"see, my dad gets a lot of promotions. he works for some realtor business, so we constantly move from place to place. i've never been in the same area for more than a few years, but he told me we're staying in new york for a while, so you won't be getting rid of me anytime soon," she teased, trying to lighten up the mood.
michael scoffed playfully, nudging her shoulder with his. "dammit."
"hey, watch it clifford. anyway, there was this kid in florida named ashton. he was mysterious in a way, kind of reserved and quiet, but he had loud thoughts. he treated me like a princess, but i didn't want that back then. i wanted sex, and nothing but. i didn't care for a relationship. he told me he loved me after we had been seeing each other for a few months. we weren't dating or anything, but we just hooked up a lot."
devon paused, and michael urged her to continue. "then what?"
she sighed, and a sad look returned to her face. "i didn't know what to say to him. i didn't love him, that much i was sure of, so when my dad told me we were moving to new york, i packed my bags and left without a word. i'm such a coward." she buried her face in her hands, not daring to look up at michael.
"but you're always so tough and...sassy. you're nothing but a coward. sure, you could be a bitch sometimes, but your intentions are good." michael tried comforting her, rubbing her back slowly.
devon shook her head. "i've changed since then. i always put on this big girl act, but i only want to feel love. everyone who's in love always talks about how great it is and how happy they are and i want that happiness. i just want to be happy."
michael thought for a minute, enjoying this new side to her. "well you don't have to start by falling in love with a person, per say. are there any hobbies that you love?"
she scoffed. "making fun of people." the two of them chuckled together, and the tension between them seemed to vanish. after a prolonged silence, devon spoke again. "you know what, clifford? you might be strange and oddly sensitive, but you're actually not that bad."
"thanks, peterson."
there was another long silence, but it wasn't awkward. in fact, it was the comfortable kind of silence where they both simply thought about one another. they were at the stage where they were realizing that the other wasn't so bad.
"hey, look, i know this is gonna sound weird, but is it okay if i had your number? i mean, just for emergencies and stuff," devon asked suddenly, pulling her phone out of her bag as if she already knew his answer.
michael looked at her in wonder. "of course." after the two exchanged numbers, they parted ways like old friends.
but they merely avoided talking to each other at therapy, just eyeing each other once in a while and giving the occasional smile. the first time that michael ever received a call from devon was the following saturday, and he was struggling to keep himself awake when his phone buzzed.
he glanced at the clock. who would call at 12:06 am? he picked up the phone immediately after he saw the caller id, and he heard devon's panicked voice coming from the other line.
"michael? michael, i'm in trouble." he heard the clicking of heels walking down the street in the background.
"what's wrong?" michael asked, creasing his forehead in concern.
"i...i don't know what happened and it all happened so fast anyway and... can you just pick me up please? i'm by this park somewhere and it's close to downtown and i'm not exactly sure - "
"i'll be there," he answered, hanging up the phone and rushing downstairs as quietly as possible.
after all, the prince was made to save the princess.
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this was so short and crappy idk i'm sorry