#i need to tattoo it on my forehead so everyone knows i need a tshirt that proclaims it

[lottieurl]

oh my god you're not into [modern timeline actress]? should we throw a party?? should we invite leonardo dicaprio?

[nationalharryleague]

Work of Art

Pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

Genre: AU, Artist!Harry, fluff, angst if you squint

Word count: 4K

A/N: Hi everyone! This is my entry for @hsogolden​ ’s AU writing challenge! Check out their blog they are incredibly talented!!! ALSO, a MASSIVE thank you and shoutout to the lovely Miss Lu, @harrysgucciloafers​!!! I could have never done it without her!! Thank you so much for reading and remember, feedback is so so so appreciated!!! You can also send requests to my ask anytime!! I hope you enjoy :) More of my writing can be found in my masterlist :) 

***

Sleep was fleeting and you remained staring at your popcorn ceiling in your shitty apartment for longer than you would have liked. It was later than you would have liked when your phone buzzed and lit up the ceiling of your bedroom. Knowing sleep was still far off, you rolled over and examined the text from an unknown number, the bright screen blinding you in the process.

Hi, I was thinking of you today. I thought I would show you this piece that I made of you. Hope you’re doing well. Hx, attached was a slightly blurry photo of a beautiful painting of a woman.

The woman in the painting was made up of beautiful bright colors, her skin a mix of green, blue, and purple tones. Her eyes were a bright and captivating cerulean, standing out behind wide framed glasses, and she wore an intriguing and knowing smirk on her lips. Her hair fell down in blunt bangs over her forehead and framed her heart shaped face. She was young, looking to be only a little bit older than you.

The painting was captivating. It was crafted with such bright tones, using color blocking that blended the abstract with some elements of realism. It felt like someone poured all of their emotion and adoration or hurt (you couldn’t decide which) into it. You couldn’t decide if the artist loved or hated this figure staring back at you. One thing you knew was that whoever texted you was incredibly talented and had obviously dedicated so much time to this piece. You felt awful that it hadn’t reached its intended destination.

Um… Wrong number, you typed out, feeling a pang of sympathy for whoever ‘H’ was.

Oh… okay. Sorry to bother you., your phone screen lit up again.

Your art is beautiful, you quickly sent back, attempting to offer some sort of consolation to the mystery artist. Sorry I’m not who you wanted to talk to.

Don’t worry about it. Just looking for someone from a lifetime ago.

That last part kept you up for most of the night. You couldn’t stop thinking about what that could mean. Old friend? Estranged relative? Another artist? You let your mind dream up Oscar-worthy scenarios until you finally fell asleep.

***

“Please come to Scott’s art show with me,” Grace whined from across the table at your favorite coffee shop. Grace was your best friend from college and hadn’t figured out to get rid of you yet.

“You know how I feel about your shitty boyfriend and his shitty art,” you fired back. Scott was a pretentious “artist” who made “ironic” misogynistic sculptures and frequently “forgot” to pay Grace back for his share of rent. You hated his guts.

“I promise I’m going to break up with him soon. I just need to get to the end of the month so I get my money’s worth for rent,” she assured you. “By the way, I’m going to need some help moving out at the end of the month,” she mentioned nonchalantly. You let out a chuckle at her and playfully rolled your eyes.

“I will go to the show with you on one condition.”

“Anything.”

“You’ll hold my hand.”

A few hours later you walked into the modern and cold art show space, holding onto Grace’s hand for dear life, feeling unwelcome in this environment. Grace blended in easily, her bright blue hair and arms of tattoos suiting her well.  The edgiest thing you had ever done was getting your nose pierced… until your grandma threw a fit and your mom made you take it out. You were not an artist and you did not feel welcome in the art community, or at least the type of artists that hang out with Scott. You worked in an office, you dressed plainly and simply, and you didn’t think there was anything special about yourself. You were strikingly ordinary, a sharp contrast from most other people in the gallery. You felt like an outsider because you were one.

Walking around the gallery, you hung onto Grace while examining and appreciating the artwork. You took careful steps, as if to not take attention away from the paintings on the walls and spent time examining each piece as you moved through the room. As you moved from wall to wall, your eyes fell on a strikingly familiar painting. The same girl with the bright blue eyes and the bangs stared back at you, the devilish smirk still playing upon her lips like she knew you had met before.

Releasing Grace’s hand, you all but ran up to the painting in question, trying to take in all the details that didn’t translate over the slightly grainy photo on your phone. The painting took on a life of its own up close. The paint itself was layered thick and thin across the canvas creating a rough texture that made the girl come alive. You were half waiting for her to make eye contact with her captivating baby blues and start staring back at you. You felt like you could reach inside the canvas and hold the beautiful woman’s face in your hands.

“Do you like it?” a deep British voice asked after clearing their throat behind you.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful,” you murmured, still staring at the green and purple woman. It took you a moment to rip yourself away from her piercing eyes and look towards the voice, only to turn around and find an even more captivating set.

They were bright green and belonged to a tall, dark haired man that was breathtaking. He had chocolate brown curls that seemed to be sticking in every direction, like a purposefully perfect bedhead, and stubble that moved up his jaw and down his neck. He had plushy pink lips framing his bright smile and his two front teeth came down the tiniest bit too far. He was wearing a white tshirt that was painted to his fit body as it was a size too small for him, showing off his arms of tattoos, and a pair of orange corduroy flares. His ensemble was topped off with a pearl necklace. He arched a brow when your mouth hung open slightly, trying to take all of him in.

“The painting is gorgeous,” you eventually were able to spit out. “I feel like I know her.”

“I’m glad that I was able to create something so captivating,” he smiled at you. So he was the one that painted it, meaning he was the one who had texted it to you. After getting over the initial shock, you gave yourself an internal high five for having this guy’s number. “Harry,” he introduced himself, reaching out a perfectly manicured hand to shake yours. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Y/N,” you smiled back, debating if you should tell him that you had kind of met before. It felt creepy to tell him, like you were some sort of voyer on an intimate part of his life. “I love her. Can you tell me a little bit more about it?” you asked. You had to figure out if it was worth being creepy about.

“So did I,” he said with a light chuckle. “She’s someone that I used to know,” he elaborated looking over your shoulder, surely making eye contact with the woman. Maybe you were reading into it too closely, but you thought a flash of hurt passed across his features.

“Do you always paint mysterious people from your past?” you teased, wanting to break the slightly awkward silence and also willing to do anything to talk to him further.

“Actually, I’m mainly a landscape painter,” he smiled at the ground, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Looking back at Harry’s wall of paintings you realized that the girl was the only person on the wall, flanked by beautiful landscape paintings depicting all different areas of the world. You quickly picked your favorite, a monochromatic green scene of the Eiffel tower.

After you asked if he traveled a lot to paint, the conversation began to flow. You strolled around the mainly empty studio space, footsteps falling in sync, him teaching you about his paintings and you asking questions, desperate to learn anything you could from him and just wanting to hear that beautiful accent. You learned he grew up in Cheshire and moved to New York for school and never left, but he travelled to Europe often to see his family and to paint. He told you about how his ultimate goals in life were to have one of his pieces in the Museum of Modern Art and to find his soulmate. He was a hopeless yet hopeful romantic. He also had two cats, Evie and Stevie (the latter was obviously named after Stevie Nicks).

He was so beautiful. He had this magical twinkle in his eye that you just couldn’t get over. He looked like he was one of the sculptors’ in the room’s life work. He was just as much of a piece of art as anything on display in the studio.

When the crowd started to thin, Grace came and found you, still rolling her eyes from something stupid Scott had said, him trailing not far behind. “Hi my love,” she greeted you, kissing your cheek casually as always. “We were getting ready to head out but I can see you’ve made a friend.”

“Harry is the artist behind all these amazing paintings,” gesturing to the long wall displaying his artwork. “This is my best friend Grace,” you said, turning back to him. “And that’s her soon to be ex-boyfriend, Scott,” you laughed and pointed to him staring at a blank white canvas in the corner that was obviously not part of the exhibition.

“Wait,” he began, shaking his head and laughing, pointing accusingly between the two of you. “You two aren’t together?”

“What? No!”

“It’s just that you were holding hands for a while when you came in and then she called you ‘love,’ and then kissed your cheek,” he continued laughing, his cheeks a bright red. It was adorable. You felt your cheeks heat up just as bright red as his.

“Oh my god, no.” You broke out into a fit of giggles of your own.

“Well, in that case, would you like to grab a drink or something sometime?”

***

You decided to order a martini when you got to the bar the next night. You thought it would make you look fancy and you hoped it would impress your worldly date. You had put on your favorite red dress (the one that hugged you in all the right spots and hid the wrong ones), praying he would dress up like you did, and slid carefully onto the barstool. Bouncing your knee nervously, you sipped your drink slowly until you saw his well dressed figure enter the bar, making your heart skip a beat.

He was dressed in high-waisted wide-legged tan pants and a bright red cardigan printed with small white hearts that was held together in the front by a single button, leaving his chest and signature pearl necklace on display. His chest tattoos were now slightly visible, the faces of two swallows looking back at you, as well as what you thought might be some sort of antennae peeking up from his stomach. He also wore an award winning smile and shot you a wink when he spotted you from the entrance of the bar. Once again, he took your breath away.

“Hello darling,” he greeted you as he made his way over. You began to panic when he started leaning into you, relieved when his lips found their way to your cheek and quickly moved to the other. When he kissed your cheeks, it sent sparks through your body. Oh my god, he is so British, you squealed inside your head, unable to suppress your American excitement. “I like your color choice,” he smirked looking between your outfits of almost the exact same red. You could only hope your cheeks didn’t match as well.

“Great minds dress alike,” you remarked, earning a laugh from the gorgeous man in front of you. Turns out, your joke was enough to break the ice. Soon the conversation began to flow freely, without anxiety or trepidation, like you were a pair of souls reunited after lifetimes apart. You were two martinis in when you decided to break the news that the art gallery was not the first time you had spoken.

“I think I have to break something to you,” you giggled, everything seeming a little funny after a few drinks, “the art show was not the first time we met.” His eyebrows knit together in slight confusion so you decided to elaborate. “The night before the show you sent a picture of that painting to a wrong number, and that wrong number was me. I promise it was all a coincidence and I am not stalking you.” You held your breath while you waited a moment with bated breath for a reaction from him, but released the stress that had found its way into your shoulders when his smile returned to his lips.

“I knew you had more interest in Amelia than most people,” he chuckled. Amelia, you repeated to yourself, now having a name for the face of your mystery woman.

