lia

Oh that’s right. When you let Sebastian walk you home, win you over with a mean step-daddy sob story, and then practically break into your house to get you all worked up. Just for him to leave you there. You know you’re a little harsh on him in your mind, and you know it was a bit more collaborative than you’ve framed it to yourself. However, hating him is the only way to not hate yourself when every time your phone rings you pray it’ll be his number. Did you imagine it? He insisted on walking you home. He kissed you. He promised you a ‘next time’. So why wasn’t he calling?

To be fair…You haven’t been throwing yourself into his presence either. You’ve spent the past week or so staying mostly on your farm. You’ve tended to your crops, hoping the attention will yield a stronger harvest than you’ve ever had. At least, that’s what you tell Pierre when you run in for a few items and he asks where you’ve been. You don’t dare near the mountains, and you’ve especially avoided the saloon each evening.

Of course, he wasn’t bound to vanish from your life no matter how much you wished. You were connected in ways other than your almost-one-night-stand. Abigail, the only person in this town you’re able to call your friend yet, just happens to have grown up attached to Sebastian’s hip. You haven’t risked trying to see your friend. Abigail does not make it easy though.

You hadn’t seen her since last Friday, and it had been just over a week now. It was Saturday, and after another day of tending to your plants, you got into your farm to your phone ringing. Once you pick up the phone, you realize this wasn’t the first time she’d called you within the hour.

“Finally! God…What does a girl have to do to get you on the phone in the first few rings? Actually, what does a girl have to do to get you to come hangout just once? Because that’s clearly a much harder feat.” You laugh softly at Abigail’s whining tone. Your mind soon starts to swamp with guilt. Abigail was your friend too and while temporarily cutting her out of the picture had seemed reasonable at first, you realize that it’s not entirely fair. Especially not when you haven’t even told her why you’ve been holding yourself up on the farmland all week.

“I know, I know! I’m sorry Abby, I just haven’t been feeling that well lately.” You feel a little bad lying to her, but you know that you can’t fill her in on something like this over the phone.

“Are you sure? Because I think something weird is going on here. You know, it gets really aggravating just hanging out with Sam for days in a row?” Your eyebrows raise, not quite understanding what she means.

“Who’s making you hang out with Sam so much?”

“Oh wow I wonder!” Abigail snorts sarcastically into the phone. “Maybe the people who seem to be ditching me every chance they get now.” People? Plural? “You leave me with Sam at the saloon last Friday and now you leave me to hangout with him by myself all the time. You and Sebastian are the worst. Whatever you caught, you must’ve given it to him. Or the other way around. But you better be feeling better by now. I miss you Y/N.”

So you weren’t the only one hiding out. Clearly Sebastian had the same idea as you and as hypocritical as it may be, that makes your blood boil. At least now you can finally see your friend without fear that he’ll be there.

“I know. I miss you too Abs…Why don’t I come over in a bit? I just need to shower and change.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Please don’t take too long though. I think I’ll die of boredom if I have to hear one more ridiculous band name from Sam. I mean seriously, what is ‘Valley Vultures’?” A laugh bubbles up in your throat as you say goodbye to your friend. As much effort as you had put into avoiding Sebastian, it certainly wasn't enjoyable. You’re quite pleased to be able to go out somewhere without that stress.

After a quick shower, you throw on a tank top and a comfortable pair of jeans. You aren’t trying to look your best, just look presentable enough to feel good about yourself. Satisfied with what you see in the mirror, you leave to walk down to the General Store.

When you finally get to the shop, you give Pierre a polite smile. He tells you to just head straight into her room. You don’t expect her to completely jump on you once you push open the door.

“Y/N! Finally! I was starting to think you were gonna ditch me.” Abigail puts a huffy frown on her face and you roll your eyes at the childish behavior.

“Oh relax, I barely took half an hour.” You throw yourself onto a bean bag chair in the corner of her room and let out an exaggerated sigh. Abigail nudges you over and joins you, resting her head on your shoulder sweetly.

“Are you going to tell me what’s been going on then? I’m not stupid. I know that even if you were sick you’d still make yourself fish and mine and every stupid thing you shouldn’t do if you’re ill.” Your nose scrunches up as your friend calls you out and you slap your hands over your face in frustration.

“Okay…Fine. Maybe there was something going on…But Abby if I tell you about this I need you to not freak out. I need you to remain calm and talk some sense into me, because if you don’t I think I might go insane.”

