𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐨 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 {𝚁𝙴𝚆𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴}

𝟐𝟗 | 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐒𝐨 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

(A/N's: This playlist is bomb and literally set the entire mood for this chapter frfr. I think there's going to be a couple more chapters before this comes to an end 😭 I'm not too sure yet, but we're definitely towards the end of this book.)

[N/N] = Nickname

I folded my arms across my chest as I turned the corner, the warm streetlamps guiding my way down the empty streets. The rain was pouring harder than minutes prior and didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. I continued scanning my surroundings, searching for any signs of life amongst the nightly abysses. Nothing. The further I had gotten, the more I was coming to realize that perhaps this was a bad idea.

"For god's sake, [N/N]." I muttered to myself, letting out a sigh of defeat as I pushed my dampened hair out of my face. "Maybe I should head back..." I commented shortly after, reaching the end of the road. Taking one last look around, I caught sight of a silhouette sitting underneath a bus stop bench. Despite the back of my mind telling me to turn around, I ignored the voices. Proceeding over to the figure.

The closer I got, the more I could distinguish certain features to them in the neighboring lights. They were hunched forwards in their seat, holding onto a lit cigarette in between their fingers. Their muscular physique was semi-exposed, wearing a dark colored t-shirt that hugged their figure. I watched curiously as the person reached for something in their pocket, pulling out a magenta wrapper. Staring down to it and mumbling inaudible words.

"Pico?" I queried, stepping closer to the person. The person jolted to my direction, looking at me flabbergasted as they pushed their tousled bangs over their head. "[Y/N]." Dropping his cigarette, Pico jumped up from his seat. My eyes widened softly as I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me, bringing me into a close embrace. The familiar smell of earthy marijuana mixed with acrid wood filled my nose, consuming me in a comforting warmth.

"I can't believe it..." He breathed out, running his hand through my hair. Pico pulled back from the hug gently, gazing softly to me with tear-filled eyes. "You're here." I nodded with a sincere smile, reaching up to his face and pushing locks of fallen hair to the side. Revealing a healing scar running down his left eye. "I'm here." I assured, caressing his cheek with my thumb. Pico brought his right hand up to mine, gently resting his face in my palm. Rubbing the back of my hand with his fingers, despite having a cast on.

"I thought I lost you." He confessed somberly, gazing down to the concrete. His voice cracking as he spoke. "You were unconscious for so long... I..." "Hey." I wiped away the tear-mixed droplets from his face. "I promise, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I'm here, I'm alive." Pico gazed back to me, breathing heavily as he held back further tears. "[Y/N]..." He embraced me once more, bursting into tears.

"I'm so sorry!" He cried out over the heavy trinkles of rain, holding the back of my head securely. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen to you. I never wanted to drag you into my mess. Please, forgive me; I don't want to lose you again!" I returned the embrace, resting the side of my face against his against his chest. His heartbeat heavy and rapid. "None of this was your fault, Pico." I reassured nonchalantly, looking up to the ginger. His gaze filled with sorrow and regret as he sniffled. "Please... don't ever think that what happened was because of you."

"A-Are you sure...?" He asked softly, wiping away the water near his eyes. The rain starting to subdue around us as we gazed into each other's eyes. "Of course." I pulled away from the hug, taking his non-wrapped hand in mine. "Let's head back to Cherry's, ok?" Pico stood hesitant for a brief moment, almost like he wanted to do something before nodding with a faint grin. Taking lead as we strolled back to our friend's townhouse.

. . .

Pico quietly closed the door behind us, taking a glance at our surroundings. The lights were now turned off except for a nearby wall light. Followed by a deep, loud snoring coming from the living room. "That dumbass." I heard Pico chuckle lightly as I took a seat on the steps, removing my soak sneakers.

I took a quick look to my right as I placed my sneakers beside Pico's, noticing my bag no longer on the step. "Huh... they must have brought it upstairs." I thought, grabbing onto the railing and picking myself up from the steps. We made our way up the stairs, entering an empty bedroom to our right. Pico flicked up the nearby light switch, revealing an inviting interior. I made my way into the space, finding my bag straight away at the end of the bed. Grabbing my bag, I began to untie it. Taking what little I had inside and placing it on top of the muted, patterned duvet.

"Hey um... I'm going to dry off a bit in the bathroom." Pico announced, grabbing something from the dresser. "Oh, ok no problem." I replied, grabbing my phone from the bottom of the bag. I pushed back bits of hair that fell from my face as I unlocked my phone. Wiping away droplets of water as I stared down at the abundance of notifications that cluttered my screen. Immediately, I tapped on the green message icon. Searching for my mom and I's conversation before typing a quick message.

"There." I said through a satisfied exhale, placing my phone back on the bed. I peeked over my shoulder; a faint smile crept the corners of my lips when I noticed the door was closed. I began to undress, being extra cautious about not undoing the dressings around my wrists as I slipped out from my wet clothes. Throwing my previous attire in the plastic bag, I slipped into an oversized sweater and white and grey plaid-patterned shorts.

The door creaked opened as I pulled my shorts up, prompting me to peek over my shoulder. "Hey." Pico greeted with a nervous chuckle, shooting a timid wave. Wearing a different and more comfortable outfit than before. "I uh, got you a towel for your hair. In case you wanted it." I shot him a smile, making my way over to the ginger. "Thank you so much." I said, taking the towel from him and drying off my hair.

I strolled to the dresser, standing in front of it as I brought the towel away from my head. Staring at myself in the mirror upon noticing my unkept appearance. "Crap." I muttered with a subtle pout, trying to fix the strands of hair that stuck up. Only for them to flick right back to where they were.

"You look amazing by the way." Pico's voice echoed softly beside me, his words causing me to turn to him. His stance stiffened as he gazed gently down to me, face covered in a light blush. "You think so?" I asked, folding the towel neatly. Pico nodded with a small smile, rubbing the back of his neck with his non-injured hand. "Yeah, it's cute like that." He responded with a light chuckle. I smiled back, placing the towel on top of the dresser. Turning my attention back to the bed, I cleared everything off it before taking a seat.

"Are you just going to stand there?" I queried, getting into a comfortable position. Pico looked back at me with a hesitant expression, eyes shifting between me and the wall. "It's ok, I don't bite." I teased jokingly, patting a spot beside me. Pico stared at me for another moment before finally moving forward, sitting down next to me.

"Are you tired?" I asked curiously soon after, tilting my head to the side as I looked to my crush. Pico shook his head with a soft sigh, leaning back against the mattress. "Not really, my sleep schedule's all fucked up as it is." He explained bluntly, staring up at the ceiling. I hummed in response, reaching for my phone. "Maybe we could watch something?" I suggested, unlocking my device. "Yeah, that's fine."

I smiled brightly, making my way under the blankets. Pico followed suit as I flicked through my millions of apps before finding YouTube. Typing in some compilation videos and tapping on one for Vine. It began playing immediately, drawing our attention to the screen. We sat in silence, laughing here and there as we cuddled up together. After some time, I turned my phone off and laid my head against Pico's chest. His heartbeat was like soothing melodies to my ears as I found myself drifting off to sleep.