you feel yourself tip to the side, losing your balance as you fall onto your bed.
You let out a tired sigh as you lie there, the faint warmth of your blankets still there from when you woke up, making you tempted to fall asleep again. Your mind wanders to the trip, thinking about the people you’re going to have to spend it with. 3 days. You’ll be with them for 3 days, but that’s not bad, right? It’s not as if it’s a week. You could just avoid them and spend that time with your parents and sister, take nice pictures…
You groan as you shoot up, shaking your head as if that could empty the thoughts out of your mind. You really weren’t fond of the idea of spending a trip in the mountains with them.
You double check your suitcase to make sure you have everything before zipping it shut, your sister appearing in your doorway as you stand up.
“You got everything?” She asked.
You sling your backpack over your shoulder as you grab your suitcase. “Yep, you?”
“Yeah, I got everything- wait, my pillow! I almost forgot my pillow!” She exclaimed as he ran to her room to get it.
“Oh yeah! I almost forgot mine too.” You went to your bed and grabbed your own pillow.
“By the way,” your sister began as you met in the hallway by the stairs, “I recently got premium so we can listen to music while we’re on the road! Look.” She said as she showed you her playlist.
You scrolled through her playlist, seeing many familiar songs since you both shared the same taste. “Ooooo nice! You have a lot of bangers here!”
“I know right? C’mon, let’s go.” She said as she went down the stairs, you following close behind her. “Oh, also.” She suddenly turned around, her eyes softening as she looked at you. “You don’t need to feel obligated to spend time with them, just have fun and do whatever you want, ‘kay?”
Your heart warms at her words, bringing a sense of calm to your earlier frazzled thoughts. Before, you didn’t want to burden your sister or your parents with your feelings, constantly telling yourself that maybe you were just overthinking your interactions with them. But like you, your sister was also observant, and she noticed the way your spirit would dampen whenever you came back home from an outing with them.
When she casually confronted you about it one night, you told her that you just felt a bit frustrated about Caleb and Emcee, that’s all. You told her about the odd timing of when they would invite you out with them, and how you felt like a wingman more than anything else; but maybe it was just you overthinking everything.
Needless to say, she told you to stop gaslighting yourself, and encouraged you to respect yourself and your feelings more.
“Thanks sis, I will.” You say, giving her warm a smile, hoping that it will convey the gratitude that you felt in your heart.
She gave you one last smile before going down the rest of the steps. You went outside where your dad was packing up the trunk, handing him your bag so he can put it in. “Do you want to put your backpack in too?” He asked.
“I’ll put it where I’m sitting since all my entertainment is in here.” You said, giving your bag a pat.
“All right.” He chuckled.
You walked over to the car door to put your bag on the floor, putting your pillow on the seat as well. Pulling your toque further down your head to cover your ears, you gazed up at the for now clear blue sky. The weather forecast said it was supposed to snow in the afternoon, but you hoped you would be able to reach the resort before it starts for the sake of your dad driving.
You were so lost in thought staring at the sky, you didn’t even realize someone was calling your name until they placed a hand on your shoulder. You jumped slightly on instinct, turning around with a frown to see who was disturbing your peace.
Caleb.
He blinked at you as his eyes danced with amusement, a smile slowly creeping to his lips as the annoyed frown on your face quickly turned into one of surprise.
“Wow, your facial expressions never change, you know that?.” He said with a grin as he removed his hand from your shoulder.
“What are you doing on my driveway?” You asked, half jokingly.
His expression turned into one of mock hurt as he dramatically clutched his hand to chest. “You say that as if you aren’t happy to see me.”
Blinked at him twice before you turned around to adjust your belongings in the car. “I never said that.” You muttered.
He smiled as his hand came up to ruffle your head playfully. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Are you all set?”
“Hey! My toque!” You exclaimed as it almost fell off your head from his ruffling, quickly adjusting it back on your head. “Yeah, I’m set. What about you?”