“When Grace dragged me to that studio and I saw her again, I just had to know more. But then I met you and got a little distracted,” you flirted, “accidentally” nudging his leg with the point of your stiletto.

“I’m glad I’m just a distraction to you,” he feigned offense, clutching his pearl necklace with the hand that wasn’t hanging onto his neat tequila.

“Meeting you tonight was actually just an elaborate ruse to learn more about your Amelia,” you sarcastically confessed, sending him back one of the winks he had been shooting you all night. Your wink wasn’t met with his typical laugh, but a slightly pained smile that didn’t reach his eyes. You worried you had hit a nerve.

“She’s not my Amelia anymore. Actually, I don’t think she ever was,” he spoke gently, taking a sip of his drink and breaking eye contact for what felt like the first time tonight. Oh no oh no oh no, you began to panic in your head. What did this woman do to him?  

“I once had an ex tell me they had cancer so I wouldn’t break up with them,” you offered, forcing a laugh and praying you could brighten up his mood again. Thankfully, it worked, bringing back the crinkles by his eyes that appeared whenever he smiled or laughed.

You breathed a sigh of relief when the rest of the night went smoothly. It was better than smooth actually, it felt easy and exciting. Harry made your heart sing and your stomach flutter. He was a perfect gentleman, walking you all the way home (even when he lived on the other side of the city) and even up to your apartment, insisting he needed to make sure you made it inside safe.

The pair of you were standing in front of your front door when he leaned in and pressed his blushed lips to yours. He tasted like the lime that sat on the rim of his drunk and smelled like shampoo and vanilla. Every hair on your body stood up on point and everywhere he touched you felt like your skin lit on fire; you never wanted this moment to end. He gently held your face and you could feel his lips turn into a smile as he pulled away, his beautiful green eyes meeting yours once again.

“I had a really good time tonight,” he breathed, unable to wipe the smile off his face.

“I think we should do this again,” you said, still catching the breath that he took away.

“I promise you’ll be hearing from me soon. I already have your number,” he chuckled, still beaming. You watched as he walked down the hallway away from you, winking and blowing you a kiss before turning the corner. As soon as you entered the apartment, you slid down your front door, dizzy from the haze he had created in your head. You couldn’t wait to see him again.

***

After that night, you couldn’t believe someone like him kept coming back to someone like you. You insisted you were too boring for someone who had such an incredible personality and background. Yet three months later, he was yours and you were his.

You spent almost all your nights together, crammed into one of your small New York City apartments, wrapped in each other’s arms and hypothetically solving the world’s problems. You had learned in this time that Harry was incredibly intelligent and well spoken, no matter how long it took him to get his words out due to his slow cadence. In your conversations, you had come to the agreement that most of the world’s problems could be solved with a little empathy and that green was definitely the best color.

Tonight you laid naked in his bed, your head resting just above your favorite butterfly, and played with his fingers as you listened to him speak about postmodernism and how it rocked the art world. You didn’t understand a thing he was going on about but you loved to hear him speak, his voice vibrating through his chest and how he pulled on his bottom lip when he was thinking. You scanned the studio apartment from his bed, trying to pay attention but losing that battle. The floor was littered with finished and unfinished paintings leaning up against the walls and you noticed one familiar face you had grown fond of was missing.

“Where did your painting of Amelia go?” you asked when he took a second to breathe during his diatribe.

“I sold it,” he said curtly.  You hadn’t talked much more about Amelia after that first night, the woman obviously being a sore spot, but you couldn’t help but wonder what happened.

“Oh, okay. I liked that painting a lot,” you spoke cautiously, trying not to hit whatever nerve you had previously.

“It was nice, but I think she should haunt someone else now,” he said with a sigh. Haunt?, you thought to yourself.

“H,” you began, rolling yourself off him to look him in the eye, “can I ask what happened with her?” You held your breath, afraid you might lose him to the heartbreak again.

“Don’t worry about her, she’s long gone.”

“Harry,” you lightly scolded him by using his full name which you rarely did, thinking back to when you agreed not to keep anything for each other. With a sigh, he began to speak.

“I was with her for a couple months last year and when I look back at it, it was really messy. We fought all the time and kept a lot from each other. But I had my rose colored glasses on and I would go as far as saying I was probably in love with her. I was even looking for engagement rings.” You felt a pang of jealousy within you at the idea of Harry loving anyone else. “That was until I found out that she already had a husband.”

Your heart broke for him after your initial shock, resting your hand on his warm cheek in an attempt to soothe him. He didn’t seem sad recounting the story or at the mention of her like he was before; he was now dealing with the remaining hurt of rejection.

“I painted her while I was still really mad,” he continued. “My original plan was to send it to her husband and tell him what had happened. But I decided that three lives didn’t need to be ruined instead of one. And then I was just kinda stuck with the painting. I thought selling it was a good way to get her out of my life and it’s more productive than lighting it on fire,” he finally said with a light chuckle.

A lot made sense all of a sudden. You now understood why Harry always got a little jealous when he saw other guys looking at you. He would loop an arm around your waist and press a kiss to your cheek while he stared them down. He thought you didn’t notice but you always did. You also understood why he was so open with you about how much he cared about you. It was a good thing you were equally as obsessed with him.

“I’m sorry, H. You didn’t deserve to go through all of that,” you said softly after a moment, unsure of what else you could offer.

“It’s okay. We grow from our past,” he shrugged. “And if I hadn’t painted her, I wouldn’t have found you,” he smiled sweetly, pulling you back into him and pressing his lips onto yours.

***

“Oh my goodness, what are you doing?” you giggled when Harry asked you to close your eyes.

“I have something to show you. Please close your eyes,” he asked again.

“What if I don’t want to close my eyes?” you teased, poking the dimple in his cheek caused by his cheeky grin. He rolled his eyes and began his plea again.

“Close your eyes, please. Do it.”

You gave in this time, closing your eyes and letting your heart flutter in anticipation. Harry knew you loved surprises and often took advantage of that fact. You felt him gently rest his cupped hands over your eyes, obviously not trusting you to not peak (he probably shouldn’t). He pressed himself to your back, urging you to make your way further into his apartment.

“Styles, if you let me walk into something, I swear to god,” you continued your giggling, overcome with excitement. Harry mumbled an ‘Oh, hush,’ in your ear before he stopped you both and lifted his hands away.

Your breath caught in your throat as you took it in. The painting was in Harry’s signature style, layered bright colors and varied textures across the canvas. Staring back was your own face, painted in a bright red monochrome with the exception of the color of your eyes that remained the same. You were posed with a bright smile that crinkled the skin by your eyes and you were wearing the red dress that you had worn that first night at the bar.

“Harry, oh my god. It’s so beautiful,” you managed to get out, still in shock.

“I know you don’t think you are, but are the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t want anyone else in the world to be my muse.” You felt as if you could explode or melt with the amount of love you had for this man. You held him up on such a pedestal, and now you knew he did the same for you. “From the moment I saw you, I thought you were a work of art. So, I thought I’d actually make you into one.”

Your cheeks burned from the smile you couldn’t shake if you wanted to and you felt yourself get a little teary eyed. You felt as if you had spent the majority of your life thinking you were nothing special and just another person walking down the street. Harry made you feel like you were the center of the universe. You wanted to love yourself like Harry loved you; like you loved him.

“I love you,” you blurted, small tears rolling down your face, wiped away by Harry’s talented hands.

“I love you too,” he murmured softly, pulling your body to his. “I’ll always have your face hung up high in my gallery.”

There she is!! I hope you enjoyed it!! You can let me know what you think here!! :) 

[caelesjjk]

something else | m.c.

Greetings my loves! Enjoy this very lovey dovey Michael fic! It was so fun to write!

“I have a desire for every inch of you. The smell of your breath on my needing lips, the taste of you under the covers and your voice rummaging through every vein in my body.”

The smell of fresh ink and cleaning supplies was almost comforting to Cat Cooper. She found herself hanging out in her best friends tattoo shop more than anywhere else. The buzzing sound of needles could have soothed her to sleep if she tried. She loved watching Michael create beautiful art on strangers’ skin. And now and then, on her own. Cat was not by any means covered in tattoos, most of her ink easily hidden, but those few hours where Michael was heavily concentrating on making her tattoos just perfect were more intimate than she could explain.

The building Michael had bought had once looked like nothing more than a headache. But with the determination and help from his friends and family he was able to turn it into the absolute perfect tattoo shop. He made sure it was warm and welcoming on the inside with the brick walls painted browns and creams. Of course there was a huge mural painted on the back wall, Michael had put hours into it. The other walls were covered in vintage posters and records that Michael had collected over the years. And when Calum and Luke had come to work with him, he let them out their own touches into their booths and around the rest of the shop. It was home for all of them.

Right now, Cat was lying on the tattoo table with her arms stretched above her head. Michael was on the stool next to her, his newly dyed neon green hair poking out from beneath his black snapback. The tip of his tongue was just barely peeking out the corner of his dark pink lips while he concentrated. Cat couldn’t help but smile at his face, no matter how many times she had seen him do that exact same thing.

Michael was currently tattooing a fairly large owl piece just below Cat’s breasts. It hurt more than she wanted to admit, it was the biggest one she had gotten so far. Michael tried his best to be gentle, but the placement was just in a sensitive spot all together.

“Did you find someone to fill your empty booth yet?” Cat asked between wincing in pain.

“Not yet. But we will. I’m just wanting to make sure the next person fits in with what we’ve got going here, ya know?” Michael wiped some excess ink from Cat’s skin, taking a moment to look up and meet her eyes.

“Definitely. Wouldn’t want another Alonzo.” Cat smiled widely, listening to Michael’s perfect laugh as he remembered Alonzo.

“No. We certainly don’t.” Michael shook his head and licked his lips before twisting a bit to dip his tattoo gun in the black ink cups on his side table. “Almost done with the outline, okay?”

“You enjoy torturing me.” Cat sighed, maneuvering back into position.

“My only pleasure in life.” Michael said with a smirk as he pressed the needles back to her skin. Cat continued to watch his face until his eyebrows furrowed together, which was slightly out of character for him.

“What’s the matter?” Cat asked, her own eyebrows furrowing together in concern.

“I need to talk to you about something.” Michael bit into his bottom lip has he continued the solid lines of Cat’s tattoo.

“Spill Mikey. You’re freaking me out.” Cat knew he was about drop something on her. She knew that face better than anyone else did.

