molly ⊹ ࣪ ˖

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the first time that you ever saw your beautiful boyfriend, kurt kunkle, was late one night in frosty late-november. you were driving home after having dinner with your parents, through the torrential downpour and thick fog, when you saw a figure trudging down the side of the road. something about the way he was carrying himself forced you to pull over.

"hey!" you shouted out the window, causing the person to turn and look at you. "you need a ride?" you asked. he didn't reply, instead just staring with wide eyes like a deer in headlights. he could barely hear you over the rain, but could see you clearly despite the thick fog. the dashboard lights lit up your face, shining over you like a halo. you looked like an angel to him, a guardian angel, protecting him from the weather.

he nodded sheepishly, and shuffled over to the car, getting inside without a word. you drove in silence for a while, the man's head hung low as he shivered quietly in the passenger seat. he was wearing a blue crewneck sweater with black stripes, as well as some black jeans, although his entire body had been soaked to the bone. you spoke after a few more minutes of quiet, your voice soft and careful, "are you okay? why were you walking in the rain?"

the man didn't reply for a moment, but when he did, he was facing away from you, staring out of the window and watching the raindrops slide down it. "um. my car got towed." he replied, but he sounded defeated.

"oh, that sucks. i'm sorry." you smiled sympathetically, although he didn't see it.

"my friend got it towed. i guess he's not really my friend. he sucked tonight." he continued to speak, sounding both sad and bitter all at once. his clothes stuck to him uncomfortably, and no matter how high the heater was on, the cold had seeped into the deepest crevices of his bones.

you weren't really sure what to say, "oh, man."

"he told me that a girl liked me, he set up a whole date and stuff. there was no girl. i waited at the restaurant for an hour. when i left, i saw my car had been towed." he spilled, his head rather pointedly looking out of the window, purposefully shielding his face so that he wouldn't have to look at you and see your pity.

your heart ached as he recounted the series of events that had lead him to, quite dangerously, traverse for goodness knows how long down the side of the road. you actually found that your chest was hurting quite a bit. "that's terrible."

"i should've known." he mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. his hands were like two blocks of ice.

you sighed softly, turning to face him as you stopped at a red light. despite facing away from you, you could see that he was looking at you from the corner of his eye, and he finally turned towards you when he noticed you were staring too. "there's no way you could have known, honey. don't beat yourself up about it."

something about the way your sweet voice sounded when you called him 'honey' caused his face to flush, the only part of him that was currently feeling any warmth. "thanks." he muttered, looking down at his lap to hide the rosiness of his cheeks. his eyes flickered to your face, and absorbed your soft smile. it was then that he noticed how beautiful you were.

when you first pulled up beside him, he had likened you to an angel because you were rescuing him, now, however, he thought you looked like an angel because you were genuinely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. he suddenly felt rather shy next to you, humiliation still ringing strong in his ears, even more intense now that he realised the kind of person that he had been talking to.

it was quiet for a moment, the only noise being the ruffling of kurt's wet sweater as he uncrossed his arms, rubbing his hands on his thighs nervously, fidgeting in his seat. everything suddenly felt a lot more important, and he had more pressing things on his mind than whatever had happened tonight. for a second, he had completely forgotten.

your voice broke the silence, "where am i dropping you off?"

a rush of dread ran through kurt's entire body at the realisation he would have to leave you, and he would likely never see you again. you'd obviously never give him a chance, you were just doing a nice thing. you had no obligations, you could have left him at the side of the road like every other car that drove past him tonight, but you didn't. it was just a kind gesture, nothing more.

he told you his address, his voice a quiet, reluctant mumble. "oh, that's not far from my apartment!" you smiled, trying to be cheery because you could tell he was still upset. something lurched in his chest at the thought of you living nearby to him, even though he knew that you would never give him the time of day, just the thought of having some proximity to you was very, very appealing.

"do you live by yourself?" you spoke again, your voice a bit softer now, to which he just nodded. "what's your name, by the way?" you asked, telling him yours first.

"kurt." he replied, not even having the energy to tell you his channel name or about how he always followed back.

"well, kurt," you looked at him for a second before focussing back on the road. "um... how would you like to come back to my place for a while?" you asked, your voice sounding hopeful yet gentle. you wanted him to trust you.

something about the way that he looked so utterly defeated and downtrodden had tugged on your heartstrings enough for you to get to urge to take care of him. all you wanted to do was give him a hot bath, feed him, and tuck him into your bed, so that he would never feel fear, or sadness, or humiliation again.

it was crazy, you didn't even know him.

he looked at you apprehensively, his face a mixture of hope and suspicion. had bobby sent you as a second round of the prank? was this out of pity? if it was out of pity, did he care? "oh, okay. yeah, sure." he replied, his heart beating wildly in his chest. he wasn't sure what he would do if you opened your apartment door and bobby was standing there with a camera, but the thought of denying and then finding out it was a genuine offer was haunting him even more.

you parked the car outside of your apartment, and turned to face him. only then did you really notice how sweet his face was. he looked just like a little puppy, with big brown sad eyes. you weren't surprised after what he had told you. "you wanna go up?" you asked, your voice still soft. he nodded shyly, and looked towards the window at the rain which was still coming down viciously.

both of you exited the car and hurried up the stairs towards your unit, where you quickly let him in. he was relieved to see it was empty, no camera being shoved in his face, or various things being poured on him to make a mess. he never really knew what to expect. you shut the door, the loud rain becoming muffled. kurt was dripping over your rug, all curled in on himself. "you wanna shower? i can wash your clothes and get them dry for you?" you offered, smiling.

he nodded, and you lead him to your bathroom. your bathroom was warm, and there were fancy pink soaps in the shower and on the sink, as well as various lotions, oils, vanilla-scented candles, and all sorts of decorations that didn't exist at his mother's house. he got the cheap stuff; the unbranded brand bar soap and ninety-nine cent shampoo that he didn't like to use.

you turned on the shower before looking back at kurt. your hands slowly reached for the bottom of his sweater, and gently pulled it over his head, giving him time and space to pull away if he didn't want you doing it. he let you, it was the most contact he had gotten in his whole life. he wasn't proud of the whimper that slipped out of his mouth when your finger brushed his waist, his entire body erupting in goosebumps.

his cheeks flushed pink at your small smile from his noise. "sorry." he muttered, looking at his feet. you unbuttoned his jeans, sliding the zipper down. of course you could feel the slight bulge that had appeared due to all of the gentle affection he was receiving, and you watched the way he desperately tried to ignore it. "sorry." he whispered again, rubbing a shaky hand over his face.

"it's okay." you whispered in return, the rain outside adding to the intimate atmosphere. you slid his jeans down his legs, and he stepped out of them, kicking off his socks as he did so. you foolishly maintained eye contact as you pulled his boxers down, and kurt tried his hardest to return it, but they seemed to be flickering everywhere except for your face.

another small whine fell from his mouth when you took a step back from him, but he quickly shut up when he realised that you were shedding your clothes as well. you didn't say anything, only walking him backwards until the hot water was coating his body, washing away the deep freeze. you cleaned him with your expensive, nice-smelling products, his body twitching every time you ran your soft hands over him. he could not believe he was in the shower with a naked girl.

"i got you, honey." you whispered, pulling him into your chest. you were fully aware that you had only known him for the better half of an hour, and this was completely crazy, but you had slowly found yourself getting addicted to taking care of him, the way his sweet puppy face lit up every time you moved, how his body seemed to melt into yours like it knew he was safe. both of you knew you were out of your minds.

after the shower, you wrapped him in a fluffy towel and let him sit while you washed and dried his clothes, eventually giving him back his now warm sweater and boxers. you folded his jeans and handed them back to him as well, however your gesture carried the expectation that he wasn't going home tonight. that was fine, he didn't want to.

you crawled next to him on your bed, and pulled the blankets over both of you. kurt stared at you, unsure of what to say while simultaneously taking in your beauty. he was so overwhelmed in the best way possible, and he couldn't believe how his evening had turned around. he had expected to go home to a silent house, his mother probably already asleep, as she never waited up for him. he'd fall into bed and cry, dread filling his gut as the upload of the cruel video was imminent, and he'd have to deal with the fallout from that.

however, all of that seemed so small now, and the only thing he could focus on was the feeling of your arms snaking around his waist, your hand guiding his head onto your chest. he had never experienced such sweet, gentle intimacy before, and he wasn't sure what he had done to deserve it. nothing, he didn't think he deserved it at all. bobby had emotionally beaten him black and blue to the point that he knew nothing but pain.

your hands ran up and down his back, gently scratching up his scalp with your nails.

that was only the first night that you met, and nothing had really changed. in fact, everything got so much more intense. kurt had become your sweet baby, and you coddled him to a ridiculous amount. the safest place for him would always be in your bed, curled into your chest underneath your soft blankets.

you couldn't bear the thought of anybody sinking their poisonous claws into him again, not after you had cried and begged him to stop talking to bobby and his other terrible 'friends', because you couldn't stomach watching him come home one more time in silence, swallowed by a thick, dark rain cloud, as he knew that it was wrong, but he'd rather put up with the mistreatment than feel the crushing weight of loneliness again. he didn't put up much of a fight when you promised you'd never leave him if he did it.

right now, kurt was laid against your chest, his face smushed in your cleavage as you scratched his head, his fingertips mindlessly playing with the hem of your pink lacy bra. his eyes fluttered shut from pure relaxation, he hadn't ever expected to be in a position like this, let alone with a girl who was completely obsessed with him and had no ulterior motives.

