a surprising turn of events

i’m not gonna lie sometimes i just throw it all in the washing machine just so i can put off sorting through it all just a bit longer.

That would be a good idea. If it wasn’t for my need to then follow through with the detergent and then starting it. And then I can’t just leave wet clothes around to smell even worse. 

“okay but still! i’m lazy too, but i don’t let my clothes get that bad that they smell! you should just start fresh at this point.”

“That’s because you’re a better person than I am.”

“nate that is - disgusting. wash your clothes!”

“Briar, I am lazy!”

“i felt this…when i come home from dance competitions, it takes me forever to get unpacked.”

“Is it bad if I just... tossed everything and bought new shit.”

I feel like that shouldn’t be something your used to though.

Unfortunately, it is. I never have an interest in unpacking. It’s so... boring. 

i still have bags packed from disney and i can’t even tell you how long ago that was, so don’t even worry.

It’s the no effort, isn’t it. Just... doesn’t seem appealing. 

as much as briar appreciated an entire birthday party just for her and her twin, she despised every moment of it. a couple of her friends were there, sure, but in general, it was all just too much for her to handle. she was wandering around, trying to keep to herself as much as possible, her hands  slipping into the sleeves of her shirt, a habit she picked up in her most anxious times. as briar weeded through the crowd, she noticed a familiar face, one that she knew she could feel okay around. “hey,” she spoke quietly, placing her covered hand over his forearm, smiling softly, i didn’t know you were comin’, ----

Nate wasn't entirely too sure why he was currently standing against the wall in a room full of people he didn't really know. Really, he had just stopped by to drop off Briars present and wish her a happy birthday, but then her brother was ushering him in. That was twenty minutes ago and now, with a drink in his hand, since he hadn't seen the other half of the birthday duo just yet, he was ready to dip out. Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't notice someone come up to him until he heard the soft voice, eyes instantly glancing down at Briar. A smile came to his face automatically as she came into focus. "Hey. I... wasn't really planning on it. Just wanted to drop this off for you but then your brother pulled me in and now... I'm here." he shrugged, pointing down to the small bag that sat between his feet on the floor. "Happy birthday, by the way." ----

briar blushed softly as she realized her action, removing her hand from his arm, tucking her head down just slightly, "oh - yeah, he's persuasive sometimes," she shrugged, bringing a hand up to push her hair back, "you don't need to stay if you don't want to, i can't force you to be somewhere even i don't want to be," briar laughed, her words a slight joke. briar finally caught up to his words, glancing down to the small bag between his feet, "gosh - you didn't need to get me anything! - but thank you and thank you for coming, even if you were slightly forced into it," the small girl laughed again, finally glancing up to him. ---

Nate laughed, nodding his head. "Besides, couldn't say no to him; what would I do if you heard I said no to seeing you on your birthday? I wouldn't survive." He grinned, reaching down to grab the bag. "I actually got it for you a while ago, during one of the last stops of the tour." He shrugged, face going warm at the confession. He cleared his throat, looking at her. "You wanna go out back, get some fresh air and open it?" ---

briar couldn't help but blush at his words, shaking her head, "oh hush, you would've been fine," she teased, giggling softly. "you've - had it for that long? it's - it's been like a month," she spoke quietly, clearly surprised by what he was admitting, her eyebrows knitting together slightly. "- yeah, sure, sounds much better than being in here," briar agreed, nodding a few times, her eyes glancing back over to the slight crowd of people littering the living room. ---

“I saw it in a window and next thing I knew I was walking out with it all wrapped in a box. Could t pass it up.” He muttered, switching the bag to the hand that held his drink, before taking her hand in his now free hand. “Figured as much. Come on.” He said, guiding her throw the throng of people towards where he figured her back door was. ---

"oh my gosh," she shook her head, still giggling slightly, "you really didn't need to get me anything. occasion or no -" briar tried to remind him, but soon cut her own words off at his action, unable to even process anything but his hand in her own. she gripped onto it lightly, only tightening as they got closer to the groups of people. when they made it outside, she let out an audible sigh, thankful for the fresh air, and the somewhat quiet. ---

