living too fast,

in wes’ mind, he’d always been the one making his feelings clear, whether that be through the few kisses they’d shared over the years or staring at her like she hung the moon. he figured it was about time for him to receive confirmation in spoken form ( simply for his own sanity ). “just needed the satisfaction of hearing it from your mouth.” he admitted truthfully, shoulders falling in a shrug as he observed how the brunette’s features twisted, finding the subtle roll of her eyes unnecessary. “think you can drop the attitude now.” of course, she couldn’t accept the moment for what it was, having to challenge him to a certain degree. “so, what? you want me to be your fuckin’ boyfriend?” the words came out in a coo, voice teasing, though slightly uncomfortable with even mentioning the idea aloud. 

he didn’t know what to make of the brunette’s words, always having imagined this scenario play out in his head, but never sure of how he’d react to a confession. in all honesty, wes hadn’t expected her to be so bold.. years spent watching her with someone else and now she was finally telling him she wanted him? it didn’t feel real. “my eyes have been open. you think i couldn’t see the way you’d look at me?” taking a step forward, his height towered over her, gaze steady as the noise of the party began to dissipate. “the only person you’ve been lying to is yourself.” his tone was confident, smirk being replaced by his usual heavy stare.

the brunette was notorious for making him recognize his feelings and although he usually had no problem keeping his emotions at bay, maintaining a stoic disposition.. that was never the case when zoey was involved. “don’t tell me to relax.” he warned in a stern voice, blood beginning to boil with each second that passed — years of pent up frustrations ready to spew out, but they did a complete one eighty once she spoke the words he’d been wanting to hear since high school. his brows raised, lips cracking into a smirk that juxtaposed the displeasure on her face. “wow, zoey peralta finally admits the truth. let’s give her a round of applause.”

he’s looking at her incredulously, dumbfounded by the harshness in her voice and even more shocked at the fact that she has the audacity to be upset with him. “you’ve never wanted to pursue something more, so don’t come at me with that bullshit.” a bitter scoff slips from his lips, sick of rehashing the same pathetic issues. every time wes feels as though he can move past whatever they had, she finds a way to reel him back in and it’s honestly exhausting. “decide what you want ‘cause i’m done with your fucking mind games.”

watching the discomfort unveil across her face leads to a mixture of amusement and confusion on his end, trying to decipher the meaning behind the accusatory tone she’s sending as his head slightly tilts to the side. “i invited you here as a friend.” he clarifies, though everyone could probably tell they were much more than either of them let on — their ‘will they, won’t they game’ teetering the line of annoying at this point. “because that’s what you are, right? just an old friend.” 

“you’re a smart girl, zoey. i think you know what she wanted.” he offers her a suggestive look to get the point across without having to mutter the words aloud and though it may come off as cocky on wes’ part, there are only so many ways to interpret the situation. “yes, actually, you should believe me.” he’s always been truthful with her, sometimes to a disadvantage — right now is no different. “don’t know why you have all these questions. not like any of it concerns you, anyway.”

the girl basically vanishes once she comes to the realization that wes isn’t going to give her the attention she craves and he leans back against the wall, content with the victory as arms loosely cross over his chest, eyeing the brunette beauty in front of him. “couldn’t tell you.” he admits honestly, followed by a quick shrug of his shoulders — brushing off the previous encounter despite zoey’s strange reaction. “why does it matter?”

he’s been trying to ignore the way her fingers drag along his bicep, eyes gazing at him intensely as she yearns for his affection — something he doesn’t give anyone. she won’t take the hint and wes needs her to disappear, so when the sight of a familiar brunette heading towards them enters his line of view, a relieved smile spreads across his lips. straightening up, he places some distance between himself and the unknown female to greet her. “zoey, hey. glad you could make it.”

there weren’t many people in his life that he deemed important — in fact, wes could probably count the number of people he cared about on one hand ( not even a full five fingers ). he didn’t let anybody inside, the definition of a closed book, never the kind to actively pursue relationships, whether they be platonic or romantic. when he met zoey, it was a complete shock to his system. he hadn’t meant to get involved with someone like her. she was the innocent girl, the town’s pride and joy, and he was coming in with a vengeance to destroy anything within his plane of view. on paper, they weren’t supposed to click, though he soon learned the preconceived notions he had towards her couldn’t have been more inaccurate. their relationship was tricky back then, too many obstacles standing in their way. he’d come to terms with the fact that they would always be a what if. however, he also knew she’d hold a special place in his heart no matter where they went. and now she was standing right in front of him like they were in high school again, except they were both grown up — slightly different from who they used to be. funny how everything seemed to come full circle. “not into goodbyes,” he was quick to respond, as if it were the most obvious statement in the world. “but if you wanted one so bad, you could’ve called instead of waiting how many years?” his tone was still teasing, eyes squinting as he pretended to do the math in his head, amused because there was no need to drag the conversation out this long. their tumultuous past was already water under the bridge, so why bring it up all of a sudden? “what, did you realize he was a boring piece of shit?” wes really couldn’t help himself, taking any opportunity to express his distaste for the male who ruined his chances with the first good thing that ever happened to him — not that he was bitter, just shocked the brunette couldn’t see how wrong they were for each other. “ah, you remember.” he began, the smirk on his face only spreading wider, maybe a little proud of the chaos he’d caused before one of the guys passed by, eyebrows arched in a suggestive manner. “this your girl, hayes?” the voice disrupted his original train of thought, followed by a roll of hazel eyes. impeccable timing. “nah,” his gaze fell to the girl in question, lingering on her a bit until he was shaking the idea. “just an.. old friend.” he confirmed as the other scurried away with a shrug, refusing to let the topic become an issue, he decided to take matters into his own hands. “how’s school? still getting straight A’s i assume.”

