This isn't edited well and I'm writing/posting this at 2am so just excuse the mistakes, okay thank you proceed.
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"Out of the 7 billion people in this world,
there's only you.
Almost a million words that I could say,
but none of them would do."
Numbers - The Cab
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Thalia Lively
Grandma Reyes stood in front of me with a kind smile, and I couldn't help but pay attention to her wise green eyes that were surrounded by slight smile lines. I loved that Nathan's eyes resembles hers; his are more vibrant in the moment however. I noticed his were always way brighter when he was happy, and I couldn't be more grateful that he let the fight with his dad go and decided to enjoy his day.
"It's so nice to meet you, I-I'm Thalia," I mentally cursed at myself for stuttering like a complete idiot. However, if there was one person I had to impress the most, it would be the woman in front of me. Everyone knows you have to make the best impression on the grandma.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Thalia, I'm Nathan's grandmother Eleanor. Nathan's told me so much about you." She admitted to me and I tried meeting Nathan's eyes but he bounced them around the room, refusing to meet my own. A blush etched itself onto my cheeks and I was left stumped as to what I was supposed to say next.
"All good things I hope?" I teased, keeping my gaze on Nathan. I met Eleanor's eyes as I grew more comfortable in her presence, or rather in this environment completely. I was surrounded by people that played a part in Nathan's life, and I'm not one to seek acceptance but having the idea of them actually liking me, seems to mean a lot deep down.
"Of course, all he does is babble about how beautiful you are inside and out. I was beginning to wonder when I'd get the chance to meet the girl that stole my little boy's heart." She assured me and my heart melted at how she referred to Nathan. Her voice had such a rich tone to it that it could captivate anyone's attention immediately, especially since she carries such a wise aura around her.
Nathan shifted in his spot uncomfortably as he continued to avoid my eyes and looked down at Eleanor. "Nannnn," he whined dragging the 'n'. I could tell he was starting to regret calling me over here but I'm glad he did.
"Oh alright, alright." She backed down but winked at me secretly causing me to smile widely at her, loving her playfulness. "I'm sure you two have plenty on your agenda so I'll leave you to it, but it truly was a pleasure meeting you Thalia." She said warmly and I opened my arms out for a hug causing her eyes to light up.
She accepted my hug and after a few seconds I backed away. "The pleasure was all mine, we'll have to catch up some more soon." I said genuinely meaning it. She nodded at me then looked over at Nathan, giving him a message sent only through her eyes. I tried to decipher the message but I had no luck, Nathan on the other hand had no troubles understanding what Eleanor was saying. He hugged her tightly before grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the living room gently. I followed him through his house, and although I've been here before, it truly is a new experience each time. This maze-like home continues to keep me in awe.
We came to a stop as I diverted my attention away from the house and to the group of people in front of me. My eyes immediately went to Austin and Carter then to three unknown people that accompanied them. There are two girls and a boy that looked back at me with equal curiousness as we tried to figure out who we were.
"Thalia, these are my cousins, Reece and Hailey." He introduced me to the girls first, and I sent them each a smile whilst earning one in return. "– and this is Jackson, Hailey's boyfriend. They're getting married next month." Nathan explained to me and I smiled at him as well. Jackson was fairly tall with dark blonde hair and had dull blue eyes but what caught my attention the most was the tattoos that covered his body endlessly. I always had an admiration for tattoos, I don't know why exactly but they were always so intriguing to me. I loved hearing the stories behind the tattoos, whether they were meaningful or not. "And guys, this is Thalia." Nathan introduced me and I looked down briefly, knowing that Nathan and I still haven't fully had the 'what are we?' Talk yet.
"Hi, it's so nice to meet you all. Congratulations on your wedding, by the way." I spoke first, letting go of my nerves and pushing away my introvert-ness.
"Aw thank you, I'm so excited–" Hailey was cut off by Reece who covered Hailey's mouth abruptly.
"Don't get her started on the wedding, she'll end up talking your ear off." Reece said jokingly, resulting in Hailey rolling her eyes.