“Jeez, alright. I promise I’ll stay calm. Now what’s up?” As soon as you open your mouth to spill your guts to your friend, you’re interrupted by a very unwanted call from the other room.

“Abigail! Your other friends are here!”

Shit. Before you can even turn to ask Abby what friends her dad is talking about, her bedroom door busts open. In walks the face you’ve spent days hiding from. The face that was so comforting you wanted to stare at it for hours. The face that has been avoiding you just as much.

“Hey Abs. Sorry we took so long we-” Sebastian’s words catch in his throat as he spots you sitting beside the host. You feel blood rush to your cheeks, and your eyes jump to look anywhere else but at him.

Sam smacks Sebastian on the shoulder, “Dude?” Sam rolls his eyes. He turns towards Abby, who has now stood up to greet them, leaving you feeling completely bare and defenseless on your bean bag. “We ran into Mayor Lewis on the way and the old man wouldn’t let us go without giving us a hearty talk on ‘respecting the sleep of those who actually work here,’” Sam groans out in a mock Lewis voice. He throws his jacket onto Abigail’s bed and takes a seat. Sebastian stays standing awkwardly. “Y/N, as someone who ‘actually works’, me and Seb are sincerely sorry if we disturbed you last night by sitting out by the lake and talking.”

Your attention snaps back at your name and you force out a dry laugh. Your mind is racing Talking? Talking about what?

“You should be sorry, I didn’t sleep a wink,” you throw Sam a playful smile, and pray he doesn’t see through it to the panic beneath. By now Sebastian has sat himself awkwardly on the floor beside Abigail’s bed as she’s reclaimed her spot next to you, now fumbling with the T.V. remote.

Sam and Abby continue to banter and argue over what movie to put on, both of them seemingly clueless to the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. As you hear them settle on some bad horror movie, you finally buck up enough courage to glance Sebastian’s way. You nearly fall out of your seat as you find him staring at you. You don’t know how long his gaze has rested on you, but now that you’ve found it you can’t seem to pull yourself away. Abby stands to turn off the lights for the movie. Even through the darkness, you can see the emotion his eyes hold.

The movie starts, and Sebastian finally looks away from you. You force yourself to refocus your attention on the television as well. You don’t find it all that interesting, but Abigail is scared out of her mind. For someone with such a tough exterior, she sure does spook easily. She clings tightly to your arm, her nails digging sharply into your skin with every jump scare and shriek. Eventually, you get tired of it and pry her fingers off of you, scooching yourself onto the floor. Sitting much closer to Sebastian now, you can’t help but notice as he scoots a couple of inches into your direction.

You do your best to ignore him and focus on the cheesy movie playing on the screen. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Sebastian’s phone illuminate his face. A moment later, yours buzzes in your pocket. You bite down on your lip and curse your curiosity.

‘Y/N can we please talk?’

You try not to audibly scoff at the message. You shoot a glare his way, but he’s pretending to be suddenly infatuated with the film.

‘We’re watching a movie with our friends, it is not the time for you to finally reach out, Seb.’ You feel the sting of your words as you hit send, but you can’t help it. Everything was easy before him. He just had to go and mess it all up, without the decency to even send a call your way.

Curiosity comes over you. You peek over at Sebastian to see his reaction. You watch him read your message and turn to you, a scowl on his face. You snap your head back forward, and roll your eyes. Buzz.

‘Come on Y/N. It’s not like you were blowing up my phone either. I didn’t know what you wanted me to do.’ A frustrated sigh escapes you as you skim over the new message.

‘Then maybe you should’ve asked.’ As you send this next message, you look up again to meet his eyes. Your gaze softens as you see the look of genuine guilt fall on his face. He purses his lips before you see him clearly mouth out the words ‘I’m sorry’ to you. Your heart is beating out of your chest now.

“Shit, my mom wants me to call her. I’ll be right back,” Sebastian tells the group. He looks at you and gives you a small nod towards the door. He steps out of the room, and you wait a minute before excusing yourself to go to the bathroom. Sam raises an eyebrow, and throws Abby a suspicious look. Doing your best to ignore them, you get up and leave the room, shutting the door softly behind you. Sebastian is waiting for you in the hallway, and as soon as he sets his eyes on you, he opens his mouth to speak. Words fail to come out.

“I’m sorry for being so pissed,” You mutter out as you lean on the wall beside him. “I was just kinda bummed you hadn’t called yet.” Sebastian is staring at the ground in front of him, a frown gracing his face.

