Soulmates: Writing on Skin [Seaycee AU]

Thirty-one

She shrugged. "No, it makes sense, I guess. I still don't like telling the same story over and over again. I feel weird, which sounds dumb."

"That doesn't sound dumb at all. I think our story is pretty cool, though. But I may be biased." Sean smiled, giving her knee a squeeze before returning his hand back to the wheel.

Kaycee grinned, shaking her head and turning her gaze back to the passenger window. "It is, you're right."

The rest of the drive was comfortably quiet. Kaycee could only hear the music and Sean's finger-drumming on the steering wheel. Something about fixating on the small things that Sean did calmed her. Things like finger-drumming, his obsessive foot shaking, any and all of his mannerisms. He radiated calm in the times that she needed the calm.

****

Arriving at Bailey's house was like arriving into a war zone. As soon as Sean and Kaycee stepped through the front door, they were being shot down with unrelenting questions and attention. It took all of Kaycee's willpower to not crawl into her imaginary shell and stay there. She was hoping her friends were too fixated on the stories Sean was telling to notice her unease.

She hated this kind of attention. Absolutely despised it. She felt like she was at the mercy of other people. Answering questions about her personal life as though she were some A-list celebrity and they were the paparazzi.

Though the group of friends didn't seem to notice how uncomfortable the small brunette was, Sean did. In the middle of Bailey asking some arbitrary question, Sean reached behind him slightly, wrapping his hand gently around Kaycee's wrist and giving her a reassuring squeeze, before letting go. The exchange lasted but milliseconds, however, it was enough for Kaycee to relax, even the smallest amount.

Thankfully, after about twenty minutes of being the center of attention, it seemed as though everyone in the group had their questions answered. Julian and Josh, who had been relatively quiet throughout the entire exchange, whisked Sean off somewhere else in the house, leaving Kaycee to her own devices for the first time today.

Well, she was left to her own devices for about thirty seconds. As she plucked a water bottle from the kitchen fridge, Bailey and Tahani made their way over to her, having broken away from Chloe and Charlize.

Kaycee smiled, giving a weak wave before untwisting the cap of the bottle and taking a swig. The two girls barely made an effort to reciprocate the gesture before jumping down her throat, something that she wasn't necessarily expecting, nor looking forward to.

"So, how's it going?" Bailey asked, leaning her shoulder against the refrigerator. "You pretty much let Sean do all the talking over there."

Kaycee shrugged. "He's better at it."

Tahani rolled her eyes playfully. "Why don't you want to tell us anything, Kayc?"

"I never said I didn't want to tell you anything." Kaycee quipped, twisting and untwisting her water bottle cap.

"You're right, you didn't say that, but that's what you're thinking." Tahani tapped the tip of Kaycee's nose with her index finger. "Come on, talk to us."

Kaycee flicked her eyes around the room, trying to find Sean. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen, leaving Kaycee alone and feeling vulnerable, though she was surrounded by her best friends.

She sighed. "About what? I thought Sean pretty much covered all of the bases."

"Well how do you feel about everything, for starters. Sean doesn't exactly live in your head." Bailey retorted, still resting against the refrigerator, seemingly blocking Kaycee from trying to escape.