"Can you really blame me though? I'm marrying the man of my dreams after all." She said as she hugged Jackson tightly, causing him to chuckle and kiss the top of her head. I smiled at their interaction.
"And how are you feeling about marrying the man of your dreams, Tal? Cause we can make that happen asap—" Austin was cut off from talking since Nathan shoved his face away from me. I chuckled and looked up at Nathan, watching him shake his head at Austin's behaviour.
"You can't possibly keep her all to yourself, Nathaniel." Austin attempted to coax Nathan but judging by Nathan's deadpan expression, it wasn't going to happen. I caught onto the fact that Reece and Hailey were watching Nathan with a certain emotion, each of them secretly smiling at Nathan's actions to protect his territory— not that I'm his territory or anything. "Fine, fine, be selfish." Austin continued on with the joke and this time I shoved him playfully. He smiles down at me cheekily as I shook my head amusingly at him.
"Imbecile," Carter muttered causing Austin to spin around and look at him unblinkingly.
"Excuse me?" Austin challenged.
"You're excused." Carter said sighing as he stood up from his chair and walked over to a food table near us. He began filling up his plate with sweets and Austin followed his actions, completely forgetting about the previous events.
"What the hell? Since when was that there, I'm starving," Reece exclaimed at the sudden appearance of food as she was next to follow the two boys. She grabbed ahold of my wrist on her way to them and suddenly I was also dragged to the table. "So," She began and I blinked at her unknowingly.
"So... look at all that food." I said awkwardly then my eyes lit up along with hers and as if we had a unspeakable agreement we both semi-yelled at the same time.
"Look at all those chickens!" We laughed amongst ourselves then awkwardly stopped once we got a few stares. I returned back to a quiet chuckle as we reenacted an iconic vine, then sighed at how weird we probably seemed to the outside eye.
"Wow, I love you already." She started off by saying as she put some food on her plate, making me do the same since I was already at the food table so might as well eat— plus I'm positive Nonna made some of the food on this table and she's going to ask if I ate any of it later. "But no really, what's up with you and good ole cousin Nate?" She questioned confidently, expecting answers.
"W-what do you mean?" I stammered on my words, not expecting to have this conversation yet. I knew she had caught onto Nathan's actions earlier.
"Oh, I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about." She said knowingly with a smirk plastered on her face– really pretty face in this case, is everyone in his family actually naturally good looking?
"Uh," I started off by saying, not knowing how to even put it into words. "Honestly, I don't even know what we are so I can't really answer that question." I said in defeat.
"Ooh, spill the tea." Reece said excitedly as she started eating her food and pulled up a chair from the side. "There has to be a lot to the story if a simple question can't be answered with a simple answer. So, proceed to spill," She said, and I knew she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"I think," I started off by saying, then mentally decided to just trust her with this information. Before I could continue Riley appeared from the corner and also pulled up a chair whilst reaching for a cupcake at the same time.
"I'm here, I'm here, continue." Riley said, and I began to wonder how she even knew I was going to talk about something important. "Oh hey, Reece." She greeted Reece, who waved at her since her mouth was full at the moment. I quirked up my eyebrow at their interaction and Riley informed me that they had met earlier.
"So, as I was saying," I gave Riley a look and she winked at me playfully causing me to chuckle. "I think, uh," I rubbed my forehead then had the infamous 'fuck it' moment. "Fuck it, I think I like him. Like really like him." I confessed and Riley started clapping and wiping away her fake tears.
"Possibly love?" Reece said, moving her eyebrows suggestively.
"Possibly," I answered with a laugh, but continued to nod because it was the truth. I knew I liked him, or was starting to fall in love with him but I'm just not accepting it and frankly letting my feelings free finally.
"Fuck yes," Reece said happily then flinched when a mother with a kid at the table gave her a deathly expression. "Shit sorry— oh fu—" I laughed loudly at Reece's situation which earned me a middle finger from her. The lady walked away with the kid, then Reece proceeded. "As I was saying, fuck yes! It's been so long— actually I've never seen Nathan with anyone and was genuinely happy with them. I only remember him being with that bimbo Megan, she was a pain in the ass though, thank god he realized that." Reece ranted and I mentally cheered knowing she also didn't find a liking in Megan. I just don't get a good feeling from her and it's been bugging me since the day Riley mentioned her months ago.