“So you know how Liv and I went on that trip to the beach last weekend?” Michael asked, continuing to finish a line of ink. Cat wasn’t a huge fan of Michael’s girlfriend Liv, but she tolerated her for his sake. The girlfriends never lasted, and Cat liked it that way.

“Did you guys break up?” Cat hated the way she almost sounded excited. She tried not to make it extremely obvious that she was in love with her best friend.

“No…” Michael didn’t finish his sentence right away. He took a moment to think it over again but made sure he didn’t look Cat in the eye as he continued speaking. “I um…I actually asked her to marry me.” He cleared his throat lightly and Cat almost rolled off the table in surprise. “Jesus, Cat! I could have fucked up the whole tattoo!”

“You asked her to marry you?! Michael are you insane?” Cat didn’t care about the tattoo anymore, she sat up and then stood before crossing the room, trying to put distance between the two of them so that she didn’t put him in a choke hold.

“I know what you’re thinking, okay? We haven’t been together all that long but Liv is different. She’s the one for me, Cat.” Michael sat his tattoo gun down and slipped off his rubber gloves.

“You don’t want to know what I’m thinking right now, Michael Clifford.” Cat scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and immediately regretting it when she bumps her fresh tattoo.

“Please just be happy for me? Please? I need you to be my best man.” He smiles gently and takes a few steps towards her with his hands up in surrender.

“Your best man? You did just hear what you said, right?” Cat shakes her head and looks away from him. Staring off in the corner, anywhere but at Michael. Her heart was ready to break and she knew if she looked at him now she would give in.

“You know what I mean, Kitty. I need you while I go through this.” Michael moved around the tattoo table to stand just a few feet from her. He was the only one who was allowed to call her Kitty.

“Liv doesn’t even like me, Mike.” Cat sighed, knowing she would rather live the rest of her life being in love with someone she could never have than upset him in any way.

“Of course she does babe, she loves you!” Michael reaches out and takes Cat’s hands in his pulling them up and holding them against his chest.

“Michael…I don’t know.” Cat tried to look away, but one of Michael’s hands was coming down and capturing her chin between his fingers and bringing her eyes back up to his.

“You’re…you’re the most important person in the world to me. And I need you.” Michael spoke softly and gave her hands a gentle squeeze. Cat knew she was done for. She loved him too much to be angry with him. It’s not like he knew she was in love with him, that would require Cat to grow a pair and tell him how she felt.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Cat asked, carefully reaching up and taking his hand off of her chin and sighing beneath her breath. Michael leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Cat’s forehead.

“Of course I am, Kitty. This is what I want.” Michael had the cutest puppy dog eyes as he begged for Cat to agree to his request.

Cat was truly wishing she had a moment to think this over. Would it be more painful to tell him how she felt right now and get turned down, or watch him marry someone else? She honestly didn’t know. Both scenarios were something she didn’t think she would ever have to deal with. It had always been just the two of them, and that’s how life should have gone on, at least in Cat’s mind. But she was too late and too naïve if she honestly thought someone else out there wasn’t going to realize how sweet, kind, and loving her best friend was. She just wasn’t ready to share him.

“Michael…” Cat started to say, looking up to meet his bright green orbs that were looking down at her expectantly with just the slightest bit of worry behind them. “Okay. If this is what you really want.”

Long arms scooped her up and held her against his body. Cat wrapped her arms around Michael’s neck and closed her eyes and let his scent engulf her. Michael’s face was buried in Cat’s neck and he could not possibly have held her any tighter than he already was. She knew there were tears welling up in the corners of her eyes when she felt one roll down her cheek and stain Michael’s white tshirt. He didn’t seem to notice, or at least didn’t mind. It wasn’t like she hadn’t cried in front of him hundreds of times over the years. But never once had he been the cause of them.

“I knew I could count on you.” Michael lips were practically brushing over her neck as he spoke. Cat did her best to pull herself together when he slowly released her.

“So when’s the big day?” Cat discreetly dabbed beneath her eyes and sniffled her nose. Michael pretended not to notice, but he noticed everything about her.

“Well Liv is like…really excited ya know? So 3 months?” Michael rubbed the back of his neck.

“3 months?” Cat choked on air as she started coughing and clearing her throat.

“Yeah. I mean why wait right?” Michael nibbled at his lip nervously. And that slightest bit of nervousness was all Cat needed to know. Now she knew he wasn’t as sure as he was pretending to be.

“Okay. Um, yeah. Whatever you want Mikey.” Cat stepped around him and headed back over to the tattoo table, sitting down and releasing a long breath.

“Hey. We’re okay right? Nothing is going to change?” Michael followed, not going to his seat on the stool just yet.

“Yeah, bub. We’re good.” Cat said the words, but she didn’t mean them. Because everything was going to change. Michael nodded and went back to his station to finish Cat’s tattoo.

It had been a few weeks since Michael had dumped his engagement news on Cat. She wasn’t having an easy time adjusting to the idea of her best friend belonging to someone else. And to make things even worse, tonight was Michael and Liv’s engagement party. Everyone was getting together in Michael’s backyard to celebrate the happy couple. Cat had changed outfits at least 12 times and was on the verge of being late for the party. She had no idea how she was going to hold it together but she knew she had to. She had been somewhat avoiding Michael the past few weeks, only talking to him enough to keep him from worrying. But when she hadn’t been by the shop for a few days he got suspicious and insisted that the two of them talk tonight at the party.

Finally deciding a red tshirt dress that she dressed up with nude pumps and some dangly earrings, Cat finally left her apartment to drive over to Michael’s place. The neighborhood he lived in wasn’t far from hers, but Michael’s tattoo shop had been doing so well the past year that he was able to buy his own house. It was a cute little red brick house with a pointy roof and huge bay windows in the front. There were huge hydrangea bushes on either side of the sidewalk leading up to the front door and their smell was heavenly. But Cat’s favorite part of the house was Michael’s back patio. There was a huge sitting area and a fire pit right in the center of it. He had also set up a couple of pergola’s with soft couches and strings of white lights hanging from them. It always looked so perfect.

Tonight was no different. The whole yard was full of friends and family of Michael and Liv. Talking, laughing, and eating snacks from the huge spread that Cat assumed only Michael’s mom could have pulled off. Cat took a few deep breaths as she approached the back gate and slowly pushed it open. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for Michael to know she was here just yet, so she made sure to not make her presence well known. She grabbed a glass and mixed herself a very strong rum and coke. Something to help her nerves subside until she could get the hell out of here.

“When did you get here, best man?” The familiar voice of Ashton Irwin asked as he approached the drink table next where Cat was standing.

“Just now. How are things going here?” Cat took a long drink from her glass, cringing slightly from the strong taste of rum in the drink.

“So far so good. This is a bit crazy, don’t you think?” Ashton asked, sipping from his glass. Thank god for Ashton, always being the voice of reason in their friend group.

“You think so too?” Cat sighed, another drink sending shivers down her spine.

“Slow down there, boozie. What’s with you?” Ashton giggled before turning to face Cat.

“I just think this is a really bad idea. That’s all.” Cat turned back towards the table to mix another drink and to keep from looking Ashton in the eye.

“I’ll be around when you’re ready to tell me what’s actually bothering you.” Ashton said the words quietly and then walked over to a group of friends. Cat was left at the drink table alone with her drink again. At least for a moment.

“You’re being awfully unsociable.” Karen Clifford was approaching Cat with her arms open for a hug. Cat smiled widely and closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around her best friends mom.

“I’m so happy to see you, Mrs. C.” Cat squeezed her once more before stepping back so she could look at her. Karen had always been a second mom whom Cat adored.

“Tell me sweetheart, what are you doing over here alone?” Karen asked, a look of concern on her features.

“I just needed a minute.” Cat took another drink from her glass, trying to look less uncomfortable.

“Are you sure it’s not because my son is completely oblivious to the fact that you’re in love with him and now he’s marrying someone else because the two of you are too stubborn to admit it to eachother?” Karen raised an eyebrow and Cat almost choked on her drink.

“What? Absolutely not, Mrs. C. That’s…that just crazy talk.” Cat forced a fake laugh as a look of complete horror took over her face.

“You might be able to fool everyone else, including Michael, but not me my dear. I watched the two of you grow up together, including that extremely awkward year the two of you went through puberty at the same time.” Karen shivered at the memory. “But one thing that has never changed, is how much you love him. And he loves you too, he just doesn’t understand it.” Karen Clifford had just completely overwhelmed Cat with all this information.

“You’ve known for that long?” Cat finally squeaked out, swallowing hard.

“Oh your mother knew too. The two of you and your oblivious love for each other was the topic of our conversations for years. Still is from time to time.” Karen poured herself a glass of tea, coming to stand next to Cat shoulder to shoulder. Cat bit her bottom lip before she spoke again, taking a second to let it sink in.

“What do I do, Mrs. C.?” Cat didn’t think there was much point in denying it anymore.

“You’ll figure out, darling.” Karen used her hand to pull Cat’s face down to hers and kissed her cheek quickly before returning to Daryl and some other friends under one of the pergola’s. Cat had no idea what she was supposed to do, she had been denying her feelings for so long that things had finally caught up and now it was practically too late to change anything.

“Kitty!” Michael called out, a huge smile spread across his face as he weaved through the crowd of people to get to her.

“Hi, Mikey.” Cat said as he engulfed her in yet another tight hug that lifted her feet from the ground.

“Why are you standing over here alone? Come over here with us.” Michael sat Cat’s feet back on the ground and tangled his fingers with hers, practically dragging her across the yard. As soon as Liv came into sight, Cat was downing the rest of her drink with her other hand still in Michael’s.

“So happy you could finally join us, Kitty Cat.” Liv’s annoyance was evident in her voice, and she knew Cat despised when she called her Kitty Cat. Her lips were painted a dark purple color that made her skin look even more pale.

“Nice to see you too, Liv.” Cat forced a smile and then watched as Michael quickly released her hand and wrapped it around Liv’s waist instead.

“I really hope you’ll join me and some of the girls for my bachelorette part in a few weeks.” Liv was really piling on the bullshit now.

“That’s a great idea babe! That’ll be fun, right Kitty?” Michael’s excitement was making it extremely hard for Cat to turn this down.

“I mean yeah…I just thought I’d be going with you guys on the Bachelor party. I mean I’m planning the damn thing.” Cat said, desperate to get out of hanging out with Liv and the bitch squad.

“Nonsense, Kitty Cat. Angela is planning the most amazing spa day for us. You really must come.” Liv sipped at her glass of wine, her blue eyes such a contrast to her dyed black hair.

