Tara was sitting in her hospital bed next to Nathan, thinking about everything he had revealed to her.
He told her absolutely everything, down to the smallest detail, including the reason why he had kept it hidden.
She wasn't sure what to think about it. On one hand, she understood that Nathan had kept it hidden to keep his parents safe. But on the other hand, she didn't understand why he didn't tell her. She would have kept the secret if he wanted it that way.
When she asked him about this, he said that by withholding information about an attempted murder, he automatically became complicit in it, even though he was the victim. He didn't want to involve her in that, so he hid it from her like the rest.
"I'm sorry I kept it from you." He apologized after a few seconds of silence.
"Don't worry, it's alright." She said in a calm tone.
It was normal for him to want to keep his parents safe after all the times they faced Ghostface, so he believed that lying would be doing it.
She personally couldn't say she understood him since she wasn't in his position, but she could sympathize with his decision.
"I thought you would be upset." He commented relaxing momentarily.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm upset." She assured turning to look at him with a reproachful look. "How could you hide something like that? What will happen when the police find out?"
"Who knows." He responded with a shrug.
His attitude only angered her even more. How could he say that in such a nonchalant manner? Was he really that stupid?
Since before they were a couple, she knew that few things mattered to Nathan. Of the things he downplayed was himself.
He wasn't someone who cared much about what might happen to him, and now he was showing it.
"Anyway, I can tell they threatened to kill me if I said anything. It's not a big deal." He said still downplaying the matter.
"And if they don't believe you?" She asked with a frown.
"Well, the sentence for concealing information about a crime is from six months to three years." He said without realizing that the more he talked, the more upset Tara was.
This was something that bothered her a lot. She could never tell if when he said things like that he really meant it or was just joking.
It worried her that he didn't care about his own well being. She didn't know how far he could go.
Nathan used to put others above himself, her being one of his highest priorities, since his parents came first.
Now that there was a killer prowling the town, Tara knew that Nathan was staying with her to keep her as safe as possible.
Her boyfriend proved willing to break the law to keep his parents safe, so she didn't know what would happen if Ghostface showed up at the hospital and tried to kill her again. She didn't know how far Nathan would go to protect her. And she feared for it.
It's not that she was afraid of him, but that he would sacrifice himself so that she lived.
She understood that he cared about her to the point of neglecting himself, because she felt the same way.
She dropped her head on her boyfriend's left shoulder, who gave a slight grunt of pain because his wound was there, which Tara knew, but she didn't care, since she considered he deserved that and more for her stupid decisions.
"Shut up." She ordered in a soft tone as she took his bandaged hand, intertwining their fingers.
"Sorry. I know I'm not easy to deal with." He said understanding that he shouldn't say something like that lightly, or at least not in front of her.
"Trust me, I know." She assured with a slight smile before letting out a sigh. "Just…don't say things like that like it's not important. You might not care, but I do." She said tightening her grip on his hand, although not so much so that she didn't hurt him.
Nathan said nothing and simply rested his head on top of hers, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
He knew that Tara was right. He was being insensitive by not taking her feelings into account, and he could see how it hurt her.
"I'm sorry, again." He apologized, accepting his mistake, something not very common for him. "Sorry for being a trashy boyfriend."
What kind of person would not take their partner's feelings into account? Exactly, a piece of shit.
That was another one of his flaws, belittling and insulting himself constantly.
It's not like he was depressed or anything like that, he was just hard on himself.
"We both know that's not true." Tara said in a calm tone without moving from her place. "Besides, if you were a trashy boyfriend, I would have dumped you by now."
"That's so comforting." He commented sarcastically, which caused the brunette to chuckle slightly.
"I'm serious, you're not a bad boyfriend. In fact, you're better than you think. You're attentive, loving, you respect me, and you never tried to push me on." She said feeling her cheeks turn red. "When I'm with you I feel at peace and safe. No one has ever made me feel like this just by being there."
With what she was saying, she was basically declaring her love for him, although not directly.
She was really grateful that Nathan couldn't see her face, as she was sure she would be a nervous wreck if he did.
"When we started dating, you were unsure if you would do it right or not. Do you remember what I told you that day?" She asked causing the memory of that night to automatically come to both of their minds.