Nate bit back at a smile as her protest fell on deaf ears, maneuvering through the crowd. Finally outside he took a deep breath of the fresh air for himself. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle the crowd; being around a bunch of strangers wasn’t his most ideal situation. “Better, isn’t it?” He question, eyes moving from the sight in front of them to the girl beside him. ---

briar nodded her head slowly, her hand still holding onto his own, knowing she was probably lingering for a bit too long, but she enjoyed the contact, "much - much better," she agreed, taking a few steps ahead of him now, turning her body to face him so she was able to pull him towards the outdoor set she had assembled earlier, "let's sit," briar explained with a happy smile on her face. ---

Nate nodded, following her with his own smile on his face. He sat next to her, placing his drink on the ground before turning to her. Cheeks red, he handed over the bag, unable to look her in the eye as the thought of what was all in the bag went through his mind. “Here. Hope you like it.” He said softly, the words and their translation he said to her weeks ago running through his mind, knowing they were now about to be out in the open any second now. ---

briar took a seat in one of the chairs, bringing her legs up, crossing them underneath her to get a bit more comfortable. “you - really didn’t have to get me anything,” the small girl repeated, her cheeks already beginning to blush as she reached over, taking up the bag. she toyed around with the paper for a moment before she reached in, feeling for the box first, “what is it?” briar asked, giggling quietly while she glanced to him. ---

Shaking his head, Nate laughed. “I’m not telling you. Just open it.” He grinned, fiddling with his fingers as the nerves started to creep up. “There’s a card in there too.” He managed to get out, turning to face her better. ---

briar rolled her eyes jokingly, laughing a bit at his words. she leaned back in the chair, her mouth falling open a bit when he mentioned the card. “oh shoot - i’m rude as hell,” she laughed softly, placing the small box down next to her, fishing around for the card before she found it. briar opened it easily, pulling the paper out to read over. as her green eyes scanned over the words, she couldn’t help but tear up, “i -“ she tried, struggling to find what she wanted to say, “i - is this what - you said to me in the kitchen? when - you first came over?” she asked, her voice soft, almost hesitant. ---

Nate kept quiet, watching her face intently as she read over the card. There was a reason he never translated what he had said to her that day in the kitchen; he was afraid he had overstepped an invisible line that was drawn with what he was said. He let out a breath he didn't know he was hold. "I... yeah. Yeah it is. I meant it then and I mean it even more now." He hesitated for only a milisecond, before reaching over and taking her hand. "You really are one of the most beautiful people I've ever gotten to know, Briar." ----

briar couldn't pull her watery eyes off the words, scanning them over and over again, trying her hardest to keep her tears at bay. though as soon as nate spoke up, she was a goner. a couple of tears slipped out, causing her to drop the card to her lap, wiping them away quickly, "i'm - sorry. i don't - know why i'm crying," she tried to laugh, hoping to distract from her reaction, her fingers curling around his hand as soon as it was placed in her own, "that's just - no one's s - said anything to me like this before. i - really thought you said something dumb about - coffee or - something. but - this - god, i don't have words, i'm - sorry." briar shook her head, tucking it down a bit to wipe at her face again, trying to avoid his gaze for fear of further embarrassment. ---

Nates eyes widened, alarmed. While he was prepared for a slightly emotional reaction, since it wasn’t every day someone called you beautiful, he wasn’t exactly expecting the waterworks. “Shit, Briar I’m... I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He muttered, thinking he did something wrong. He reached out with his other hand, bringing it to her face wiping at the tears from her cheeks. “I just... wanted to ask you out. We can forget all of this if you want. I’m sorry.” ---

briar laughed again shaking her head before turning slightly, letting him wipe away her fallen tears, "no, no," she tried, reaching a hand up to hold onto the hand that was wiping her face, "it's not a bad cry, nate," briar reassured, offering up a small smile, "it's - just - it was sweet. the sweetest. no one - has ever really said something that sweet to me before. i don't know - why i got so emotional, and i'm sorry. it's been a weird day," she tried to explain further, blinking away the remainder of her tears. his next words caught her slightly off guard, somehow she wasn't expecting that, even after reading the card, "a - ask me out?" ---

