Skye
Sebastian chuckled. "You okay? You've been staring at me for the last hour."
I never replied, just watched him curiously.
Sebastian was supposed to take me home, but Neveah caught us on the way out of the mall and said she wanted to be a third wheel, so Sebastian complied and took all of us to the Thai restaurant he worked at, claiming that he had a discount.
Yes, I'd been staring at him the whole time.
It was because I... was so confused and curious; I had a child's curiosity. The moment he kissed me, my view on him changed completely.
I thought he wanted to harm me, and this whole time I'd been walking on eggshells around him, trying to figure out his motive.
But now... even though he kissed me... I wasn't sure what his motive was.
Was it just manipulation? Or did he genuinely care about me?
I leaned toward the latter; mainly because when he kissed me... he wasn't hesitating in the slightest. He was leaning in further, into it, like he needed it.
And because of that... I was mesmerized by him.
So, naturally, I'd been staring at him ever since.
"Skye," Sebastian said, brows arched.
"Yeah, Skye, you good?" Neveah said, concerned. "You haven't blinked since the mall."
I just broke eye-contact with him, staring down at his chest instead.
"Skye..." Sebastian said again.
I just gazed back up at him, voice oddly soft. "Yes?"
"You okay?" he wondered, watching me.
I nodded, looking back at his chest.
He just leaned to the side to see my face. "You look dazed."
I never replied, just focused on the little tattoos that poked out from his shirt and swirled around his chest; under his shirt collar.
I wanted to touch them. Would they have been soft?
Sebastian just touched my chin and tipped it up, and I blinked, focusing on him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I replied.
He narrowed his eyes, and I saw the gold in them flicker, and he smiled then, leaning back. "Oh, I see."
I blinked, staring at him.
Did he just read my mind...?
Sebastian tucked a strand of hair away from my face, smirking.
As warmth consumed me, I hazily gazed up at him.
But Neveah coughed next to us, and we blinked, gazing up at her.
"Alright, lovebirds," she said, "are we going to order or not? Or did we just come here to stare at each other? So cheesy. I'm jealous."
Sebastian smiled when I gazed back up at him. "Why are you jealous?"
She made a pft noise. "Who doesn't want a secret spy boyfriend?"
Sebastian gazed down at me with his brows arched.
I shrugged.
He only sighed and glanced back up. "Yes, spy. That's what I totally am, yes."
She winked at me, but I was still staring at him.
Sebastian glanced back down at me. "In all seriousness... are you alright?"
I just blinked and glanced down at his chest. "I don't understand...."
"Understand what?" he said.
I just shuffled toward him, and he smirked slightly. "Do it again," I said to him.
He blinked. "Do what?"
"This," I said, pushing my hair behind my ear as an indication.
He chuckled. "Why?"
I only pouted, and he shook his head in amusement, and gestured for me to come closer.
I listened, shuffling forward until our thighs brushed together, and as heat jolted through me, he just tipped my chin up.
And he brushed his thumb over my lip, making something deep inside burn, and I gazed back up at him when he moved his hand to brush my bangs away from my forehead, then slid his finger along my nose, over my lip again, and then to my cheek.
My lashes fluttered when he gently tucked a strand of hair away from my face, and when I parted my eyes, he just leaned in closer, making my breath catch when he lightly brushed his lips with mine, and then pulled back.
"Like that?" he whispered against me.
I closed my eyes as his breath dusted my cheeks and nodded.
"Whoo," Neveah said, waving her face as Sebastian smirked, and I glanced over at her, "spicy. I kinda like."
I gave her a look. "Stop it."
She smiled. "I mean... if I gotta third wheel, shouldn't I be good at it?"
I rolled my eyes and stared back down at the table, eyes darkening.
Sebastian just caught my chin and guided my eyes back to his. "Hey, look at me for a second, yeah?"
My brows drew together, but I complied, locking eyes with him as he smiled softly, brushing some hair behind my ear.
I'd never... seen that look before.
"Well..." Neveah said, smirking as she stood, "I'm going to go home. I'll leave ya two lovebirds alone, but," she pointed an accusing finger at me, and I glanced over at her curiously, "you, little miss, are not allowed to ditch me for Mister Mystery here, understand?"
"You're my best friend the whole world," I said, smiling, "you think I would ditch you?"
She smiled and stood, catching her purse.
"Before you leave..." I said, smirking as she glanced over at me in curiosity, "can friends be honest with each other?"
She dropped her arm. "Oh, no. What did I do?"
"Nothing," I said, shrugging, "but remember your ex that you're still in love with?"
Her face turned beat red, and she slid her hand across her throat. "We don't talk about that."
I just smiled. "Well... a little birdy told me that he broke up with that popular girl? You know, the snotty one you've been jealous of?"
