You Probably Won't See It - Connor Sharpe x reader

Chapter 17

The chaos was comforting. Familiar. I felt so at ease here.. like I belonged. Like we all did.

After we finally poured the very lovable batter into a tray and stuck it in the oven, their mom leaned back against the counter and looked at us both.

"You know," she said, "it's been really nice having you girls around. You bring good energy."

Yumi smiled. "Aww. That's the nicest thing someone's said to me all week."

"Seriously," I added. "Thank you for letting us crash your house."

"You're welcome anytime. You've got the couch, the kitchen... but if you really want to be part of the family, you've gotta survive a round of whatever madness they're doing in there."

"Oh no," I groaned. "GTA initiation?"

Yumi nudged me. "You first."

"Pass. I value my mental stability."

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Eventually, we wandered out of the kitchen, wiping our hands on paper towels, just in time to see Laura full on body leaning against Connor, still gripping the controller with pure determination.

Connor, looking slightly overwhelmed but very focused, was half-smiling, trying to steer a car while she yelled, "LEFT! LEFT-WAIT, RIGHT! RIGHTTT!"

Jake was doubled over laughing on the other end of the bed, and Aidan was filming the whole thing on his phone.

"They're so dramatic," Yumi whispered.

"They are," I agreed, even though my eyes drifted to Connor before I could stop them.

He met my gaze for just a second.

A blink. A flicker of something soft.

Then Laura cheered loudly, stealing his attention back, and he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm done. You're unteachable."

"Rude!" she grinned, tossing the controller at Aidan.

As the game wound down and we all sprawled across Aidan's bed, the air felt warmer. Quieter. More full, somehow.

Connor shifted in his seat. I didn't even realize how close he was until his shoulder brushed mine.

Neither of us moved away.

Yumi caught my eye from the gamer chair and smirked knowingly, and I gave her the most subtle do not start face I could manage.

Then, the timer in the kitchen went off.

"Brownies!" I gasped, shooting up from the couch.

"I'll help," Aidan said casually, standing up at the same time, too fast, like he'd been waiting for an excuse.

I blinked at him. "Really?"

He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets. "Why not? I can be domestic."

I narrowed my eyes playfully. "I'm sure you burn frozen pizza."

He smiled. "Yeah, but I look good doing it."

I rolled my eyes.

We walked down the quiet stairs and hall towards the kitchen. The walls were lined with little family photos, snapshots of messy holidays, camping trips, a Halloween group costume from like, 2014. It was warm in a weird way. Familiar.

When we stepped into the kitchen, the smell of chocolate was insane. I paused just to inhale it like I was about to ascend into another dimension.

Aidan leaned against the counter, watching me. "You look kinda cute when you get excited over food."