the balcony ••• awsten knight

one

september 2016

"Why did that flight feel like it went on for days?" Awsten groans, rubbing his hands over his face, as he and his friends proceed to exit their gate.

"I think I slept the whole way," Otto shrugs, wearing a smile, which causes Awsten to shoot him a disheveled glare in response.

"Maybe you're just too excited to see Sadie," Jawn teases, dragging out his girlfriend's name mockingly; he wiggles his fingers, creeping them closer to Awsten, wearing a mischievous grin.

"Dude. Cut it out," Awsten swats his hands away.

"You know I'm right, though," Jawn smirks.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Awsten rolls his eyes. "So, what? I'm excited to see my girlfriend," he shrugs, a tiny smile beginning to play on his lips.

"Are you sure you don't want to come to the B&B with us?" Geoff asks, finally speaking up.

"Yeah. Of course, I'm sure," Awsten responds, a little thrown off by the question. "Why?"

"Well, I'm just—" Geoff pauses, letting out a sigh. "I'm just making sure you're okay with staying with Sadie, you know?"

Awsten rolls his eyes, which makes Geoff regret even bringing it up.

Geoff doesn't like Awsten's girlfriend. He's a sweet guy, so he doesn't make a big deal out of it. He's nice to Sadie when she's around, but he won't do much more than exchange pleasantries with her.

Otto doesn't like her all that much either, but he's far too care free to put much effort into actively hating anyone.

Jawn feels guilty for disliking her. He tried to confront Awsten about their relationship before, and it blew up in his face. Awsten wouldn't speak to him directly for a whole week. It was painful and awkward and he doesn't want to put the whole group through that again.

For now, he quietly observes— he sometimes teases to make it seem like he's okay with the fact that Awsten is still with her.

The last thing Jawn wants is for Awsten to feel abandoned by his friends— it'll only push him further into her toxic grasp.

"I've told y'all," Awsten looks to the three of his friends. "Everything is fine," he insist. "I don't know why you act as if it's not. I'm really happy."

It's only half a lie, technically. Forcing yourself to believe your own lies means that there has to be some truth to them, right? At least, that's the logic that Awsten is running with currently.

The topic is brushed under the carpet, once again, when they all get into an Uber together.

The driver stops at the B&B first, where Awsten helps everyone get their luggage out of the back.

"Last chance to come with us," Geoff says, quietly to him.

"Honestly, man, I'm good," Awsten works up a smile, knowing that Geoff only has his best interests at heart— it's hard to be mad at him when he knows deep down that he does have a reason to be worried.

Awsten gets back in the car, giving the driver the address for his girlfriend's apartment.

His reunion with Sadie goes how it normally does. She tells him that she missed him and pulls him into her bedroom before he can even think twice about it.