"i love you so much." you whispered, the smile on your face evident through your voice. you kissed his head a couple of times, breathing in the scent of the new shampoo you had bought him. "my sweet little baby." you cooed, your hands sliding from his hair across his shoulders and down his back. "you're so cute." you looked at the way his eyelashes fanned over his cheeks, and all of his perfect moles that you loved to kiss whenever you got the opportunity to. you had genuinely never loved anybody as much as you loved him, he was so perfect.

"i'm not cute." he insisted, nuzzling his head deeper into your chest in an attempt to obscure his face and hide the way his cheeks were flushing. you squealed at his action, as it only made him cuter to you. you pulled the blankets higher over his shoulders, making sure every inch of him was warm. you brushed your hands up his arms, and down over where his fingers were still laid against your bra.

"you are so cute." you grinned, pinching his cheek. kurt didn't understand what you liked about him so much, he was a total loser with a failed youtube channel, no prospects, and who still lived with his mother. you looked at him like he hung the moon and made the stars twinkle just for you. you genuinely believed that he was the most perfect angel you had ever met.

you still craved to take care of him like you did the first night you met. you had greatly improved your cooking skills when you discovered that kurt only ate junk food, opting to cook him something healthy that he'd actually enjoy every night. he had lost the scrawny gamer look since you started cooking for him, and had filled out slightly more, something that you enjoyed greatly. you had built him a hygiene routine when you realized he had no idea how to take care of himself, and went through it with him every single night so he was always clean.

you just loved him so much, and there was nothing that you wouldn't do for him. if he was struggling with something, you'd do anything in your power to fix it, and you always did. kurt appreciated you more than you would ever know.

his arms moved down until they were wrapped around your waist, and he attempted to pull you tighter into him, making you grin. your obsession with him only worked because kurt wanted to live inside your skin just as much as you wanted to live inside his, and when he clung to you like this, you could cling way harder. you shuffled down in the bed so you were fully laid down, which allowed kurt to completely drape his body over yours.

you gently stroked his face with your fingers, pinching his cheeks again as you passed over them. "cutie baby." you whispered, planting a soft kiss on his temple where your lips were, "i love you." you added, kissing him in the same place. small praises continued to spill from your lips, and you watched as his cheeks started to blush once more when he realised you probably meant what you were saying. he still wasn't used to it, still completely overwhelmed with the love you continued to show him.

kurt angled his head up so that he could catch your next peck in a proper kiss, holding you there for a couple of seconds. when you broke away, you smiled brightly. "awww." you cooed, kissing him a couple more times. "i love you so much." you whispered, your eyes sparkling when you looked at him, pupils completely blown from pure adoration. for the first time in his life, he didn't feel touch-deprived. you had hugged, kissed, and stroked that feeling away before he had gotten the chance to think about it.

"hah– i love you too." he replied, flustered, his chuckle sounding more like a nervous whimper. you grinned widely at his sweet words, he didn't need to be as outspoken as you were for you to know that he loved you more than anything.

your love obviously presented itself through touch, and the ways that you cared for kurt, while his love shined through with the little things, like doing the dishes so you didn't have to, or cleaning up after dinner so you could watch tv. he didn't really know how to do that stuff before he met you, but he quickly learned when he realised he just wanted to take care of you a fraction of the amount that you took care of him. to make you feel like you needed him.

after a bad day, maybe a customer had been unnecessarily harsh, or left a few choice words in their review, he knew that he could crawl right into your arms and instantly forget about anything that had happened. the night you met, you had proved that you had that magical ability, and considering kurt was very emotional, damaged, and often times, coped badly, he couldn't believe how a simple hug from you made it all better.

the only thing on his mind was how amazing your arms were going to feel around him when he got home. it carried him through bad interactions, as he could zone out and think about you calling him a 'sweet baby', or something similar, and he was starting to become less affected by these instances, something that you were immensely proud of him for.

he was so used to confusing relationships, whether that be bobby pranking him cruelly, berating him, yet keeping him around anyway, his mother loving him because he's her son but not really ever being there for him, or even the mess with his father and the stain he left on kurt's childhood, you had never made kurt doubt your feelings towards him, always communicating clearly if there was an issue, because you knew that was what he needed, and it helped to know you wanted to sort issues out and not have an excuse to argue. he was never left feeling like you didn't love him, and you'd die if you ever made him feel that way.

he had never been somebody's favourite person before, and despite feeling completely out of his depth, he was determined to live up to the role he so desperately wanted.

"i love you." you whispered, gazing into his eyes, a gentle smile on your face.

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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ⊹₊ ˚ ‧ — ୨୧ — ‧ ˚ ₊⊹

travis climbed the steps to your little home after a long day at work, his back and shoulders sore from lifting heavy boxes, and his legs aching from walking up and down the stairs all day due to a broken elevator. the only thing that carried him through the tough work day was coming home to his beautiful wife, and your sweet home together.

unlocking the door, he was immediately greeted with the smell of your cooking. as soon as you heard the lock click open, you put down the cookware you were handling and rushed over to him. "travis!" you grinned, wrapping your arms around him tightly. he immediately dropped his bag onto the floor and squeezed you in return.

"hey, baby." he cooed, nuzzling his head into your neck and breathing in your sweet scent. "oh, fuck, i missed ya." he exhaled, pulling away slightly just so that he could look at your beautiful face.

you giggled softly, staring up at him, your eyes still just as full of love as they were the first time you met. "i missed you too." you raked your hand through his hair, your gaze taking in every part of him, from the moles scattered across his face that you loved to kiss, to the way his eyelashes softly fluttered against his cheeks as he looked down at you, his big arms tightening around your waist as he revelled in the feeling of getting to hold you again.

travis kissed along your jaw, "what're ya cooking?" he whispered in your ear, his eyes glancing over your shoulder and towards the kitchen.

you smiled again, pulling away from the hug and trailing over to the stove. "your favourite, you've had a long week." you frowned, taking the lid off the pot to reveal some honey and garlic chicken sizzling away as they cooked to the perfect shade of brown. you watched travis' entire body relax when he saw the food, and the small smile on his face which showed more gratuity than any words could have.

he reached over and squeezed your waist. "i love you so damn much." he exhaled, chuckling.

"i love you too!" you grinned, picked up the spoon from the counter and stirring the meat. "can you get the plates out, baby?" you asked, to which travis immediately opened up the cabinet and handed you two plates. "and how much do you want?"

he stood behind you, wrapping his arms around your front and breathing in your hair, planting soft kisses on your head. "however much you wanna give me, yeah?"

you giggled softly, portioning out the food so that there was enough for travis to take into work for his lunch tomorrow, as you know how much he loves that. you always made sure to include a note that reminds him just how much you loved him, always along with a kiss mark sparkling from your glittery lipgloss. he always felt like the luckiest man in the world.

you walked to the table holding both of the plates while he continued to cling to you, and when he broke away to sit down, he immediately grabbed your spare hand, interlocking your fingers. "how was your day at work?" you asked with a smile, to which travis just shrugged, his eyes flickering between your large engagement ring and your pretty face.

"fine, it was whatever. griffin had me movin' boxes, i told him i'm a security guard not a warehouse worker, he said he didn't care. god, he's such an asshole." he rambled, eating his food with angry bites.

"poor baby." you cooed, frowning playfully. travis nodded in agreement. "we can just chill out tonight, yeah? take a shower... maybe watch a movie?"

travis grinned, "shower?"

"don't get any ideas!" you exclaimed playfully, squeezing his hand. travis kept smiling, and shrugged.