“Just do both, that’d be okay right?” Michael looked at Cat expectantly as Liv laid her head against his shoulder.

“Yeah, of course.” Cat replied, a hiccup leaving her mouth after she spoke. “I’ll be right back.” She quickly made her exit back towards the drink table, but before she got there a hand wrapped around her wrist to stop her.

“What’s with you?” Michael asked, pulling Cat to a stop.

“Nothing. I just needed another drink.” Cat tried to turn away but Michael stopped her again.

“Please stop acting like I don’t know that something is wrong, Cat. You’ve been avoiding me for weeks and now you’re acting really strange. Talk to me, please.” Michael pulled on her hand until they were off to the side of the yard away from everyone else.

“This is just a lot for me to take in, Michael. It’s happening so fast.” Cat ran her hand through her hair to push it away from her face.

“I know. But I just need you to trust me.” Michael’s hands went to the front pockets of his black jeans but his eyes never left Cat.

“I trust you, Michael. That’s not it.” She sighs, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Then what?” He looked like he was expecting her to say something that was going to hurt. But she could never.

“I’ll…I’ll just try harder, okay? I promise everything will be fine.” Cat tried her best to be as convincing as possible.

“We don’t make promises we can’t keep, remember?” Michael said. It was impossible to fake anything with the person that knew you better than you knew yourself.

“Then I’ll keep it.” Cat brought one hand up and stuck out her pinky, waiting for Michael to do the same. It was a child’s way of making promises, but effective nonetheless. It only took Michael a second to pull a hand out of his pocket and link his pinky with hers, a small smile lifting at the corner of his mouth.

“You’re the best, Kitty.” He kept his pinky linked with hers and used the other hand to pull her close so he could kiss the top of her head.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Cat teased, listening to Michael’s heart while her head was pressed against his chest for another second.

“Come on then, let’s go back to the party.” He released her body and motioned with his head for her to follow, and she did, she always would.

“You really didn’t have to come with me today.” Cat said as Michael opened the door to the dress shop they had just arrived to.

“Who else were you going to bring?” Michael raised a questioning eyebrow, smiling as she walked through the door.

“I’m sure Cal would have come with me.” Cat teased. She knew Michael wasn’t a fan of the “Cal & Cat” train that had once tried to a thing a few years ago.

“Yeah, that’s never going to happen.” Michael ushered her inside, trying to change the subject.

“We only kissed that one time, I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up.” Cat bit into her bottom lip as she walked up to a rack with hanging dresses.

“You know the answer to that.” Michael cleared his throat and fell silent. He stood behind her with his arms crossed, pretending to look out the front window.

“Hey. I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t tease. But I really don’t think you should be so worried about Cal breaking my heart. It’s not even a thing anymore” Cat sighed, walking around to the other side of him so he would look at her.

“I just think you can do better, that’s all.” His eyes were the prettiest green Cat had ever seen. Maybe she was biased because she loved him, but there was no one more beautiful than Michael Clifford.

“Let’s just find a dumb dress for me to wear in your wedding, okay?” Cat said quietly, Michael nodding in agreement.

They walked around the store for what seemed like hours, Cat filling hers and Michael’s arms with dress after dress. When she finally had enough, she made her way to the dressing rooms to begin the trying on process.

The whole wedding party was going to be wearing black and white, and Cat was somewhat thankful to hear that. The colors were simple and she had a feeling Michael had a big part in deciding that part at least. Everything was going to be outside with a bit of a gothic theme. That was likely Liv’s idea. Cat knew that Michael would have wanted to get married in his back yard with only the closest people there. They never talked about their wedding ideas much over the years, but when they had, Michael always wanted simple things. And when Cat pictured herself marrying Michael, it was always on New Years eve.

Cat had already tried on three or four dresses when she finally put one on that looked surprisingly amazing. The neck line dipped down so far is was practically nonexistent. It made her chest look much more endowed than she actually was. It clung to her hips slightly but cascaded down loosely and flowed lightly. The material was silky and soft to the touch. Practically perfect.

“Are you going to let me see any of these?” Michael said from outside the dressing room.

“Yeah. I’m coming out, okay?” Cat said, her voice a little shaky. Michael had been with her to try on clothes hundreds of times, she didn’t know why showing him this dress was any different. But she wanted him to like it. More than he’s liked anything else.

Cat took a deep breath and turned the knob on the door, gently pushing it open and listening to the creaking sound the door made as it opened. Michael looked up from his phone when he heard the door, almost dropping it to the ground. He quickly sat the phone down on the chair as he stood up, eyes never leaving Cat while he stared in awe. She was beautiful. Always had been. He hoped that she knew how beautiful he thought she was and made mental notes to start telling her more often. Cat spun around, the skirt of the dress puffing out and making her giggle. Michael smiled, taking her hand and spinngin her around once more so he could look at her.

“Perfection.” Michael said quietly, keeping her hand in his.

“Think so?” Cat smiled nervously.

“Absolutely.” Michael knew the words came out a little dreamily, so he quickly coughed and cleared his throat again, using it as an excuse to look away. “You should get this one. For sure.”

“Okay.” Cat laughed for a second before she went back into the dressing room to get the dress off.

Unfortunately, that process was not going to happen as easily as she had hoped. When Cat started to pull the dress over her head, the material got stuck. Her arms were above her head in a very uncomfortable position and the dress wouldn’t budge. Cat could feel herself start to panic. This was literally every girls nightmare. She continued to spin around and pull at the material but it wasn’t going anywhere without ripping.

“Michael?” Cat said with tears in her eyes.

“Yeah, babe. Whats wrong?” Cat heard his voice come closer to the door of the dressing room.

“I um…I’m stuck.” Cat said with a half crazy laugh at the end of the sentence.

“Stuck?” Michael asked innocently.

“In the dress, Michael!” Cat shouted, leaning back against the cold glass of the mirror and hitting her head against it a few times in frustration.

“Oh, shit. Do you need help?” Michael was genuinely concerned at this point.

“I…yes. But I’m naked…under the dress.” Cat could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment already.

“You didn’t wear underwear?” Michael released a long breath, taking off his snapback and ruffling his hair a few times before putting it back on.

“I didn’t think I was going to get stuck in a dress, okay?!” Cat was about to lose her shit.

“Do you not wear underwear often?” Michael asked.

“Michael!!” Cat practically screamed.

“Okay, okay. I’m coming in.” Michael slowly opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it quickly behind him. When his eyes focused on Cat again, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud, covering his mouth to try and muffle the sound.

“Stop laughing at me!” Cat sobbed, her face unable to be seen with the dress stuck over her head.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Let’s get you out.” Michael laughed again, moving to stand behind her and look for a zipper.

“This is a sign that I shouldn’t get this dress.” Cat sighed, her skin getting goosebumps when Michael started touching her. She hoped he couldn’t tell.

“You’re getting the dress. Even if it does seem to have it out for you.” Michael hands pushed the dress out of the way, exposing the naked bottom half of Cat’s body. The reaction his own body had to seeing it wasn’t what he expected. “Shit.” He whispered under his breath.

“What? Whats wrong? I’m stuck in it forever aren’t I?” Cat whined, shaking Michael out of his thoughts.

“No. Its okay, Kitty. I’m gonna pull it up, and you need to pull your arms down at the same time. Okay?” Michael said, bunching his hands into the material of the dress.

“Okay.” Cat tried to stop blubbering long enough to get herself out the damn dress.

“On three then. One, two, three.” Michael pulled up and Cat went down and the dress came flying off her arms and over her head causing both of them to stumble. Michael’s back went to the mirrored wall and Cat tripped until she was pressed up against him.

“Fuck. I’m sorry.” Cat said, her heart suddenly realizing that Michael’s hands were on her bare hips attempting to steady her.

“You’re okay?” Michael asked, his mouth dangerously close to his best friends. Cat nodded. “Good…the uh, tattoo healed up nicely.” Michael took his hands off of her hips and Cat quickly scrambled away, grabbing her shirt from the floor and covering herself with it.

“I should…get dressed.” Cat said, her cheeks turning bright red again.

“Yeah. Do that.” Michael looked at her another moment, then rushed out of the dressing room so he could breathe.

Cat was left feeling completely confused. Something strange had just happened.

In a blur, a few more weeks had passed and the gloom of the wedding was getting that much closer. Cat tried busying herself with work and going to the gym as often as possible just to keep her mind off of things, because in all honesty, she hated going to the damn gym. She still made time to see Michael at the tattoo shop, but things were different now, and they both knew it. Conversations revolved around the wedding, and that made things awkward. And talking to Michael had never been awkward.

The impending doom of Liv’s bachelorette party had finally arrived. Cat was told that a limo would be picking her up at her place and that she should be ready at promptly 12:00pm and no later. God forbid the princess be kept waiting for even a moment. Cat rolled her eyes as she shoved the rest of her things into a duffle bag, not bothering to fold them or care that her outfits would likely be wrinkled. And just as she finished zipping up the bag, an obnoxious honking noise came from outside her apartment building. With another roll of her eyes, she threw the bag over her shoulder and took the few flights of stairs down until she reached the door and walked outside.

The white stretch limo was just coming to a stop in the parking lot as Cat slipped her sunglasses over her eyes. Liv and a few of her friends were hanging out the moon roof screeching and attempting to drink champagne from bright pink penis shaped straws.

“Oh god.” Cat said to herself, forcing a smile on her face as the limo driver came to open the door and take her bag.

“Get your ass in here bitch!” Liv’s friend Angela said, making everyone giggle.

“You got it…bitch.” Cat knew she sounded awkward but she climbed inside the limo and settled into a seat as the other girls came down from the moon roof to take their seats.

“Alright ladies, here’s the plan.” Angela paused a moment to grab a glass of champagne, penis straw included, and hand it to Cat. “First stop is the spa, we are getting the total packages today. Then after dinner and drinks, we head out to Club 101 for even more drinks and lots and lots dancing!” Everyone squealed at Angela’s announcement. It was completely unoriginal and unthoughtful. Cat couldn’t help the scoff that left her mouth on accident.

“Is there a problem with the plans, Kitty Cat?” Liv asked, her head cocking to the side.

“Oh, no. Not at all. Sounds super fun.” Cat attached her lips to the pink penis straw, anything to keep from answering another question from the bitch squad.

