"L.A., baby, here we are, and we are back!" Julian hollered once he got out of the vacuum-like thing connecting the plane door to the arrival area. "Fuck, I do not miss this heat though. But people, Julian's back!"
"I don't know a Julian. Julians are embarrassing." Lexee snickered, bumping into Julian's shoulder to get ahead. "Get your man, Nat."
But Nat just shrugged, going ahead with Lexee and Charlize. "I don't know him, either. Josh, Sean, get your member. He seems pretty out of it."
"GIT!"
"Yuh, git git git!" Julian bounced on his feet, highfiving Josh while Sean filmed the two of them with suppressed chuckles while Jordyn did the same. This was a natural thing, where the Migos did random, stupid shit and everyone would be amused yet annoyed.
When the three broke out into a harmonization of git, that's when everyone truly bursted out laughing.
"Oh, God." Lexee face palmed, wondering what she did to deserve these friends.
Sapphire walked behind everyone with Kaycee and Bailey by her side, snorting unattractively as she took in the sight of her bestfriends. The Migos were a true blessing to the group as they always find ways to make things brighter. But when her eyes drifted to Sean, her smile faltered a little.
Suprise, surprise. He's with his bestfriend, Jones.
Sapphire didn't know how to feel. She didn't know what she's supposed to even think of it to begin with.
First, she was sad and upset about it that she felt her heart slowly dropping to the grave. He was losing time for her, and she was scared of what will happen if that was truly what will be of him for a long time.
But now, her fists were tightly clenched in an attempt to keep her angry mood at bay as Jordyn sent smug smiles her way.
As much as she didn't want to punch a wall, she definitely needs to punch a wall before she punches a person.
Fuck Sean, fuck Jordyn, fuck anyone else. If he was being distant, fine, I'd just do my own thing then. He can do whatever the fuck he wants, while I do mine.
But Sapphire couldn't help but long for the boy's hugs. She always did miss them, and she wondered when she would get one again. As sappy as it gets, she missed him, dearly. Even if the sight of him makes her heart whimper.
"You should really stop being distracted by.." Kaycee trailed off, looking infront of her to stare at Sean walking alongside Jordyn. "..the two of them. We'll talk later, okay?"
Before Sapphire could refuse, they reached the baggage area and Will spoke up to announce something.
"Julian, Josh, Sean, Sapphire, Jordyn, Kaycee, Bailey, Nat, Lexee, Jade? Are you taking masterclasses?" The ones called nodded, and Will motioned for an okay sign. "Isn't that tomorrow?"
"Yep," Lexee replied.
"And everyone else is going straight home?" Will added, looking over to Ken's direction.
"Yep. I need to catch up with my Dad," Kenneth said, while talking on the phone with someone. "Yes, Mom, I landed and I'm not dead yet."
"Kate said something about Mario Kart," Noah piped up. "Definitely Mario Kart."
"Yeah, Mario Kart," Julian sarcastically said, and then he earned a cap being thrown his way. "What? I said Mario Kart!"
"Enough, children!" Janelle exaggeratedly sighed. "Get your bags, and we should go before Julian embarrassed us even more."
"HEY! For the record, it was Josh and me!"
Sapphire was quick on her feet to the moving conveyor belt with the luggages when she spotted her black suitcase. It wasn't hard to miss since it had the Lewser sticker Sean once put there. He insisted that she would spot the bag pretty easily if it had the sticker, and damn, was he right.
But that didn't stop her from just wanting to rip it up then and there already.
Bending over to haul the suitcase from the metal contraption, a presence beside her was made clear when the person cleared their throat rather awkwardly.
Sapphire knew the person all too well. From the shoes she helped him choose from the online shoe shop, to that familiar scent that always seemed like a second home to her, she knew him way before he could even speak, and she didn't know if that meant she was in too deep in her feelings for the boy named Sean Lew.
Not bothering to respond, she straightened up and almost walked away.
"So..." Sean awkwardly started, halting her steps. "How are you?"
Sapphire faced Sean in a flash and put a hand on her hip with the most sarcastic smile she could ever put up. Like a fizzing bottle of shaken up soda, she bursted. "I'm doing completely fine. Super duper fine — especially without you. How about you? Are you doing great, too? Wait — don't answer that. I think you already know."
The girl rolled her eyes, not caring if anyone else heard her sudden outburst. Forcibly pulling on her luggage, she yanked on it and started to walk towards where Bailey tiredly waited for her.
But Sean had other plans when he locked his hand on her wrist, and made the intention that he wasn't letting go that easily.
"Is this because of Jordyn again?" Sean worriedly asked, concern etched in his features.
"Maybe it is. But she's not entirely all of it, Sean, and I know you know that," Sapphire seethed, tugging her wrist away from Sean's hold rather harshly.