"nope, no ideas. i'm too tired."

you smirked, "oh, well... in that case." you huffed dramatically, putting on the perfect face of a downtrodden partner.

travis raised his eyebrows, his fork pausing on his plate for a second as he contemplated what he had just agreed to. "well– not that i wouldn't–"

your smirk turned to a full blown grin as you watched him stumble over his words, his face looking amusingly shocked and confused. travis' grip tightened around your hand as you both ate, and you started to giggle to yourself as you watched his face melt into a cute little smile, his eyes shining with love as he stared at you.

he always appreciated the beautiful life you two had built together. you lived in a small, sweet little home which you had spent around a year renovating, since it was relatively run down when you bought it. those were some of the most beautiful memories that he had, considering he had gotten out of prison not long before and didn't have a lot in his life to hold onto.

you were definitely the best cook in the world, at least to him, and travis got to experience it firsthand. whatever you made, he was first in line to try, and he couldn't deny the fact that his jeans had gotten a bit tighter, and he had filled out a lot more since you got married. although, he could never find the opportunity to feel self conscious about it, because you were always there telling him how much you loved him and that you preferred him a bit bigger.

if anything, you made him far more confident, as you were taking any opportunity that you could get to squeeze him and kiss him, and all he has to do is remind himself that you wouldn't be so clingy if you didn't find him attractive.

you both finished your food, and travis took the plates to the sink. "did you like it?" you asked, turning around in your chair to face where he was now stood.

"best fuckin' chef in the world, baby. i told you that. i always tell you that. you can make some bullshit and it'd still be the best thing i tasted. you work some magic, baby." he strolled back over to you, taking your hands and pulling you out of your seat. "god, i love you so much." he smiled, admiring you.

you felt your face heat up slightly, your cheeks surely flushing red. "i love you too."

travis grinned, and lead you into the bathroom, where he switched on the shower, one of your hands still clutched tightly in his. he turned to face you, taking in your cute little sundress. "'m sad to take it off." he chuckled, turning you around and slowly pulling down the zip, planting a soft kiss on the back of your neck as he did so.

it was never in a sexual way, but travis loved to undress you. undoing your buttons, pulling down your straps, untying your ribbons, anything he could do to keep his hands busy, otherwise he would be filled with the most intense cravings to be touching you at all times, and he genuinely couldn't help it, he loved you too much.

he slid the pink straps down your shoulders, allowing the front of the dress to fall, where you then stood bare in front of him, suddenly feeling quite shy. "pretty baby." he whispered, pulling the skirt down too, so that you were just stood in your bra and panties. "god, what did i do to deserve you, hm?" he asked, his voice soft.

"stop." you whispered, a small smile on your face as you reached back to unclasp your bra, allowing it to the fall to the floor. travis' eyes widened ever so slightly, but he busied himself yet again with taking his own clothes off, determined to just have a soft, sweet evening with you. annoyingly, he really was sore from work.

as he fumbled with his belt and pants, you slid your panties down your legs and stepped into the hot shower, allowing the water to wash over your entire body. travis stepped in behind you, wetting his blonde hair, his arms immediately finding their way around your waist, your bare skin pressed against his. you turned around so that you were chest-to-chest, and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

he reached over your shoulder and grabbed the pink shampoo bottle, squeezing a dollop onto his hands before massaging the vanilla-scented soap into your hair. you closed your eyes, a small smile gracing your face at the feeling, and your head fell into his chest, the sound of his heartbeat filling your ears immediately.

travis shuffled backwards until you were directly under the shower spray, and washed out each of the suds, watching the bubbles go down the drain as you clung you him. next, he grabbed your bottle of body wash and began to lather it over your soft skin, admittedly taking his time over your more intimate areas, drawing a little giggle out of you.

you opened your eyes once he was done, and looked up at him, your chin against his chest. "thank you." you whispered, kissing his jaw. travis grinned, and bent down slightly so that he could kiss your mouth instead.

you giggled again, before taking the bottle of purple shampoo that you had bought for him and working it into his hair, taking your time to care for the ends. travis had thought it was a joke, but you genuinely cared about his hair health, especially since he was dead set on keeping the blonde. you thought he looked so handsome, so perfect, but you could always tell he wasn't expecting the brassiness that came with it, hence the little gift.

afterwards, you surprised him by washing him with your soap, as you know that he loved to smell like you, especially while he was at work, as occasionally he would get a whiff of your vanilla scent, and be reminded of how much he loved you, his eyes trailing to the small wedding photo he kept in a neat frame on his desk.

once both of you were clean, travis switched the water off, wrapping a fluffy towel around you, and then wrapping another one around his hips. he lead you back into your bedroom, and you sat at your vanity while travis got dressed, just pulling on a pair of boxers and some sweatpants.

you gently did your post-shower skincare, as well as brushing out your hair delicately, meanwhile travis sat on the bed, watching you with a fond smile on his face. finally, you got dressed, into your favourite pink silk nightdress, before you slid in bed next to him, pulling the covers over your legs.

immediately, travis pulled you into his lap, your legs sideways across his thighs. you felt your body melt into his, and his big, beefy arms were wrapped firmly around your waist, tethering you to him. he didn't really know how to exist any other way.

you had met travis when he had only been out of prison for a couple of months, his life and living situation still very rocky. he drove an old car that barely worked, and lived in a cheap student accommodation that the state had given him for five hundred dollars a month. he still works the same job, a security guard at aitchison storage, however he has a lot more going for him now.

you never minded how much he talked, which was one of the things that he loved most about you, that being the fact he could ramble about his day and never feel like he was being annoying, or that you secretly wanted him to shut up. you were always engaged in the conversation, and you had never, ever told him to stop talking.

the best day of his life was obviously your wedding day. you looked so beautiful in your gown, the sun was shining, and travis just felt like he was trapped in the sweetest bubble of love, and so far, it hadn't popped. he always did his very best to ensure that you were happy, and you always did your best to ensure that he was happy, and he would never change a thing. no matter how hard his work days were, how long they seemed to stretch, or how tired he was when he came home, he knew that you'd be waiting with a sweet smile, and he wouldn't trade that for anything.

even now, watching you fall asleep in his arms, so safe, so comfortable, your mattress tonight being his soft, warm stomach and chest, he knew that there was never going to be anything else that could possible encapsulate the feeling of holding you tightly. he wouldn't even bother trying to find it, because the feat would never be beaten. he loved you with his entire heart, and he was always going to.

you had shown him that there was still gentleness in the world, and that just because he did a few bad things when he was younger, spent some time in jail, and ultimately had to rebuild everything that he had ever known, it didn't mean that he was a bad person, nor did it mean that he wasn't worthy of the beautiful life that you had created together.

he knew that he was going to spend the rest of his years working his butt off to repay even a fraction of the kindness that you had shown him, but he also knew that he'd slave away until the day he died if it meant that he got to fall asleep next to you every night, and wake up with your beautiful face being the first thing that he saw each morning.

he'd never get used to how much you would make his heart soar, even now, you still gave him butterflies, he obviously thought that you were the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, and so the fact that you willingly stuck around with him was still extremely confusing, even if he did cherish every second he spent being chosen by you. he loved you so much, it was completely unfathomable.

"night, baby." he whispered, trailing a finger down the bridge of your nose, causing you to smile.

"goodnight, teacake." you grinned, drawing a small chuckle from him in return. your warm arms snaked around the back of his neck, allowing you to tighten your grip on him. travis pulled the blanket further up, so that the soft material was fully covering your back, where he then ran his hand up and down it, soothing you gently until he felt your breathing even out, and your muscles relax.

his body returned the same motion, all of the stresses of the day melting away instantly when he felt his wife safe in his arms, like it was an automatic response.

this was your routine by now, and he'd never have it any other way. he'd spend forever in this exact position as long as it meant he got to do it with you.

