You Promised Me

XII. The Growing Affection

'Oh shit,' (y/n) thinks to herself, dumping all her belongings out of her bag in search of her phone.

'Ohhhhh, shit. Where did I leave it?' her frantic scrambling led her nowhere. She must've left it at Xerxes's house. Groaning at the realization, she flops down onto her bed, rubbing her face as fatigue washed over her.

'Should I go to his house right now? Or should I just wait until tomorrow and tell him first thing in the morning?' (y/n) weighs out her options. Checking the alarm clock next to her, she feels guilt at the thought of going to his house so late at night due to her clumsiness. However, her phone was an essential part of her life, and she couldn't take the anticipation.

Grabbing her keys, she hops in her car, mentally apologizing to Xerxes the whole ride there, hoping he wouldn't be annoyed with her. After a little while, she pulls up to the familiar building, once again building up the courage to knock on the door. The door opens, startling (y/n) slightly, not realizing she had knocked. Her gaze subconsciously drops down to his chest, the first few buttons undone showing off the smooth canvas of his upper chest. Her eyes quickly divert up, forcing the heat that was crawling up her face, back down.

(Y/n) clears her throat, before nervously rambling. "I'm so sorry, but I think I left my phone here. I really hope I'm not interrupting you or anything!"

Xerxes doesn't give any indication that he's upset at her, instead, smiling at her, eyes warming at the sight of her. He holds up a small, familiar device between two fingers, leaning against the door frame.

"I figured it was you who was knocking this late at night," he says, passing the device to her.

Relief washed over her at the sight of her baby, letting out a sigh at it. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaims, throwing her arms around him before she could think twice.

Xerxes's arms instantly wrap around her waist, pushing her slightly against his body.

"No problem," he whispers against the top of her head. Realizing what she had done, she releases him from her embrace, slightly embarrassed for invading his personal space. As she begins pulling away, she feels a slight resistance, though she eventually manages to detach herself from him, his arm loosely around her waist before it drops.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to invade your personal space," she sheepishly laughs.

He smiles at her words. "Don't worry about it, I don't mind. I'll walk you to your car," Xerxes dismisses, pausing in his words.

"Unless you want to sleep here. It's late out and dangerous right now."

(Y/n) waves her hand at that, "I'll be okay. I'm sorry, again. I really hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience!"

Xerxes opens her car door, leaning against the top of the vehicle to give her another reassuring smile. "You're never an inconvenience. Drive safe, okay?" He says, as she closes her car door.

Rolling down her window, she gives him a thumbs up, grinning brightly at him. "I will. Goodnight, Xerxes!"

"Goodnight, princess," he says, watching her reverse out of his driveway. When she's out of sight, Xerxes pulls out his phone and opens an application, watching the little red dot on the map slowly move.

Xerxes grins to himself and pockets his phone.

—

Walking into her class, (Y/n) decided to keep her spot next to Connor during her first class, not wanting to ditch him after sitting there and getting to know him. A broad figure walks through the door, noticing that a certain (h/c) haired girl was not sitting where she belonged, next to him.