“Yeah, I just finished packing the trunk. Though, pipsqueak still hasn’t given me her bag yet.” He said with a shrug.
“She usually packs stuff last minute, doesn’t she?” You weren’t surprised, she’s been this way since you were younger.
“Yeah, no matter how many days in advance I told her to prepare, she still doesn’t listen.” He sighed with a fond smile on his face, as if talking about someone stubborn but endearing.
You swallow the lump in your throat as you feel the familiar sting of jealousy in your chest, but like always, you try your best to ignore it.
“Caleb! I brought my bag!”
You both looked over to see Emcee standing on the driveway of her house, holding up her bag to Caleb to prove she did.
“All right all right, I’m coming!” He called back, glancing over at you one last time before jogging over to her.
“Geez! What did you put in here? It’s so heavy!”
“Essentials! You wouldn’t understand anyway!”
You sigh as you turn around, willing away the negative feelings that begin to bubble up. Why should you even feel jealous in the first place?
Because he likes her, not you.
Your mother and sister come outside, all of you climbing into the car as you prepared to depart. Despite it all, you were determined to have a good time.
You arrived at the resort and checked in at around one in the afternoon. The trip there smooth and the weather held up nicely, the snow that the forecast said was supposed to happen in the afternoon changed to flurries tonight until morning. You only had a couple bathroom breaks, mostly listening to music with your sister and watching shows that you downloaded on your device beforehand. Honestly, you slept for most of the trip, since you didn’t get much sleep last night because of excitement.
After you checked in, you all went to get lunch. Thank goodness, because you might have felt like your stomach was going to eat itself if you didn’t get something soon.
Now you were back in your room, getting ready to go skiing or sledding with Caleb and Emcee. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” You asked your sister as you put on your jacket.
She was lying on her bed in your shared bedroom, scrolling through her phone. “I can’t.” She said, rolling over onto her stomach. “I’m so full I feel like I can’t move.” She groaned.
“You just rolled over like a walrus though.” You said with a laugh.
“Hey!” Even though she looked offended, she laughed along with you.
“Caleb and Emcee are here.” Your mother said as she popped her head into your room.
“Okay.” You said, getting your hat and mittens as you made your way out the door. “But you’ll come down soon, right?” You asked her one last time.
“Maybe. If anything, we can go together later.” She replied.
You couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by her answer, you hoped she would go with you. “Okay then…byeee.” You waved at her as you exited the room, her waving back at you. The way she was positioned right now reminded you of a cute seal waving, huffing out a small laugh as you left.
Caleb and Emcee were standing by the door waiting for you, Emcee perking up when she saw you. “There you are! Come one let’s go!”
“Be careful alright?” Your mother said as she came to see you off.
“We will. Bye dad!” You called out to him.
“Bye! Be careful.” He said as he came to stand by your mother.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be responsible for them.” Caleb said, giving your parents a reassuring smile. “All right, let’s get a move on.” He turned towards you and Emcee as he opened the door for the both of you.
“Let’s go let’s go!” She exclaimed, grabbing your arm as she ran out the door with you.
Don’t forget, have fun, okay?
The cold air bit at your cheeks as you scanned the landscape; pine trees covered in pure white snow, big mountains in the distance with snow tipped peaks. You inhaled the fresh air, relishing in the way it made you feel alive, even though the cold air burned your nostrils.
Caleb and Emcee were putting on their ski gear, while you stood off to the side with your sled, looking for a good hill to go down. It’s not that you didn’t want to ski, it is something that you would like to try, just not right now. Right now, you felt like sledding.
Emcee glides over to you with the ski’s on her feet. “Are you sure you don’t want to ski with us? I’m sure it will be fun!” She asked.
You gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, you have fun with Caleb. I’m gonna test out the hills so I can tell you which one is the best to go down.”
“Come on pipsqueak! Or I’m gonna go without you~!”
She whipped her head around to where Caleb was waving at her. “Caleb you dummy! Wait for me!” She exclaimed as she quickly glided over to him.