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ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ⊹₊ ˚ ‧ — ୨୧ — ‧ ˚ ₊⊹

"it's this one." you said to your spree driver, pointing at the large house sitting at the end of the street. you were visiting california to meet some of your old friends, including bobby bud lee, known online as bobbybasecamp. bobby had been your friend back when he lived in indiana, although he had moved away many years ago. still, it was nice to see him after all of this time.

the driver parked on the side of the road, and you got out of the car, smiling at him slightly as you did so, glittery lipgloss sparkling underneath the streetlights, "thank you." you spoke, closing the door behind you. you turned and looked up at the large house, hearing the slightly muffled music that had spilled out into the quiet los angeles streets, some edm song you didn't recognise. it sounded like you were in for a good night.

walking through the front door, you were immediately engulfed by the suffocating scent of alcohol mixed with cheap perfume. you weaved your way through the crowd, your sights set on the drinks table. you poured yourself a simple vodka and diet coke, your favourite, something that was going to get you drunk quickly.

after taking a couple of sips from your drink, you heard a familiar voice call out your name. upon turning around, you were greeted with none other than bobby. you grinned widely, wrapping your arms around him. "bobby, hi!" you exclaimed, pulling away from the hug to look at him properly, considering it had been a long time since you had seen him.

the two of you spoke for a while, about anything and everything. what it was like in california, how it had been in indiana, your family, your friends, just regular catching up. he told you all about his new and exciting life in sunny los angeles, how his youtube channel had been blowing up, and that he was getting connections with all sorts of famous influencers. you were really happy for him, this was everything he had ever wanted.

eventually, you saw something shift in bobby's face, a subtle sign that suggested he had something that he was thinking about doing. as if on cue, his eyes flickered over your shoulder, and landed on a guy who was walking over to the two of you, a bright yet rehearsed smile on his face, his glaringly white teeth on full display. bobby smiled back at him, and the two boys dapped each other up, bobby's arm wrapping around his shoulder.

"this is danny," he explained, nodding his head towards him, "and danny, this is my friend from indiana," he continued, telling him your name. you smiled politely, although you weren't really interested. danny, however, looked extremely interested, as he was practically ogling you.

his eyes raked up and down your figure, taking in what you were wearing, a tiny, light pink lace dress. it had seemed like a good idea, when you left the hotel, although now, it felt far too short, and far too exposing. danny extended an artful hand out towards you, to which you were disinclined to return the movement. once you did, however, he planted a sly kiss on your knuckles, clearly in an attempt to come across as a gentleman.

bobby watched with a slightly smug smile, allowing danny to move away from the side hug so that he could approach you. his hand slid from yours down your forearm, and across to your waist.

"you're even hotter than bobby said you were." he finally spoke, his voice dripping with overconfidence that made your skin crawl. from beside you, bobby chuckled, clapping danny on the back approvingly.

"that's my boy!" he exclaimed, still laughing, before he walked away, leaving you with danny. instantly, you were annoyed. you had come here to catch up with one of your oldest friends, not to be set up with a caricature of a typical los angeles gym bro. most importantly of all, you were mad that bobby had ditched you so quickly, like he didn't even care about seeing you in the first place.

danny continued to move in closer, his hands sliding dangerously low down your back. you quickly shot him a look that told him to cut it out, and he thankfully understood, his hands moving up to slightly higher on your back. the conversation that ensued was incredibly boring, as all he was able to talk about was his house in malibu, how many followers he had, or what he and the hottest models had gotten up to the weekend before.

his hand brushed across your cheek, and he smiled in a way that suggested he was convinced that he had you wrapped around his finger. "you know, i think you're like– the hottest chick i've ever seen." he purred, to which you could only smile awkwardly, not appreciating the compliment in any way. it wasn't really a compliment, after all, and you knew what he was trying to get from you.

eventually, he continued to drone on about one of his many cars, and you began to tune him out, gazing around the room instead, hoping to catch bobby's eye so that he could end this torture. but when you saw him, he was just speaking to somebody else, another typical male influencer it looked like.

meanwhile, outside, kurt had gotten out of his small silver prius, and was staring up at the large house, the bass from the music going right through his chest, making the anxiety churn in his stomach even more than it already was on the drive up here. it wasn't exactly like bobby had invited him tonight... in fact, he had specifically told kurt he was not to come, because he wouldn't be welcome.

still, he was just joking, right? he and bobby joked around like that all the time.

as he walked into the house, the volume of the music filled his ears in the most overwhelming way possible. however, he shook it off, the only thoughts he allowed himself to focus on were all of the famous influencers that were there, and how he was going to get so many awesome connections. tonight would be great for kurtsworld96. he'd allow himself to remain this uncomfortable for the greater good of his channel. after all, what some of these people had... he wanted more than anything.

he stood in the center of the room for a moment, looking around at everybody that was in attendance tonight. some faces he recognised, whether that be influencers he followed online, or people that he knew personally. others, he didn't, but based on their clothing and the way they handled themselves, he could guess that they had a large audience.

kurt eventually spotted bobby, who was talking to a really famous influencer, somebody that kurt had followed for a while, which was very surreal. he hurried over, "bobb– bobby, hey!" he interrupted their conversation, rolling out his shoulders in an attempt to look cool, smiling with his interpretation of nonchalance, which only made him come across as slightly desperate and like a total loser.

bobby's slick smile fell instantly, his face twisting into an annoyed snarl as soon as he took in kurt's appearance. not only had he crashed the party, he had also disturbed a very important networking opportunity. bobby thought he could finally get one night without this guy showing up and demanding his attention.

"kurt—!" bobby exclaimed, trying to hold his tongue, but his tone of voice gave everything away. "what are you doing here, man? i literally said you weren't invited."

"you were just joking... man..." kurt replied, still trying to sound cool and unruffled, his voice trailing off slightly at the end. both of the men could tell that he didn't really believe what he was saying. he felt a familiar ache in his chest, although he just ignored it for the sake of upkeeping their friendship, as in kurt's mind, being the butt of all of the jokes was better than being alone.

bobby clenched his jaw, unimaginably irritated at such a small interaction. his eyes flickered around the party, at all of the people he was trying to impress. he sighed, "fine, you can stay... just– don't be a freak, alright? and don't look at any of the girls."

kurt nodded, his face still painted with his faux-nonchalant smile. he awkwardly loitered behind bobby for a moment, only taking a couple of seconds before he interrupted their conversation again, this time talking to the influencer. "what's up, man?!" he gestured wildly with his hands, trying to be hip. in return, the guy only stared at him with a bewildered yet amused smile. he continued, "i'm kurt, kurtsworld96 on all platforms! don't forget to follow me, and i always follow back—"

"shut up, dude!" bobby snapped, elbowing him in the ribs before he could finish what he was saying. the guy he was talking to was a big content creator, and he was trying to get a collab. kurt was not about to mess up this opportunity for him.

kurt fell quiet almost immediately, his confidence being totally shattered. he continued to linger behind the two of them, although his eyes were now glancing around the room, taking in all of the important people. he began to idly wonder if they would treat him slightly better...

his eyes landed on someone that he could only describe as a real life angel. she was wearing a light pink dress, her hair cascading down her back like waterfall. his mouth fell agape, and his eyes widened as he stared, watching her like he was witnessing some kind of miracle.

after a moment of unashamed gawking, he heard a snicker behind him, and when he turned around, he was greeted with the smirking face of bobby's new friend. bobby, on the other hand, looked pissed. "what the fuck are you doing?" he spat, gritting his teeth, "stop staring at her, you creep!" he whisper-shouted, his voice barely audible over the loud music. bobby wasn't going to let this freak make you so uncomfortable that you'd leave the party, ironic considering he had dumped you with a stranger.

to everyone's surprise, kurt turned back to face you, totally ignoring bobby's orders. "who is that?" he asked, still slack-jawed.

"none of your business." he replied, his voice sharp.

still, kurt ignored his warnings. "can you introduce me to her?" he asked, sounding almost dreamy, like his head was in the clouds, totally in his own world.

"no." bobby answered, his tone final. however, beside him, his friend was smirking.

"do it, man." he urged, nodding his head towards you in the crowd. kurt looked back, grinning widely, and nodded. clearly, this guy wanted to watch this trainwreck play out. he wanted to see kurt get humiliated in real time, just like in some of the bobbybasecamp youtube videos. as it turns out, bobby did too.

desperate to please, and enticed by the thought of the entire thing blowing up in kurt's face, bobby smirked, and nodded once. "alright, sure. come on, kurt. i'll introduce you to her." he began walking over to where you and danny were stood, and kurt quickly followed like an eager puppy.

you were still tuning danny out when bobby approached you, as he was still talking about his cars and his waterfront property in malibu. "sorry to interrupt your super important conversation," bobby started, putting emphasis on the words 'super important' in an attempt to make kurt feel bad, "but kurt here–" he clapped him on the back roughly, "was desperate for me to introduce you guys."

kurt smiled, completely entranced by being given the opportunity of seeing your perfect face up close. bobby continued speaking, telling kurt your name, "–and this is kurt."

you smiled at him, a genuine smile. he was actually adorable, and if bobby was right, if kurt was desperate to be introduced to you, then you were flattered. at least he had gone about it in the sweetest way possible, unlike danny. "hey," you grinned, looking into his eyes. they were big and dark, like tapioca pearls. so beautiful.