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|𝔽𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜|
About three months ago, Nathan was at Tara's house watching a movie with her in the living room.
That night was one of the many times in which the girl's mother was not present due to her work, so she decided to invite the boy she had feelings for to hang out.
They both were wearing comfortable clothes. Tara was wearing a burgundy hoodie that was a little too big for her, along with blue pajama pants and white socks. Under the sweatshirt she had only her bra on, which she didn't notice until Nathan got home, so now she could only pray that he wouldn't notice.
Unlike most times, this time her hair was loose, allowing it to fall freely over her shoulders.
She did this because Nathan once told her that he thought her hair looked better this way, though he quickly added that she shouldn't change it just because of his opinion.
She clearly didn't change her hairstyle, mostly to avoid giving herself away, but she decided that this time she would take his advice.
Nathan was wearing a white hoodie with a gray T-shirt, black pants, and white socks.
He was sitting normally on a sofa with his feet resting on the small table in front of it while Tara leaned her back on the armrest to his left and stretched out her legs, bringing them to his lap.
Tara chuckled slightly when Nathan jumped a little because of a scene from the movie they were watching, which was a horror movie called 'Veronica'.
"Do these things really scare you?" She asked with an amused smile at his behavior.
"Yes, but that's exactly why I like them." He admitted after regaining his composure.
Unlike her, he was scared of horror movies, but that made them his favorite genre. He liked to be scared, as strange as it sounds.
"Aww, poor thing~." She said in a teasing tone as she spread her arms wide. "Do you want me to hug you to make you feel safe~?"
At this, Nathan simply held onto Tara's right ankle firmly before beginning to tickle the bottom of her foot with his other hand.
He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was afraid of horror movies, but that didn't mean he was going to let someone make fun of him and get away with it.
Tara began to laugh uncontrollably as she kicked in an unsuccessful attempt to free herself from his grasp.
She was very sensitive when it came to tickling, and that area was her weak spot.
"Wa-hahaha! Wait! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Hahahaha!" She managed to say between laughs.
Nathan finally stopped and released his hold on her ankle, letting Tara pull her legs away from him as she caught her breath.
As cliche as it sounded, he loved hearing her laugh. Especially if he was the one who made it possible.
He knew he liked her, he wasn't stupid, but he didn't want to risk ruining their friendship.
"I really hate you." Tara commented smiling before jokingly kicking his leg.
"We both know that's not true." He said looking at her calmly.
Tara didn't look away, which made both of them feel like a kind of tension was beginning to form in the room.
They both knew they had feelings for each other, and that if they wanted to move from being friends to something more, now was the time to do it.
There was no one around. There were no interruptions. Nothing stopped them from taking that step.
But Nathan chickened out thinking he was just imagining things and returned his attention to the screen trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.
On the other hand, Tara kept her gaze on him.
They had talked a few times about romantic relationships and stuff like that, and she remembered his friend saying that he was highly unlikely to try to make a move on the girl he liked since he was shy when it comes to that kind of things.
She was more than clear about her feelings for him, and the blush on her friend's cheeks made her believe that he felt the same way.
She couldn't take it anymore with the doubt. She needed to confess how she feels to him once and for all.
She knew that she might be wrong and Nathan might not feel the same way, but she would rather risk than continuing to hide what she felt.
"Hey, what's that?" She asked raising his hand and pointing to a random area.
Nathan turned to look at her before looking in the direction she was pointing, which was to his right.
As soon as he did this, he could feel something being placed on her lap.
He turned to find that Tara was sitting on top of him with her legs at his sides.
Instinctively he backed away from how close they were. Although once he understood what was happening, he relaxed his body as he looked at the girl's eyes on him.
Seeing that he didn't push her away, Tara held his cheeks and began to bring her face closer to his to the point that she could feel his breath, to which Nathan gently placed his hands on her waist.
Feeling as if her heart would burst, Tara finally connected her lips with Nathan's in a short kiss before pulling away.
They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before bringing their lips together again, only this time in a more passionate kiss, but without ceasing to be loving.
Tara placed one of her hands on the back of his head and began to play with his locks while wrapping her other arm around his neck in an attempt to pull him closer to her.
