Roommates With A Super Villain

EIGHTEEN • WISHFUL THINKING

A/N: It has been decided that Axel's and Lily's shipname (while it's currently sinking) is... *drum roll please* Lixel!

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Lilian's P.O.V.:

You can do it.

My hand raised to a certain door I was quite acquainted with, but stopped myself from knocking. Come on, how hard is it? I stared dead at the slightly cracked paint and noticed what used to be a fresh coat of new sand colored paint, was now morphed into a yellowish mustard color instead. The change in itself meant time had passed, wearing not only the paint on a door, but our own bodies. There's nothing worse than what just happened, he'll understand. All you have to do is knock. The hesitation provoked an influx of anger towards my own cowardice and tapped in opposition. My particular rhythm of light pounding was graceful enough that there was no doubt that it was me behind it. My head turned side to side in the wide hallway, evaluating the perimeter in order to not get caught. Perhaps it was synthetic guilt that made me feel as though I was being followed and my heart thrashed in my chest with just the thought alone that I could possibly be caught. My neck snapped back when my ear picked up the sound of the door unlocking. The poor guy, he was going to be welcomed to a whirlwind of emotions. Once the door pulled in wide, the person I was desperately impatient in seeing was finally in front of me. His blonde hair was just as perfectly swept as usual, he wore one of those casual shirts that practically had his name written all over it and his eyes, they were as bright as ever.

"Lilian..." His warm voice trailed off in both confusion and worry. There I stood in front of Nathaniel, carrying bags that held almost everything I could possibly need - from both my trip and items from my apartment. My arms crossed in front of me with bulky school books between them. At that moment, I didn't care that my face was covered with dried tears and that they probably made stains on my face when it mixed with my day old makeup. It didn't bother me at the slightest when new tears formed when the rush of relief hit me so hard. I honestly felt breathless. By instinct, the grip on the books loosened and I dropped them while flinging myself at him. During the embrace, we acknowledged that we had stared at each other in silence long enough. In a series of sobs, I cried out into his shoulder.

I found that there's a universal unspoken agreement about embraces. Nothing is more assuring than a hug when the person being held, squeezes you harder. All these days away, even if they were little, fell heavily upon me. It wasn't until I could breathe in a familiar scent of comfort that made me realize just how much I missed being here, home. Nathaniel was not who I considered home, but his friendly manners and overall happiness was just a capsule of it. He was part of my home, to say the least.

With my face buried in his shoulder, I cried out what I was thinking the whole way back. "You were so right, I don't know what I was thinking. Please let me stay here with you. I can't stay there, not now!"

"Of course. The offer never left the table." He replied sincerely, rubbing my back in consolation. There couldn't have been a possible measurement to just how relieving it was to not be asked questions. I was able to pick out that he was smiling through his teeth as someone walked past us. They must've thrown him quite the look for him to actually add a wave before pulling me inside. The release of the embrace was disappointing. It left me wanting more. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say I needed more after what happened recently. "How about we start by getting inside."

Nate picked up the items I dropped and set them on a table in the living room. His hand ran through his golden hair as though it was a lot to take in, which in retrospect, it was. Though, being fully ashamed of my dramatic entrance was not something I planned on feeling as a consequence. I bit my lip to suppress my guilt. "Oh, where are my manners? You want something to drink?"