"what's up?" kurt tried to play it cool, his lovesick sincerity being shielded for just a moment. however, it didn't last long, because once he caught your eye, he felt like his knees could buckle at any minute. heat rushed to his face, his cheeks flushing a delicate pink.

bobby seemed dead-set on trying to humiliate kurt, as he felt the eyes of the superior influencer staring at the situation, waiting for something funny to happen. he cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling slightly put out at your positive reaction. you were supposed to grimace and step away. "yeah, he was practically begging me to bring him over here."

an involuntary sound escaped your throat, it almost sounded like a giggle. whatever it was, it was a noise of pure delight. danny obviously noticed what had happened, and he watched with horror as this dorky creep was seemingly winning over his girl. he snaked his arm over your shoulders, pulling you into his side, although your eyes remained fixed on kurt.

bobby smiled with glee, especially as he saw kurt's eyes flicker to danny's hand, which was stroking a finger up and down your jaw, despite the fact you hadn't looked away from kurt once. he tutted exaggeratedly, "come on, kurt. let's leave these lovebirds alone, yeah?" he chuckled, wrapping his arm around his shoulders so that he could drag him away.

you watched as kurt left with bobby, noting the lingering sadness behind his eyes, and the way they held onto you for an extra second before he turned his head to face the front. danny seemed to notice as well, chuckling. "do you know who that loser is?" he asked, his voice unkind.

you tore your eyes off of him, looking at danny. you shook your head softly, "no, do you?"

danny smirked, continuing to chuckle, "yeah, i do. i'm surprised he didn't shout out his channel, or spew some 'follow for follow' bullshit." he snickered, his eyes drifting to where kurt was stood. he had disconnected himself from bobby and his friend, and was standing alone at the drinks table, nursing a red solo cup, trying to look busy.

you followed his gaze, feeling something pull inside your chest at the image of him standing all by himself. "oh, he's a youtuber?" you asked, your voice quiet beneath the booming music.

danny nodded, "yeah, or i mean– he wants to be. he's got like, 5 subscribers..." he smiled smugly, puffing his chest out as his arm tightened around you, "nothing like me, babe." he whispered in your ear, the pet name sending uncomfortable shivers shooting down your spine.

"oh."

a few hours passed of danny's endless chatter. by now, you had gone through a couple vodka diet cokes, and were feeling positively tipsy. drunk enough to endure the conversation, at least. somewhere along the way, you had lost sight of kurt. he had moved from the drinks table to the couch, sitting by himself for a good hour before disappearing outside, which you of course hadn't noticed.

at some point in the night, it felt like the music had gotten even louder, as it was now reverberating through your chest. you were growing increasingly uncomfortable. your once cute, dainty little dress was feeling shorter by the second, danny's arm was still securely locked around you, and you missed watching kurt. you needed some air, but you'd be lying if you said your sudden interest in going outside had nothing to do with the fact that kurt might be there.

you cut danny off as he was mid-sentence talking about an epic prank him and bobby had pulled a couple of months prior, "hey, um– i'm just feeling a little hot... i'm gonna step outside for a second, alright?" you spoke, your voice ever so slightly slurred from the drinks you had been consuming.

danny looked displeased, but thankfully dropped his arm off of you, although not missing the opportunity to brush it over your ass. you chose to ignore that. "okay... you want me to come with you?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"no, no." you said lightly, "i'll only be a second."

you weaved your way through the crowd, before pushing open the front door, feeling the cool august air surrounding you, a nice change from the hot insides of bobby's house. clearly the ac didn't function well with so many people around.

you breathed in deeply, it was a lot quieter out here, despite the fact that a couple of groups had congregated on his front lawn. you looked around for a second, hoping to see kurt, but you were honestly beginning to believe that he had left already. after all, who could blame him? bobby hadn't been talking to him, and it didn't seem he had anybody else to talk to.

the alcohol still felt like it was running wild through your veins, and so it took great effort not to stumble as you walked down the side path and into the backyard. upon pushing open the gate, you saw that it was a lot busier out here, but still nothing like it was inside. you glanced around at everyone, and in your drunken haze, you didn't recognise a single face, not that you really knew anyone here except for bobby.

in the corner of the patio, you finally spotted kurt, your intoxicated brain very happy to see him again, especially since you were convinced that he had gone home. he was scrolling on his phone, his shoulders rigid. you could make out the fact that he wasn't really doing anything, just opening and closing apps, trying to look busy. something about him was incredibly endearing to you.

maybe it was the alcohol doing all of the work, but you approached him slowly, staring for a second.

"hey," you spoke, your voice soft and careful, "um... kurt, right?" you asked, a gentle smile on your face. you really couldn't help it around him.

kurt's head shot up immediately, nobody had really interacted with him all evening, let alone initiated a conversation. as soon as he realised who had come up to him, his eyes widened drastically, and he was genuinely starstruck. "yeah– yeah! that's me, kurt from kurtsworld!" he cleared his throat awkwardly, trying his hardest not to come across as a mess, although he was already failing to do so. "uhm," his voice faltered for a second, "hi."

your smile widened, he was stumbling over his words already, and you had only said hello. "may i join you?" you asked, gesturing to the spot next to him. kurt stared up at you with the same wide eyes as earlier, his mouth slightly agape. he nodded furiously.

you quickly sat down beside him, your thigh brushing against his for a second, and even though it only touched the outside of his clothes, kurt still felt like raw electricity had been shot through him, and his knees definitely would have buckled had he been standing. your intoxicating perfume filled his nose, stronger with each inhale, and he almost choked on the pure pleasure of it, knowing instantly that he would willingly suffocate in the scent of you if given the opportunity.

"so... how do you know bobby?" you asked, your smile still present. kurt felt increasingly nervous under your gaze, intimidated by the sight of your beautiful eyes so close to him. after the initial introduction from bobby, he hadn't expected to get this close to you ever again.

kurt was silent for a second, only a goofy smile present on his face as he tried his absolute hardest to refrain from making an involuntary noise of joy. "i– hah–" he scratched the back of his neck uneasily, "i used to babysit him, you– you know, back in the day..."

you nodded along to what he was saying, genuinely interested, regardless of the fact that he was bright pink and stumbling over his words. you noticed his eyes trailing down towards your chest, however he instantly snapped them back to your face. yet, you didn't seem to mind. he wasn't looking at you like you were a piece of meat, he was looking at you like he was in a lovestruck trance.

"oh, that's really cool!" you grinned, placing your hand on his knee. your eyes roamed over him, taking in his cute outfit and slightly greasy hair. he was wearing a dark grey and red paisley sweater, with a blue collar poking out of the top, as well as some black jeans. he looked really smart in his own cute, dorky way.

kurt had to muster up all of his willpower in order to not physically jolt at the electrifying feeling of you touching him. he had genuinely never been touched by a woman before, at least not in a romantic sense, which is what he was convincing himself that you were doing. a total virgin, and completely unchartered territory.

it definitely didn't help that the first girl to give him attention was the angel of his dreams.

his smile fell into something much shyer as opposed to his involuntary grin from a second ago as he realised that you seemed interested in the conversation and willing to continue. he didn't know what he expected to happen, but it wasn't this.

"how– how about you? how do you know him?" he asked, his eyes flickering everywhere except your face. you were far too intimidating.

"uhm, well, i was friends with him a long, long time ago. back when he still lived in indiana, actually, which is where i'm from." you replied, feeling a lot more sober now. it's like your body knew you wanted to be clear-headed while talking to him, even if his attention was making you feel light and giddy in a way you didn't fully understand yet.

"indiana... that's cool. i've never been." kurt added, his voice trailing off slightly at the end as he was unsure of what to say next. he had never been good at small talk, let alone with the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen.

you chuckled softly, even if he was the most terrified man you had ever met, you still found him irresistibly adorable, and seemed to have some sort of invisible tether to him, something that forced you to keep talking even if it was clear he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. "yeah, well before now i hadn't been to california either, so..."

kurt's eyes drifted in front of him, he was being very aware and very careful about where he was looking, and making sure not to look at you for too long, being flashed by awful visions of you getting uncomfortable or weirded out and deciding to leave. he was very aware he tended to have that effect with people, and even if he couldn't help it, he wanted to try and prevent it for as long as possible.

"how long have you been here so far?" he asked, every word he spoke making him increasingly aware of how awkward he was. he was continuously being haunted by the very real possibility that this was going to go absolutely nowhere, and he'd have to live with the fact that he fumbled at an irredeemable level.

