11. Connor

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When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to find myself surrounded by darkness. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I heard soft breathing beside me. As I shuffled around to find the source of the noise, I found myself just inches away from Troye's face. He was fast asleep on the pillow beside me, his dark curls falling over his eyes very slightly and his lips were the tiniest bit parted as he breathed in and out.

I couldn't remember having fallen asleep. The last thing in my memory was listening to Troye describing how I was like a rose - the most beautiful kind, in fact. Remembering his words made me feel warm and fuzzy; for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt like my existence was appreciated, even if only by one person. That was enough.

Despite Troye's reputation in college, it had become very apparent to me that he was nothing like people described him to be. They made him out to be rude, arrogant and self-centred. Admittedly, he probably could be at times, but the way he spoke - the way the words just flowed out like he didn't even have to think about it - made everything else seem irrelevant and untrue. I'd always known deep down that Troye was a good person, and this confirmed this conclusion in my mind. I appreciated his existence just as much as he appreciated mine, if not more.

I rolled onto my back and lay with my hands on my chest, gazing up at the ceiling through the darkness. It astounded me how, in such a short amount of time, I considered Troye to be my best friend. Throughout my life, particularly growing up, I'd always struggled to make and keep friends. Usually, it was my Dad's fault. Not that I could blame the people for wanting to stay away, they were probably scared he'd swing a punch their way if they stepped inside the house. It was upsetting that people wouldn't give me a chance because of my family and home environment, but I understood why. It had become the norm by the time I reached the age of ten, anyway.

Troye nestled deeper into his pillow beside me, the corners of his lips twitching upwards very slightly when he got comfortable. I smiled to myself upon seeing him; it was calming to see him so relaxed and at peace. He didn't have such a hard, stern face when he slept; his features naturally fell softer, and he looked almost vulnerable. For a moment, I forgot about everything else that was going on, my full attention going to the curly-haired boy next to me. I didn't understand why he was so determined to make my life better, or why he had even bothered to befriend me in the first place. Regardless, I was more than ecstatic to have a best-friend figure in my life after so long spending my life alone. It allowed me to feel important again, just a tiny little bit.

"What're you thinking about?" Troye's voice was hoarse and crackly, and it sounded much deeper. His morning voice was definitely different to normal, but it was cute.

I turned to look at him. His curls were flopped down over his forehead and hanging just below his eyebrows, his eyes slightly squinted as they adjusted to the darkness. "Nothing and everything all at the same time."

"That doesn't make sense." Troye mumbled, obviously still tired.

"It does." I replied defensively. "You're wise and intelligent, think about it."

Troye didn't reply but simply nodded, suggesting he understood. Even if he didn't, he wasn't going to argue about it. "You're thinking about your Dad, aren't you?"

For a moment, I didn't do anything. Then I shook my head. "Honestly, no. For the first time I haven't thought about it. It's actually nice to not be worrying about him."

"I'm glad."

The more Troye and I spoke to eachother and spend time in one another's company, the less I agreed with the reputation people from college had given him. To me, the last kind of person he seemed like was arrogant, self-obsessed and rude. He was kind and caring, always putting other people before himself, and he had a good heart. I only hoped that once things in my life started improving, I could be half the person Troye was.

"You should go back to sleep, Con." Troye murmured, clearly trying to force himself to stay awake. "Are you not exhausted?"

I nestled into my pillow. "A little. I just couldn't get back to sleep for a while."

Troye mumbled a response, but it was too quiet for me to hear. I couldn't be bothered to ask him to repeat it, so closed my eyes and curled up underneath the sheets. I felt Troye move beside me, and I opened my eyes to find him centimetres away from me, his blue eyes looking into mine. I tried to ignore the butterflies going wild in my stomach as we maintained eye contact for what felt like forever, enjoying the complete silence that had fallen between us.

After a few moments had passed, Troye slowly ran his hand through my hair to brush a few loose strands out of my face. "Go to sleep." he whispered, his hand remaining resting lightly on my cheek as I closed my eyes. The last thing I remember before I fell asleep was Troye pressing a gentle kiss to my cheek, then my forehead.

"Goodnight, my beautiful rose."

A/N: This was super short and fluffy BUT I wanted to get an update out in honour of Blue Neighbourhood being releaSED WORLDWIDE WHAT

QOTD: What's your favourite song from Blue Neighbourhood? Mine is either Heaven, Wild, Talk Me Down or Youth!!

I love you all :-)

p.s. I changed my username on Twitter to @ believehowell - you should go follow me if you aren't already :-)

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