For his part, Nathan wrapped one of his arms around her waist while placing his other hand on her cheek, which he caressed with his thumb.
The female brunette lightly touched his lower lip asking for permission, which was quickly granted.
They had both been wanting to do this for a long time, and they could tell that it felt better than they could imagine.
They finally parted as they ran out of air, leaving them both gasping for air.
Tara put their foreheads together and stayed there for a few seconds, feeling as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest.
"In case you hadn't noticed from that kiss, I like you. A lot." She finally said the words that she had been wanting to release for a long time.
"Yeah, I figured it out." He teased in a failed attempt to gauge his nerves before dropping his hand to hold her waist with both. "You sure you want to do this?"
"What are you taking about?" She asked confused as she separated their foreheads so she could look him in the eyes.
"You know me. You know I suck when it comes to relationships, whether it's friendship or something else." He explained letting out a light sigh.
He never texted his friends unless they did it first. He doesn't suggest hanging out either, instead letting someone else do it.
It's not that he disliked spending time with them, it's just that that the way he is.
If it wasn't for them telling him to hang out, he would only see them during school.
If that was the way he was with his friends, he didn't think it would be any different if he got into a romantic relationship.
He was definitely not the type of person who would write to his partner every day to see how she had been doing, because that was not him.
Tara knew this. They had been friends for over a year, so she knew his way of being. Mostly she was the one who wrote to him or invited him somewhere, like on this occasion.
She never really gave it much thought. In fact, she considered his introverted personality to be one of the things that made her like him.
"Mhm, I know. You suck when it comes to interacting with other humans." She teased a soft smile on her face, which made Nathan roll his eyes in amusement. "But you're also kind to those you're close to. I would never ask you to change your ways. I like you for who you are, and that includes the whole package."
Nathan couldn't help but blush seeing the sincerity of her words through her eyes.
If someone had told him a few hours ago that the girl he liked would tell him that she felt the same way tonight, he would have told them that they were fucking delusional.
But here he was, with the girl he had feelings for sitting on top of him after they kissed.
He let out a small laugh before bringing his face closer to Tara's and leaving a short kiss on her lips.
"In case you hadn't noticed from that kiss, I like you. A lot." He murmured against her lips repeating her words.
Tara laughed slightly before reconnecting her lips with his.
"So now we are a thing?" She whispered against his lips.
"Yes, we are a thing." He answered before Tara kissed him again.
|𝔼𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕗 𝕗𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜|
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"I still maintain that. I still like you as much as back then, I'd even say more. You're a very good boyfriend." She said in a soft tone. "Plus, you're a pretty good kisser."
"Such deep words." He flattered sarcastically with a slight smile on his face.
"I know." She assured as she snuggled closer to him. "Now, what do you say we cut our corniness and watch a movie or something?" She asked pointing at the television with a slight movement of her head.
"Okay." He agreed as Tara released his hand to take the TV remote.
While she chose something interesting to look at, Nathan found himself deep in thought.
Ever since he woke up in the hospital, he had been thinking about who the Ghostfaces that attacked him could be and why.
He didn't know why they left him alive. They could have ended his life at that moment, they had the chance, but they didn't. He could only assume there was a reason why they didn't.
If so, this meant that they had something planned for him and they needed him alive for it.
He wasn't sure, but when he faced both Ghostfaces, he could bet they were men. He deduced this due to the height and strength of both of them.
He wasn't someone who thought that women couldn't be equal to or even stronger than men, but in most cases this wasn't the case, so his hypothesis was based on that, although he could be wrong.
This was the fifth event where someone wore that mask and committed crimes.
In previous cases, the murderers were always involved with those they attacked in one way or another, either by being part of the group or having a relationship with someone from it.
This did not mean that this situation was the same, but it was a possibility.
He hoped he was wrong, but if he wasn't, it meant those he called friends were suspects.
Among the two Ghostfaces he faced, the taller one could be Chad or Noah because they were both part of the school team, which would explain the speed and strength of that Ghostface. Also, out of everyone in the group, they were the tallest ones.