You watched him tease her, him laughing while she was hitting his arm. “So this is my destiny huh.” You muttered to yourself. “It’s fine, I’m fine. I’m used to this.”
The snow crunched beneath your boots as you searched the hills, your breath coming out in white puffs as you exhaled. Finally, you came upon one that you found suitable. “Hmmm…it’s not too steep so it shouldn’t be too hard to walk back up after.” You take into account the depth of the slope and distance you may travel when you reach the bottom.
“Wanna go sledding with me?” A playful, but warm voice asked.
You froze in place. ‘Was that voice talking to you?’ You thought as you turned around cautiously, finding a boy around your age, a big smile on his face as his hazel eyes looked at you expectantly.
“Me?” You asked hesitantly, pointing to yourself as if to confirm he was actually talking to you.
“Mhm! We could go together.” He said as he came to stand next to you, looking down the hill you were scouting out. “It’s steep, but not to the point where it’s a struggle to climb back up…you have a good eye!” He said, turning to give you a big grin.
“Uhhh…thanks.” You didn’t know what to think honestly. I mean, what were you supposed to think when some random kid comes up to you and asks you if you want to sled with him?
Taking a moment to study him briefly, you step back slightly to observe him. He’s tall, light brown hair and hazel eyes that now that he’s closer, you can see they have a bit of a coral tint to them. You can’t tell what kind of build he has since he has a thick coat on, but you guess he might be a bit lanky. His vibe doesn’t feel bad, rather, it feels friendly and almost…familiar? You can’t put your finger on it, but you feel like you’ve seen him somewhere before.
As for what he asked you…honestly, you weren’t fond of the idea of sledding with a stranger, but then again, you didn’t want to do it alone. So coming to the conclusion that he posed no possible threat to you at the moment, you thought, ‘fuck it we ball.’
“Sooo…should we go down the hill?” You ask, glancing up at him.
His head whips towards you, a big happy smile on his face. “Really?! All right, let’s go!”
You put your sled on the ground, sitting up in front as he settles behind you, the warmth of his body enveloping you from behind, making your nerves jump up and down as if they were on a trampoline. “Wait a minute, I don’t even know your name!” You say incredulously, turning your head around to look at him.
He blinks at you wide eyed, his face lighting up as realization dawns on him. “My name is Luke! Luke Pearce, what about you?”
He smiles warmly at you as you tell him your name, repeating it as if to test how it will sound on his tongue. “Well then, let’s go shall we? Are you ready?” He asks softly.
You nod, holding onto the string as Luke uses his feet to push the sled forward.
“Here.”
You push forward.
“We.”
A little bit more, almost over the edge.
“Go!” He lifts up his feet as he holds onto the sides of the sled as you surge downward. The snow covered trees pass by in a blur, the cold air whipping your face as you squint your eyes to prevent them from watering too much from the wind.
Luke is laughing gleefully behind you, the sound causing you to smile and let out a laugh of your own as you speed down the hill.
Slowly come to stop as you reach the bottom, you and Luke are laughing as you get off the sled. “That was awesome! We should try out that hill next!” He says excitedly, pointing to a bigger and steeper hill not too far away.
You smile and nod, making your way up the hill next him. Rather than walking up in silence, you take this as an opportunity to ask him a few questions you’ve been wondering. “Are you here for a short vacation as well?”
“Yep, I’m here with my mom.” He says, glancing at you. “Are you here with your family too?”
“Yeah, my family and a couple friends.” You reply as you dig your boots into the snow for leverage.
He looks over at you. “So those were your friends you were with earlier? Then why are you sledding alone?” He asks, pulling up the sled to hold it instead of lugging it behind him.
Because I’m boring and no fun to be around
“They wanted to ski, but I wanted to sled. So I told them I would scout out the hills and tell them which one is the best.” You shrug, your breath coming out in white puffs as climb up.
“Well…” He begins contemplatively. “At least now you don’t have to do it alone! Since I also don’t have anyone to sled with.” His mouth turns into a slight pout as he says this.
