falling - daniel seavey

chapter thirteen

"Ugh, I don't wanna talk to him." you whined after seeing your phone. You rolled back into Daniel's arms and closed your eyes. He stroked your hair and chuckled at you. "Baby, you know you miss him. He's okay with us, but he still has some things you need to hear from him. Go talk to him today, I have plans with Zach." he said, kissing your head. You sighed dramatically, knowing he was right. "Why are you always right." you pouted and he tickled your sides. "Dunno, maybe I'm just gifted like that." he said as you tried to catch your breath from laughing. "C'mon, let's get ready for our day." Daniel said, pulling away from you despite your groans of protest. "Y/N, I will tickle you again." he said in a fake-stern voice. You sat up and grabbed a pillow to shield yourself, "Nope! Nope, nope I'm coming." He smirked smugly and you rolled your eyes, going to join him in the bathroom.

You paced back and forth across your living room, anxiously waiting for Corbyn to ring the bell. You missed your big brother, but he needed to know how he made you feel. You wondered for weeks if you were a burden to him, if he didn't think you were good enough for his friends, if he genuinely thought that those three minutes were a power he had over you; not a protective tool he used to help you. You got a text as you paced, sighing a little when you see it's from Daniel.

dani: he there yet?

you: nope. i'm so nervous daniel

dani: it's gonna be okay, babe. just tell him how you feel and i'm sure he'll be willing to listen. i love you

you: i love you too, seavey

After you sent the last text to Daniel, you heard the buzzer go off. You ran to the intercom and answered, "Hello?" "It's Corbyn." he said. Your breath hitched in your throat, "Come on up." Shortly after there was a knock on the door and you shakily turned the knob, opening it to face Corbyn. "Hi." he said quietly. You breathed a 'Hi' back before opening the door more to invite him in. Corbyn looked around your apartment, taking in the decor and stopping at a shelf with a picture on it. It was a picture of you and him, your favorite picture, the two of you sitting on a park bench hugging each other. "How old were we in this?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at you. You stood across the room from him with your arms crossed, "Three. Mom took us to the park because Jordan got sick and we couldn't go on our birthday like we wanted." He stepped away from the wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "How do you remember all of that?" he asked and you chuckled, "I don't. That's my favorite picture of us when we were kids and she told me the story behind it." Corbyn laughed a little bit and nodded. You sat down on the recliner and he sat on the couch, the both of you unsure of what to say. "Daniel said you're happy for us." you said, avoiding making eye contact with him. Corbyn sighed deeply and nodded, "Yeah, I am. If he makes you happy and you're happy together, then so am I." You scoffed at his response. "What?" he said and you ran a hand over your face. "Why was that such a hard conclusion to come to? Why couldn't this have been your outlook on it from the beginning?" you accused. "Because I was hurt, Y/N! You guys hid it from me, two of my favorite people in the world hid a huge part of their lives from me and it hurt. It hurt a lot. I understand I overreacted, but-" "Overreacted?" you said, "Corbyn, I know we hurt you but you hurt me right back." Corbyn blinked at you, unaware of what you were referring to. "What do you mean?" he said softly. You bit your lip trying to fight the tears coming to your eyes as you spoke, "You made me feel like such a problem. I always thought you loved having me around to be a part of your life away from home but after you came over that day, I started thinking. It felt like you did it out of pity, Corbyn. I felt like the annoying little sibling that you let tag along because you felt bad for me. I questioned so much about my relationship with you and the boys after that day. For the first time, I felt three minutes lesser than you. Not younger, but lesser." you said, stray tears streaming down your cheeks. Corbyn's heart broke in his chest at your words. He swallowed hard and opened his arms. "Come here." he said and you got up, falling into his chest and wrapping your arms around him. He squeezed you tightly, like he was going to lose you forever if you let go. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. I never meant to make you feel like that, I promise. I brought you into this side of my life because I want you in it, even if you didn't want to be a part of it. You are my best friend and you're so important to me. You're important to the guys too, they love you just as much as I do and that's all on their own. Your relationships with my friends have nothing to do with me, they're your friends too." he said and pulled away, using his thumbs to wipe your cheeks. "You are not lesser than me, okay? I'm a horrible brother for making you feel like you are and I am sorry. For hurting you, for not understanding, for trying to keep Daniel out of your life. I'm sorry." You smiled gently at him, "I'm sorry for lying to you and hiding. I shouldn't have done that." Corbyn brought your face forward to kiss your head and pulled you back in for another hug. "I love you, Y/N/N." he said. "I love you too, Corbs."

After the dramatics died down and you were officially on good terms with Corbyn again, the two of you made some food and caught up with each other since you hadn't spoken in a while. "How's Christina?" you asked, taking another bite of your pasta. Corbyn's face fell to serious and you got nervous, "Corbyn, what happened?" He put his fork down and rubbed his hands together. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked and you nodded, wanting him to continue. "I'm gonna propose to her next week." he said with a huge smile. You dropped your fork on your plate and gasped, running around the island to hug him. "No way! Oh my god, Corbyn that's amazing! I'm so excited!" you beamed and he laughed at you. "It's only amazing if she says yes." he adds and you shove his arm. "She's gonna say yes, she's in love with you." Corbyn gives you a knowing look and you raise an eyebrow at him, "What?" you laugh and he rolls his eyes. "C'mon, just say it." "Say what?" "You're in love with Daniel." he says. Your face flushes and you go back to your plate. "Yes, I am. And he's in love with me." you said shyly, twirling your pasta with your fork. "Awww, my baby sister's in love!" Corbyn teased and you hid your face in your hands. "Shut up." you groaned and you felt his hands grab your wrists, pulling your hands away. "I'm happy for you two." he said genuinely and you smiled. "I'm happy for you, too." Your cute sibling moment was interrupted by Daniel barging in the front door. "Oh, hi. Everything good?" he asked sheepishly. You looked at Corbyn and you both started laughing at Daniel's nervousness. "Yeah, we're good." you said. "Oh thank god, that would've been so awkward." he said relieved and came over to steal a bite of your pasta. "Ew, wait. Now I'm third-wheeling." Corbyn said and you shrugged, "Now you know how I've felt for the past 3 years." you said and Corbyn winced. "My bad." he said and you laughed. "I'm gonna head out, I'll see you guys this weekend!" Corbyn said, hugging each of you goodbye before he left. When it was just you and Daniel, you hugged him out of nowhere, catching him off guard. He stumbled a bit before getting his footing and hugging you back, kissing your head. "What was that for?" he asked once you pulled away. "Nothing," you said, kissing his cheek, "I just love you." Daniel smiled and kissed your lips. "Fine by me, I just love you too."