Nate let out a sigh of relief, glad it wasn’t about to turn out for the worst. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle that, wouldn’t be able to show his face anymore if it did. “Oh okay good. I mean not good you’re crying, I don’t like when you cry. But good I didn’t screw it up yet.” He laughed, hand dropping from her face to take hold of her hands again. He nodded, eyes not leaving her face. “I... I really like you, Briar.” He said with a shrug. “And I would really like to take you out. On a date. Maybe more than one if the first one goes well. If you want.” ---

briar couldn't help but giggle softly, shaking her head as he spoke, "i don't think you ever could - screw it up, i mean," she reassured, giving his hands a soft squeeze. her cheeks heated up very quickly as he continued, unable to keep herself from glancing away, trying to hide her smile, "i -" she started, scrunching her nose up, "i - like you too, a lot, and - i would like that. the first date, and - the one's after, too." briar kept her words quiet, though she was confident in the meaning of what she was saying, she was still slightly afraid to take this step for fear that it would ruin everything they had. ---

“Good. That’s... that’s good.” He said, the grin coming back to his face. Part of him was afraid to ask, the mix of her just going through a break up and  didn’t have the most positive outlook for herself, weighed in the back of his mind that she would say no. But then he had thought about the amount of times she would hide away with him during shows and that gave him to the push to ask, and he was glad he did. “Yeah? You do? This weekend?” ---

briar nodded again, trying to keep her smile as small as she possibly could, though all her efforts were failing rather miserably. “this - weekend sounds perfect,” she agreed, giggling once more. finally, she brought herself to look back up at him, her cheeks still a bright shade of red, the inner corner of her lip now taken between her teeth to try to diminish her smile, “just -“ she started, “if this doesn’t work - the dating thing. can we - or - will we, rather, still be friends? i - don’t want to lose you.” briar admitted, her voice falling slightly as she neared the end of her sentence. ---

nate couldn't help as the grin grew. "Perfect." He muttered, eyes never leaving her face. Though the tears were quite unexpected, that had gone better than he thought it would. Squeezing her hands, he nodded his head. "I meant it when I said you're not going to get rid of me any time soon. Even if it crashes and burns this weekend, I'm still going to be around to call you tiny. But... something tells me we don't have to worry about that." He said, winking at her as he let go of her hands, reaching over and grabbing her actual present. "Here. Open this." ---

briar finally brought herself to look up at him when he spoke up again, nodding her head slowly, "promise?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper now. she knew she could be difficult, with everything she has going on mentally, and she knew that was one of the main downfalls of her previous relationship, which was fine, in a sense. but something about this - her and nate - felt different, he wasn't someone she wanted to risk losing for any reason. briar rose let out yet another giggle as she caught his wink, "fine, fine," she teased with a smile, taking the small box in her hands. she took a breath before she pried it open, immediately her bottom lip jutting out into a pout as her eyed teared up, "you're two for two over here making me frickin' cry," she joked, tilting her head back to look up at the sky for just a second. "it's - beautiful," she whispered, the tip of her finger tracing over the locket. ---

Nate nodded. “I’ll even pinky promise if you want.” He shrugged, incredibly serious. Nate wasn’t entirely sure what it was about Briar that made him want to protect her and do anything for her all the time, but there he was, wanting to do anything and everything in his power to make sure she was always happy. He couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped him, reaching up again to wipe at her tears. “At least this time I know they aren’t sad tears.” He muttered. “Want me to put it on you?” ---

suddenly, briar went serious, though she was trying to fight back her giggles as she did. she stuck her pinky out, narrowing her eyes slightly, “i take pinky promises very seriously,” she spoke, trying to make her voice as low as possible, hoping to make him laugh. as she was running her fingers along the pendant, she felt his hand brush along her cheek and she subconsciously leaned into his touch just slightly. “you could never make me cry sad tears,” briar noted, glancing to him with a small smile on her face. “yes - please,” she nodded a bit too eagerly, scooting herself off the chair to give him a bit of better access to her so he could put it on.September 16, 2020 ---