he’d always been a lone wolf, keeping to himself, enjoying the solitude that came with being on your own and wes had a knack for disappearing without word of where he’d gone. he was stealthy in that way, one second he’d be stood right in front of you and the next you’d turn around to find that he’d vanished into thin air, but he liked the mystery — the enigmatic aura that seemingly drew people to him, or more specifically the brunette. he didn’t care how vehemently she denied the truth, he knew she was intrigued by him and perhaps still was considering she’d made the trip all the way over to his training center. hazel hues followed her as she began talking in that soft voice he once would’ve done anything for, memories flooding through his brain like gates that had been locked shut years ago were opened again. an amused chuckle emitted from his throat as she insinuated he’d left without a proper goodbye and he had to physically refrain from bursting into a fit of laughter because on what planet should she have expected him to say more than he already had? “wasn’t much left to say.” he admitted with a casual shrug, almost unbothered, knowing he’d put his feelings on the line far before graduation creeped up behind them. though hearing her next words caught the male off guard, an eyebrow raising in surprise upon learning about her change in status. “oh, so you finally came to your senses?” his tone was joking, poking and prodding at the girl whenever her boyfriend ( or rather ex-boyfriend now ) was a topic of conversation. with zoey being single, he was forced to question her motives — wondering if her lack of a relationship prompted this out of blue visit. “don’t know..” he was playing dumb, acting as if he had no clue how a hypothetical boyfriend would feel about her seeing him as he removed the other glove from his hand, haphazardly throwing it atop the metal bench. “boyfriends tend to not like me.” he gave her a sly smirk, eyes dancing with mirth as taped fingers wrapped around his water bottle to take a long swig of the liquid, gaze never once drifting from her.

they hadn’t left things on the best of terms after graduation, but there wasn’t necessarily any bad blood between them either. wes had simply reached a point where he’d become tired of wasting his time on someone who didn’t know what they wanted. his feelings for the brunette had always been blatantly obvious ( zoey was far too smart not to notice the signs ) while she held back constantly, whether it be out of fear or whatever else she tried to convince herself. he felt no need to keep any form of communication going with her, so when he finally left their sorry excuse of a town, he didn’t look back, starting a new life — one he was actually content with as opposed to being thrown on his father’s front porch because his mother was a selfish bitch. making no attempt to navigate the waters with a bunch of sheltered nobodies who enjoyed festivities way more than sane people should, he counted down the days until his inevitable escape. fast forward to now and she’s stood in his territory, seemingly nervous with how quietly she’s speaking, though he doesn’t have to hear the volume of her voice to be able to read her like a book. “you wanted to see me, huh?” a smirk threatened to crack at the corners of his mouth, taking slow steps forward as he worked on removing one of the boxing gloves from his hand. “and how does your boyfriend feel about that? he know you’re here?” it wouldn’t be the first time she’d snuck away to see him, it also wouldn’t be the second or third — not that he was keeping track. despite giving her a hard time, he couldn’t deny that it was nice to see her face ( still as beautiful as ever ) and he wondered what must be so urgent for her to have shown up completely unannounced. how did she even find him in the first place? he wasn’t very public about his whereabouts, keeping most of his life as private as possible, then he thought maybe his father had a role in all of this.

his mind was in the zone, one hundred percent focused on his upcoming match while curled fists collided with the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling, picturing his opponent instead of an inanimate object. beads of sweat were beginning to form along his forehead, repeated punches being thrown left and right — working on strengthening his aim for when the real thing came. whenever wes found himself training at the gym, the outside world seemed to dissipate into static, only occupied with ways to improve his form and technique. there were other guys roaming around the premises, taking part in the same activities or practicing with one of the trainers, but none of them mattered — nothing mattered besides getting a solid session in, to feel like he’d given his all and was satisfied enough to leave. the noise was drowned out by the sound of excessive hits, gaze briefly shifting as he caught a blur of brown locks through the corner of his eyes. punches began to steady until they made an eventual stop, squinting in the direction of the source to be assured his eyes weren’t deceiving him. once he had a clear view of who it was, brows immediately rose up in surprise — her being the absolute last person he’d expect to see there. “zoey?” the name almost felt foreign against his tongue, confusion evident in his voice as he wondered why she was at his gym. “what’re you doing here?” it was the first question that invaded his thoughts, quick to speak the words into the air ( given he’d never been one to hold back, especially not with her ). “y’know, this isn’t exactly a place for girls like you.”