boy next door

chapter eleven

seth couldn't stop thinking about what they talked about. he had so many emotions regarding what she said. upset because of what she went through, mad because of what the guy did to her. eager, to show her how real love feels. afraid... he was afraid of triggering her flashbacks, he knew he would blame himself even though he knows it isn't his fault.

nova, her brothers and seth were going out to get lunch. nova just wore a cropped sweater and some jeans, seth wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. seth drove them to the restaurant and followed nova inside, quickly finding the table with her brothers. the two sat across from eachother, nova walking to sit by noah and seth sitting by jonah.

the brunette noticed seth was quieter than the last time they'd met. he ignored it as nova seemed happy so he knew they hadn't broken up, maybe just a bad day. seth was snapped out of his daze by a soft tap against his inner thighs, looking down to see her foot between his thighs. he smiled softly and looked up, her face silently asking if he was okay. he nodded to answer her and began looking at the menu, figuring out what he was going to order.

they talked throughout lunch and decided to go to the shopping center that was around the restaurant. nova skipped ahead with noah, tugging him towards a store she had been wanting to go to. jonah smiled softly then looked over to the ravenette, who was also smiling softly.

"take care of her." seth looked over at jonah with a raised eyebrow.

"she was broken after jace.. you're the first guy she let in after him.. please don't hurt her again." seth nodded, sinking his hands into his pockets.

"i don't know how to help her.. she just told me a few days ago and it bugs me that i can't do anything." jonah patted his back.

"she's not going to let you, don't try to.. she'll push you away, just be there for her as much as you can."

"okay." he sighed, smiling when the red head ran towards him.

"look baby!" she said excitedly, pulling a pair of stitch pajama pants out of the bag.

"oh how cute." he cooed, wrapping his arm around her waist and continued walking with her. he admired how happy she looked and pressed a kiss to her forehead. jonah smiled at them, he felt safe letting his guard down for seth.
~~~
the four hung out for awhile and after three hours split off to head back to their houses. nova looked over at seth, taking in his features.

"what?" he chuckled, turning to look at her briefly.

"you're so handsome." she muttered and pulled his hand into hers.

"i want to take a trip.. just me and you this time."he smiled at her words.

"yeah? where would you want to go?" she thought for a second before squeezing his hand softly.

"flordia! and we could go to disney, and stay at a disney hotel.. and go to the beach." she rambled excitedly. this had been something she's wanted to do from when she was a kid.

"yeah? we could make that happen pretty girl." he stopped at the red light and leaned over to kiss her lips, smiling at her excitement.

"really?!" he smiled.

"yeah, why not? it sounds like fun." she let out a soft laugh of excitement. the rest of the ride seth was thinking about this trip, what they'd do and when he wanted to take it. he wanted to go as a surprise but sense she pretty much made the trip that wouldn't be easy.

he ended up deciding to take her for her birthday. when he got home he gave her a kiss and made sure she settled in okay before going to his house to plan. he planned to fly out on december first, then go to disney the third. overall the trip would be a week long, flying back on the eighth of december. he looked at plane tickets and tickets to disney before he felt someone walk passed him and sit on his bed.

"what are you doing?" jackson muttered, noticing how focused he was. seth spun around in his chair.

"you can't tell her." he said before saying anything else.

"i won't." he said while leaning forwards.

"i'm gonna take her to disney for her birthday." jackson smiled, patting the side of seth's thigh.

"she's gonna be excited." he said with a soft laugh.

"i think so too, we were talking about it in the car today.. i haven't seen her that excited about a lot of things." jackson hummed softly, debating his next question.

"are you guys dating? officially." seth paused before continuing looking at tickets.

"well, neither of us have officially asked each other out.. but i want to while we're gone, just not sure what day." jackson nodded.

"you guys seem good for each other." seth blushed softly and turned his chair back to jackson.

"i really like her... i don't want to screw up again."

"you guys talked right?" jackson asked softly, in which seth nodded in return.

"good, then just remember whatever y'all talked about, you're a good guy seth.. if you think you are screwing up talk to her about it."

"thank you." he muttered. the blond nodded and stood walking to lean against the doorframe.

"wanna come to lunch with me and peyton?"

"we just came back from lunch, but we can all plan to go out soon." jackson nodded and disappeared out of the room. he booked their plane tickets and went back to nova house.

"where did you go?" she asked as he walked into their house, snacking on some of her food from earlier.

"forgot to submit something for school." a lot of people switched to online school once the campus got over crowded. she nodded as it wasn't out of the ordinary and continued scrolling on her phone. he climbed onto the counter besides her, pulling the redhead to rest between his thighs.

"you are so pretty." he groaned, smooching her lips and cheeks. she laughed and cupped his face to place a soft kiss to his lips.

"thank you." she cooed, leaning over to take another bite of her food.

"noah said he really likes you." she murmured sweetly, looking up at him with adoring eyes.

"that's the best thing a guy could ever hear.. i'm officially approved by the brothers." she laughed softly at the boy and walked to the fridge to grab a drink.

"do you wanna do anything for your birthday?" he followed her with his eyes as she walked back to her original spot besides him, resting her elbows on the counter.

"no, not really.. i don't normally do anything for my birthday." he smiled, being able to confirm their trip.