The first part of the day went off without many incidents. Cat had to admit that all the pampering she was getting at the spa was possibly exactly what she needed to relax in this situation. The only thing she wanted to change was the company she had while getting it. But she was able to get an hour long massage, a mani/pedi, and her hair washed and styled. She felt more refreshed than she had in quite awhile as she finished getting ready for the dreaded night of clubbing ahead.

Cat really had no idea when she got dressed what kind of fresh hell she would be walking into. She had decided to wear her favorite pair of black leather shorts with a simple white tank top tucked in. And always feeling like she need some pop of color, after Michael had told her years ago that she wore black too much. She couldn’t help but laugh when he said that, considering he practically wore all black every day. But nonetheless, she had bought a pair of green velvet, calf height, strappy heels. She had no idea it would be such a mission to get them on, but once they were, she had to admit she really loved them.

The wobbly walk down the hall to the other girls hotel room made Cat reconsider a few times, but she pushed through. And when Liv opened the door, Cat suddenly felt very underdressed. They had all practically painted on their black dresses. There was no way they would get out of those things without injuries later in the night.

“Wow. You guys look great.” Cat cleared her throat as she crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to keep attention off of her outfit.

“You too, Kitty Cat.” Liv’s sarcasm was thick, but Cat should honestly be used to it by now.

Cat was quickly handed yet another glass of champagne with a penis straw. This time she simply pulled the straw from the drink and chugged the glass without hesitating.

“Someone’s ready to party!” One of the girls shouted.

“I can’t believe Michael is letting you put this all on his credit card!” Another of the girls said, immediately regretting it when Liv and Angela gave her the death stare.

“I’m sorry…did you just say Michael’s paying for all of this?” Cat felt her stomach twist into the tightest knot possible.

“He offered.” Angela had a look of guilt on her face but continued to force a smile. Liv however, did not look guilty at all.

“He just wanted to do something sweet for his bride, Kitty Cat.” Liv said, her smirk making Cat want to slap it right off her face.

“Are you paying for his Bachelor party? Because I haven’t seen any of that money while I’ve been planning his party.” Cat scowled and tapped her foot impatiently.

“Like I said, it’s a gift from my future husband.” Liv brushed Cat off, suggesting that they all get to the limo before the club got too busy.

It was impossible once they had arrived at Club 101 for Cat to have any fun whatsoever. She felt sick every time one of the other girls ordered another drink and added it to Liv’s tab that was obviously being paid for by Michael’s credit card. Cat had refused any and all drink offers, using her own card to pay for anything she decided to drink. And she had decided to drink a lot. She was on whiskey shot number 7 when things started to get fuzzy. She decided that she needed to get outside and get some air, and when she got there, all she wanted to do was call her best friend. Cat leaned her body against the cold brick wall outside the club and fumbled through her bag until she found her phone. With one eye open so she could stop seeing double, she pressed her finger to Michael’s name and brought the phone to her ear.

“Cat? Whats wrong babe?” Michael’s tired voice said into the speaker.

“I um…” Cat hiccupped loudly before continuing. “I wanna come home. Will you come get me?” She whined into the phone and let her body slip down the wall until her ass had hit the ground.

“Is everything okay? Where’s Liv?” Michael asked. Cat could hear him scrambling around to get out of bed.

“Her and the bitch squad are inside. I don’t fit in with them Mikey. I hate this.” Cat started to blubber, and Michael immediately knew she must have been drinking whiskey. He laughed quietly.

“Alright, Mrs. Jack Daniels. Stay right where you are and don’t move. I’ll be there in a few.” Michael hung up the phone and Cat suddenly had a huge smile on her face. She wanted to see him more than anything right now.

Cat had started to drift off when she felt familiar hands cup her cheeks and rough thumbs swipe below her eyes.

“Hey there, sweet girl. Let’s get you home, okay?” Michael talked softly, the sound of his voice bringing that smile back to Cat’s face.

“Mm. I missed you.” Cat wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto him as Michael stood up and brought her with him.

“Missed you too.” Michael let her lean against him as he walked her to the car, opening the door and gently lowering her into the seat.

“Michael?” A voice said from over by the club door. A voice that Cat knew was about ruin everything.

“Stay right here, okay? I’ll be right back.” Michael said as he quickly shut the car door, not giving Cat a chance to protest. She watched out the window as Michael jogged over to where Liv was standing with her arms crossed.

From what Cat could tell, it looked like Liv was pissed off and yelling who knows what at Michael. He seemed to just take it for a few minutes and then she must have said something that he didn’t want to hear because he started yelling back. His hands pushed his neon green hair back in frustration. Cat wished she could hear what they were saying, so she attempted to open her door and step out. In the process, her ridiculous strappy heel decided to obey the laws of gravity causing Cat to stumble. She grabbed onto the car door to hold herself up, but not before a screech left her lips and Liv and Michael both turned to look at her. Cat froze, her whiskey filled veins making it extremely difficult to hang onto the door.

“We’ll talk tomorrow.” Cat heard Michael say.

“Go ahead, Michael. Run back to your little bitch.” Liv snapped as he started to turn away.

“Don’t you ever fucking call her that.” Michael snapped back, anger in his voice that Cat hadn’t heard in a very long time. He turned away, leaving Liv by the door.

“Michael…I’m…” Cat tried saying as he approached the car.

“Come here, Kitty.” Michael wrapped his arms around her waist and helped pull her to her feet and back into her seat in the car. He closed the door again, this time jogging around the other side of the car and getting into the drivers seat.

“I’m sorry.” Cat said, her head laying back against the headrest and her eyes on him.

“Don’t be. I just want to get you home safe.” Michael pulled out of the parking lot, not saying anything else for the rest of the drive back to Cat’s apartment building. He only sung quietly along with the radio, but didn’t seem angry with her like she thought he would be.

By the time they had parked in the parking lot of Cat’s building she felt like she was practically sober again. Michael continued to stay quiet as he opened his door and climbed out of the car. Cat watched him shove his hands into his pockets as he walked around the front of the car and over to her door, opening it and offering his hand to help her out. Cat bit her lower lip, taking his hand and letting him lead her inside the front doors of her apartment building, still not saying a word.

Michael approached the elevators with Cat’s hand still in his, pressing the Up button and quickly stepping onto it when the doors opened. He released her hand when the doors closed and he pushed her the button for her floor with a long sigh leaving his lips.

“Michael…” Cat started.

“Not now, Cat.” Michael didn’t even bother to look up and Cat decided it was best not to push it any further.

The elevator was dinging as they passed each floor, when it car suddenly started shaking before it came to a complete stop. All the buttons and arrows inside started blinking and the lights above their heads started flashing on and off.

“What the fuck?” Michael said, leaning forward and pushing all the buttons on the elevator pad, none of them doing anything but blink. “No fucking way.” He tried to use his fingers to pry open the door but it was no use.

“We have to push the Call button.” Cat said from behind him, her back pressed to the mirrored wall.

“Really, Caterina? You think I haven’t tried that?” Michael snapped, huffing and turning back to the buttons, pounding at them with his fist.

“That’s not going to help.” Cat could feel herself start to get angry now.

“I can’t be in here with you right now.” Michael pressed his forehead to the doors.

“Wh..why?” Cat’s voice was laced with confusion at that statement.

“Nothing. It’s nothing alright?” He started to pace back and forth across the small space, making Cat want to strangle him.

“Stop pacing Michael!” Cat yelled. They had only been trapped for two minutes and they were both already losing it.

“Hey folks. We are working on getting you out of there as quick as we can. Hang tight.” A voice said over the speaker on the wall of the elevator.

The two of them relaxed slightly, retreating to either side of the elevator and sitting down against the wall. Time was passing extremely slow, and Cat wasn’t sure how much more she could take with Michael refusing to talk to her.

“What did Liv say to you earlier?” She finally asked.

“It doesn’t matter.” Michael closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

“Since when do you keep things from me?” Cat’s voice was laced with disappointment.

“Maybe I should be asking you the same thing.” Michael moved away from the wall and snapped his eyes open so quickly it made Cat jump slightly.

“What are you talking about?” Cat looked down at her hands and fiddled her fingers nervously.

“Liv thinks you’re in love with me, Cat. And so does everyone else apparently. I…I don’t know what I’m supposed to think. How exactly am I supposed to react to something like that?” Michael scooted closer to Cat across the floor of the elevator.

Cat had no idea what she was supposed to say. Her mouth had dropped open in surprise and her heart was beating so loudly she could hear it in her ears. How did she get out of this? Or did she just go ahead and tell him how’s she felt since she was 8 years old?

“Do you remember that time when we were about 8 years old, and we were playing hide and seek in the woods behind your house?” Cat asked, her voice shaking with nerves.

“We did that hundreds of times Cat…” Michael started to say.

“This was the time I got lost, remember that? I wondered too far and I couldn’t see the path anymore. I was out there for an hour or more just crying and saying your name over and over. And finally, when I wanted to give up, you found me. You hugged me so tight and you said you’d always find me no matter where I went. That’s when I knew.” Cat smiled while the tears started welling up in her eyes.

“That’s when you knew what?” Michael closed the space between them, scooting across the floor until their legs were touching and he could reach up and hold her face in hands. This girl was his whole world and he hated seeing her cry more than anything.

“That I loved you. I wasn’t in love with you then…but it opened the door for that to happen later on. I didn’t mean to…it just happened. I’m sorry for blubbering….” Cat had started talking fast and wishing she could stop and then she did, when Michael’s lips covered hers in the kiss she had been dying for.

Her eyes fell shut as she parted her own lips and kissed him back like it was the most natural thing that could be happening. Michael’s fingers were in her hair pulling her closer and deepening the kiss until Cat’s tongue swiped over his lips. His nose bumped hers when his tongue swiped into her mouth. She tasted like whiskey and mint gum, and Michael thought that it was practically perfect and so very Cat. And then it was like something suddenly reminded him that he was kissing his best friend and Michael pulled away and scrambled up to his feet, pressing his back to the wall.

“I um…fuck. I can’t believe I just did that.” Michael had a look of pure panic on his face.

“Did it feel wrong?” Cat asked, standing up and looking to him for an answer.

“No. And that’s why I should not have done it.” Michael was confused and so was Cat.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Cat ran her hands through her hair and watched Michael’s face as he thought things over.

“None of this does, Cat.” Michael laughed, but it was a nervous laugh.

“Mikey…” Cat approached him slowly, hands coming up to cup his neck and when he didn’t pull away she slid her fingers to the nape of his neck and touched the soft hairs that hung there. Michael’s hands instinctively went to her hips, digging his fingers into her soft skin to try and keep himself from kissing her again the way he wanted to. So very desperately.

