Saving Grace. [Alex Gaskarth]

Pretty Brown Eyes

"Hey hey hey," I said, gripping her hips and turning her round to face me, "they aren't mad at all, they're worried about you, you know what Jack said when I told him? He said 'why the hell did we go on tour?' and you know how excited he was."

"They're just saying that." She mumbled, dropping her gaze to the floor. 

"They love you Ivory, not as much as I do, but they love you, you know that, stop worrying." I sighed, lifting my hand up and caressing her cheek, rubbing my thumb under her eye. 

"I just stress you out, that's all I ever do." She whispered.

"That's not true beautiful." I responded, leaning my forehead against her's.

"Yeah it is, like that stupid fight we got in before the doctors called, that was my fault, a-and all those times I've run away from you."

"But have you ever considered the fact that I might love you enough to enjoy those moments, the moments when I find you again, and we make up and you start smiling for me, and all those stupid fights just make us who we are, we'd be the most boring couple if we didn't fight ever eh?" I grinned, nudging my nose past hers.

"I-I don't know." She sighed. 

"I love you Ivory-Grace, and if you love me too, then you'll be willing to drop this and let me continue to love you how I do, okay?"

"Okay." She said, a small smile tugging at her lips at the John Green reference. 

I smiled and pressed my lips against hers properly for the first time since I'd left. My hands snaked across her hips, my fingertips gently rubbing small circles into her sides. Her hands danced up my sides and connected around my neck, before one hand trailed off into my hair causing me to pull her closer and let a low growl bubble from the back of my throat. 

"I missed that." I panted, pulling away slowly, placing random kisses against her lips.

"I missed you." She smiled shyly, moving so she wasn't straddling me and resting her back against my front.

We didn't talk for a while, Ivory amused herself by playing with my fingers while I kissed the back of her head. I smiled at the feeling of having my girl back in my arms, however my girl seemed to be a lot thinner since I'd last held her, alarmingly thinner. 

"Ivory? Can I ask you something?" I said, breaking the silence.

"Sure." She smiled, shuffling round to face me again.

"Have you been eating?" I said bluntly.

"Of course...just not as frequently." She mumbled.

"Why? You're perfect baby." I sighed, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her forehead. 

"I'm not trying to lose weight Alex, I'm happy as I am, I don't have time to worry about my weight and crap, I enjoy food! I've just been a little pre-occupied lately." She explained.

"M'Okay." I said, unconvinced. 

We fell back into silence, Ivory tangling her fingers with mine as we sat. I leaned forward again, kissing her forehead, before curiosity got the best of me.

"Why do you only hold my hand at certain times?" I blurted out, regretting the words the moment I said them.

"What?" She asked, looking up at me.

"You told me you don't do hand holding, but you sometimes hold my hand, why is that?"

"It's because," she paused, taking a deep breath and biting down on her lip, "desperate times call for desperate comfort."

"Huh?" I said, completely confused.

"I see holding someone's hand as such an intimate gesture, I only do it when I need it."

"Like when?"

"Mom's anniversary; meeting your parents; you leaving me for tour; you finding me after I ran away..."

"Only desperate times." I said, more to myself.

"It calms me down, Mom used to do it, she'd only hold my hand when times were really tough, like when she was diagnosed a-and..." 

"I get it, you don't have to go on." I smiled.

She nodded gratefully at me, turning in my lap and cuddling into me. I kissed the top of her head and smiled at her explanation, she was quite something that girl, but God I loved her. 

"You know what I missed most about you?" She said quietly.

"What beautiful?" I chuckled.

"Your pretty brown eyes..."