Soulmates: Writing on Skin [Seaycee AU]

Eighteen

Kaycee leaned against the doorframe of her front entrance, waiting patiently for Sean's truck to pull up. She pulled her white button-down up to her neck, shielding herself from the windy evening. The sun was slowly sinking down into the horizon, though it was barely past five, painting the sky an iridescent orange with hues of yellow and pink.

She pulled the earbuds out of her ears and paused the James Arthur song that was playing. That's when she heard the distinct sound of tires on asphalt, turning her head just in time to see Sean slow to a stop in front of her driveway. She lurched forward, making her way to the truck and opening the passenger side door, slipping into the seat beside Sean.

"You never leave your hair down for class." Sean blurted, furrowing his brows.

Kaycee laughed, "Hello to you too." She clicked the metal tongue into the buckle and turned to face him. "I leave my hair down all the time, I don't know what you're talking about."

"No," Sean corrected, veering the truck back out onto the main road. "You always straighten it if you leave it down. You never leave it natural."

Kaycee reached up to tug at one of her natural curls, realizing he was, in fact, correct. She didn't like how her curls would get frizzy when she perspired, so she rarely kept it natural.

She shrugged, "For the first time in your life, you're actually right about something. You might wanna mark it on your calendar."

Sean reached over to backhand her arm lightly. "I hate you. You're the worst."

"You could never hate me. Not even if you tried." She quipped, turning her attention to her phone with a victorious smile on her face.

"Wipe that look off your face." Sean countered, lowering his voice slightly. "You're right though, I hate it when you're right."

Kaycee humphed, switching from social media to her messages, answering the ones she'd missed. Her eyes landed on one from Jack, asking if he'd still be giving her a ride home from class and her stomach dropped. She hadn't told Sean the news about Jack yet, and she definitely hadn't mentioned that she'd be ditching him after class.

They still had another fifteen or so minutes until they got to Tim's studio, where Jojo's class was being held. There's no time better than the present, she thought.

She cleared her throat to get his attention. "So I don't need a ride back from class today."

If she had been a tad more observant, she would've noticed Sean's shoulders sink and his face fall. But since she was distracted by her own intrusive thoughts, she didn't.

Sean hesitated for a moment, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice as he spoke. "Oh, alright. I thought your parents and Kylie were out tonight, is Devon getting you?"

Kaycee winced, "Actually Jack is."

The car went silent for several minutes, the only sound was the car radio that stayed on low volume. Kaycee felt the air thicken, feeling the mixed emotions radiating from the boy to her left.

"So I take it you two got back together the other day." Sean finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper.

She nodded, fixing her eyes on the glove compartment in front of her. "Yeah. He's going to Jojo's class, too."

"Really?" Sean questioned sarcastically, "I just assumed he was driving all the way over here from Pasadena to come to your rescue."

Kaycee sensed the hardness in his tone immediately, abruptly turning her face toward him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He didn't meet her gaze, concentrating on the road in front of him. "You can speak English, you know what it means." He spoke, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.