“I don’t…normally do things…like that. I thought I probably freaked you out. I’m sorry Y/N.” Still refusing to look at you, he gently reaches to take your hand in his own. Any lingering frustration has quickly left you and you don’t know what to say.

Carefully choosing your words before you say them, you quietly whisper, “Would you like to do things ‘like that’ again sometime then…?” His eyes jump to meet yours and his mouth falls slightly open. He slowly nods at you and his lips curl up into a smile. He steps in front of you, putting his hand on your waist and pushing you fully against the wall. He leans in close to your ear and you bite your lip tightly.

“Go back in there…I’ll come back in a few. Then tonight, once we all leave…I’ll meet you at the back. And I promise to shut off my phone when I do.” Heat courses through your body as he presses one solid kiss to the side of your face before pushing you back towards Abigail’s bedroom door and shooing you away.

Abby and Sam’s eyes both burn holes into your back as you reenter the room and sit back down on the ground. You stare straight at the TV screen, though you’re hardly paying attention to what’s going on in the film. True to his word, Sebastian comes back in a couple minutes after you. He sits down beside you, far closer than he was before. You watch him glance around the room to make sure your friends are both paying full attention to the movie before he brings his hand up the back of your shirt. You shiver at its cold temperature as he rubs slow circles on your lower back.

As he came up the stairs, a light aroma of stale cigarettes followed him. You almost let out a snort thinking, of course this guy is a smoker. And that’s when your eyes met. It was only for a second, but it felt far longer. A lack of recognition flickered across his face, and his eyebrows furrowed for just a moment.

“Sebastian! It was about time you came up from down there. Have you met Y/N? She just moved into that old farm past the bus stop…It was your grandfather’s right hon?” You turn to Robin and see her smiling face, clearly expectant for you to speak up and properly introduce yourself to her lonesome son.

“Yeah…I wanted a break from the city..” You say, shooting a shy smile in Sebastian’s direction. You didn’t expect him to let out a surprised laugh.

“You left the city? To come here? Pelican Town?” His voice carried disbelief as he raised his eyebrows and looked you up and down. You felt the hairs stand up on your arms at the feeling of being closely examined by the stranger. “Well, have fun with that,” He says sarcastically before turning back on his way to the kitchen.

“Sebastian, don't be rude!” Robin called off after him while letting out a small, exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry about him Y/N…He isn’t a social butterfly that's for sure. Now where were we?” She gives you a polite smile as she changes the subject back to business.

“Oh, Horse stables I believe?”

“That’s right! Now if you don’t get a horse soon, you’re going to be doing a lot of walking around town…” As she continues to talk, her words start registering less and less. You continue to glance in the direction that the mysterious boy walked off to, wondering if he was nearly as interested in you as you were in him.

Next, it was a smoke.

You had finished up a long day in the mines, and too exhausted to continue, you were headed home. It was around 9 PM, and the cool air refreshed your skin. You only got to breathe in the fresh air for a moment though, as the smell of cigarette smoke soon followed. You looked around for the source until you saw Sebastian, standing under a tree with a lit cigarette in his fingers. He hasn’t noticed you yet, so he just looks out across the lake, lost in thought. The peaceful look on his face as he takes another puff puts a small smile on your face.

“Does your mommy know you smoke?” You call out to him teasingly as you walk towards him. He jumped a little, surprised that he was no longer alone.

“It’s not a secret…But I doubt she’s noticed,” He says to you with a sad smile. You tilt your head at the remark. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out an open pack of Marlboros. He holds it out, offering for you to take one. You hesitate for a moment, but as your eyes look up to meet him, the decision is made for you. You take one out of the pack and place it between your lips. He takes out his lighter, and you lean in for him to light it. With the bright flame illuminating his face, you see his teeth biting down gently on his lip, his eyes intently looking down on you. The light is replaced with the smaller one at the end of your cigarette.

A minute of silence and a few deep inhales pass before you decide to find out a little more about the guy standing beside you. His presence is quiet, yet striking.

“So…Sebastian. Do you do anything other than live in your mom’s basement and sneak out at night to smoke?” You ask him. The corners of his mouth twist up into what you might just mistake for a playful grin.

“I’m a software developer. Sometimes video games. And for your information, I’m saving up to get out of my mom's basement,” His words are feisty, but his tone is playful. “What about you? What did you do before you decided to take on the wilderness?”

