Cruel Me

Chapter 24: Falling Slowly

I like the feel of her in my arms like this. I don't know why or fucking how, it just - It just feels right, you know?

While we stayed in silence, I took that chance to scan her room. This was the first time I've ever been here. The walls were covered in blue paint. There was an entire wall for books. Like literally, from the ground to the ceiling was rows and rows of nothing but that.

There was a low round table in the corner of the room, where her laptop was. Throw pillows surrounded it. And from the looks of it, that was the place she also studied.

A huge dark yellow cozy-looking armchair was on one corner, while a keyboard stood on the other side. White christmas lights hung on the walls, serving as a glowy background. My eyes wandered to the other light source, the one near the armchair.

"You have a full moon lamp in your bedroom?" I scoffed.

"No, that's an actual moon I named Bellamy," she replied, pretending to be serious.

I smirked, facing her. "She knows sarcasm."

"We're old friends," she nodded, trying hard not to giggle.

"Oh, yeah?"

I tickled her, making her squirm. She finally gave in and laughed.

"But seriously," she said, pushing me to stop. "That moon lamp's name is Bellamy."

"Who the hell is Bellamy?"

"A fictional character I'm currently in love with," she said a-matter-of-factly. "But I'm shipping him with someone else so you're safe," she added, patting me on the shoulder.

She was so weird sometimes. It was one of the things I loved about her.

"Okay," I chuckled, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. For a second, my eyes stayed on her cheeks as the smile on my face disappeared. "Something happened tonight," I added quietly.

She tilted her head and stared at me, waiting for me to continue. Our eyes met, and suddenly I didn't know what to say. Would she be mad again? I didn't want another fight.

"Snow was at the party earlier." I frowned and shook my head. "Some dickface almost attacked her and I sorta rescued her."

Saying it out loud like that made it sound like a fucked up knight in armor shit.

"Is she okay?" asked Halo with a crease on her forehead, genuinely concerned.

I nodded, and closed my eyes.

"Yeah, I got there on time."

When I opened them again, they wandered to the bed. I walked towards it and sat on the edge. I looked up at Halo and grabbed her hand, pulling her to sit beside me.

I took a deep breath, rubbing my face.

"What's wrong?"

"I was pissed off that you didn't show up at the party," I admitted, staring at her moon lamp across the room. "Then, I heard Snow was getting harassed. And I guess let it out on the drunk retard, but fuck," I sighed, pausing. "That sounds like a fucking excuse."

I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated as hell.

"After all the shit I went through, I'm still damn protective of her," I confessed, my jaw clenching. "I don't like that I am." I fucking hated it.

Halo took my face in her hands, turning me to look at her.

"She's your first love," she said firmly. She didn't look hurt or sad, she was only stating a fact. She wanted to tell me that she understood. "It's only natural you feel that way. If you didn't, that would mean what you had wasn't real."