"And, what, you're going to tell me he's a player?" she said, eyes dulling in boredom. "I can have a crush on whoever I want, okay?"
"No," I said, smiling as I pointed behind her when I lowered my voice to a whisper, "he's sitting with his friends on the both across from us, and he's been staring at you the whole time."
She blinked and glanced behind her, and she locked eyes with him, cheeks burning a bright red.
He remained staring, just scratched his neck uncomfortably.
"You should go sit with him," I suggested. "Talk to him."
She put her finger up. "You don't have to tell me twice."
She then stood up straight and walked awkwardly toward the table, and I smirked and glanced back at the empty booth, settling back into myself.
"So," Sebastian said, making me jump, "that was nice of you."
"Jesus Christ!" I yelled, putting my hands out. "Why are you so quiet? I forgot you were there!"
He laughed softly and scooted closer. "So, have you figured it out yet?"
I glanced over. "Figured out what?"
"Why I'm following you," he said then, smiling.
I just sighed and leaned back. "No... I don't understand why. And kissing me doesn't really help."
He smirked. "Maybe I can help you understand."
He just leaned forward, and I gasped when he brushed his lips with mine before pulling back. "Does that help?"
I stared up at him, breathless as my cheeks burned. "No."
He smiled and leaned down, brushing his lips across my jaw and I tensed. "Does this help?"
"N—" I said, struggling to keep my composure, "no."
He continued down my neck, and I was practically panting. "What about now?"
"No...."
He continued down my right arm, and I leaned back, breaking out in a sweat as heat jolted through me, and he left a light peck on my inner wrist. "Now?"
I struggled to breathe, trying to keep my composure.
He took my lack of response as a "no," of course, and went back up my arm, leaving a little dust of a kiss on the nape of my neck. "Now?"
I stared at him, everything inside me flaring.
"No?" he said. "Still? Bummer."
And he started kissing down my chest—
"Okay! Okay!" I said, pulling away slightly as my body nearly caught fire. "Leave the girls alone, please!"
He laughed softly and pulled back, clearly noticing my face was beat red. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"
"We're in public," I whispered. "PDA?"
"Puberty is a Dramatic Anomaly?"
"N—no," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. "I mean, that is true, but... it actually means Public Display of Affection."
He smiled at me. "It happens so much that there's an acronym for it? Nice."
I gave him a look, but just stared back down at the table.
I felt the spots he kissed tingle; it was weird.
"You still unsure?" he asked me.
"Yes..." I said, then added quickly, "no more kissing! I get your point, but... I still don't know if you're...."
"Manipulating you?" he said, smirking.
I nodded.
He smiled, shifting toward me. "Kiki, if I was manipulating you to kill you, I would just take over your mind and have you walk off a bridge."
I swallowed at the less than cheerful thought. "What if you didn't want to kill me? What if you just wanted to... hurt me?"
"If I wanted to hurt you, I'd do the same thing, but instead mind control you to cuss out your parents."
I glanced at him nervously. "That would not end well."
He smirked. "I know."
I glanced back down at the table, rubbing my arm uncomfortably.
He set his elbow on the table and put his cheek in his hand, regarding me. "Something on your mind? You might wanna tell me before I get too curious and read your thoughts."
I glanced back up at him. "You have control over your mind reading?"
He nodded, smirking.
I sighed, smiling slightly. "That's great, but... uhm...."
"Speak your mind," he said, still watching me. "I am your original recently divorced therapist that needed a therapist."
I laughed a little. "It's unsettling that you know that."
He only nodded toward me, and I blinked and stared down at the table.
"Remember those hallucinations I've been having?" I asked him.
He nodded.
"They're not that cheerful," I told him, laughing nervously and pushing my hair behind my ear. "Before I found out about this... world... I thought I was going crazy, so I was afraid to tell anyone."
"Tell me," he said.
I glanced at him, then stared back down, smiling softly at the table, but really it was a nervous tick I had. "Uhm... so... the first time it happened was when I met you—after I realized you were the one who was sneaking in my room at night—and... I kept being followed my shadows and darkness, and when you left one night... there was a shadow rushing around my house. There were so many instances when I saw him, but... anyway... one of the scariest ones was when I was in my room, looking out the window... and there was a guy in my neighbor's backyard? My neighbor went to confront him, and he... shot him."
Sebastian's eyes darkened.
"What's weird... is that when he shot him, I ran to call the police, but when I looked back out the window... they were gone; like they were never even there. So I hung up and went to his house; my neighbor was completely fine! He was asleep on the couch."
"Hmmm..." Sebastain said. "What about the nosebleed?"
I glanced over at him, chuckling anxiously. "That one was weird. It was just the lights in the bathroom flickering, and then when you knocked on the door, they suddenly stopped."