You let out a small laugh before replying, “Just a boring desk job…Now I get to spend my day chopping down trees and fighting monsters, so in my book it’s an upgrade.” Sebastian smiles, not just at your words, but at you. He puts out his cigarette against the tree that you’re standing against. He takes yours from between your fingers and takes a drag from it, before handing it back to you.

“I should get back inside. I have a project I have to finish by the morning…”

“Oh yeah, you go do that,” You ramble quietly, disappointed your time together had to end so soon.

Sebastian starts to turn back to his house before glancing back and saying, “It was nice hanging out with you.”

“Yeah, you too,” you reply, thankful the dark is covering the blush rising to your cheeks.

Lastly, all it took was being at the right place at the right time.

It was Friday night, and everyone was gathered at the saloon as they usually are. You sat next to Abigail as you both watched Sebastian and Sam in a heated pool match. Still being relatively new in town, you were happy to make a quick friend in the purple haired girl who you had bonded with over animals and music.

“Aw come on Seb, is that the best you can got?” Taunts Sam after making a shot. Sam, who is losing by a landslide. You laugh and take a sip from the Joja Cola in your hand that Abigail had brought you.

“God this stuff is disgusting…” You say just to yourself as you place the can on the floor.

“I know right…I don’t know how Sam drinks that stuff.” You look up at Sebastian, not realizing he had been listening. He greets you with a stupid smile that makes your heart do a little flip.

“Come on Sebastian, eyes on the prize. I have five dollars riding on this round. Sam was that cocky he could win. Bring it home, man,” Abigail urges, not realizing she had interrupted a moment between the two of you.

As the game carried on, it was down to Sebastian’s last shot, as Sam still had a couple balls left to go.

“Hey Y/N, why don’t you take my last shot for me? I’m tired of making every single one myself.” You look up at the mention of your name. Sam groans at the trash talk, but you know that wasn’t Sebastian’s actual intentions with his offer.

“Oh I’ve never really played before…” You hesitate as you stand up and get closer to the table, examining the table closer.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help.” Sebastian hands you the cue stick. He moves to stand behind you, his hand positioning yours on the stick. He’s so close to you, his chin is practically resting on your shoulder. As he adjusts your aim and informs you which pocket he wants you to go for, you feel his breath warming your ear.

“Just…like…that.” He finally helps you pull back and take the shot. The ball collides with the 8 ball and pushes it to roll right where you needed it. You smile gleefully as you realize you made the shot, and just won Sebastian the game. You drop the stick on the table as Sebastian pulls your shoulder around to face him and offers you up a high five. Your hands collide and he interlocks his fingers with yours and shakes you a little. “See? Even Y/N, who’s never touched a pool stick in her life can kick your ass Sam!” You laugh as Sam curses Sebastian out and slams a five dollar bill into Abigail’s palm.

“On that note, I should really get home. I have to wake up early,” you say, causing Abigail to groan and beg you to stay a little longer.

“I have to get going too. I’ll walk you,” Sebastian says. His words reminiscent of an offer, but his voice makes it clear you don’t really have a choice.

“Well alright then…” You say goodnight to everyone and head out towards the door with Sebastian following closely behind you. You swear you hear Sam say something with your and Sebastian’s names, causing Abigail to cackle out. You look up to see if Sebastian noticed, and if he did, he showed no sign of it.

“You know, that was pretty great back there. You sure you’ve never played before? You might just be a natural.” The cold air nips at your skin as you step outside. The sun had set since you’d first got to the Saloon, and your outfit was not suited for the cool temperature. Without saying anything about it, Sebastian wraps his arm around you. He grabs your arm and rubs it, trying to warm you up.

“Maybe I’m secretly a world champion, and we just completely conned Sam back there,” you joke, trying to ignore his touch and proximity. “You know you don’t have to walk me all the way back to the farm right? It’s really out of your way.”

“I don’t mind. I’ll just make sure you get there safe and then head home.” His words make you smile and you immediately feel like an idiot. Don’t make it more than it is…Anyone would offer to do the same thing, you tell yourself. But that doesn’t stop your heart beat from quickening.

You spend the rest of the walk getting to know each other a little better. He tells you about how when he was little, it was just him and his mom. Then she met Demitrius when he came to do a study on the aquatic animals in Pelican Town. You tell him about your grandfather, and how badly you want to return his farm to its former glory in his memory. You exchange jokes and stories, and before you know it, you’re at your front porch. You take a couple of steps up onto the porch and turn to face him below you.