Nate bit his lip, trying not to laugh at how serious she suddenly got. Nodding his head he followed her lead, sticking his own pinky out and hooking it around hers. “I do too.” He said with another wink before letting go. He grinned, watching as she admired the locket, silently thankful he picked the right sign. “I’m gonna make sure to keep that true.” Taking the pendant from her, he waited till she was turned around before put the necklace around her neck, carefully putting the clasp together. “There. Perfect.” ---

briar squeezed her much smaller pinky around his own, nodding her head once, "good." she stated, trying to keep her serious expression but as soon as he winked - she was melting into a puddle of giggles. "you won't even have to try - you make me too happy to ever make me sad," briar spoke quietly as she turned around, pulling all of her hair to one side to help him get a better view. she took a moment after he put it on, wrapping her fingers around the necklace, "perfect," the small girl repeated, looking down at it. after a couple of seconds, she turned her body around, hesitating a moment before her arms were wrapping around his neck, tucking her head in as she hugged him, "thank you," she whispered, her words getting muffled by his skin. ---

Once briar fell into giggles he couldn't letting out his own short laugh that he tried hard to keep in. It wasn't hard for him to laugh while he was around the younger girl; he always wanted to make her laugh and in turn, he couldn't help but laugh as well, it was contagious. He watched as she turned around, nodding her head. "Yeah. Yeah it is." He murmured, before being slightly surprised at her actions. Nonetheless, he eagerly returned the hug, wrapping his own arms around her middle. "Anything for you." ---

briar kept her grip on the man tight, relaxing quite easily into his body. they just - fit, so perfectly together, so much so it terrified her. but she tried to push all the fear away as she pulled back just slightly, one of her hands moving to rest at the side of his neck, the other still wrapped loosely around him. her breathing hitched slightly in her throat as she peered into his eyes, fingers now moving to brush along his skin. their faces were just inches from each other, and all briar wanted to do was close that gap. but per usual, her thoughts got the better of her as she broke their eye contact. she was about to pull herself away from him, before stopping, she wanted this, she deserved this. a good guy who cared about her, who wanted her for who she was. she wasn't going to let that her idiotic brain take that from her. so she did it. she closed the gap. her hand cupped his cheek, letting their lips brush against each others. as she pulled back again, she kept her eyes closed, "i'm - sorry," she whispered. ---

nate didn't move, not wanting to startle the girl. It was almost as if he could see the gears moving in her head, carefully calculating her every move as to not startle herself. He could feel the air shift between them, and though he wanted nothing more than to surge forward and kiss her, he stayed put, letting her decide what would happen next. When she broke eye contact he figured another day he would make the first move, but next thing he knew it was her hand going to his cheek, her lips brushing against his, and although he was once again slightly surprised it happened, he wasn't upset about it. And he let her know. "I'm not." He whispered back, before moving forward and connecting their lips again. ---

to say that briar was surprised at his words would be an understatement. even after the gifts, and him asking her on a date, there was still something in the back of her head that told her not to get used to it, not to get too excited. "yo -" she started before she was cut off by the second kiss. briar found it so incredibly easy to just melt into him, to let herself feel the happiness he brought her, the safe feeling he gave her just from being there and god did she love it. her arm moved to wrap back around his neck, the other hand resting back on his neck, unable to help herself from smiling into the kiss. ---

For a split second Nate was worried he made the wrong move when he leaned in, but then he felt pressure on his neck. Quickly realizing it was her arms wrapping around his neck and feeling her smile he couldn’t help it himself, his hands moving to rest on her hips. After a moment he pulled back, the smile still prominent on his face. “Yep. Most definitely not sorry.” ---

INSTAGRAM:: @natemccarth posted a new photo tagging: @briarschue

Happy Birthday to one of the most awesome people I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know the last few months. 

❤️ 30 likes  ✎ 20 comments

and you’re not worried about the smell too?

Nope, I’m used to it. 

“oof, I can’t stand unpacked bags. I unpack as soon as I get home.”

“Feel free to come by and unpack my shit then.”

You’ve got maybe two days max before I finally lose it and throw everything in the wash.

You say that as if I’m going to try and stop you from doing my laundry.