Hailey joined us as she did a little happy dance once she saw all of the food, smiling at us excitedly as she picked sweets from the table. "What are we talking about?" Hailey asked us, wanting to be included in the conversation.
"Thalia's love for Nathan," Reece spilled easily making me smack her arm. She shrugged. "She would've found out anyway, there's no way you could hide anything from her. She's psycho, she'll always find out." Reece then earned another smack but this time from Hailey.
"Anyways," Hailey said rolling her eyes at Reece. "That's interesting because that's exactly what Jackson and Nathan are talking about too, but his love for you instead of the other way around." Hailey informed us making my heart speed up instantly and my interest peak immediately.
"What are they saying?" I leaned forward and eagerly awaited for the answer. She chuckled at me, amusement dancing within her eyes.
"You're so cute, I let him know that I approve by the way." She winked at me. "Jackson started teasing him about you then Nathan actually answered honestly and they've been talking about it since then but kicked me out of the conversation unfortunately." She explained and my shoulders slumped.
"I wish I knew what was going on his head, I'm so confused. I don't know what we are, we clearly aren't friends since we've kissed before and we clearly aren't more than that since neither of us pushed it to be more." I admitted my situation to them, desperately needing some girl to girl advice.
"Well, what do you want to be?" Riley questioned.
"I want... I want to be with him. I want to be able to kiss him anywhere at anytime and I just want to be in his life. Permanently. I want to be more than friends, being just friends is stupid," I said grumpily. "But there's something holding us back from being like that, or I guess holding him back in particular."
"Then make it happen." Reece piped up, and shoved her empty plate to the side. "Find the root of the problem that's causing him to push himself away from you when things get serious, and then destroy that problem."
"You make it sound so easy," I sighed, leaning my head down to rest on my arm that was propped up on my thigh.
"It could be that easy," Hailey agreed with Reece. "You'll never get anywhere if you continue to stay silent and do nothing about it. If there's something holding you guys back from being happy together then you gotta make moves, sis." She urges me on and I begin to agree with them.
"We are going to that new club downtown, and it's his birthday. It's the perfect time to make moves and see what's really wrong with him," Riley suggested and smiled brightly at me.
"I guess so," I pondered, thinking about the outcome of tonight's events if I did what they were telling me to do. I feel like a little girl dealing with a crush— okay that's actually pretty accurate. All I know is he's the only person that's ever made me feel this way, I can't stop thinking about him. My skin calls out for his touch and my ears yearn to hear his husky yet silky voice constantly.
"Of, fucking, course." Reece cursed, glaring at someone across the room. "She just has to pop in and ruin everything all the time." She continued and we all followed her gaze until our eyes landed on Megan. A beat up Megan.
Her makeup seemed to cover everything but the slit in her lips and cut at the end of her eyebrow. I didn't resort to anger right away, but rather curiosity. "What's she doing here?" I asked out loud.
"Her dad's close with Nathan's dad, so they're sort of family friends. But apart from his dad, no one likes her or her family— well Nathan is still kinda friends with her for some stupid reason." Hailey answered my question, all of us keeping our eyes set on Megan as we spoke. We watched as she greeted people sweetly, and man was she good at faking niceness.
"Why is she everywhere?" Ethan's voice came out of no where and we all turned to look at him standing beside me, his eyes set on Megan too. He notices us looking at him. "Oh, we're not staring at her anymore? Got it." He said, earning a laugh from Reece and Riley.
"When is this 'afterparty' thing happening?" I asked him causing him to grin.
"As soon as I say so— okay I lied, as soon as Bethany says we can leave but I'm pretty sure after Nathan's talked to everyone here, she'll let us leave. Some of his family here came from back home so she'd kill him if he left without greeting them." Ethan informed me and I nodded, understanding that. Just as Nathan was mentioned, my eyes subconsciously started looking around for him, and they spotted him fairly quickly. He wasn't with Jackson anymore but rather with a group of older men, I'm assuming they were his uncles or Blake's friends.