Cat couldn’t think of the right way to say the things she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him that it was supposed to be her. She was the one that should be kissing him goodnight and waking up next to him every morning. She knew him inside and out. And something about the way he was looking at her now told her that he was realizing that maybe he felt something too.

“My hearts going to explode.” Michael said, releasing a long breath.

“Mine too.” Cat laughed, her skin burning when Michael’s hands slipped under her shirt to rest on her lower back.

“Softer than I imagined.” He whispered the words and pressed his forehead against hers.

“You imagined me?” Cat swallowed hard, her mouth going dry.

“More than I’d like to admit.” Michael smiled, hands still roaming her back, “I just thought it was weird hormone shit when we were younger. But even after we weren’t teenagers anymore…still thought about how you’d feel…” Michael was spilling his guts and Cat knew she needed to give him more of herself so that he wouldn’t stop.

“I’ve always just wanted you.” She presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth, his lips parting and hot breath fanning her lips. “I don’t think there could ever be anyone else.”

Michael couldn’t, nor did he want to deprive himself from the way Cat’s lips tasted any longer. He looked her in the eyes and searched for any type of regret, and when he didn’t find any he quickly connected his lips to hers again. It was harder and more rushed than the first one. Sloppy lips and searching tongues. Their breaths mixed together and their bodies pressed tightly. Michael walked Cat backwards until her back hit the mirrored wall of the elevator, thoughts of escaping the confined space were long gone from his mind. Cat’s hands locked into the strands of his bright green hair and made sure he knew he was not to stop kissing her. Michael’s hips pressed harshly into hers, making soft moans leave her lips. Michael swallowed the sounds and committed them to memory.

They were too lost in each other to hear the doors of the elevator push open. It wasn’t until the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard that they pulled apart. Michael turned around to see Liv and a firefighter standing at the doors. The firefighter looked sympathetic and Liv looked devastated. She didn’t say a word, tears welling up in her eyes as she turned away and took off for the front doors.

“Liv!” Michael called after her, unwrapping himself from Cat and pushing past the firefighter.

“Michael stop!” Cat called after him, he stopped and turned back to look at her long enough to say the most hurtful thing he could possibly say,

“I can’t.” Was all he needed to say, and he was running out the door.

Cat could feel her heart drop to her stomach and her breath leave her lungs completely. She had never wanted to be invisible more in her entire life. She shamefully walked out of the elevator and made a beeline for her apartment. She wanted to lock herself inside and never see the light of day again.

When the time came a few weeks later for Michael’s bachelor party, Cat made sure to send all the information to Ashton. She knew that she couldn’t go anymore. The only time Michael had spoken to her was a text that said “Wedding is still on.” It was enough to send Cat into a spiral of self destruction.

She stopped talking to anyone who might possibly know what happened between her and Michael. She had called in sick to work almost every day to avoid the judgmental eyes of her coworkers when they saw how destroyed she was. Cat became one with her couch and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

Staring at the clock on her wall, knowing that the plane was about to take off to take Michael and the guys to Las Vegas for the weekend made her feel pathetic. If she had just kept her feelings tucked away inside like she had been for years instead of telling Michael how she felt, things would still be good. She would still have her best friend.

After finally showering for the first time in what seemed like too long, Cat walked into her kitchen to hopefully finish off the pint of chunky monkey in her freezer. As she opened the freezer door, a quiet knock came from her door. She stared at it a moment before the knocking started getting louder and more frantic.

“Okay, okay.” Cat shouted as she undid the lock and cracked open the door to see who it was. “Michael?” She said, watching as his shoulders rose and fell quickly like he had been running and was completely out of breath.

“Why the fuck did you decide living on the 4th floor was a great idea?” He managed to breathe out while bracing himself against the doorframe.

“What are you doing here? Your planes leaving soon.” Cat opened the door the rest of the way so Michael could step inside. He took one more deep breath before speaking again.

“For now…no more talking.” Michael rushed forward and grabbed Cat’s face in his hands, kissing her roughly.

“Woah! What are you doing?!” Cat pulled her mouth from his unwillingly and took a step back.

“Kissing you?” Michael said. “Do…you not want me to?”

“Michael, you can’t just walk in here and start kissing me after I haven’t heard from you in weeks.” Cat’s voice was loud and confused.

“Things are over with Liv. Things never should have gone that far with her, I’m just an idiot who ended up hurting a lot of people in the process. I’ve been thinking about me and you and all that kissing every second of every day since it happened. And I want that more than anything. I want you.” Michael explained, his voice raising as well.

“What about what I want? Don’t I get a say in this? You don’t always get to dictate how things go.” Cat huffed, standing with her arms crossed and her chest out.

“What do you want then, Kitty?” Michael licked his lips, his patience growing thin, needing to know if she still wanted him.

“You fucked up.” Cat said. “You just left me standing there like a fucking fool.”

“I’m sorry. That was so fucking stupid. But I panicked. I had just gotten caught by my fiancé kissing my best friend. Don’t you think that warrants a moment of panic?” Michael sighed.

“Really fucking stupid. The absolute stupidest.” Cat continued to pile it on, a small smile creeping onto her lips.

“How can I make it better?” Michael took a few steps towards her, eyes glued to hers.

“A little begging wouldn’t hurt.” Cat bit her bottom lip to try and stop her smile from spreading across her face. Michael smirked and shook his head, licking his bright pink lips.

The next thing Cat knew, Michael was dropping to his knees in front of her. Her eyes flew wide open, not expecting him to do such a thing. He leaned forward slightly and pressed his forehead against her lower stomach, hands coming up to hold onto the backs of her thighs. His sweet nose that Cat adored brushed back and forth as he breathed her in. And it didn’t take her long to lace her hands into his hair.

“What are you doing, Mikey?” Cat said quietly, listening to him hum as she continued running her hands through his hair.

“I’m begging you to forgive me.” Michael’s fingers rubbed gentle circles on the backs of Cat’s thighs and his lips pressed sweet little kisses to her clothed stomach. “For being the worlds biggest fucking idiot.”

“I’m probably the bigger idiot to be honest.” Cat sighed, slipping down onto her knees so she could be face to face with him. “But we can’t take it back. So what do we do now?”

“Now…now we make up for lost time. Because we owe it to each other.” Michael’s soft fingers ghosted up and down Cat’s arms.

“And how do you propose we do that?” Cat smiled wickedly, because she knew exactly what she wanted.

“First, I’m going to kiss you again…” Michael leaned forward and Cat did the same, connecting their lips in the sweetest kiss. Soft and full of love. Just lips and soft tongues. It was everything it should have been. “And then, I’m going to lock the door to your apartment. And we are not going to leave it the entire weekend. Or until I’ve had you on every surface, whichever comes first.” Michael laughed against Cat’s lips, making her do the same.

“You’re something else, Michael Clifford.” Cat kissed him again, never wanting to stop the gesture at all.

"Yeah, but I'm your something else." He whispered against her mouth.

"You've always been my something else."

taglist: @maoricth @slimthicccal @bbycal @kinglyhood @sugarcoated-pain @shower-me-with-roses @c-dizzle-swizzlex @calumculture @sugarcoatedcalum @calthesensation @cheyenne-in-wonderland @softboycal @moonlightcalum @unconditionalcalum @irwinkitten @singt0mecalum @angelbabylu @5sosnsfw @aspiringwildfire @myloverboyash @cal-puddies @lashtoncurls @kchillout @pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles @callllumhood @sick-orca @lfwallscouldtalk

[ac-ars]

high for this

i know i suck but i lit have never been that busy in my life, i gave away today's shift since i was until 3:30 at the airport on my internship and i've been dying ever since, this is finished and its very long ass chapter, i hope you enjoy it 

also tumblr has been pretty dead but well xD 

Luna Valente doesn’t expect much fun when she gets accepted to the University of Oxford, but it’s the only way to stay away from her controlling aunt. She doesn’t expect also Matteo Balsano, who is the most helpful out of everyone there. Is he really as perfect as it seems though?

previous chapters here

🌙

5/  and I will try to let you go if we get in too deep

The first thing she sees after opening her eyes that very morning, is blurry picture of the windows on her left, and the light coming in through them is unbearably blinding and she needs to hide her face in the pillow once again. It’s a soft, soft pillow, smelling with very boyish scent, but at the same time it smells a little like a furniture store and Luna is worried that by accident she ended up being locked in Ikea.

After last night’s blackout everything could have happened and she is very afraid of what she will see, but at least now she remembers there is no windows in Ikea. Bless the one last brain cell fighting for survival during this awful Saturday morning.

The mattress shifts next to her and Luna panics, wondering what the fuck had she done last night and with whom, and where, though currently she isn’t ready to face the truth, so she waits for her head to stop hurting so badly, with her face pressed into the pillow.

Using the moment, the brunette tries to collect what she remembers from before she lost the control, but everything she can focus on wondering whether this kiss with Matteo was just a drunk dream of hers or if it was real. Asking him wouldn’t look the best, so she is on her own with that.

Regaining some senses to herself, she can feel that she is wearing her skirt and tshirt, but also some warm sweater over this, which means the someone is a nice person; that they cared about her wellbeing enough they gave her something warm to wear. This gives Luna enough bravery to turn to be lying on her back; it’s always been awkward to stay in bed longer than the person whose place she was at, but today she doesn’t really care. Especially after seeing how the ceiling is turning around in weird way, if she got up, she would probably end up having her sight go black and her knees go weak.

There is a soft chuckle on her right and Luna hums, blinking to get some better vision before she turns to the source of the sound, and even if she didn’t control it, her body immediately relaxes completely.

Matteo is lying on his side, facing her, as his hand is supporting his head and there is a book in front of him. Surprisingly he has some tshirt on, it’s black and looks really well on him, not to mention the curiosity in his eyes while he waits for her to react. When she doesn’t do anything except staring at him, he does.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty. How are you feeling?” His smile reaches his eyes, but just a little, and that’s enough for Luna to smile back. Before she panics.

“Have I done something weird or creepy last night?”

Matteo laughs softly as he closes the book without bothering to put any bookmark in. Her eyes move to his hand and higher to his arm until she spots some black lines on his skin and this is not the best for her sanity, but she will ask about it later.

“To be honest, you had done nothing that would be weird, you just drank too much most likely, got super clingy and sleepy, so I took you here since you left your purse at your friends’ place which means no keys to your place.”