"Hmmm..." Sebastian said then.
I gazed back up at him. "Is something wrong with me?'
He sat up fully and shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong with you. Someone's messing with your mind, and we'll make it stop, alright?"
I nodded, smiling, but it faltered. "Is he or she... hurting my brain?"
Sebastian's eyes darkened. "Uhm... yeah, a little bit."
My eyes widened as a sudden panic consumed me.
"Whoa, there," he said, scooting over a little bit, "it's okay. Everything's alright. He's not hurting it badly, he's just pressuring it a little, and it caused your nose to bleed. It's not damaged; it's just pushed a little. It's going to be fine."
"Can you make him stop?" I asked Sebastian, looking up as I felt my world tilt. "Make it stop?"
He watched me for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I can."
I shifted and stared. "Please? Please... I... I don't like this."
He just smiled, nodding. "Okay. You might feel a little sting, but I'm not hurting you, okay?"
I nodded, watching him as he shifted a little, and he pressed his fingers to my temples. "Close your eyes," he whispered, "and let me in."
I listened, lashes fluttering shut as I took a deep breath, opening my mind to his.
And I felt a little pressure, indicating his entrance, and I felt little bits of my memories push away as he searched through me.
"It feels weird," I said.
"I know," he replied, voice soft, "don't try to close things off, or it might hurt, okay?"
I nodded softly. "Okay."
I felt a more pressure, and my brows drew together when a sudden cold consumed me.
"I found him," Sebastian said quietly. "I'll get him out, but it might hurt a little, so I'm sorry in advance."
A lot more pressure pressed onto my skull, and my entire body went cold, ice flowing through my veins, and I had to resist shivering as he focused harder.
"Okay..." he whispered, "I caught onto him, but he hasn't noticed me. Alright, ready?"
I nodded.
"Okay, three, two, one."
A slight sting slid across my skull, and I whimpered.
"Sorry," he whispered.
And it followed by a deeper burn, and I whined a little, wincing when I fell forward and set my head on his chest, struggling to breathe.
"Almost gone." His voice rattled through me, making me wince as I felt every part of me burn.
After a moment of the slight pain, it suddenly released, and I felt a sudden relief... as if I had a huge weight lifted from my chest.
I parted my lashes and gazed up at him, feeling alive but also... weak.
"Hey..." he said, brows drawn together, "you okay...?"
I stared as my mind swirled in a daze, and my eyes rolled to the top of my head as I fell forward.
Sebastian caught me, holding onto me gently. "I got you."
I buried my face in his neck, unable to move my arms to push him away. "I'm dizzy."
He nodded. "That's normal. Are you sleepy? Disoriented? Vision foggy?"
"Yes..." I whispered, closing my eyes. "All of the above."
"Alright," he whispered, shuffling through his pockets and pulled out a hundred-dollar-bill, setting in on the table seconds later. "It's okay. I'm going to carry you home, okay?"
"My mom's not going to be happy..." I said.
He chuckled. "She'll never know."
I then yelped when he swung me up and carried me to the door.
"Bye, Neveah!" he said, waving to her as her cheeks glowed, clearly too interested in her ex to see what's been happening.
She waved back without looking at us, and I managed to raise myself higher to clutch onto him. "Please, don't drop me."
He chuckled. "I'm not your mother, don't worry."
I punched his arm, though clearly not enough to sting. "Asshole."
He chuckled and stepped over to a large SUV parked on the fifth slot.
"Are you a car person?" I said, blinking and staring up at him hazily. "Like... it could practically be your girlfriend?"
He chuckled. "No."
"Really...?" I said, blinking as he carried me over. "It's so... spotless. Even on the outside. And the carpet is brand new."
"Looks brand new," he corrected, smirking as I watched him. "Little thing about me?" he whispered. "I like to keep things clean."
"Wait..." I said, blinking, "really?"
He nodded, chuckling. "Yeah. Definitely. I'm just one of those."
"So..." I said as he unlocked it and deposited me into the front seat, "do you make your bed every morning?"
He buckled me and leaned against the frame. "Yup."
"How?" I wondered.
He smirked. "Hospital corners."
"Every morning?" I said, astonished.
He smiled. "Yep."
I stared as he closed the door and stepped over to his side, getting in and shutting his door.
"So..." I said as he started the car, "do you have any siblings...?"
"Yes," he said, "unfortunately. Now go to sleep. I'll take you home."
"Why do I need to sleep?" I said, brows drawn together.
He glanced over at me after pulling his car in reverse. "You look like you needed to sleep a week ago."
I just stared as he pulled out and shifted it into drive, and I settled against the seat, nodding.
Yeah... I was tired.
And—he was right—if he wanted to kill me... he would have already.
It made total sense.
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