my current hyperfixation

summary: you’ve always loved xavier thorpe from a distance and jump in front of an arrow to save him. gender neutral pronouns <3

word count: 1.6k

warnings: mentions of blood and being wounded, some swearing

The wind and heat from the fire swirling around in the air pull you from the siren song's hold on your mind. The noise from the fight unfolding around you must have been louder than the siren’s message.

You blink a few times before realizing you’re in the quad, following a few of the people on your hall away from the courtyard.

You freeze when you see what you can only assume to be Joseph Crackstone resurrected from the dead among the flames with Wednesday. Your friends are calling to you from the door to your left, but you ignore them when you notice Xavier arrive in the doorway just a few strides away.

He releases the arrow from his bow and you follow it with your eyes to see Crackstone stop it before it reaches him and slowly rotate it back around towards Xavier.

There was no time to think. You can remember hearing your friends screams behind you as you took a step towards Xavier. Then another and another until you were running as fast as you could.

With your telekinesis, you push Wednesday out of the arrow’s path to safety. The last thing you remember thinking was if this kills me, at least I’m dying for the boy I love. You planted your feet square in front of Xavier, immediately feeling a sharp pain in your shoulder that knocks the wind from your lungs and warm blood spilling down your body.

Then your mind went black. When you came to, your back was pressed into Xavier’s chest and you were laying between his legs on the concrete. You must have fallen into him. His breathing was frantic against you and you felt his hands come to the arrow in your left shoulder. You winced in pain and heard a thousand panicked “oh my gods” and “sorrys” fall from his lips.

“Break it,” you whispered through gritted teeth, in pain. It was too deep to pull out, plus you were afraid of making the wound worse.

“Okay, okay,” he breathed in your ear before snapping the thin wood to shorten the arrow.

“Wednesday?” you manage to ask him. He knows what you mean. “She’s okay,” he whispers.

Xavier shifts behind you, using his hands on your back to lay you down gently. He leaves a large hand cradling under your head that silently says I’m not leaving as he calls out to your friend while he kneels next to you.

“Wednesday!” he yells.

“Get them out of here!” you hear Wednesday return.

And before you can protest, Xavier is lifting you off the group with one arm under your knees and the other around your back holding you to his chest. You probably could have walked but he didn’t stop to ask.

In the safety of his arms, your adrenaline wears off and your eyes become heavy as your vision blurs. You try mumbling something to him but you can’t get it out because you’re passing out.

——————

A consistent beep pulls you out of your sleep. You become aware that you’re alive before noticing the sound of a pencil being dragged across paper and a hand grazing over it.

Then you remember and you shift in the sheets of the hospital bed.

When you open your eyes, you see Xavier Thorpe leaned over you with an expression you’ve never seen in his green eyes.

“Welcome back,” he says quietly. You smile the best you can.

“The doctors said you’ll be fine after your stitches heal. They had to remove the arrow in surgery.”

You exhale the breath you’d been holding in. This might be the most words he’s ever said to you directly. And even in your current circumstance where you should obviously be more worried about the gaping wound in your shoulder, you can’t help the butterflies that erupt in your stomach at his proximity to you.

“I’m supposed to call the nurse the second you wake up,” he says, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“Will you wait?” you ask, “just a few minutes?”

“Yeah of course,” he says as he sits back down in the seat he’d pulled up inches from your bed.

You follow him with your eyes and notice dozens of drawings littering the table by your bed. He must have been here for hours. Long enough to steal a little notepad and pencil from the nurse’s station and bring every corner of the hospital room to life. You hope he’ll let you keep the one of the bouquet of flowers.

Your breath hitches when you notice there’s one of you with your face tucked into a book, reading intently. This is probably the only way he’s seen you. You realize you’re wrong when your eyes find another of you sitting with your gaze on to a desk, eyebrows dipped together in concentration. You’re scribbling notes with one hand while your chin is tucked into your other palm. One that looked like you standing in line at the Weathervane and another of you walking with Enid and Yoko. He had been trying to draw every memory he had of you.

A comfortable silence falls between you as you pray he won’t ask the obvious question you’ve been dreading since you took the first step in his direction back in the courtyard.

He whispers your name gently, bringing you back to the room and you know it’s coming.

“Why the hell did you do that?” he asks. Not accusatory or upset, but genuine and dumbfounded.

You close your eyes, too shy to meet his gaze when you answered.

“Come on Xavier, you know why,” you say as you sit up in the bed, wincing a little at the lingering pain.

It’s true, he’s noticed your glances and the way your cheeks flushed at the littlest thing he did or said. He lost track of the times he’d looked in your direction and caught you gazing at him from behind your book. You always complimented his mural in the quad or his drawings in class even though he feels like he’s never reciprocated the attention you give him. He actually can’t even think of a time he’s spoken to you individually and not in a group.

He blinks, a surprised expression painting his features, letting your words settle in his mind, confirming his suspicion. He exhales a long breath.

“Yeah, but jumping in front of me like that…” he trails off, still in shock that you would do something like that for him. “Why didn’t you just move the arrow instead of Wednesday?”

“It’s harder to focus on a moving object. I’m still learning that,” you explain, although that had actually not even occurred to you in the moment. Your brain went straight to protect. He must have been thinking about it a lot.

He nods in understanding. Another silence falls between you, this time a little more uncomfortable. You can feel a weird energy coming from him as it looks like he’s grappling with some thoughts.

“It’s okay Xavier,” you start, reaching a hand out to where his rested on the table by your bed trying to assure him, “you don’t have to feel the same.”

“Are you kidding?” he asks, eyebrows raised in astonishment. “You think I could watch you do something like that and then not immediately regret not noticing you sooner?”

You blush.

“I feel like an idiot,” Xavier says, dropping his head and lowering his gaze to his lap.

“No Xavier please don’t feel bad,” you plead. “I could have tried just talking you like a normal person you know.”

He laughs, bringing his head back up to meet yours.

“That was quite an unconventional way of getting my attention,” he jokes.

“It worked though,” you kid back at him, smiling to yourself.

Another silence lingers between you as you look at each other for what feels like the first time.

“Can I keep that?” you ask him, eyes gesturing to the drawing of the vase of flowers.

“You can have whatever you want,” he says confidently, handing you the scrap of paper. “I’ll get you some real ones one day.”

“I like these,” you smile at him.

“I’m sorry this is our first date,” he blurts out. Your shocked eyes dart to meet his green ones staring at you.

“And what makes you think I would have said yes to a date?” you joke with him, a feeble attempt to deflect. You’re finding it way easier to talk to him than you ever imagined previously.

“Hmm, maybe the jumping between me and an arrow thing,” he quips, bringing his finger to point at your bandaged up shoulder.

You smile and nod, admitting defeat.

“I promise I’ll make it up to you on our second date,” Xavier begins and you believe him. “But since we have a lot of time here before they let you go, I could go get us some coffees and you’ll let me ask you all the typical first date getting-to-know-you questions while we wait?”

“I’d love that,” you say breathlessly.

Xavier nods and gives you his toothy side smile that you’ve always adored.

“Okay, I’ll be right back then,” he says quickly, standing from his chair.

But when you expected him to turn and go, he stops and looks at you for a few moments. You can’t believe it when he leans in to your space and presses his lips gently against your cheek. Your eyes close with his kiss and you inhale a deep breath.

“Thank you,” he whispers into your ear before pulling away.

You can’t find words when he glances at you before leaving, but your adoring eyes are filled with you’re welcome and I would do it again and I love you and Xavier finally sees that.

—————