As for the other Ghostface, he wasn't sure. It could be Liam, Wes or William, but honestly there wasn't much that could have stood out from that Ghostface, so it could also be Amber, Liv or Mindy.
Tara was ruled out due to her injuries. Sure, she could have hurt herself like Jill did at the time, but this didn't make sense given the severity of her condition. She couldn't even walk. It didn't make sense for her to be hurt to that extent if she planned to go ahead with the murders in case she was one of the two Ghostfaces.
Although the ones who headed his list of suspects were Sam and Richie.
They both arrived in the town after Wes informed Sam about Tara's condition, but there was no guarantee that they hadn't been in the town for a while.
They met the requirements to be the Ghostface. Richie was tall and seemed to have some muscle, while Sam was of average height, which would fit the shorter Ghostface.
Others would think that Sam couldn't be the killer since she wouldn't attack her sister, but there have already been situations where Ghostface attacked members of their own family.
Nathan didn't believe that Sam was the murderer simply because she was Billy's daughter, but the fact that she had disappeared for five years and returned accompanied by a stranger just when the attacks began made him doubt.
Although of course, all this was nothing more than hypotheses without any basis to support them.
He also did not know what the reason for these new Ghostfaces was. In the previous attacks the motives of the murderers were fame or revenge, but that did not indicate that this case was the same.
There was nothing he could do but wait for them to attack him again, because he knew they would. Clearly, that meant they would be back for Tara as well.
As already said, he did not care too much what happened to him, if not those around him.
If he wanted to be able to keep her safe, he should probably take down those who were trying to kill them.
He wasn't like the others who boasted that they would kill someone like it was nothing. He knew that something like that would mark him for the rest of his life.
He would honestly prefer not to have to resort to it, but it was most likely that he would have to.
While Nathan was questioning that, Tara finally found something interesting to watch, this being the serie 'Dawson's Creek'.
A few days ago she had begun to watch this series, but she still had a few chapters to finish watching it.
Nathan didn't watch that series, he probably didn't even know it, but she knew he didn't mind having to watch something he wasn't interested in, although he always ended up asking a few questions when he was curious about one scene or another.
Coincidentally, the chapter she chose mentioned several serial killer movies.
This led her to remember her encounter with Ghostface and how close she was to death that night.
Whenever she remembered it, she would panic, fearing that whoever attacked her would enter her hospital room and end her life.
Knowing that she was being hunted. The feeling of the knife digging into her. The fear of dying. All of this would remain in her memory for the rest of her life.
Having Nathan by her side lessened that fear, but it was still there.
She unconsciously moved closer to him and tightened her grip on his hand, to which he let out a slight groan due to the wound on his palm.
He turned to look at the girl and could see the fear behind her eyes.
He released her hand and wrapped his arms around her small body as he rested his head on top of hers, feeling her tremble slightly in his arms.
Tara buried her face against his chest as she held his arm firmly with her good hand.
Nathan wanted to do something to make her feel safe, but he knew nothing he did would help.
The only thing he could think of was to distract her so she would think about something else, but he didn't know with what.
He didn't have to think much longer, though when the answer came to his mind.
It was embarrassing, but Tara had been the one who had taken the first steps in their relationship, so he should also contribute on his part.
He kissed the top of her head while he left soft caresses on her back, being careful not to hurt her.
"I don't know if it's rash to say it, but... I really do love you." He whispered causing Tara to immediately stop shaking.
He didn't just say it to assuage her fear. He really loved her.
When he was with her he felt relaxed and it was impossible for him to get angry. It was as if her very presence activated a switch inside him that made him feel at peace.
Tara moved slightly away from his chest to be able to look into his eyes, realizing that he truly meant it.
She couldn't stop a huge smile from forming on her face and her cheeks turning red.
Was it normal for three words to make her feel this way? No. But it was when they were said by person she loved.
She reached up and connected their lips in a tender kiss as she caressed his face with her good hand.
Once separated, they leaned their foreheads against each other.
"I love you too." She said unable to hide the joy in her voice.
"We are so fucking corny that it makes me sick" He commented causing his girlfriend to chuckle slightly.
She didn't even remember being scared anymore. All she could think about was that she was finally able to hear the words she had been wanting to hear for a long time.
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