senseless | l.h

ROUND 15: SOME PEOPLE STUMBLE, OTHERS FALL.

"Nellie—"

"I'm sorry about my dad," she muttered, "he shouldn't have what he said—I shouldn't have walked out either. I should have defended you a little," Nellie said, shaking her head slightly as tears brimmed the edges of her eyes. This made the boy panic slightly, mostly because he hadn't ever seen Nellie sad and he didn't know how to handle people who cried. He frowned at Nellie as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve covered hands, the boy's heart aching for her when she did it. He wished he knew what to say to make her feel better besides its not your fault.

"Don't worry, baby. I can defend myself," Luke laughed, lightly. Nellie smiled slightly, only to go back to frowning with silent tears rolling down her soft cheeks before the boy frowned with her. He pushed some of her hair behind her ears, looking at her concerned as she wiped under her nose and on her cheeks.

"I know, but he always does this to me," Nellie whispered. "I just wanted one dinner where he didn't mention Ronnie."

"Who's Ronnie?" Luke asked, quietly. He kept running his fingers over Nellie's skin gently. The feeling reassured her and spread a warm feeling in her chest. He realized this as he did it, mostly because Nellie touched his hand softly as he continued to comfort her as best as he could.

"My biological dad. He always brings him up when I bring someone over—like he's trying to make me seem like some defenseless cause." Nellie said. Luke frowned at her as she continued to talk quietly, silent tears still falling down her soft, freckled cheeks that were lit up by her flickering television screen.

"Was he the one who gave you the scars?" Luke asked. Nellie only nodded as she closed her eyes and let more tears slip down her face. The boy kissed the side of her head when she did this and pulled her to rest her head on his shoulder. Nellie bit her bottom lip as Luke rubbed her shoulder. He tried to tread lightly and not push her, especially since she had admitted something without a lot of shoving. He figured what she needed was a shoulder to rest her head on and it seemed to be working when he simply kissed her skin softly and let her cry.

"I just don't get why someone would take advantage of someone's trust like that. Especially a little kid's trust—God, I'm sorry," Nellie mumbled. Luke shook his head as he wrapped his arm around the girl. She continued to pout as he did this, the boy kissing her temple. Nellie felt calmer when the boy did these things, like the words that mocked the back of her mind weren't going to hurt her; like his lips would melt away the worries she had trouble getting rid of herself.

"Don't apologize, Bambi," he whispered, "your feelings are valid. He did a shitty fucking thing to you. It's okay to express that. I'm probably not the best person to help, but I'll try for you." Luke said, making Nellie smile slightly as he smiled against her skin.

Nellie played with the boy's fingers as he rested his arm around her shoulder. She ran her fingers across his forearm, the boy feeling slightly squeamish under her touch. He didn't say anything as she did it, mostly because he liked the feeling it gave him. He liked Nellie a lot, even if he didn't fully tell her yet. He like her smile and the freckles that dotted her cheeks like little stars. He liked her optimism and the way he made her blush so easily. He liked how her hair smelled like coconuts and how her skin was always soft. He just liked Nellie.

"Bambi," he said, softly. She looked up at him as he glanced at her lips for a moment. He pressed his lips to hers before she could give him a response; the action caused butterflies to tickle the sides of her stomach and her lips to tingle at the rate her heart raced. He kissed her gently a few times after, his own gut giving him a nervous feeling as he fawned over the feeling of softness her lips held like they were the petals of a flower. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment, his breath getting caught in his throat as she smiled at him. "Baby, go on a real date with me," he said.