The Monsters Inside and Out (Scott Howl x Depressed Reader)

108. A Proposal?

You look up at Scott with a sad expression on your face. A few tears creep into the corners of your eyes, and you reach up to wipe his eyes. "I'm so sorry, baby.. What happened?" He tightens his grip on you, and speaks slowly. "Well.. They said it was painless.. And so did she.. Actually, she was holding my hand. Her heart was weakening.. She told me that she was very proud of who I've become.. That I'm strong, a-and kind, and the best kid someone could ask for. She told me not to be upset about her, too. That it was time.. She said I should look at it as.. Now I can be carefree again.. I don't.. Have to take care of her..." His grip on you tightens again. "B-But, I wanted to take care of her. I-I w-wanted her to stay.. I..." He sobs a few times again, and you rub small circles into his back. You say, "You did what you could.. Now she's moved on to her next phase of existence.. I'm sure she's watching you right now, and I bet she's still proud of who you are, and what you're going to be." "You really think so?" "I know so.." He sniffles a few times. "(Y-Y/N).. Do you promise.. You'll never leave me?" Deep within you, you feel as though you can't make that promise. But for Scott... "I promise." You gently kiss him.

The two of you lie together for a while longer. You're not sure what you should say, so you don't say anything. He says nothing either, so the two of you just sit in silence for a while. You can't help but notice Scott's rapid heartbeat, which slows down with time. His tight grip loosens as well. Between him and the blanket, you feel a comforting warmth surround you. The moment is quickly ruined however, as the dryer suddenly dings loudly, startling the both of you. You groan as you get up, and you go over to the dryer, pulling out all of Scott's warm and dry clothes. You turn around, and see that Scott has already stripped again, now standing in the basement, nude. You blush, "U-Uh, well, h-here! Th-These are yours!" You look down at the ground nervously as you hold his clothes out to him. He quietly thanks you and you can hear the rustle of his clothes as he puts them back on. You cross your arms, feeling embarrassed, when he says, "You're really cute when you blush like that." Your eyes widen and you look up at him in shock. He smiles softly at you, a tear still in one of his eyes. You reply, "Sh-Shut up, no I'm not!" You quickly cover your face with your shirt. He grabs the hem of it, and pulls it down to look at you. He takes a deep breath, his smile is gone. He steps forward and embraces you. "I love you.. So so so so much.." You nuzzle into his chest a little. "I love you too.."

You separate from eachother after a few more minutes, and you look up at him. You reach up and caress his cheek gently. "How are you doing now? Are you hungry?" He nods his head. You lead him upstairs and look for something to make. You decide to make some soup, getting two cans of it out of your cupboard. You put them in a pot on the stove and turn it on. Scott sits down at the table, slumping over in his seat. You go up behind him and place your hands on his shoulder, gently squeezing them to give him a massage. You look out the window to see it's still raining, but not as violently as before. You say, "It looks like the rain's calmed down.." He ignores your comment and asks, "Are you gonna come to the funeral?" You wrap your arms around his neck and snuggle your face next to his. "Of course I will. I can't imagine not going. I need to be there for you, right?" "Thank you."

The soup finishes, and you serve some up in some bowls, placing one in front of Scott. He thanks you again and starts to eat. You ask, "So what does this mean for you guys? How are you all gonna live?" "I said we should all get jobs, but.. They didn't like that.." "What? Seriously? Then what do they expect to do? They can't just be lazy all-" Scott suddenly cuts you off, "(Y/N)!" You cover your mouth quickly. He nervously adds, "S-Sorry! It's just.. I meant they didn't want me to get a job." You uncover your mouth, giving him a confused expression. "Really? Why?" "Because I have more going on.." "What do you mean?" "Well, I have more friends, and I like to help out after school sometimes. And then there's also summer camp that I like going to every year.. So they said that all four of them can get jobs so that I don't have to work.." You chuckle, "Damn.. I didn't know they could be that nice.. You have like the best family, Scott. I'm glad I'm part of it." You smile widely, which makes him smile a little in return. He says, "Actually, (Y/N)... Can I tell you a secret?" "Yeah?" "Um... I, uh..." He takes a deep breath before continuing, "I was, uh.. Thinking.. I um.. Want to.. Want to.. M-Marry you.. Some...day..." Your eyes widen in shock, "Wait, what?" He scrambles to answer, "But! Uh.. Not right now! I mean.. I wanna graduate first, and get a good job, and all that, but.. I just.. How would that make you feel? If.. Someday.. I got down on one knee and.. You know.. Proposed?" "I.. Would probably cry.." "In a good way, right?" You laugh, "Yes, in a good way." He smiles again. "Good.. Now, I'm not ready to marry you yet.. But.. Do you wanna go to prom with me? I'll be back at school soon, so I thought we could go.." He places his arm on the table. You lean forward and grab his hand. "I'd love to go to prom with you." You chuckle again.

You and Scott continue to talk about school for a little bit as you both finish your soup. After all that, he decides it's time for him to go back to his cousins. As he's about to leave, he says, "Oh! You should take this back!" He starts to pull off the hoodie that you had, but you refuse it. You tell him, "Keep it. I've had it too long. Give it back to me when it smells more like you again." "Okay!" He smiles a little wider this time before heading out. You text your mom to tell him that he's gone.