You let out a soft laugh. Despite the fact that you’ve never met him before, you felt happy that this random stranger asked you to sled with him. “By the way, I know this may sound weird…but, have I seen you somewhere before? I feel like I have.”
His head whips towards you as you make it to the top of the hill, his face one of disbelief. “No way…I mean, I knew you probably wouldn’t know my name, but you don’t recognize my face at least?” He asks disbelievingly as he points to his face, his expression looking liking that of a kicked puppy. “We pass each other all the time in the corridor at school!”
You pause, staring at him. From an onlookers point of view, they would have laughed out loud if they saw the way your face changed expressions in a matter of seconds. Going from nonchalance, to vague recognition, to the realization fully dawning on you. “Ohhhhhhhhh wait- you’re the kid that moved to Linkon, right?”
He lets out a tired sigh as his hand flops back by his side. “Yep, that’s me.”
“Sorry, my brain must be fried from a lack of sleep, cause I definitely would’ve recognized you when I saw you.” You say apologetically, awkwardly kicking the snow with your feet.
He waves his hands frantically, as if trying to physically emphasize that you didn’t need to feel bad. “It’s okay really! Don’t feel bad, if anything, I should be apologizing to you for approaching you so abruptly. Asking someone to sled with them as an introduction? Really?” He tsks, as if shaming himself for what he did.
“No it’s fine! If anything, I’m happy you did.” You physically cringe at your self as soon as the words leave your mouth, heat flooding to your cheeks in embarrassment.
Luke doesn’t see to notice as he lets out a sigh of relief. “Phew, that’s good. I’m glad.”
“…if you don’t mind me asking, where did you live before you moved?” You ask, looking up at him curiously.
“My mom and I lived in Stellis before. It’s a pretty nice city.”
“Why did you decide to move then?”
“…the increase in crime rates. Our apartment almost got robbed twice before.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah…”
“Sorry I asked, that was intrusive of me.”
“Not at all! It’s fine.”
“…”
‘I really have zero social skills, huh?’ You think to yourself.
Luke breaks the awkward silence first. “Come on! Let’s go down that hill!” He exclaims, waving for you to follow him.
You let out a relieved sigh as you jog after him, grateful that he broke the awkward ice that was caused by you.
Don’t worry, it’ll get better.
You two sled together until the sun sets behind the snow peaked mountains, the sky turning golden orange with pretty pink hues, casting everything in a warm glow. The air is filled with playful laughter as you and Luke throw snowballs at each other, the embodiment of youth happening in the scene that’s playing out in the sunset-kissed snow.
“Haha! You missed m-oof!” His victory is short lived as you throw a snowball right at his arm.
You’re full on belly laughing now as you dodge the snowballs he’s throwing at you, one eventually coming into contact with your forearm as you shield your face.
Luke is now running towards you with a huge grin on his face and a mischievous glint in his eyes, telling you that he was plotting something that would probably end with you on the ground.
“No! Don’t come any closer!” You yell at him, laughing as you try to run away. But alas, the snow is quite deep and your boots are heavy, so he was able to catch up to you in no time, tackling you to the ground as the warmth of his laughter and body envelop you completely. You roll in the snow together until he rolls to your side, the laughter and adrenaline eventually subsiding into light sighs.
You both look up at the darkening sky, the moon beginning to come out of its hiding spot as the stars twinkle faintly in the night. You close your eyes as you take a deep breath, letting all the worries and stress that accumulated in the past week from school, and the concerns you had regarding your friendship’s release into the night. Right now, all you felt was…peace.
“Hey, look at that!”
Luke’s voice brings you out of the moment as you open your eyes, widening at the sight around you.
All around you on a few pine trees, little golden lights twinkled on the branches as flurries began to fall; making everything seem as if you were in a snow globe.
“Wow…” You breathed in awe, snowflakes falling onto your lashes and reddened cheeks as you looked up at the sky. “It’s beautiful…I guess they already started decorating for Christmas.”