"Look, I was bu-"
"Oh, yeah? Tell that to your random IG stories, picture posts, and tweets. Glad you have the time for those then, rather than sending a single text saying you're going to practically disappear away for the next months," the girl sarcastically replied, offering Sean the bitterest smile she could muster. "A warning could have been enough. It's better than being completely clueless as to why you suddenly stopped talking to me! Right?"
By this time, her voice was getting louder, and it caught some of their friends' attention. Mostly, Bailey's worried stare and Kaycee's concerned look was what Sapphire saw but she didn't care anymore. Once her mouth opened, she was just going to be exploding.
Sean's face fell, his teeth nibbling on his bottom lip as glazed eyes looked at the girl. He felt the waves of anger and sadness wafting off of her, and he can't believe he hurt her again.
He can't believe he hurt the girl he loved yet again, and he didn't know what to do to fix it. But he was willing to wait, to learn, and to fix it the best way he can think of. Anything to just make all the painful hurt he could clearly see on her face go away.
But maybe, she won't let him fix it again this time around.
"Why don't we just break up, Sean?"
All of the world could hear the way Sean's soul slowly crack, and shatter, and fall to the ground when those words left her lips. It was as if someone threw a wrecking ball at his whole being, wrecking all of him.
"You don't mean that," Sean almost pleaded, his voice cracking as he pulled her closer to him. "Baby, you don't mean that. Please, let me fix this."
His eyes watered and tears pooled at his lashes, and the girl couldn't stare at him any longer as she contemplated the surprising words that left her lips. She was hurt, and lost, and confused, but did she really want that? Did I mean that? Or did I just say that to hurt him?
"Just let me go, Sean. We'll talk about it tomorrow, when our heads are cleared or something. I just want to go home." Sapphire's voice suddenly softened, like she let her growing tiredness seep through. "Please. I'm just really tired, and I need sleep, and I just want to lay down. Can we do that for now?"
But Sean didn't relent, still keeping his hold on Sapphire as his eyes desperately looked for hers to meet.
"Come home with me."
"I don't want to," Sapphire refused, taking her hand from Sean after a hard pull. "I just— please, Sean, I need time away from this."
"Please," Sean pleaded, moving closer to her to wrap a hand around her waist. It was clear in her eyes that she wanted to move away from him, but she was too drained to even fight him — especially under the eyes of everyone who took interest. "I want to fix my mistake. Please, let me, baby, please."
The girl finally stared into his eyes, wondering how this could turn out so bad. She didn't know what would happen if she went with him, and she didn't know if it was right to just let him in easily again after he hurt her again. She would be a coward if she walked away, but she was admittedly scared of what would happen after this.
Sure, being so busy that you forget anything else in the world was possible. But he couldn't have atleast told her that he would be away for awhile, instead of leaving her on read and ignoring her calls — instead of wholly ignoring her for two months.
But with a quiet sigh, she accepted her defeat as she just nodded and said, "okay."
The ride to Walnut was quiet, like someone turned down the volume between them. Sapphire thought she was already regretting this as the surge of emotions slowly faded down. Her outburst awhile ago made her face redden in embarrassment, but what she said had to be said. Even if it meant having the whole airport watch the two of you.
Resting her chin on the palm of her hand, she lazily blinked her eyes as she watched the cars go past them. Traffic wasn't an issue; it was around 2 or 3am in the morning, anyway.
"Hey.. S? We're here," Sean called her attention, tapping her hand that was rested on the seat.
Without any response, she opened the car door and immediately got her bag from the back compartment of the ride. She didn't hesitate on just going on ahead to the frontdoor while Sean slightly conversed with the driver.
She planned on waiting for Sean to open the door of the house as a sign of respect, but Sarah just slammed it open in surprise.
"SAPPHIRE! My favorite girl!" Sarah squealed, and the surprised girl let a genuine smile spread on her face. "I missed you!"
Even at the unforgiving time of dawn, the Lew sibling was just as energetic and enthusiastic.
"I missed you, too, Sarah," Sapphire whispered, hugging her back tightly.
"I don't get a hug?" The two pulled away to see Sean pouting behind them. "I missed you, too, you know."
With a snort, Sarah pulled him over to embrace them in a grouphug. But this time, Sapphire was uneasy, like she wasn't sure how to react to Sean's arm around her. It was the same warm and comforting hug she missed all along, but she felt like this wasn't the time.
Sean felt the same, too, as he stared at the girl with a look of hesitation. Her words from earlier still rang in his head, and he just wanted to kiss her with all he had.
It was like they were back to being strangers again; unsure with one another, and foreign with what they should do.
Unfortunately, Sarah noticed.
"Did the two of you fight?" She curiously asked as she pulled away. "I am feeling a little tension here, and it's not because Sapphire was suddenly stiff."
Sapphire didn't want to answer the question. "Hey, Sarah, I don't want to be rude or anything but I'm just really beyond exhausted an--"
"Oh, shush you. Of course, of course. Mom and Dad are asleep already so don't worry with seeing them on the way upstairs. I fixed Sean's room for the both of you. Just go up there, okay?"
