You had just finished doing some paperwork regarding your work(it was an analysis on all the sea creatures you'd taken care of in the past week), when you heard the doorbell ring.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get it."
You smiled as you watched a grumpy Zane hop out of his chair to get the door.
Surprisingly, you'd fallen asleep at his place.
You accredited this to the amount of comfort you felt in his house since he had electricity and it was warm in the house.
After baking the previous day with you, he didn't seem to mind as much, and even took the liberty of bringing your things into his spare room.
You of course weren't going to stay there or anything, but, Lucinda wasn't home and it was kind of nice having company. You weren't used to being alone since you'd moved onto the street. Besides.
Zane had electricity.
After the snowstorm, power had gone out at your place and the repair guy was only coming in the afternoon.
"What? Why do you think that I know where she is?"
"Because you're her next door neighbor baby brother, and I've seen you talking with each other before. You clearly don't hate her."
You were brought out of your thoughts by the sound of a certain blonde's voice.
"Ugh. You're so annoying. Can't you find someone else to bother, just because she's my neighbor doesn't make me obligated to look for her."
You walked up to the doorway seeing the polar opposite siblings standing a distance from each other.
"Why would you look for me when I'm in your house?" You asked.
Zane rolled his eye(s), but Garroth on the other hand did a double take.
"Oh! There you are (Y/N). We were actually just looking for you. We knocked at your door but you weren't there." Laurance said to you with a smile on his face.
"Well that's because she was here, if that wasn't already obvious." Zane replied with yet another eye roll.
"What are you doing in Zane's house
(Y/N)?" Garroth finally spoke, ignoring his brother completely.
"Oh well-"
"She was spending the night. Not that it's your business though."
Zane spoke in a tone that seemed foreign for him. It was almost as if you could hear the smirk in his voice.
Laurance raised an eyebrow but Garroth's creased and you couldn't read his expression.
However the moment was fleeting and he shook his head before smiling at you.
"Well, if it was with you I'm sure it was nothing serious. Anyways, we wanted to invite you to our New Year's Eve party we're having," the blonde said.
"You do know...-"
"That New Year's Eve is tonight? Yeah, we know." Laurance chuckled as he predicted your words seamlessly.
You gave a small smile.
"Well I'll be there. Zane are you going?"
The masked man seemed slightly surprised you'd asked.
"I mean..Aphmau just texted me about it but I hadn't really thought much about it yet." He said.
"Oh don't be silly baby brother, you're always welcome at my house."
You only smiled and shook your head as Garroth fussed over Zane a bit before Laurance pulled him off, stating that they needed to head to the next house to invite a few other people.
Garroth looked back at you and Zane just you headed inside and shook his head once more before following after Laurance who could only be inquisitive about what was going on in his best friend's head.
=•∆•=
"Let me guess, Aphmau invited you too." You smirked as you walked up to Aaron.
"You mean she invited you too? I would've thought Garroth and Laurance would've invited you personally."
You could hear a small undertone of teasing in the males voice and you chuckled.
You enjoyed the banter between the two of you. It made what happened upon your first encounter of one another seem like an embarrassing but distant memory.
"Oh they did. They came knocking on Zane's door looking for me and everything."
"You were in Zane's house?"
A small chuckle slipped your lips,
"It just so happens that I was. Nothing weird though. The power went out on our end and he had a backup generator so he offered to let me stay and use his electricity in exchange for some baked goods."
"Huh. That's oddly..Out of character. I could be wrong though." Aaron said.
You nodded but then shrugged.
"Deep down, I know that Zane is a great person. It's just hard to see that because he buries his feelings so far inside himself you think he's mean."
A smile etched it's way onto the man's lips.
"You've been here so long you're beginning to sound like Aph."
"I'll take that as a compliment since I know you think very highly of her." You teased.
A faint, almost unnoticeable blush made its way to his face and he was about to respond when his name was called.
"Hey! Hey (Y/N)!" Aphmau said as she came up to the both of you with her usual gleaming smile.
"Hey, took awhile for you to get here, huh?"
"Sorry about that! Celestia wouldn't go down for a nap."
"Heh, well, dogs can be stubborn sometimes. Glad you showed up."
"Thanks! I'll be back in a second, I'm gonna go say high to everyone and see if they're doing good. C'mon (Y/N)!"