"Uh oh," Riley said, causing all of us to look up and watch Megan stride towards Nathan with determination clinging onto every step she took. She stopped herself once she stood directly beside him, and rested her hand on his shoulder. I could see Nathan visibly stiffen at her presence, but he kept it together since he had an audience in front of him. His eyes searched the room nonchalantly, until they bounced from Riley's, to Reece's, to Hailey's, to Ethan's then to mine. I raised an eyebrow at him then flickered my eyes to Megan quickly before meeting his gaze again. I could see him hesitate then his attention was dragged away from me as one of the older men started talking to him.
"Well?" Reece said expectantly. "Are you gonna go claim your man or not? You're really going to just sit here and watch that?" She continued, knocking some sense into me as she did so. I suddenly got up and my legs began moving on their own, my body listening to Reece more than my brain was currently.
"Hey," I said abruptly as I reached Nathan, realizing I had no reason to interrupt them. "Nonna was looking for you, I thought you'd want to know since we're leaving soon." I said winging it completely. He seemed to have caught onto my hidden message quickly and he smirked down at me as I watched Megan's hand that was still on his shoulder. I gave him a look and he immediately moved away from Megan, making her hand flop to her side.
"Excuse me," he said politely to the group of men but utterly ignored Megan, leaving her there with them. He grabbed my hand then pulled me away until we reached an empty hallway. He let go of my hand and I leaned against the wall.
"I just want to leave already, I love my family don't get me wrong but I swear if another woman touches my hair or squeezes my cheeks, I'm going to walk out." He complained, fixing his hair as he spoke. I found it adorable though.
I took two steps towards him and pulled his hands away from his hair, taking it upon myself to fix it for him since he can't see what he's doing. I moved his brown curls around until they didn't look like a mess, then stuck my finger through one of the curls bouncing it up and down causing him to smile down at me.
"I don't like Megan." I stated plainly.
"I'm well aware, her wounds are still pretty fresh." He commented on her appearance and I chuckled.
"I don't like her going after you like that." I continued, ignoring his statement.
"I know," he answered. "But I only have eyes for you." He added, making me finally look into his eyes.
"I'm not usually this jealous or protective, I know your friends with her— which I don't know why you are, she's a horrible person—" I stoped once I saw his eyebrows raised and amusement was attached onto his features. He laughed and I looked down smiling. "My point is, I don't mind you having friends that are girls and stuff, I don't know why I should mind it's not like we're dating but," I looked away and took a step back. "But I don't know honestly, all I know is she has more than just friend intentions with you and that doesn't sit right with me." I confessed.
"I don't care about her, I care about you and only you, Thalia Lively." He shut me up with a soft kiss, making my heart go into overdrive. He backed away with a smile. He was weirdly really happy right now, and I wasn't against it but seeing him so genuinely happy was new to me. I've seen him happy but he's always had something ruin it or the weight on his shoulders held him back from fully diving into his happiness.
"Same goes for you," I pecked his lips once more before pulling him out of the empty hallway with me. "Now go say hi to the rest of the people here so we could leave," I pushed him and he sighed, walking away from me and stopping at a table full of older people and kids. While he dealt with that, I went back to the crew that was now accompanied by Carter, Austin, Emmett and Jackson.
"You're back, how did that go?" Riley asked.
"Better than I thought it was going to." I blushed and only the girls caught on. Reece and Hailey both started moving their eyebrows at me, and I looked away from them as I tried getting rid of my blush. "We're gonna leave soon, let me just go find the princesses again." I said looking around for Maya and Emery.
"They're in the kitchen," Carter told me and I thanked him before quickly leaving to see my favourite kids. I reached the kitchen, seeing that only Bethany, Nonna and the girls were in here, thankfully. I surprised Nonna from hugging her from behind.
"Hi, Nonna." I said, leaning over to kiss her cheek while she continued to make food. "You need to take a break, you've been making food for a long time now." I told her and Bethany agreed as she nodded eagerly.