The girl opened her mouth to refuse staying in the same room as him, but closed her mouth when she realized that it would be too much to ask to just let herself in inside the guest room.
With a stiff nod, Sapphire was already walking away as the two Lew siblings watched her go.
Once she was out of earshot, Sarah faced Sean and flicked his forehead.
"What did you do this time?" She scolded, crossing her arms. "What happened?"
Annoyed and exhausted, Sean waved her off and said, "leave it alone, Sarah, we're going to fix it."
"Make sure of that, bro. I don't want to see your girl looking down and upset the next morning. Sapphire's like my little sister; don't hurt her."
Rolling his eyes at his nosy sister, he rolled his bags behind him as he followed the girl to wherever she went.
"I'm just going to take your couch here," was what she first said. It sounded so strained and forced, unlike her usual carefree voice.
They were just treading on egg shells with each other, and Sean realized how awfully frustrating it is. Acting like a complete stranger to someone who is the absolute opposite of that.
"Sapphire.."
"Don't start with me, Sean." Her voice rose a level, her eyes hardening when she met Sean's own. "I'm tired, and exhausted, and drained, and sleepy, and pissed off, and I might say things that would hurt or offend you again. I love you, and I don't want to hurt you. Please, just let me sleep."
The three words made his heart skip a bit.
"I'm sorry," he abruptly said. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"For.. for ignoring you for the past two months," Sean admitted, bowing his head down as he bit his lip. "Everything's been busy and hectic an--"
"And you should've called atleast once! Just once Sean!" She almost yelled out, but she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. "And I'll be fine. But no, you just disappeared on me like that's supposed to be okay. It's like you didn't even exist, Sean! Fuck, call me dramatic but if you had the time to leave me on read, or tweet, or post a fucking photo on Instagram, then you could have taken a second to tell me that you were going to be gone for a while. But no, fuck no. You just disappeared without any explanation."
"I know, and I'm sorry. I should've warned you, or told you, and I'm so sorry." Sean walked closer to her, and he took in a ragged breath when Sapphire took a step back. "I know I made you feel like I didn't ca--"
"Right."
"But I care about you, Sapphire, I really do. I just really suck at showing it because I don't know how relationships even work in the first place." He sighed tiredly. "I know I shouldn't be making excuses, and I should be making it up to you. And I know I sound like an asshole, and you don't deserve that. You deserve the best, and I swear I'll do what I have to do to prove that."
"Well, atleast you know now, then." Sapphire sardonically smiled. "Sean, I'm so proud of you, of everything that you're accomplishing and reaching in life. And you know I'll always be your number 1 supporter beside your Mom, and I'll be the loudest cheerleader in the room to show you that. But I can't.. can't do that when you're slipping away without another word. You're slipping away from me, Sean, and I don't know what I'm going to do when that happens."
Sean grew quiet, absorbing her every word as he internally scolded himself for hurting her again.
But it broke him to see tears fighting to break free from her eyes.
Without another second thought, Sean wrapped his arms around her as he buried his face in her hair. He missed her, too.
"I love you so much, Sean, and fuck my emotional being but I don't want to lose you now, too. I can't bare losing another person that I care about," she whispered, her voice cracking as she let a few sobs spill. "P-please, just tell me, okay? My fucking sensitive self is just going to lose her mind."
"I know, I know, and I'm so sorry, baby, I'm so sorry," he said back, kissing the top of her head. "I'm so sorry. I would say it a million times, but you'd just get annoyed of me. I love you, alright? I really do."
"I.."
"You don't have to say anything. I just want you to know that it's always going to be you, and nobody's ever gonna replace you. God, you're one of the most important people to me, and I would be stupid to even think of letting you go. I love you so fucking much, and I suck at showing that. But I'm learning how to be a better boyfriend, and I'm learning how to show you the love that you deserve. I'm so sorry if I ever made you feel like you didn't matter, or you weren't worthy. Because fuck, you matter to me more than anything else this world could ever. And you're worth more than anything, too. Sapphire Case, I just love you."
He kissed her again, and again, and again. He kissed her forehead, each of her eyes, each of her cheeks, her nose, and her lips. Brushing his nose softly against hers, he looked into the same eyes that he loved very much.
"Just... what the hell, Sean Lew," was all she could ever say, laughing lightly through the little sobs that still escaped her lips. But she yawned again, her eyes drooping close a little before lazily staring at the boy.
"Go to sleep, baby. You need rest," he whispered softly, carrying her up to gently lay her down on his bed. "Goodnight, S."
Sapphire let out another involuntary yawn when she felt the bed dip beneath her, but she fought to keep her eyes open. "You promise to not do that again? Ever again?"
With a smile that meant everything in the world, he said, "I promise a million times, S."
—
that was... long