"only two days," you said softly, following his gaze which was focussed on the ground. you were suddenly overcome with a little bit of sadness, feeling like you had lost his attention a little bit, considering he refused to look at you for more than a second. "i'm here for another week though."

his eyes lit up as the idea of potentially, maybe, possibly seeing you again was being dangled in front of him. "oh..." he mouthed, intrigued.

the pair of you sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, the only noise being the chatter of the other partygoers and the slightly muffled music. you finally spoke up, "so... uh– somebody told me you're a... youtuber?"

kurt immediately smiled widely, always taking any opportunity given to talk about his channel. "yeah! kurtsworld96 on all platforms! don't forget to follow me, and i always follow back!" he smiled, his voice sounding rehearsed yet joyful. he had suddenly become a lot less shy.

"okay," you chuckled, really taking in his excited face, "what sort of stuff do you post?"

"unboxings, reviews, card tricks... you know, all sorts of high quality stuff!" he beamed, making you giggle quietly. he was so sweet and strange in the cutest way possible, something you had never really seen from somebody before. it genuinely intrigued you, and you found yourself wanting to hear all about his videos, ironic considering you'd been bored out of your skull listening to danny talk about the exact same thing.

that reminded you, he was probably still waiting for to you come back after you 'stepped outside for a second'...

when you absorbed the look in kurt's eye that was achieved only by staring at you... you found yourself incredibly disinterested in anything danny had to say. you'd be totally content to never see him again.

"so... you live around here?" you asked, your fingers coming up to absentmindedly brush through the bottom of your hair. kurt's eyes latched onto your hands instantly, trailing up to each of your perfectly manicured nails. even the simplest action had him completely whipped, you hadn't even done anything.

once he managed to focus on your question and not your beautiful hands, he nodded, "yeah, i'm–" he swallowed thickly, composing himself, "i'm from this place called azusa, it's uh– it's pretty great. small... small town."

the genuine want to spend as much time with him as possible had continued to blossom in your chest until it was just about ready to burst. even slightly inebriated, you couldn't miss the way that he was looking at you, which gave you the confidence to ask to go someplace else. "well, since you're a local..." you paused, gauging his reaction before you continued, but based on the sweet anticipation on his face, you figured you had the green light to continue. "maybe there's somewhere that you could show me? somewhere cool."

kurt thought for a moment, his heart beating out of his chest. he could take you to his grandfather's old junkyard... it has a beautiful view of the lights. he'd taken a couple of his spree passengers there before when they wanted him to show them the city, and it always impresses. he really wanted to impress you.

he tried to speak, to respond, to say something, but all that came out was a nervous laugh. "yeah– i got– i know somewhere we could go... it's got a really cool view, and stuff."

you nodded immediately, and stood up. kurt looked up at you through his eyelashes, his eyes sparkling, his gaze full of such genuine awe, like he couldn't believe you wanted to leave the party with him. he didn't even think you would entertain the conversation for so long in the first place. all of that, and you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

kurt soon followed, a little shaky on his feet. you had really knocked the wind out of him. he looked down at your hand for a moment, feeling the urge to wrap his own around it, to feel your warm skin, to feel how soft it must be... he felt his face heating up, and immediately shook off the thoughts.

he started walking, checking behind him periodically to make sure that you were following. "uhm, my car's just– just out here." he mumbled, leading you to the street where he was parked. he opened the passenger side door for you, an unsure but cute smile on his face as he tried desperately to be a gentleman.

you grinned in return, making kurt's heart flutter wildly in his chest. you had smiled just for him. once you got inside, he shut the door and hurried around to the driver's side, fumbling with the keys for a second before he started the ignition, and drove away. his eyes stared intently at the road, certain that if he took even a peek at you, he'd be far too distracted to drive safely.

kurt drove in silence for a while, the only noise being the tyres against the road. when he stopped at a red light, he plugged his phone into the aux cord, scrolling through his playlists before clicking one called 'PARTY BEATS'. a loud, techno-sounding song filled the speakers, along with the producer tag "dj kurt kunkle exclusive".

he started bopping his head to it, trying to seem cool, yet he still wasn't looking at you. "hey, you uh– you like this music?" he asked, finally looking at you, even though it was just for a second. the sight of your gorgeous face made him slightly curl into his seat, his nonchalant smile twisting into something giddier.

to be completely honest, it wasn't exactly your music taste. but, based on the tag and the hopeful look on his face, you figured that it was his song, and you couldn't crush his heart. "yeah, it's great." you smiled.

"i made this beat!" he exclaimed, looking even happier after you said you liked it. "i actually– i made this soundtrack." he added, nodding his head towards the playlist that was still open on his phone.

"oh, wow." you grinned, "so, you're like... a music guy too?"

kurt nodded, "yeah. i um– i produce them. you know, like, with my dad... and stuff." he mumbled, his voice trailing off slightly at the end due to the mention of his father.

"ah." you smiled, and the conversation faltered into a comfortable silence, now being filled by the garbage playing on the speakers. but he was so adorable, and seemed so proud to share his music with you. lying about this was something that you knew you could be okay with, and it was all worth it when you saw his cute smile and blushing cheeks. he really, really wanted to impress you.

once the alcohol had fully worn off, you came to the realisation that you had gotten into a stranger's car and allowed him to take you to an undisclosed location. despite the fact that you had only met kurt tonight, you trusted him enough not to hurt you. although, some of the people at bobby's party would have definitely tried their luck had they been in kurt's position. you just prayed that he was as much of a sweet angel as you thought he was, and not some kind of depraved creep.

your apprehension only grew worse once he pulled into what looked like an abandoned junkyard, and it became increasingly harder to see the good in the situation. this wasn't somewhere normal to take somebody to impress them. "what is this place?" you asked, your voice quiet and unsure.

kurt turned down the music and slowed the car, driving at around ten miles per hour. "my mom's dad used to own it so i like– practically grew up here." he explained, to which you nodded along. you were driving through a row of scrap cars, when you arrived at a small clearing.

right in front of you was the most gorgeous view of the los angeles skyline, the bright lights from the skyscrapers illuminating the city to create the most gorgeous view, something that you hadn't seen yet on your trip. "wow, kurt! this is beautiful!" you gasped, looking over at him.

he was smiling bashfully, his cheeks flushed a soft pink. he was incredibly relieved to have impressed you. "i– i come here sometimes. you know, just to think... and stuff."

"it's amazing." you replied softly, the lights sparkling in your eyes, making you look like even more of an angel, especially to kurt. your soft skin was glowing a gentle orange, like candlelight, your hair shining. the shimmer from your soft pink eyeshadow was glittering wildly each time you moved, taking in as much of the view as you could.

"i take passengers here sometimes... i'm a spree driver, i don't know if i told you that." he chuckled softly, his voice sounding very gentle. he continued, "but never at night. that– that view is mine." he smiled. he was more focussed on staring at you than at the lights. anyway, he thought that you were the real view.

"that's so cool, kurt." you beamed, looking over at him. you noted the look on his face, a mix of hopefulness and genuine admiration, his eyes wide as they absorbed your beauty. "they must be very lucky, even in the daytime, i'm sure it's beautiful."

"yeah, yeah... they ask to see something cool, i deliver." he chuckled, gesturing his hand out to the view in front of him. he was quiet for another moment, contemplating speaking. he wanted to ask to see you again, although his lack of experience with women was massively holding him back, also paired with the fact you were the most perfect woman he had ever met, and he didn't want to risk you not initiating anything either, because then he'd just... never see you again. it's not like bobby would assist him with finding you, was it?

he somehow mustered up a lifetime's worth of courage to just ask the question, a very simple question, really. "so, would you... i don't know– would you maybe wanna... like– see me again? tomorrow? or whenever is good, i'm free... whenever." he rambled, only shutting up when he realised that he was making a fool of himself.

you giggled softly. obviously you had been asked out before, but they were so smooth, so confident, so... cocky. kurt was shy, stumbling over himself because he was so damn terrified to do it. "yeah, kurt. i'd love to. tomorrow is good, i'm... probably going to need stuff to fill up my trip, anyway."

kurt's heart felt like it had busted into a thousand heart-shaped fireworks, his cheeks becoming more rosy by the second. after he controlled his shaky voice, and toned down the ear-to-ear smile on his face, he nodded. "cool, cool– i mean, that's– great, really great, yeah." he exhaled, trying to control himself before you changed your mind. "um. thank you."

well, that was a first.

you had never been thanked for accepting a date before. you chuckled softly, and leaned over slightly so your arms were brushing. he soon let out a noise that you could have swore was a whimper, just because of a little touch. it honestly made you wonder how touch-starved he really was.

his forearm was laid flat along the centre console, and you took the opportunity to gentle run your fingers along it, scratching it softly with your nails, down towards his hand where you then traced his palm lines. his fingers twitched, itching to hold you. he had never been treated with such softness before, and you were fully aware of that. you gently laid your palm flat against his, interlacing your fingers.

you heard his breathing shudder, and he exhaled shakily. you turned to face him, eyes still sparkling from the lights. he smiled softly, his entire being coated in a thick layer of nervousness and uncertainty, although your calmness made it a lot easier for him to manage all of the new experiences he was having tonight.

the sweet, quiet intimacy of the moment caused you to giggle softly. kurt smiled confusedly, still a little sheepish. "what– what's so funny?"