"I've been trying to tell her that but she won't stop," Bethany told me and I shook my head at Nonna.
"Why can't you just go out there and talk to your old lady friends instead of being stuck in here all day?" I said somewhat jokingly and she rolled her eyes at me.
"I'm almost done, this is the last thing." She told me then pushed me away as she shoved me with her hip. I walked away from her and tickled Maya and Emery as they sat at the kitchen island watching something on an iPad. They giggled then squirmed away from my touch making me stop and squint me eyes at them.
"Why aren't you two out there playing with the other kids?" I asked them.
"They're boring." Emery shrugged.
"And annoying." Maya added.
"Understandable." I said simply. "I'm leaving soon but I'm going to come back to hang out with you guys this week? Is that cool with you guys?" I asked them and they turned around excitedly, nodding their heads. I smiled at them and hugged them both tightly. I said my goodbyes to Nonna and Bethany as well, and had the lecture from Nonna that I shouldn't be out too late or she'll come hunt me down.
I looked around for my jacket then grabbed my belongings and headed to the front door where everyone waited for Nathan.
"He went to go change," Austin informed me and I nodded, knowing he won't take long since it literally takes him seconds to get ready. I noticed everyone was with us, including Megan. She was currently talking to Hailey who was staring at her blankly, not showing any interest in the conversation they were having.
"She invited herself," Riley told me and I rolled me eyes.
"Of course she did," I replied bitterly.
Before we knew it, Nathan was coming back down the stairs, looking fine as hell. He had an all black silk dress shirt and his usual black jeans but, wow. He always succeeds in rendering me speechless. Everyone was dressed up and looked amazing and even though he was being subtle with it, he hands down looked the best. His dress shirt was folded up halfway on his forearms and his glistening watch definitely shone quite bright. He was wearing the ring and chain I got him which made me reach a whole new high of happiness. He stopped at a shoe closet nearby and pulled out his shoes, slipping them on and practically racing out of the house before someone attempted to keep him in here for even longer.
We followed him out and I opened my eyes widely at how many cars were parked in their huge driveway. Cars were parked all the way down to the gate and even on the road. I came with Carter so I looked over at him thinking I was supposed to also go with him again but he nodded over at Nathan who waited at his car alone. I quickly made my way over to Nathan, the cold biting at my thighs that were exposed to the stinging winter wind.
"O-open the door," I told Nathan stuttering, my teeth chattering quickly. He unlocked the door and hopping into his car with me, and turned on the heat immediately.
"Don't get me wrong, you look insanely beautiful," he complimented me as he leaned his head backing against the seat as he spoke with passion. "But I don't want you to get cold." He finished off by saying and I leaned over, kissing his cheek.
"I'll be fine, the clubs gonna be hot anyways." I assured him and he sighed, letting it go. I watched as everyone got into their cars. Hailey, Jackson and Reece drove in Jackson's car I assume since he was the driver. Carter, Austin and Ethan went into Carter's car and Riley was with Emmett. Megan went into her own car and I was still annoyed that she's even coming.
Nathan started driving out first, opening the gate for us and everyone else as we ventured off to the rest of the night.
• • •
The drive was a good twenty minutes to half an hour, so during that time we had races with Carter's car and sang to the radio loudly— I did most of the singing of course. I stepped out of the car as we parked, and I was still laughing at Nathan's previous joke.
"It's about to be lit up in this bitch!" Ethan said loudly as he was the first one to make his way into the club. He spoke to the bouncer and after a few moments, they were holding the door open for all of us. Everyone excitedly followed Ethan's trail, including Nathan as he held onto my hand and pulled me into the club with him. The lights were dim in the entrance hallway, giving a certain vibe that I was loving at the moment. After we finished walking down a hallway and opened a huge door that almost looked like a vault, we were greeted with blasting music and endless amount of dancing bodies. As we were putting out jackets in a safe holding room, I spotted Ethan already at the bar with Hailey and Jackson and I mentally started preparing myself for drunk Ethan moments that'll occur tonight. Megan disappeared into the crowd fairly quickly but no one was complaining about her absence.