“Yeah…” Luke breathed next to you, equally in awe at the sight before you.
The sound of someone calling your name brings the both of you out of your daze, looking over to see Caleb and Emcee jogging towards you.
“Hey.” Caleb’s brow is etched with concern as he comes to a stop in front of you. “Where have you been? We were looking for you.”
You feel your mood dampen a little as you realize something; they didn’t come looking for you even though you’ve been gone for a couple hours, which means they were probably preoccupied with having fun themselves. You and Luke made sure you didn’t wander too far from the resort, so if anybody came looking for you two, they would have found you fairly easily.
“Sorry, I was busy having fun and lost track of the time.” You say sheepishly, getting up from the ground and dusting the snow off your pants and jacket.
Caleb sighs. “Well, at least we found you, I was beginning to think something happened to you. Pipsqueak wouldn’t stop worrying.” He says with a smirk as he looks over at her.
“I knew she would be fine Caleb! It was you who couldn’t stop worrying!” She shot back at him with a glare.
You feel someone’s eyes on you as you glance to your side, finding Luke’s gaze fixed on you with an expression you can’t quite read.
It was then that Caleb looked over at Luke, his eyes looking him up and down. “And who is this?” He asks lightly, but you can hear the slight tension in his voice.
You open your mouth to say something when Luke speaks up. “Nice to meet you! My name is Luke.” He introduces himself with a polite smile on his face.
Emcee looks at him as surprise lights up her features. “Wait, aren’t you the transfer kid that moved to our city?”
Luke nods. “Yes, I am.”
You wonder how many times he was referred to as, ‘that transfer kid.’
Caleb crosses his arms as he looks at him. “Huh, is that so? Well, thank you for keeping her company Luke, we should all get back to the resort now. It’ll be completely dark soon.” He nods his head towards you. “Come on, let’s go.”
Your brow pinches in confusion. Was it you, or was he being cold to Luke? But why? It’s not as if he did anything. “Umm, okay.” You turn towards Luke. “You should come with us, since you’re staying in the same resort, right?”
His face lights up as he smiles at you, the string lights from the pine trees illuminating his face in warm gold. “Yeah! Now that I think about it, my mom is probably worried about me.” He says as he scratches his cheek sheepishly.
“Well, let’s go then.” Caleb says, his voice indifferent as he begins walking off with Emcee, you and Luke trailing behind them.
“Hey.” Luke whispers towards you as you lean closer to hear what he’s saying. “I had a lot of fun today.”
You give him a small smile as you whisper back. “I did too.”
He grins at you wide and without restraint. “Let’s do other fun things together tomorrow! What do you say?” His coral eyes look at you expectantly.
You already feel the excitement bubbling up in your chest as you grin back at him. “Yeah! Let’s do it!”
See? I told you it would be worthwhile.
a/n: CHAPTER 1 DONE ONTO CHAPTER 2 WOOOO✌️I hope you enjoyed! Feedback is appreciated so I can improve my writing in future chapters!
two huh's and two lavender heads turn at you. the grin you try so hard to conceal spreads wide anyway. those same sunset eyes and same confused expressions. the smaller guy rests in your lap while the other guy is sitting beside you on the comfort of your couch.
"what that mean, mummy?" kashiel blinks. rafayel nods along too.
"i mean, why your face," you cup kashiel's face, "your eyes, your hair, and oh! your nose too," you gently pinch his little nose, "all the same as daddy?"
"'course i look like daddy! i daddy baby." it's the obvious, sure. bless your baby for his mummy about to bully him.
"and you're not mummy's baby?" you ask, putting a very hurt, sad face. your son's proud face washes away as he panics seeing you pout.
"wha–!! i mummy baby too." determined little thing as he kneels in your lap, facing you with hands on your shoulders to prevent himself from unstable footing. "why you say i no mummy baby?"