"nothing," your giggles relaxed into a soft smile, "i've just uh– i've had a really nice night, is all. talking to you, and... you know, coming here." you gestured at the view with your spare hand. kurt's face was immediately engulfed in a bright smile, as he had never really been complimented in such a way before. obviously, he knew that he had impressed you with this spot, but learning that you genuinely enjoyed talking, talking to him... it meant a lot.

you also couldn't deny the way that holding his hand was making you feel inside. also, understanding that he had never been romantically involved with anyone before was making you feel more intrigued than put off.

after all, you were sure that you were about to spend a lot of time with him in california, and if there was something off about him... you'd just have to find out yourself, wouldn't you?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ⊹₊ ˚ ‧ — ୨୧ — ‧ ˚ ₊⊹

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ⊹₊ ˚ ‧ — ୨୧ — ‧ ˚ ₊⊹

ㅤㅤㅤ"there was something in the air that night, the stars so bright, fernando."

you could hear the faint, muffled music radiating through the walls as you sat at your vanity, brushing out your hair as you got ready for bed. you quietly hummed along to the song as you put your brush down, straightening a couple of products that had gotten skewed due to your shower earlier.

once you had finished, you stood up, your lacy, pink silk nightdress falling to your mid-thigh. from outside your door, you heard a loud crash that sounded like it was coming from holly's bedroom. for a second, you thought that you should potentially go and check it out, but it was late, and she probably just dropped something. so, you pulled back your fluffy comforter, and climbed into bed, straightening the sheets over you as you did so.

you looked at your baby pink rotary phone which was sitting on your bedside table, and thought about calling your boyfriend, steve harrington. you had been dating steve since the summer of 1985, when you ran into him at scoops ahoy, and were charmed by his foolish pickup lines. your sister, nancy, was surprisingly supportive of the relationship. at least she knew that steve was a good guy.

you knew that steve had been working late at the radio station these past few weeks, and you really didn't want to bother him when he was working so hard, so you decided to just read for a while instead. you picked up your book and flicked to the page that held your bookmark, just a loose piece of lace, and began to read. you only managed to get through around half a page before you heard another loud crash, followed by several screams.

confused, and a little bit frightened, you put your book down, marking the page, before you got out of bed and slipped your feet into your fuzzy pink slippers, padding across the room and creaking open your door ever so slightly.

the sight that greeted you couldn't have been something from this world. the entire hallway was trashed, wood splinters and debris scattering the floor, furniture destroyed, and large scratch marks on the walls. worst of all, in front of you stood a tall, long-limbed creature, it's face opening up like a disgusting flower, revealing thousands of tiny, grotesque looking teeth. it screeched loudly at you, it's flesh and bones crunching.

you screamed immediately, turning around and running back to your bedroom, slamming the door shut. the monster began pounding at the door, it's terrible claws instantly breaking through the wood, ripping the entire thing off of it's hinges, effortlessly throwing it forward, where it hit the metal frame of your canopy bed with a loud thud, surely ripping your delicate lace curtains.

your back hit the wall, and your knees buckled, collapsing to the floor. you were sobbing, crawling away until you were tucked into the corner of your bedroom. it bared it's huge claws, and swung forward, slashing your chest. bright, white-hot pain exploded throughout your body, and you let out another ear-curdling scream. it swung again, slashing your stomach this time, ripping the soft silk of your nightgown.

as your body keeled over, it retreated, it's long arms swaying messily, swiping your trinkets and pictures off of your dresser, knocking a few frames off of the wall, and tearing through the paint on the walls, leaving the same scratch marks that were in the hallway. you laid there for a moment, listening to the screams downstairs of you mother and sister, unable to do anything.

your eyes began to flutter shut, although you fought it, but you were being washed with a cozy warmth, your entire body feeling heavy and sleepy.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ"can you hear the drums, fernando?"

steve drove faster than he had ever done in his entire life, nancy in the passenger seat, el in the back. his knuckles were white on the steering wheel, the only thing he could hear being the crackle of the radio as nancy spoke to mike.

as he pulled up to the wheeler house, the first thing he saw was the lights flickering wildly, a terrible sign. he swerved dangerously into the driveway, and nancy was the first one out of the car as she ran towards the side door, el quickly following behind her. his heart was in his throat as the door swung open, clattering against the wall. the sight of mrs. wheeler laid on the floor, clearly having been attacked by the demogorgon, sent him even further into a panic.

obviously, it was a terrible sight, although the only thing that was on steve's mind now was the fact that you were also in this house, and you probably looked exactly like that. he took off running, going up the stairs three steps at a time. he barely had time to take in the wreckage upstairs, only stopping when he realised your bedroom door had been ripped straight off it's hinges.

he called out your name, his voice weak and broken. he stepped through the rubble, looking at all of your precious things which were laying smashed on the floor. the beautiful lace canopy on your bed had been torn from it's frame, large tears through the fabric. his shoe flattened a picture of the two of you, the one that you kept on your bedside table. it's frame had been broken, and had torn the paper.

he walked forward slowly, until he finally saw you. you had curled up into the fetal position, your blood staining your dress. he swore he would never mix you up into this mess. you didn't know about any of it, not the demogorgon, not the upside down, not even eleven. you still believed that starcourt mall had burned down.

his knees gave in immediately, and he began shaking you, careful not to hurt you any more. "no... no, come on, you gotta wake up, baby." he urged, patting your face. when you didn't respond, he thought that he was going to vomit, you couldn't be dead. "wake up." he repeated, a little louder.

"mmm–" you whimpered, but thankfully that little noise was enough for steve. you were hurt, you were so badly hurt, but you were alive. that was all he needed from you.

he keeled over your body, his hands gently brushing the wounds on your stomach. "that's it, baby. open your eyes." he whispered, his voice tearful. he watched your eyelids flutter gently, before they opened, and he knew that he would at least get to see those beautiful eyes one last time. "there we go..." he whispered, stroking your hair. "you got it, baby." a tear slipped down his face.

"steve..." you whispered, your voice raspy and weak. he shook his head immediately, gently shushing you.

"no, shh, honey. don't try to talk. it's okay." he smiled, although there was nothing to be happy about. you were alive now, yes, but these wounds didn't exactly look survivable.

you coughed up a little blood, before straining to talk again, "steve..." you frowned, your hands shaking. you tried to move one to hold his hand, but it sat like a lump against the floor, the most movement happening being that your fingers were twitching slightly. everything felt so heavy and weak, like your body was made of lead.

"please, don't try to talk, honey." he begged, stroking your face, wiping off a stray tear that threatened to fall from the corner of your eye. "h– help– help is coming, yeah? the ambulance is on the way, baby." he had no idea if that was true, but based on the state of mrs. wheeler downstairs, he knew that nancy must have called for help.