The rest of us met up with Ethan at the bar and ordered our own drinks. Nathan ordered a drink for the both of us, and I let him decide for me. As soon as the drinks were put in front of us, Ethan pulled the guys away and to the end of the table.
"Shots for the birthday boy!" Ethan suggested loudly as he spoke over the music. The guys chuckled and decided to let loose and follow Ethan's actions. Nathan looked back at me and I smiled at him, silently encouraging him to go have fun with his boys. While the boys were having their fun, us girls huddled up together and began talking about anything and everything while drinking. I reminded myself not to drink too much because I didn't want to end up drunk, just loosed up enough to let myself have fun for the night without worries.
"So where did Megan go? I don't trust her, she's probably scheming somewhere in a corner right now." Reece accused and we all silently agreed as we each scanned the room for Megan. It took us a while until Hailey spotted her first.
"There, at the back where the DJ booth is." Hailey told us the direction where to look and I groaned loudly when I spotted her with James.
"For fucks sake, why do those two have to be everywhere and ruin everything! They're like pests that just won't go away!" I said loudly, clearly aggravated by the sight of Megan and James. "I don't care, they're not ruining this night." I finished off by saying then took another swing at my drink.
"Fuck em, we came to have fun for Nathan's birthday, they don't play a part in that so don't pay attention to them." Hailey said confidently then walked over to Jackson, pulling him away from the guys and onto the dance floor. Us girls watched Hailey in awe as she confidently danced with her future husband freely.
"She's right," Riley agreed then took a deep breath before getting up and doing exactly what Hailey did but with Emmett which made my eyes grow wide.
"Fuck yeah!" I called out after her, encouraging my best friend to get her man. Riley sent me a grin before grabbing Emmett and softly pulling him away, and he didn't seem to mind the slightest bit. Ethan began to notice that everyone's heading to the dance floor and he didn't think twice before joining them. Austin and Carter drank their shot at the same time before also heading to the dance floor. Reece winked at me and left me alone at the bar, well I wasn't actually alone.
I felt Nathan hug me from behind and I leaned back into him, feeling his arm breath hit my ear. "It would be a waste of a night if we didn't join them," he told me and I grinned to myself.
"Would it?" I pressed him.
"Oh yeah," he said before turning me around and pulling me up from my seat, and before I knew it we were in the middle of the dance floor with everyone else. The loud bass of the music pumped throughout my body and the Latin music that was currently playing took over my body and pushed any hesitant thoughts away for the night. Nathan pulled me close to him, started off with a slow vibe but still hitting the beat effectively.
"I didn't know you could dance like this." I stated, looking deep into Nathan's eyes. If he hadn't already won my heart, he did just now as he grooved to the music easily.
"Now you know," he winked at me, smiling enough for his dimples to pop in his cheeks. I had forgotten that Nathan had Latin roots as he started lip syncing the lyrics and sped up our pace. I smirked up at him and let myself go, letting the music control our moves. Everyone and everything around us faded away and I could only focus on him. He led our movements, dancing like a pro as he actually took control. His smile was radiant as he forgot all of his problems and just danced the night away. I took him by surprise when I turned around and backed into him, now I was the one controlling the movements of our bodies. I recognized the song and moved my body to the familiar beat and he had no problem catching up with me. He spun me around and pulled my close once again.
"You're going to drive me crazy," he said, resting one hand on the nape of my neck and the other on my waist.
"Everyone needs a little crazy in their life," I replied. I leaned towards his face until my lips were just barely touching his. "Life would be too bland without it." I said lowly but I knew he heard me when his wild eyes met my own. I backed away from him but held onto his hand as I swayed to the music and made his arms move with mine. He recovered from his frozen state and his body began to flow with the music almost instantly. Knowing that he could actually dance just made him even more attractive in the moment.
The music pumped through our veins and the flashing lights lit up our essence. We took advantage of the carefree environment and grew to love the vibe.