The ravenette took your arm and led you off to greet everyone else at the party.
Soon she jumped back in surprise.
"H-Hey? Jeffory!"
"Hey there beautiful! Long time no see! Ah and I see you you have a new beautiful friend! What's her name?"
Your cheeks flushed lightly at the forward nature of the green eyed man.
"This is (Y/N). She moved in with Lucinda not too long ago and she's a good friend of ours. I think you'll get along with her quite well. Although she's a bit shy at first."
You jabbed an elbow at Aphmau and rolled your eyes at her teasing words.
You weren't shy. Just...socially challenged.
Or atleast you were. The street was really making you come around to a better social standing.
After chatting and laughing with Jeffory for a bit, you went to talk to Zane while Aphmau ran after Emmaline.
"You made it!"
"Don't sound too excited. I'm not planning on staying long. I just came because you and Aphmau were here."
"Awe, Zane-"
"And I wanted to see what foolish things you'd both do this time."
"Rude." You rolled your eyes.
"Whatever. Let's go get something to eat so this party can actually be worth while."
You gave a small chuckle and followed behind him to the table where the food was set up.
On your way, you saw Kawaii-Chan pouting on the couch and you felt bad for the poor girl.
You stopped by her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey Kawaii-Chan. Are you okay?"
She sniffled and looked over at Reese and Michi before looking back and sighing.
"It's...Well...(Y/N)-Senpai will probably think it's silly. But Kawaii-Chan isn't too happy about the whole Reese and Michi-Chan situation."
Your poor friend. She was a great young woman and despite Michi doing her bad, you remembered that even when she was sick, Kawaii-Chan went to take care of her when she didn't have to.
You patted her shoulder and took her hand.
"Look. Kawaii-Chan. I know its not easy to move on from someone, especially someone who you have deep affection for, but sometimes that's the best thing for you to do. Reese clearly has little intentions of ending his little fling with Michi anytime soon, and you know very well you deserve better. Give your heart a break. I'm not saying get with someone else or anything, that's rebounding. All I'm saying is take some time to focus and work on yourself and who knows, maybe the one for you will come around." You smiled.
She instantly smiled back, feeling uplifted by both your words and your sweet smile.
"Thank you (Y/N)-Senpai."
You nodded and pulled on her arm.
"Now come on. Let's join Zane at the food table." You encouraged.
You walked up to the table to find Zane just coming back from the upstairs area.
"Hey Zane! Where'd you go off too?"
He shook his head at your inquisition and grabbed a dessert that was on the table.
"I just saw Garroth doing something...weird...I mean he's always weird but it was really weird this time." He shook his head once more.
You smiled and picked up a dessert for yourself.
Zane always thought his brother was weird.
"Well, what happened anyway?"
"I went upstairs to look for Aphmau so I could ask her if she wanted to join us in eating something and instead I overheard Garroth talking to Kenmur about kissing Emmaline, and when I walked in, Garroth was covered in feathers doing a dance or something."
You laughed.
"Wait, what?" You couldn't contain your giggles.
Even Kawaii-Chan laughed beside you.
"Hm? Garroth-Kun has interesting hobbies."
You were about to say something when you heard Laurance yelling as Aphmau ran off to Aaron in a giggle fit.
Garroth ran after her and sighed in defeat as she walked up to Aaron.
He had this look in his eyes that you just couldn't describe.
Jealousy? Hurt. Sadness. All masked by a smile.
He somberly stepped back and walked away, leaving the two alone as he went outside the house.
Your eyes followed his frame as he left and you couldn't help it.
You knew you had to follow him.
"Zane, you don't mind hanging out with Kawaii-Chan for a moment right?" You said as you grabbed another dessert and headed towards the outside.
"Wha-What!? Yes I do, I-" but the poor man's protests were cut off as you shut the door behind you.
You found the downtrodden blonde sitting on the steps silently, his cerulean eyes focusing on the view ahead.
Though the man before you was sad, you couldn't help but admire him for a moment.
It was strange, you hadn't done so to anyone in awhile but he just looked so...Pretty.
His blonde hair lifting every so often by the slight evening breeze, his eyes given a soft glow from the moonlight.
It was like looking at a painting.
Save for the feathers.
You walked up and took a seat next to him, making him look over at you in surprise.