"you tell me, kashiel." it's fun to tease kashiel. he's so smart and mischievous. always have something to come up with in any situation. you wonder how this one will turn out.
your husband at the same time has snuggled up at your side. head tilted back on the couch as he watches his wife and son having a conversation. his most favorite thing in the world.
"uh.." kashiel turns to look at daddy for help. rafayel stuck his tongue out instead. never mind!
"uhm.. mummy.. i.." the gears in his brain are working overtime to prove he's just as much as mummy's like he is daddy's. "i kind! mummy kind! that why i mummy baby too."
kashiel carefully observes your face. please mummy smile, please mummy smile and say he's mummy's baby chanting internally.
"oh so daddy's not kind, kashiel?" a voice that's not mummy chirps and intervenes.
kashiel huffs and loops his little arms around mummy's neck, seeking your hug and attention. melting like a puddle when you laugh and kiss his hairline.
"daddy no kind! you eat my donuts."
"excuse you, you already had so many donuts that day and they were going to spoil, mister. someone had to finish it, we don't waste food." rafayel eyes the way kashiel's clinging to you like a damn barnacle. your husband has yet to have his own fill of cuddles today!
"i no care. i mummy baby."
"you are mummy's baby indeed. tomorrow we buy some donuts, okay?" you agree easily, revelling at how your husband turns sulky now. another big baby to deal with here.
Rafayel rubs his hands like an evil fly whenever you order him to leave you alone because you need your two hours of personal care: showering, shaving, washing your hair, doing skincare and body care and haircare, painting your nails...
He might pout at first because it's less time spent cuddling, but he changes his mind as he watches you prance around the room putting on different serums and creams and oils, all while completely ignoring him.
He watches you from the bed, surrounded by pillows.
You look like a fairy working her magic or a mermaid dancing in the current, or a princess getting ready for the grand ball.
Either way he dreams of painting you like this, perhaps even sculpting you.
Bonus points for the way you smell and feel once you're done.
Thinking about Rafayel who hates to see you leave. Whenever you excuse yourself by telling him it’s late, you have to pry each one of his individual fingers off your waist. He’s clinging onto you, half his body draped off the couch because he refuses to let go…
He’s whining, burying his face in your skin, your clothes, wherever he can reach. When you step away, Rafayel’s being dragged with you.
He’s whining, voice nasally as he calls you cutie. Asking where you’re going. Why are you leaving him againnnnn? He has a perfectly good couch for him to sleep on, so you can have his king sized bedddd!!! Didn’t you say you loved his toilet and its gigantic bath tubbbb? You can use it in the morninggggg, just stay over pleaseeeeee?
Your work clothes? Come on, you could probably borrow some from a friend, or Rafayel could figure something out. Surely they sell hunter uniforms online, right? Man, do you really, super duper really, have to leave?
If you insist, he’s sniffling, before turning away, lower lip jutting out in a childish pout.
Fine. And leave this fishie to mourn. Alone. In his very big and empty house. Because SOMEONE was cruel enough not to stay even for a night. Sniff.
If you do manage to escape home, Rafayel will be calling you at all hours of the night. Telling his lil’ cutie to prop their phone next to their bed so he can talk to them until he falls asleep. If you’re reluctant to, he’s not above being a drama king to make you agree.
What, you think it’s a pain? You think he’s annoying? You hate him!
But when you do eventually fall asleep, Rafayel’s forcing his heavy eyelids to stay open, fingers tenderly tracing the curve of your cheek against your skin. As softly as he can, he fumbles around for a charger before plugging it in, still gazing at your tranquil expression.
Oh, there’s a little bit of drool there, cutie. He’ll help you wipe it up… ah. That’s right. It’s a screen. Well, at least his phone is charging. Rafayel hopes yours is, too.
So he’ll be able to wake up to his beloved’s sleepy, cute lil’ face.
i badly need book or light novel recommendations that are angstpilled. specifically unrequited love from the fmc. there has to be hurt and it'd be better if mmc has this period of hesitation between fmc and the other woman. slow burn is okay but ntm.