Ethan suddenly joined us and I could tell he was on his way to having a bad hangover. He held onto Nathan's shoulders as he danced with him, making Nathan laugh and follow along with him.
"You too, Thalia!" Ethan said, pulling me towards them and I joined them in their little dance.
I heard a "oh no you don't," come from behind me and I turned around to see Reece coming up to us and taking Ethan off of Nathan. "C'mon E, lets go dance." Reece suggested and I caught onto what she was doing which made me smile. She winked at me, trying to get me alone with Nathan. Ethan agreed with her and they went off onto another part of the dance floor together. I watched as Ethan playfully did the shimmy dance with her resulting in Reece laughing endlessly.
The song switched to a slower one and I tended when Nathan grabbed softly from behind. "Thank you," he said lowly but confidently. I turned around and looked him in the eyes,
"For what?" I questioned.
"For everything," he answered simply. He leaned down to meet my lips and kissed me slowly to the music, making us the only non moving ones on the dance floor. I began dancing slowly during he kiss and he followed once I pulled away.
"This is your night, lets make the most of it, yeah?" I suggested and he smiled widely at me, nodding with his curly hair flopping around. I chuckled and continued to dance the night away with the boy who holds my heart in the palm of his hand. I couldn't help but notice every detail of him in the moment, almost as if time slowed down and I finally had a chance to observe him in his happy state. His right dimple was deeper than the left one but everything else about him was symmetrical. A perfect human being. His shirt cling onto his muscles effortlessly and I noticed a few new tattoos on his left forearm and right wrist. I took a mental note to ask him about those later, I wanted to know the story behind them.
The night went on with each of us being absorbed into the endless opportunities the night held. After dancing with Nathan, we joined the group and continued to have a few more drinks and talking to each other about pointless things that didn't matter. The night also ended with a very drunk Ethan but an adorable one.
"Happy birthday to one of my best friends, and don't tell the rest of them but you're probably my favourite best friend," Ethan said to Nathan as he held onto his shoulders— having the rest of the boys literally in front of him. "You've helped me through the worst of worst and I could never pay you back for what you've done for me," us girls aw'd at that part of his speech. "I love you Nate," he said honestly and Nathan hugged him tightly, patting his back and saying his 'I love you' back. "To Nate!" Ethan finished off by saying and we all took a shot. "And you Thalia," he started off by saying after his shot. "You take care of him okay? I know you will cause you're an angel like a literal one, but he's fragile okay? Proceed with care." He pointed a finger at me and I chuckled nodding at me.
"Aye aye captain," I responded and he grinned at me.
"That's my girl." He side hugged me then continued chatting with everyone else. I was so indulged in the moment that I didn't realize Megan and James were watching from afar. My eyes focused on them more and they saw me staring, resulting in them smiling at me which didn't make me feel good at all.
"What's wrong?" Nathan asked me, noticing my shift in moods. I didn't want to ruin his night so I pushed away the weird feeling I was getting from Megan and James.
"Nothing, I was just thinking," I replied as I smiled up at him.
"You can't lie to me, I can see straight through you Thalia." He said calmly and I sighed, nodding my head towards James' direction. I kept my eyes on Nathan as he spotted James but Megan was no longer beside him. Nathan's eyes focused then he looked away from him. "Stay near me at all times, okay?" He demanded and I nodded. "And no more drinks." He added, and I mentally cursed at myself for being the one to ruin his night. Now he had his guard up,
"I'm sorry for ruining your night," I said to him and he shook his head at me.
"You didn't, you're the only thing making this night something worth remembering." He pushed away my apology.
"I'm getting bad vibes from him, I feel weird,
I don't know." I muttered, not knowing how to explain my feelings at the moment.
"He's gone," I looked up at Nathan once he said that.
"What do you mean?" I asked and he nodded his head in the direction where James once stood.
He was gone from that spot and out of sight completely.
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{ not edited whoops }
Hope y'all liked this one!! It's currently 2am for me and I've been writing this all night so, please tell me you somewhat enjoyed it sksksk.
Thank you all for reading! ❤️
Me currently ^ goodnight love you all