"m– monster... there's a monster..." you spoke quietly, your voice slightly slurred.

steve nodded furiously, "i know, there's a monster. i know." he watched your eyes fill with tears, and continued doing his best to wipe them away whenever they fell. "i love you so much." he sobbed, leaning down and planting a soft kiss on your forehead, "they're gonna take you to the hospital, where you're gonna get all better, yeah?"

you could only stare at him, your blinks getting slower and weaker. you loved him so much, it almost wasn't fair. it wasn't fair that it was all getting taken from you. "love you." you whisper, your eyes closing one last time.

what followed for steve was a complete blur. until the emts came, he held you, sobbing. he was genuinely convinced that you had passed, but thankfully they found a pulse and took you straight into the theater for emergency surgery. he sat in silence in the waiting room while nancy, mike, and lucas discussed what the attack meant and what the group was going to do now. he didn't care, he stopped caring about any of this the second he saw you on the floor.

this just wasn't supposed to happen. you weren't supposed to get mixed up in any of this.

afterwards, the doctors placed you in a medically induced coma until you had regained enough strength to eat properly and walk around, but they didn't know when that day would be. steve asked every day, he begged for answers, he cried, and most importantly, he never once left your bedside. if he had to go to the bathroom, he kissed your cheek, squeezed your hand, and forced one of the other party members to stay with you until he got back.

he would only go home to shower once nancy forced him to, promising she wouldn't leave you until he was back, when he refused, she'd pull the card, "she wouldn't want you getting like this, steve! she'd want you to take care of yourself!" and damn it, she was right. he only went home because it would have been what you wanted.

steve would always be talking to you, especially after a kind nurse told him that coma patients were often aware of there surroundings, and could hear you.

he ran his fingers over your knuckles, careful of the iv drip that was in your hand. "that's pretty much it, baby." he mumbled, smiling weakly after recounting his week to you. "i mean, same as always, really. but you gotta wake up soon, can't do it without you much longer, you know?" he sighed, watching your unmoving face. he often wondered if you really were listening.

he had bought a radio for the room, creating a mixtape with all of your favourite songs on it. the familiar sound of fernando by abba drifted through the air, only being broken by the sound of your heartbeat beeping on the machine. he had found comfort in that sound, as irritating as it was. so long as it beeped, you were alive.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ"now we're old and grey, fernando."

steve chuckled to himself as he heard the lyrics, squeezing your hand. "that'll be us, baby. old and grey." he looked at you, swallowing back tears. "you'll be sick of me by then, probably." he smiled, imagining it all with you. if it wasn't going to happen with you, then it wasn't going to happen with anyone. he had already decided that a long time ago.

"we'll get out of this stupid hospital, this stupid town. swear to it, baby." he leaned back in the chair, sighing. "put a rock on your finger, how's that sound?" he was quiet for a second, almost expecting a response. "sounds good?" he mumbles, smirking weakly, his thumb stroking over your ring finger. "then we'll get married, however you want the wedding to look." more tears filled his eyes, "i promise."

he kissed your hand gently. "but you gotta wake up, you know? if you want all that, you gotta wake up. i want it real bad, and don't you want it with me too?"

steve stared at you laying in the bed, a hopeless feeling washing over him. he really, really tried to remain optimistic, but god it just felt never ending. he needed you back. "i love you." he mumbled, his eyes flickering to the clock. 5:01pm, past visiting time. as if on cue, a nurse entered the room, smiling sympathetically at the boy who had lived and died at your bedside for the past few weeks.

"hi, hon. it's after five o'clock." she spoke softly, gesturing to the clock as she approached the bed. steve nodded, not taking his eyes off of you.

"'kay." he mumbled, kissing your hand once last time, placing it gently at your side, before he stood up and walked to the door. "i'll... i'll see you tomorrow, baby." he said to you, not caring about looking foolish in front of the nurse. he walked away without looking back, as he did every day. it broke his heart to, but if he looked at you he'd never leave.

he approached nancy and mike, who were sitting in the waiting room, and he sat down on the couch opposite them. "hey." he mumbled, staring at the ground.

"hi, steve." nancy smiled understandingly. it was hurting her too, her sister being in the hospital bed, but she'd never seen anything affect someone as much as this was affecting steve. "how are you feeling?"

he shrugged, slumping back against the hard couch. "wanna go back in. 's after five though."

"she'll– she'll still be there tomorrow." nancy replied, although her voice didn't sound entirely certain. everybody knew you had the real possibility of passing away during the night, and steve was terrified it would happen while he wasn't there, that you'd die alone.

he just shrugged again, falling quiet. he stared at the floor while they talked about the crawls, and vecna, and the rest of this bullshit. a small, fiery spark began to ignite in his chest when he realised they weren't even mentioning you. it was like they didn't even care. "you guys don't even care about her." he cut mike off, not even meaning to have said it.

"what?" mike replied, confused and taken aback.

"you're– you're not even talking about her. you guys don't even care—!"

"steve!" nancy interrupted, sitting up straight. "i know you're upset, but that is not fair—"

this time, mike cut in, "yeah, that is such bullshit, dude! she's our sister, of course we care." he looked genuinely furious, as did nancy.

steve slumped further back into the couch, shrugging. "you never talk about her." he mumbled, avoiding eye contact. mike and nancy shared a look, before nancy sighed.

"she'll be fine, steve. she's strong." he smiled, placing a friendly hand on his knee.

"'m sorry." he muttered, sighing. "just miss her."

steve arrived home late that night, and flopped straight onto his bed. he had spent his spare time pinning every single picture he had of you to his bedroom walls, until the horrible plaid was pretty much fully covered. it wasn't enough, he wanted more pictures.

sleep never came easy for him these days. he spent his evenings feeling sick to his stomach, riddled with guilt that he had left you in that cold hospital, and you were all by yourself. when he did managed to drift off, he would soon be awoken by tortuous nightmares, living that day all over again, the day he lost you. it never ended. when his alarm went off at 8:30am, it was easy to get out of bed, regardless of how tired he was.

visiting time opened at nine, and he was loitering by the front desk every day at 8:59am sharp. today, he walked into your room, fresh bouquet of flowers in hand, as was his standard routine by now. however, when he pushed open the door, you were awake, and sitting up in bed.

"steve..." you whispered, your eyes immediately filling with tears. you reached out your arms for him, and he collapsed into them at once, the flowers falling to the ground.

he squeezed you tightly, still being mindful that you were fragile. "what the fuck..." he mumbled, pulling away from the hug and taking your face in both of his hands. "you're okay..."

you nodded, leaning back in to hug him again. your grip was very weak, steve could barely feel it at all, but you were here, in his arms, and you were alive. "how do you feel?" he whispered in your ear, breathing in your scent.

you broke away from the hug, leaning back in the bed. steve pulled the chair over and picked up the flowers from the floor. "i feel... okay, i guess." you smiled. "exhausted."

he nodded in understanding, "these are for you." he held them out, and you took them. the entire hospital room was covered in flowers, as steve made sure that it would never look sterile under the fluorescent lighting. he wanted to you sleep in a room that was decked out in a way that displayed how much he loved you. also, he felt terrible turning up to the hospital empty handed, always feeling like he could be doing more. "i'm glad you feel okay, baby. you're gonna get all better now."

you held the flowers to your chest, nodding as you smiled. "will you stay with me? i don't wanna be alone... the nurses only come and check every couple of hours so i'm pretty much by myself."

steve immediately sat up straight in the chair, grabbing your hand. "of course, baby. i'm not going anywhere. i haven't gone anywhere this entire time."

"i– i know. i just... i really don't want you to go. i need you, steve." your voice was quiet and vulnerable, and you placed the flowers down next to you before laying back in the bed, staring at him with wide eyes. he nodded with understanding, brushing his thumb over your knuckles.

"i'm here, baby."

he spent the entire day by your side, talking to you, telling you anything and everything. you spoke a lot about your future together, and he repeated a lot of the points that he had brought up just the day before. it was crazy to think that the next morning, he had you back, your once bleak future that he talked about looking realistic and feasible.

eventually, nancy came in and told you about your mother and father, and how holly had gone missing, although she had missed out all the parts about the upside down and the demogorgon. all you knew was that there was a monster, as you had seen it yourself.

however, your memory of the event was shaky, steve soon found out. he made sure that you stayed out of the loop with everything that was going on with vecna, as you were under enough stress with your family, still having to stay in the hospital due to your injuries, and he didn't want to pile anything else on top of it all. nancy didn't want you knowing either, she didn't think you'd be able to handle it.

steve watched you while you slept that night. you looked different than when you were in the coma, less pale, and you had a soft, sweet little smile on your face which twitched whenever steve rubbed his thumb over your hand. even in your deepest sleep, your body reacted to him, and knew that he was right there with you. it made him feel appreciated in a way that nobody else could.

you had a lot less wires attached to you now, only an iv drip and a couple of your meds. it made everything feel less scary for steve, as he felt like he could be there for you easier without so much threatening medical equipment, scared that one wrong move might make something go wrong. above all, it was easier for you. only being attached to a couple of things made you feel that you were getting healthier, even if you were far from recovery.

steve also became protective in a way that none of his friends had ever experienced before. if somebody came to visit you, he was lingering behind them, watching their every move. nobody got too close to any of your wires, nobody hugged you too tightly, or spoke too loudly, steve made sure of it. you loved it, too. he always knew what you needed, often before you did. if you wanted the lights switched off, the radio switching off, or even if you needed him to stop talking for a minute, it was done before you realised something was bothering you

these days, it felt like he knew your body better than you did, and you were truly grateful for it. it gave you one less thing to worry about when so much had changed so quickly.

you loved steve, with all of your heart, and you knew that he loved you too.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ"i would, my friend, fernando..."

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ⊹₊ ˚ ‧ — ୨୧ — ‧ ˚ ₊⊹