In the name of God (Arvin Russellxreader)

Chapter 18 - Revelations

(Unknown POV)

He gazed into Y/N's eyes, trying to read her as he had done before but he was distracted by her cute blush or the way her eyelashes fluttered when she blinked. Arvin didn't know what he felt for Y/N, but it was something he had not felt before. Arvin Russell was in love.

Y/N smiled at the brunette boy, unable to frown when in his presence since it was like a sunshine that appeared after a storm. His dark brown eyes set her free from worry and fear, which dissipated with a single glance. She had found a temporary home in Arvin; a reprieve from her loneliness and anxiety.

They stayed together until the early hours of the morning through patches of talking and comfortable silence that wasn't awkward or forced. It was only when Arvin looked at his watch that he realised that Y/N had school the next day and had spent a huge chunk of her night with him. But that was how they were, wiling away the time together, just them two; happy.

{Time skip}

The following day, just before school, Y/N slipped the scribbled passage between the thin, waifish pages of the holy book that was kept on the lectern in the Chapel, running away like she had done a few days before, though she did not wait around any further in an attempt to keep it from her mind.

(Y/N's POV)

As I arrived at school, the weight of what I had just done was beginning to feel lighter, especially when I saw Lenora, who smiled at me gleefully with her usual sweetness. "Good mornin', Y/N, how are you feeling?"

"Not too bad, what about you?"

"Pretty good, Arvin's takin' me to the cemetery after school today, so I'm gonna talk to my mom."

"That'll be nice at least."

Since striking the friendship with Lenora, she had opened up about her past, more in depth than the run down that Anthony and his mother had given me about her slightly unorthodox (insane) father. She told me all about her mother, Helen, how she'd met her husband at church and not long after they were married, Lenora was born. But just as quickly as the girl had appeared in their lives that they were both taken from hers. I saw so many similarities between Lenora and I, which was odd given that we were born states apart to different families, though fate always brought people back together.

Throughout the day, I played my part, casually encouraging Gene's flirting, though it seemed that Tommy had lost interest, which honestly saved me a job. Gene said that he'd been messing around with 'some chick' but she 'wasn't nearly as gorgeous as you doll.' In his words. Although every moment in their presence made me cringe, it was nothing I couldn't put up with or tolerate, though they somehow became whinier and more irritating the next day, when all three were sporting plum-coloured blotches, split lips and even bone breakages.

I knew I'd have to play up to them, but it would be worth it for the story of how they got the shit kicked out of them. "Oh my Lord, Gene, what happened to you?" I raised my hand carefully to brush my hand over their wounds, 'accidentally' grazing it a little too hard and making them wince.

"Just some little shit that we taught a lesson."

"Awe, well at least it makes you look tough." I flirted back cheekily though somewhat innocently. "I hope it doesn't hurt too much."

"Nothing I can't deal with." Gene leant back and folded his arms in an attempt to look suave, though the theatrics nearly caused me to giggle. "Don't you worry about me baby."

{Time skip}

As soon as I'd reached out usual spot, Arvin clung onto me, clutching me tight to his chest. "What's wrong Arvin?" I didn't pull back from the hug, letting him take however much time he needed and I was in no rush to end the contact. Eventually, he let go of me and separated us with a short distance.

Arvin peered down at me, his face only inches from mine and our bodies the closest they'd been. He began talking though his eyes fell to the ground, aimed at his feet while mine were trained on where is face would be but it was really the top of his head. "I'm just fine Y/N, just..." He then lifted his head and brought his hand to my cheek and held it softly. "Y/N, I think you're..." Arvin looked unable to continue his sentence, so my eyes darted unfocused until I glanced down at the hand that cupped my cheek, noticing the purple, red and yellow patches that decorated his knuckles.

Finally, my suspicions were confirmed. It couldn't be coincidence that all three of the moronic musketeers were covered in bruises and that Arvin also had hands that looked like they'd been beaten with a cane. I simply smiled up to the brunette boy and removed his hand from my face, moving it to my lips and placing a quick kiss to the back of it. There was some unspoken understanding between us where we both knew what we'd done but it was pointless talking about it.

"Arvin, it's okay. Take your time."

"I've never met anyone like you before and I wasn't sure how I felt for so long but I realised that I like you. I really like you." He chuckled awkwardly and looked around nervously.

"Oh Arvin." I felt my heart sob, partially from knowing that the boy I definitely liked, like me back but mostly because I didn't want to let Eliza down by getting distracted. I had to avenge her first, date the brunette boy second. "I like you too. But I don't want to jump into anything right now. I promise that one day, I'll explain why, but I can't right now."

"I don't..." Arvin looked like he wanted to keep speaking but a part of him was wrestling to try and find the right words, just like I had been. "I understand. Whenever you're ready."

"Thank you." I held him tighter, hugging him within an inch of his life. When I stepped back, I caught his eyes again, eyes that could make metal melt or ignite a fire within a person, and I stood on my toes, placing a peck on his cheek before pulling away completely and walking away.

"See ya tomorrow." He called after me sweetly but I didn't face him to respond. A beam of morning sun shot through the forest, landing in my eyes.

"I think you mean today." I kept walking, up the ridge and back to the house, the early morning sunrise warming my face.

(A/N: sorry about the delay in this part.)