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

118. An Evening of Excitement

Scott teaches you how to properly throw a football, and you eventually start to really get the hang of it. You both just toss the ball back and forth, running to catch it, and you eventually even make a game out of it. You are who can catch the most throws in a row without dropping it. Scott obviously wins, but he praises you every time you successfully catch one.

Before long, the sun starts to set, and Scott lets out a loud yawn. He walks up to you and wraps his arms around you. He asks, "You wanna go get something to eat somewhere?" "Yeah, I could eat. Where do you want to go?" "I don't know.. Let's just see where the road takes us!" He excitedly looks down at you, his tail wagging. Despite the happiness he's showing, you can tell that he's tired because of the bags under his eyes. Even so, you can't help but smile at his own contagious smile. You silently nod and he turns around, making sure to put everything back in the box carefully. He grabs the box, and his new headphones, and runs to the car. You happily follow behind him, getting into the passenger's side.

Scott aimlessly drives around for a while. The windows are rolled down, allowing cool wind to hit the both of you. The expression on Scott's face is pretty blank, but you can occasionally catch him sneaking a few glances at you, smiling every time he does so. He eventually pulls into the parking lot of a fast food place, and he parks. He takes a deep breath before turning back to you, planting a quick and sudden kiss on your cheek before quickly exiting the car. As if your body reacts on it's own, you quickly get out as well, and jump up over the van, aiming your landing right at Scott. He's luckily able to react fast, and he catches you in his arms. He stumbles back a bit, but manages to keep his balance enough so he doesn't fall. You cup his face in your hands, and smile. You lean in and kiss him on the nose. He says, "Look at me. I caught an angel." You smile and say, "You did a good job." You take your hands off of his face and instead wrap them around his shoulders. You lean in close you him and he keeps his arms under your legs, holding you like a child. He walks inside.

He orders himself food, still holding you. In a soft tone, he asks, "What do you want, baby?" You smile and whisper your order back into his ear, so only he can hear it. He chuckles and orders for you. After paying for the food and getting your drinks from the fountain, all done while carrying you, Scott heads over to a booth, finally putting you down on the seat. Instead of sitting on the other side of the booth, he motions you to scoot over so he can sit down right next you. He wraps his arm around your upper back, placing his hand on your side. He leans his head over, resting it on yours.

He plays with the straw in the cup while you wait, but he suddenly starts speaking, "Mawmaw used to take me and the Wolfpack here the whole time. Like, before they became the Wolfpack. We used to play in the play area all the time. We always got in trouble because we weren't supposed to wear shoes in it, but we did anyway. I stopped, but Archie kept wearing them in there. He ended up getting banned, and Mawmaw was mad.." He laughs at the end of his story. You laugh as well, and then Scott's name is called. He gets up and grabs the tray from the employee, returning to the booth. Scott continues to tell story after story about his past, all while you listen to each of them.

After you finish eating, you Scott crouches in front of you, offering a piggyback ride. You climb on him and wrap your arms and legs around him, and he stands up. He grabs the tray, now covered in trash, and throws it away. He says, "Mawmaw would also make us do all the dishes at home if we didn't clean up after ourselves here." He steps outside, and you both look up at the sky. To your surprises, it's dark, and speckled with stars. Scott says, "Oh dang, I didn't realize how long we were in there. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to waste the night." You caress his cheek a little before giving it a kiss. "It's okay, I had fun listening to all your stories." He smiles at you shyly, "I love you.." You smile back, "I love you too.."

He sets you down gently in the passenger side before running around the car and getting in his side. He taps his fingers against the steering wheel, thinking about what he wants to say next. He turns to you, "Sleepover?" His eyes sparkle with hope. You laugh, "Yeah, okay. Just let me grab some stuff from home." He breathes in excitedly, and starts the car. He makes it over to your house quickly, and you notice that your mom's car is gone. The realization makes you nervous, but you brush the feeling aside and go inside. You grab the usual items you would need for staying the night, and head back to Scott's car. You text your mom, and you're on your way.

Scott pulls into the gravel driveway, and carries you inside, immediately to his room. He puts you down on his bed, and excuses himself as he takes a shower. He's back soon after, wearing some pajamas. He lets you shower as well, and when you come out, he's looking out the window. He says, "Hey, come here. I wanna show you something." He holds a hand out for you to grab, and you follow him as he crawls out of his window. You carefully walk along the edge of the roof, and get to a section where it's bigger. He sits down and crosses his legs, looking up st the night sky, sprinkled with stars. You sit down next to him, resting your shoulder on him. He begins talking about the stars, and pointing out constellations.