“Thanks for walking me home,” you know he can see your dumb smile under the porchlight, but you’ve long stopped caring.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re new here…New things are exciting.”

Before you can stop yourself, you say to him, “I excite you?” As the words leave your mouth you regret it, knowing he probably found it weird. To your surprise, his eyebrows raise and he steps up the stairs to meet you at your level. No longer having the higher ground, whatever freak confidence made you ask him that question has disappeared. Sebastian places his hand on the side of your face. His touch is warm, and it contrasts the cold air strikingly. He stands there looking down at you for a few moments, silent.

“Yeah…I guess you could say that.” Before you even realize what’s happening he leans down and presses his lips gently against yours. You let yourself lean into the soft kiss before he pulls away, staying just an inch away from you. “In fact, you could probably say anything right now and it would go in one ear and out the other.” He leans back in. This time, he is half as gentle. He places his other hand on the side of your waist, and you feel him playing with the hem of your shirt. The kiss is heated and his lips part, allowing your tongue to meet him. He tastes like cigarettes and soda, a taste that is surprisingly delightful. Your hands are on his chest, and the feeling of his heart beating under your fingers is thrilling.

He backs you up against the front door, and you fumble in your pocket for your keys, not daring to break away from him just yet. As you finally grab onto your house key, he takes it from you. He keeps you held up against the door in front of him as he jams the key into the lock and twists it. He reaches for the door knob and opens it behind you. You grab onto his torso and pull him with you as you step back into your house. His lips press back onto yours, hungry for you.

You break away to go sit on your couch as he shuts and locks the door. He comes and sits beside you. Gone from his eyes is the look of pure lust you saw just moments ago. It’s been replaced by something softer, more sensitive.

“You’re so fucking pretty. You know that right?” He’s examining you closely as he reaches to touch your hair. He wraps it around his finger and twirls it as he looks at you.

“Well I would hope you wouldn’t come barging into my house like this with me if you thought I was hideous,” you laugh, and he shakes his head at you.

“Yeah, you’re definitely far from it.” Just like that, his lips are on you again. He presses a soft kiss onto your lips, and you almost frown as you feel him leaving until he places another on your jawline. He pulls your hair out his way and continues to press kisses down your neck, getting more sloppy as he goes. Your breathing quickens and you grab at his hair, curling your fingers up in it. He reaches your collarbone, and you feel him nip and suck it it, surely forming a mark you’ll have to cover up the next day. Finally he leans back, his eyes scanning you, admiring his work. You can’t do anything but sit there and stare at Sebastian. You feel drunk on his touch, high on his smiling face.

You never want this night to end, especially as he leans back into your lips, kissing you softly. His lips are clinging to yours and he grabs at your neck, his hand pulling you into him. His other hand begins traveling, grasping at your breast gently over your shirt and cupping it in his hand. You let out a soft moan into his lips, desperate for him to keep going.

Right as you feel him trail his hand to the bottom of your shirt, you’re interrupted by a loud ringing.

“Fuck.” Your mouth gapes open with a frown, missing his kisses. You lift your knees up to your chest and sit back as you watch him grab his phone from his pocket and let out a groan. “Shit…It’s my mom. I’m sorry Y/N, just give me a second.” He rests his hand on your knee as he holds the phone up to his ear. You take the moment to reflect on the absurd string of events that took place. His eyes fall on you with a look that you can only describe as pity. Your stomach drops and you purse your lips tightly.

“Yeah…Alright. I’ll be back there soon.” You let out a disappointed him as he hangs up the phone and puts it back in his pocket.

“Y/N…”

“Go ahead. Don’t worry about it.” You give him a small smile, trying your best to mask your disappointment.

“My sister is upset about something probably incredibly stupid…And she needs me home to help deal because Demetrius is on some goddamn work trip.” You nod along as he talks, wishing he would stop looking at you with such apologetic eyes. “Fuck…I really would’ve liked to stay longer. You’re really…” His words trail off and he shakes his head. He grabs the back of your head and pulls you in for one last, long, deep kiss. With that, he stands up to go, leaving the couch empty beside you. He gets to the front door, and turns back to you one last time.

“Next time,” He says, giving you a cheeky smile that makes your brain go blank. You’re barely aware until you hear the door shut behind him. Now you’re sitting there, clutching your knees, completely dumbfounded. Because what the fuck just happened. And what the hell does ‘Next time’ mean?

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