She watches him as he keeps talking and it doesn’t sound that bad. Except the fact that she was clingy, probably all over Matteo makes her blush a little, but that’s all. “And then we came here and went to sleep?” She asks with raised eyebrows and the corners of his mouth go up slightly. “Yes, I went to get a shower and you crashed on my bed before changing into stuff I gave you, so I made you put on at least the sweater and let you sleep.”

Luna nods slowly, thinking deeply of what he said, being definitely too slow because of her hangover, but the boy in front of her apparently decided to wait patiently, and she really appreciates that.

“So,” she starts softly. “Nothing happened?”

Matteo scrunches his nose grinning, she thinks he will move closer to interact with her, touch her in any way, but he doesn’t. “Nothing happened. Don’t worry, sweet thing, I am not this kind of guy. I don’t need to get anyone that drunk for anything to happen.”

The brunette growls and rolls her eyes, turning away from him when he bursts into laughter. “You know, I wouldn’t do anything especially when you were this drunk,” he continues with a little softer of a tone and rests his hand on her waist over the blanket.

She looks at him over her shoulder. “Yeah, and you know that comment was very unnecessary.” He laughs again and pulls her to his chest, which has her a bit tense, but as soon as he plants soft kiss on top of her head, Luna relaxes and leans into him more.

“How are you feeling anyway, because I still haven’t asked,” he murmurs in her hair and she sighs. “My head hurts badly, but could be worse I guess.”

“I would offer you painkillers, but this requires me getting up and I don’t know if you want me to get up now.” He teases with tiny smile and Luna turns to him. “Yes, I will die if my head bursts so there would be no cuddles ever again.”

Matteo nods with small smile and kisses her shoulder before pulling away and humming something as he leaves the room closing the door behind. Luna just stares at his back and weird lines on his arm peeking from under the sleeve, apparently there are things she still didn’t know about him, and honestly there is probably a thousand details more she maybe will never find out about.

Her head pulses with another wave of pain and Luna growls, covering her eyes with her forearm, hoping it will stop. It really doesn’t, and Matteo seems to be away surely longer than just to get pills and a glass of water, but she doesn’t have enough power to just get up and go to look for him.

Eventually the mattress is moving again and she look from under the sweater.

“I have tea for you, maybe it will help a little too.” Luna smiles at this and slowly sits up with his help, he is sitting right next to her and moves her hair away from her face before passing her two pills. She takes them with small thanks, and soon she will melt under his touch, when he is caressing her back, almost reassuringly and she forgets about trying to be sane around him.

Luna decides to focus on warm tea, slightly sweet as if he added honey or a little sugar to it, probably not sure if she likes it sweet or not. That’s definitely more appreciated than his attempts at feeding her with coffee every morning, and the brunette keeps sending him smile from between glances around his bedroom.

It’s spacious and rather comfy, the bed is big for them to sleep next to each other without any touching; like last night, and it’s really, really great thing to sleep on. The mattress is soft, but not too soft to have her drown in it, or at least she tries to think of practical stuff instead of wondering if he brought any girl here before her, and if he did - how many?

There is a ton of volumes staying steadily on the tall, wide bookshelf, the covers in different sizes and colors, probably different languages as well. Luna has heard he had travelled a lot before going to college, but Matteo himself has never told her anything about that, neither has he any souvenirs from places he’d seen. Maybe he doesn’t like putting little things on the shelves, or maybe he is a practical human being, too serious, too proper for unimportant stuff gathering the dust.

Matteo pokes her softly, waking her up from zone out. “Are you okay? You are really tense,” he mumbles, taking the tea cup from her hand, even though she isn’t done yet.

“Yeah, I’m just looking around.”

He raises his eyebrow, it looks funny, because this small wavy wrinkle appears on his forehead just to disappear back smoothly when he gives up on weird looks. “You know how my bedroom looks, sweet thing. You have been here before.”

Luna shrugs softly, trying to make up some excuse. “Um-,” she starts, very vocal. “I never really got to check what kind of smart books you have up there, looking pretty and probably never read.” She sticks her tongue out at him as he gasps, making her giggle.

“Luna Valente, how do you even have a heart to make fun of me as you are sitting on my bed?

“Well, maybe find me some better thing to do?” She throws before she manages to think and he has surprised face, just for a mere second though and then small smirk covers his face. “And what means ‘better’ for you?”

The brunette panics a little, blinking slightly too fast as she searches through her mind for something, which isn’t easy when you look at the fact she has a headache of the century.

“Show me your what’s on your arm maybe,” she says softly, with genuine curiosity and Matteo seems confused until she takes her hand to the edge of his left sleeve and touches his skin without breaking the eye contact. Her fingers caress his shoulder under the thin fabric of his tshirt and this surely distracts him enough.

He clears his throat. “Ah, this. It’s a tattoo.”

“I had no idea you have a tattoo.” Luna hums, “do others know about it?”

Balsano shifts under her touch, as if it made him feel too much at once. “Not really. Just people that have seen me without a shirt on, you know.”

Luna nods, taking her hand and sighs, taking deep breath and staying in silence, because it soothes her headache.

“I wanna see.”

“What do you wanna see?” Matteo asks and she rolls her eyes. “The tattoo, duh.”

He licks his lips, sitting away on the bed and just takes off his shirt, but in a way it stays on his elbows. His chest and his back, just like his shoulders are visible, so Luna guesses he just didn’t wanna ditch it completely, or keep his hands to himself.

The latter most likely isn’t real, because Matteo Balsano never denies himself things.

She takes her eyes to his shoulder, the one she was curious of and she sits closer to see it. It’s nothing really special, or with some idea, it’s just a pretty pattern, geometric one and definitely took a lot of time to complete.

“Can I ask why did you decide to have it?” She asks, her voice quiet and chill since the moment is soft and she’s afraid loud talking would ruin it.

“I liked it. I thought it would look nice and it does.” He answers, but his answer doesn’t seem complete to Luna. “Is that all?”

It sounds a little pushy, and she wants to back away when his eyes change for a second, he boops her nose quickly. “Tattoos don’t need to have special meaning, sweet thing. Though maybe I wanted to piss someone off.”

His voice tells her that the topic is done, she won’t ask anything more to avoid any possible collision. She just keeps her fingers on his forearm, not sure what now, when he clearly cut the conversation.

“There is another one, though,” he murmurs near her ear, and Luna jumps confused with her nose scrunched. Matteo only chuckles and turns away to sit with his back facing her and having Luna gasp at the sight of straight lines and circles, bigger and smaller, some tiny, with thin shape or rather bold. Some are filled.

She lets out small sigh, it’s so pretty, but also. “Oh, Matteo. It must’ve hurt so, so much.”

He laughs loud, turns as he puts back his tshirt and pushes her down on the pillows. He leans over her, touching her nose with his and sighs with his hands on both sides of her head. “Stay soft, Luna Valente. It looks good on you.”

With that he kisses her quickly few times. And then again, and this time it’s not a soft kiss by any meaning.

🌙

Ambar doesn’t take her eyes off her phone screen even when she is sitting with Luna during their usual late lunch meeting. The brunette is having rather hard time; she is living for human interaction, for small talk and gossip, for normal conversations about the other, but her cousin gives her nothing but cold glances.

Luna eventually gives up, as always around the time they get their food. She tries to focus on today’s lasagna, and not mess up her new blouse she got few weeks ago during shopping with friends.

She is already used to those cold afternoons with Ambar, just quiet until someone just asks one question, that has answer either yes or no, so the talk dies quickly. Today they already shared like 5 lines, so the limit is reached and Luna is sure she will be able to enjoy the lasagna fully.

“I have heard you and Balsano have a thing.” Smith asks matter of factly as she digs her fork into fish she ordered.

Luna can’t remember the day she choked on her dinner as much as today, but definitely lasagna would be the one to blame if she died. “What? I wouldn’t say we have a thing.”

Ambar rolls her eyes. “Yeah, call it as you wish, it’s your business, but when you make out with a guy in a visible place, Lunita, people start talking. You can of course deny, because everyone was too drunk to record a video, or too scared of Balsano, but I don’t approve that.”

“No offense, Ambar, but I don’t need your approval to do things.”

“As long as you use brain while doing things I don’t care. I just don’t need people to keep asking me around whether I know shit to gossip about or no.”

Luna huffs, slightly offended even though she started with the no offense, but that’s the charm of her cousin, who is able to annoy everyone, even Luna herself who is always forgiving and tolerant.

But when she doesn’t say anything, Ambar continues. “I am here not to trash you, even though I would love that. It’s Sharon’s job and you surely have enough of it. I just want to remind you that since you already chose yourself this boy to, I don’t know, do stuff with, you have to remember you are exposed to other people. You should decide yourself if all the stages of recruitment you’ve come through and the interviews to actually get here were worth it.”

Luna sighs, playing with the molten cheese on top of her lasagna and tries to analyze what Ambar just said. It makes sense, at least she guesses it does. Though, there is one thing that has her unsure.

“Um, does he do this often?” She asks with soft voice, calm and powerless and the blonde sends her uncomfortable look.

“Hardly ever.”

🌙

It’s been quiet for some time already, which could be surprising, but the fact they all have tests in following days made them stop trying to gossip at least for this afternoon. Luna manages to focus amazingly, or at least since when Nina told Jim and Yam to shut up, it’s been quite chill and calm around. Her phone isn’t buzzing anymore since Matteo had some important union stuff to do and Luna hasn’t been pushing in any way, she has her own things to do. Maybe there is less and less of them since she met the Italian boy, but there is something still only hers and this is definitely studying with the girls.

She is going for the record of read and understood pages in a row when someone kicks her on the ankle. She just huffs and throws a glare at the table, yet her ginger friend is just sending her subtle signs to look behind, and Yam is just staring.

Luna rolls her eyes and turns back to the book, but now even Nina clears her throat, so it’s most likely thing at least worth of a glance behind. She leaves a bookmark between the pages last she read and sighs before turning towards the direction all the girls keep staring at.

Now Luna should appreciate the long hallway in the middle of this one of Oxford libraries, because she can see Matteo walking through it slowly, just at the same time flipping through some book with dark cover, and talking to the boy with curly hair he’s been hanging out with more often recently. He doesn’t seem to know that she is there staring at him, but Luna hopes he will spot her as soon as possible since her silly heart already wants to jump out of her chest and run to him quickly.