"Oh hey (Y/N). Why aren't you inside enjoying the party with everyone else?"
"Well, um..I saw what happened and wanted to check if you were okay?"
'Well Um'? What am I a high schooler?
Garroth gave a soft smile but you could tell it was forced.
"I'm fine. Just thinking is all. Don't worry about me though, go back inside and enjoy the party! I asked Dante to make (F/F) specifically for you. I saw you really enjoyed it when we went out for lunch."
Your heart melted a bit at the sweet gesture.
The fact that he'd even noticed made you feel a feeling that you really wanted to ignore.
You slowly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you Garroth, that's really sweet of you, but, um..."
Don't you dare say it...
"I'd rather be out here with you."
I'm gonna regret this so much.
"Mind sharing what's wrong?"
He seemed rather surprised as he turned his head to face you.
Unbeknownst to you, this was the first time in a very long time that someone of the opposite gender had asked him about how he actually felt instead of just treating him like he only mattered for his looks.
It hadn't happened since...
Since Aphmau.
A tinge of red came to his cheeks as he felt a bit of embarrassment wash over himself. What he'd been thinking about was something he'd thought about for an extensive amount of time.
Years, to be exact.
"Well...," He began with a sigh. "I was thinking about Aphmau.."
Your brows raised slightly but you continued to listen.
"And I was, well, thinking...I was thinking about how I've been trying for years to pursue her. All the way from our youth where I made a drastic mistake, to university, to now. And the more I think on it, the more I realize that...I've never had a chance. I've just been living in denial about it. I've tried to ignore, to pretend I don't notice, but I see how she looks at Aaron and I know...I know she'll never look at me like that. But I'm a fool and every time we talk, every time she smiled me, I still think I have a chance, when the truth is...I'll always be just a friend to the woman I've loved since highschool. Nothing more."
Your eyes widened slightly as you saw the crystalline shimmer in his eyes.
He was holding back tears....
Your bottom lip folded under your teeth as you bit it nervously.
It hurt you seeing him like this. You didn't like it at all.
You of all people knew how it felt to have your hopes raised every single day only to have them crushed by a cruel reality.
Your arms were around him before you could think more about what to do.
Under the silver reflection of the New Year's full moon, you held Garroth Ro'Meave in your arms.
For how long? You couldn't tell. Moments seemed like hours, hours like years, and yet it all felt so fast.
The man before you held on to you with a surprising amount of force. Like you were all he had. All he needed.
"Garroth... I'm not the best when it comes to love, and Irene knows I'm still struggling with my own personal issues, but I do know that the best way to heal is to take it a step at a time. These things happen, love is never certain. Sometimes our love is unrequited. That's life. It's gonna hurt, it's gonna make you mad and it's going to make you cry. However, you'll get to a place where you can breath again and begin to move on. You're a sweet person Garroth, and I know your love for Aphmau is true. The thing about people who we truly love is that we'll want them to be truly happy, even if it isn't with us."
Silence filled the air he processed your words and rested in your arms.
He should've been hurt like he normally was. He should've felt negative emotions and loneliness seeping in. Jealousy for Aaron taking over..But all he felt was peace.
It was like you'd helped him let go all at once.
"....(Y/N)...Thank you."
You smiled, wiping the stray tears that'd fallen.
"Of course! Mermaids are known to be kind hearted after all!" You teased, quoting him from way back.
He gave a soft laugh which deep down you found a little...cute.
"I Know you're not actually a mermaid..." He spilled himself together, smiling even more now.
"Awe man...I wanted to keep the facade up for a little longer."
His shoulder bumped yours as he smiled at you again.
"Of course I knew! How dense do you take me for."
You bit back a smile and looked at him silently.
"Oh come on! That's so mean!"
"I mean...I didn't exactly say anything, so.." you smiled coyly.
"That's it, I'm eating your food!" He shot up.
You shot up as well and made your way towards the house.
"No! Garroth! The (F/F) is all mine!!"
As he watched you run towards the house, a smile on your features and eyes bright as the moon shining down before him, he couldn't help but think of you as an angel.
Like his Gaurdian angel in a way.
He finally didn't have to be alone in his feelings and pretend to be okay so he could seem charming. He found a friend with whom he could just be himself.
And that was enough....
Enough for him to make his most important resolution of the new year;
To move on from his first love.