💔 I know people will hate me for this, but I can’t stay silent anymore
I just want to find at least one person who feels the same way I do.
Even if a hundred or a thousand people will hate me for it, I want that one single person who understands what kind of scar this MC left on me.
---
For a long time, I couldn't quite explain why I had such a deep dislike - no, a visceral rejection - of the MC of Love and Deepspace.
It wasn’t just that I found her annoying, rude, or bland - though many users defend her as "just a cute sweetheart" or "not that bad heroine".
No. I think I genuinely hate her.
And recently, after sitting with this feeling for months, I finally figured out why.
She is an empty shell.
A hollow, perfect otome heroine who had everything handed to her by default. She has:
- A loving older adoptive brother who would literally do anything for her because he had to watch her suffer as a child and ended up traumatized (while she conveniently forgot everything - how convenient, right?).
- A serious childhood friend who possibly had feelings for her but had to hide them to avoid hurting her with his evol - and of course she’s the only one who can make him smile again
- A literal husband from the future, who time-traveled just to save her (because even time itself is on this woman’s side).
- Not one but TWO ancient creatures (a mafia boss who created and controls an entire shadowy underworld mafia just to protect her, and a literal mermaid sea god whose soul is tied to hers across lifetimes) both of whom have loved her across lifetimes and would destroy the world for her!
The love interests? Fantastic.
They’re well-designed, emotionally rich, and full of potential.
But the moment you add destiny threads, past life reincarnations, and mythic soulmate-level love, something breaks.
I stop feeling like I’m part of the story.
I don’t feel like the MC.
I don’t feel like I’m influencing or choosing anything.
I don’t feel... close.
It feels like I’m just watching someone else’s picture-perfect story - some unreasonably lucky girl - from behind a screen. And I have absolutely nothing to do with it.
I think what makes it worse is that Infoflds advertises this as otome game from first-person POV.
A dating sim for women.
Isn’t it supposed to fulfill the fantasy of being special?
Of being seen?
But all I felt after a few months of playing and watching her was:
MC is the center of the universe.
And I mean that literally.
From what I understand, the plot eventually reveals that she’s a kind of cosmic entity - a celestial being that gave birth to an entire advanced civilization on another planet. She’s the source of life itself.
Every powerful man or godlike creatures in this world exists and lives because of her.
Loves her. Worships her. Saves her.
Even the player feels like they’re supposed to worship her.
She’s the chosen one. The universe, the love interests, and the story all bend to her - and honestly? It felt like the game was screaming in my face:
"Look at her! Look at everything she has that you never will!"
Yes, I know the mythic destiny trope is just a lazy storytelling shortcut to justify why all the LIs fall so hard so fast.
But still… it hurts.
This game showed me something I didn’t expect:
That I’m a non-MC reader.
Just a side character. A background girl.
And that’s why I adore non-MC stories with a reader.
They mirror how I feel in real life - painfully, but in a cathartic beautiful way.
They say: yes, even if you’re beautiful, loyal, smart, kind - if you weren’t born the Chosen One, if you weren’t written into the myth - then you’ll never be her.
You’ll never be the one they cross time and space for.
You’ll never be the cosmic soulmate.
You’ll never be the MC.
And yes, maybe I’m just a jealous bitter bitch.
Maybe I just fell too hard for the guys and now feel like a miserable outsider.
Maybe I felt like I was being pushed out of a story that never included me to begin with.
But this post - this pain - is real.
If you’ve ever felt like the story wasn’t written for you,
If you’ve ever watched miss Hunter be worshipped and thought:
“Why not me?”
If you’ve ever craved a story where someone like you gets to be seen, wanted, and chosen:
You're not alone.
UPDATE: I never expected this to blow up. Thank you for all the support (and the chaos). I wrote a proper thank you to my fellow non-MC enthusiasts here.
SECOND UPDATE: The response was insane. Check out here my first non-MC OC/Sylus fic dropping this week! ✨
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