As Matteo and his friend pass her table on their left by she feels small tiny disappointment and Jim huffs loudly, earning the attention of the boys. Luna gasps, not sure if she should be thankful or regret this. When Matteo‘s eyes rest on her for few mere seconds, just to slide away slowly in lazy, very typical for him manner, Luna feels like throwing up. They keep walking and she doesn’t even check where, because she needs to focus on not looking like she feels; which means like a total fool, even if she hasn’t told her friends about how comfy she has gotten with Matteo, chilling and watching tv show in his bed few days ago.

“Have you seen that?” Jim huffs once again, her face just as red as her hair. “I have no idea what this ‘that’ even was, but who does he think he is?” Yam answers, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

Luna doesn’t really know if it’s such a big deal; if it should be such a big deal, or at least as big as her friends make it be. She knows it wasn’t really normal, no matter if he ignored her, if she can call it that of course, on purpose or just was in hurry somewhere only he knows. To be honest, the brunette only wants to forget any boy stuff that’s going on, and focus on study, because God’s a witness that’s what she should be actually doing right now.

“I don’t believe this though.” Jim speaks again, or more like murmurs finishing the conversation Luna missed here, too busy with her thoughts, too distracted. Nothing new, and the girls normally let her slide with this, but apparently not today. She feels a nudge on her ribs. “Come on. Are you gonna just sit and let him think he can be all hot and cold?” The ginger haired girl continues. Nina sends her helpless look and Luna just shrugs at them all, not sure how to act now.

She guesses that she will have to talk to Matteo about this, but first she will most likely ignore him for a while. If it’s possible to ignore Matteo Balsano when he doesn’t want to be ignored, because from what she has learned about him is that he never wants to be ignored, and he doesn’t like that.

“I think,” Nina starts, for the first time in the entire conversation about Matteo. “That you should let Luna do whatever she wants to, and that he deserves to have his ass kicked for not even stopping by to say hi.”

“I agree!” Yam raises her hand almost hitting Jim on the head. “Nina maybe you can speak Luna back to her senses. I still remember daily morning coffee special for you, and now he just ‘blesses’ you with his look.” The word ‘blesses’ her friend says with such a disgust, she actually wants to laugh. Though everything here seems true and makes very much sense, at the same time Luna can’t believe this. She knows Matteo wouldn’t do anything asshole-ish, at least not the same Matteo who kept playing sleepy with her hair, wrapping single strands around his fingers. He wouldn’t be an asshole.

“Girls, please. You are making drama and I am able to handle this by myself. But not here and now, it’s not the right place and time, and I would love to remind you that no matter how much you will stress, the test is still coming.” Jim stares at her very pouty, so she just continues. “No matter how much you bitch about a boy. If any of you says one more word, I’m going to my place, because I really want to pass and I don’t have time for distractions like this.”

“So you are really going to let this go? For real, Luna?” The only blonde girl by the table asks and Luna stares at her unsure, everything happened like five minutes ago so she doesn’t have any plan for this. She will see when she meets him in person, most likely alone, avoiding attention of weird people.

“I don’t know. I will see when I have mind for this. And you should drop this finally, since Matteo fills most of our conversations and it tires me up. Plus throwing all accusations and making up all stories and weird reasons before even knowing what the other side has to say is very wrong. I don’t want to jump into conclusions.”

With this she gets up, gathers her stuff and leaves, hoping her brain will let her do anything productive that day.

🌙

Matteo, 16:54 Hi, how are you?

Matteo, 17:02 Are you okay?

Matteo, 17:20 Luna

Matteo, 17:47 Text me back

Matteo, 18:14 I hope you didn’t fall asleep while studying

Matteo, 18:45 Luna Valente, please

🌙

She actually had managed to study, she turned off her phone and made notes, promising herself that the sooner she is done, the sooner she will do nice stuff like procrastinating other things, avoiding Matteo and avoiding her friends. It’s not that she wants to ignore the guy, and make him feel guilty, because that’s not the point. The point is that it’s expected from her to make a drama, or something. Yeah, she indeed felt hurt and offended, but it’s not like they are anything, there is no promises, or words what they will do or what they will not.

She hasn’t seen Matteo for whole day, not since the library time, and it made her somehow calm and peaceful. Though, her brain was trying to pull her into weird places and conclusion space, but chemistry has been too messy to think of Italian boys and their chocolate eyes.

That’s why she is so surprised to see hundred of texts after turning her phone back on; almost all of them from the chat with the girls, a message from mom and few texts from Matteo. She decides to answer him as the first.

Me whats up?

After this, she goes to change into some comfy stuff and makes some tea. It’s her me-time and Luna plans to enjoy it to the fullest, calling her mom after dinner time in Mexico, hopefully she will catch her dad and it will be perfect evening. Her phone buzzes and she automatically reaches for it.

Matteo I should be asking you that I mean I hope you are fine How has your afternoon been?

She rolls her eyes softly at three texts at once, but she guesses if she had this ability to fast typing not only in emergency or tea spill moment, she would’ve used it.

Me ive been eating cake and stalking spanish models on insta no jk i was studying bc the girls didnt let me

Matteo Very funny, really Do you have time now?

The brunette bites on her lower lip, wondering what he wants from her, why is he asking her about her time, if he wants to go out somewhere or come over. It kind of ruins her plans, but her inability to say no is showing.

Me why are you asking? Matteo Haven’t seen you much today, just want to catch up

🌙

He promised her tea.

He promised her tea, in a nice coffee shop, with not many people around and soft music in the background. It’s warm, just like he said, and really pretty; there is floral pattern on one of the walls, the rest has dried flowers in glass frames. There are armchairs instead of the chairs, with pillows and Luna wonders whether it’s a place to hang out with people, or more like nap time, when there is no place to stay.

She is sitting on one of those very comfortable, light brown armchairs, her legs are curled up next to her as they are waiting for their drinks be ready. Matteo is in front of her, in dark shirt, softly checkered with white, and black vest over it. When Luna did see them first, she honestly lost her shit and she needs to calm herself until now from time to time, reminding herself that yeah, he is real and the waitress hasn’t really tried to throw herself over his lap.

“To be honest, I’m surprised I managed to drag you out of your place,” he throws in the middle of the conversation as she was flipping through dessert card.

“And why is that?” she asks, looking at him from over the menu and she wonders if those sparks of the feeling of attraction in her stomach will ever chill whenever her eyes are on him. Most likely no.

“Because it’s already late afternoon and since you were studying I was sure you would tell me to chill my ass and leave you alone.”

Luna pouts, scrunching her nose. “You know I would have never done that. I am a nice person Matteo, and if I turn someone down, I do it as nicely as possible.”

He sends her soft look, even if a little amused. “Okay then, I’m sorry and I am really happy you decided to probably change out of your sweats to meet me.”

“Yeah, though as soon as I see that you indeed ordered tea with milk, I’m leaving and you shall never see me again, Matteo.” She sticks her tongue out at him as he rolls his eyes. “I drink it only when I need to soften some professor so they see I’m proper English student. But privately I rarely drink tea.”

The brunette hums, as the ice cream on this page looks delicious. Sadly it’s too cold for that today. “And yet here you are, taking me out for a tea.”

“I am and I’m very proud of that.” He grins and wants to say something else, but the waitress puts the tall cups of tea in front of them. Matteo thanks her with small smile and Luna does the same, yet doesn’t receive any look from the waitress named Olivia, whose eyes are glued to the Italian boy and it’s as funny as annoying. She still thanks her for bringing her order and hopes Matteo ignores the girl more or less.

🌙

It’s around nine when he they leave. He helps her with putting on the jacket and gives her his scarf, because it got windy. She keeps sending him small smiles, hoping that he will answer her when she asks about earlier; she didn’t want to ask before to not ruin the nice, soft mood and the brunette herself enjoyed it enough to postpone the uncomfortable questions.

They aren’t in any hurry, walking slowly and talking still just like they have talked for past hours, she listened to Matteo talking about classes and union and tiring classes in the morning. Hopefully they do this again, just hang out without drama around, people gossipping, because she doesn’t really like this kind of attention. She never minded it before, but this is very unhealthy and better if avoided.

His fingers tense slightly when she slides hers around them, maybe he isn’t used to holding hands while walking with someone, but Luna decides to try and sends him small smile. After this, Matteo smiles back and his grip on her hand tightens.

“Can I ask you something?” she mumbles, just slightly unsure as they get inside the building.

He raises his eyebrows, but still relaxed. “Yeah, sweet thing, you can ask me whatever you want.”

“Um,” Luna starts, already fidgeting with his fingers. “I just wanted to know if you were okay this morning. In the library. Because you didn’t even say hi or something.”

Matteo sends her a little sheepish look, but it lasts just a second, before it’s back to those thinking eyes, as he appears in front of her having her crashing into his chest since they were walking. Slowly, but still walking. She pulls away embarrassed with red cheeks, but he smiles. She didn’t even notice they got to the door of her dorm. “This morning I had to finish my paper for astronomy, because it was due to noon so I went to the library and I was just in hurry. I’m sorry if it made you feel bad, you should’ve told me earlier, or even back then.” He takes her face in his hands, his thumb caressing her cheeks so softly, so gently she can’t really breathe. Luna stares at him with wide eyes, not wanting to blink when he is so close, so she can take all his face and memorize it; every tiny freckle and the length of his lashes and the small dimple when his mouth curls in a smile.

Matteo Balsano is an unusual man and he knows it, and she doesn’t mind that, as long as he is looking at her like that, speaking his voice this soft. “I had no idea it would upset you so much. I wanted to see you later to catch up so I texted you.”

She just nods softly, overwhelmed with the way he is talking to her. His nose brushes hers with some kind of tenderness. “I mean it’s not even that I was upset. I was just surprised, plus the girls-” he cuts in. “No offense to the girls, but they seem overly dramatic most of the times.”

Luna blinks surprised, because how would he know how her friends are? “What do you mean?”

“I don’t mean anything bad of course, just that they seem impulsive, quickly jumping to conclusions. Not to try to get between you and them, but maybe you should just take things as they are, without listening that much to their huffs and puffs.” The brunette hums and opens her mouth, but Matteo continues. “That’s of course my suggestion, you will do what your pretty head decides.”

She nods, smiling a little again, because that actually makes sense for her melted at this point. “You are right. Anyway, do you want some hot chocolate?” The question is just a tool to change the topic, and they both know it, but it apparently works.

“Sure, with whipped cream and chocolate stars.”

He kisses her slowly on the forehead, the nose, and finally on the lips, relaxing all of her muscles that have been tense and she hasn’t even known that.

🌙

but right now I'm gonna let this slide, you'll be mine, mine, mine