By the time Matt pulled out if Nebraska, all you wanted was a moment alone. The atmosphere today was unbearable and between the anxiety from her confrontation with Matt and the sound of thunder, you needed some space to relax and calm down.
Just because that's what you need, didn't mean you were going to get it. When Matt got into the car with the key and a sour look on his face, you knew the world was against you.
The room had two beds, which were pushed against the wall to the door and a small night table between them. That's when your pleasure stopped, Matt locked the door and reminded you you were trapped in here, no chance to get away from Matt, the storm or the problems that had developed. The reality hit all at once and you walked into the bathroom and slammed the bathroom door, before allowing yourself to have emotions.
You showered before changing into your sports bra and boxers. You pulled a sweater on and braided your hair to distract yourself. After that, you did your skin care routine, taking up as much time in the bathroom before you left it.
Matt however, wants to see as little of you as you want to see of him and he pushed past you to go into the bathroom the moment you stepped out of it. By the time, he came out, the scent of his shampoo trailing behind him, you were tucked under the blankets of your bed, but you weren't asleep.
The storm had picked up and the only noise in the room was the sound of rain pelting against the window and your uneven breaths. You wrapped the sheets tight around yourself. Although you were facing the wall, you could hear his footsteps stop as he looked at you shaking under the blanket.
"Y/N.." His voice was low, but it wasn't as deep as before. The bed behind you squeaked, indicating Matt sat on the edge of it. "Are you-?"
"I'm fine" you said quickly, pulling the sheet up as your body shook again. "Go to sleep"
There was another creek and you imagined him climbing into bed and laying back on the pillow. The image was enough to distract you until there was another shock of thunder. You couldn't help but whimper.
"When I was a kid, my mom always took us to the fair"
You shifted in the bed and turned to face him. You kept the covers up to your chin and looked Matt in the eye. "What?"
Matt shifted himself and put one hand under his pillow. "My mom took us to the fair. It came to our town in early spring, there was rides and games to play with. It was crowded every year and mom always held my hand so I wouldn't get lost"
"I don't understand-" Another clap of thunder made you flinch throughout your sentence
"You're okay" he said immediately, his calm eyes focused on you as he reassured you. "So..my Mom always told me not to wonder off, but when I was six, I used to do it all the time. I saw some kids playing a game that I wanted to play and Nick and Chris were busy and when Mom turned her back, I ran away"
You were going to ask him why he was telling you this but it clicked in your head. You thought back to a previous conversation, how you told Matt that someone talking distracted you from the thunder. That's what he's doing as you forced yourself to focus on his soft voice. He was trying to keep you calm.
"I didn't look like it now" He smiled. "But I was pretty scrawny back then. Everyone was so tall around me, my eyes were level with their hips. I kept calling for Mom but she couldn't hear me. I was only gone for five minutes, but to a six year old it felt live forever. I don't like crowds to this day"
You relaxed as another gust of wind blew against the window. "That must have been scary"
Matt shrugged and covered himself more under the blanket. "It was. But I can change it. I just have to deal with the repercussions really. That's all a fear is, really. A side effect. We just have to deal with them best we can"
More booms were outside, but you managed to keep your flinch to a minimum, despite clenching your fists under the blanket. "Matt.." you whispered his name out into the darkness. "I'm sorry about today"
Matt shook his head. "You don't have to apologise" He whispered back. "I was an ass. I shouldn't have pushed you to talk"
"I shouldn't have been so uptight about it" You rubbed your eyes with one fist and sighed. "I felt so shitty all day over our fight. I've never..none of our fights made me feel like this"
"Maybe it's because.." Matt trailed, looking at the ground for a minute before staring back at you. "I thought we were getting along better. For a minute at least"
"We were" you bit your lip and suddenly felt shy. "I'm sorry I said that we..weren't friends. I think..I don't know. I've been stubborn for so long but I can see now you're different than I thought"
"Yeah. Me too. I was wrong" he ran his hand through his hair. "How did we even end up like this? I barely remember what made us hate each other so much in the beginning"
"Really?" You raised an eyebrow, barely peeking out from the sheets as there was another clap of thunder outside. "You don't remember?"
"Do you?"
"Yes! It was the first night we met. We had that double date with Lisa and Grace" you moved yourself into a better position, so you were more comfortable while still looking at Matt. "And you were rude and made jokes and you left in the middle of the date to talk to some girl"
"Wait a minute, no!" Matt protested, sitting up as he spoke. "That's not what happened"
"It is" you laughed at his reaction. "I remember it perfectly"
"No you remember it wrong" Matt's neck warmed up, but he smiled. "I was joking to try and break the ice, which didn't work Ice Queen-" He motioned to you teasingly. "And you're the one who started talking to that guy before I spoke to the girl"
Another clap of thunder echoed through the room, but you hardly noticed as you thought back to the night you first met. "A guy-? He was a classmate of mine! I had to talk to him!"
"Yeah, well you didn't have to enjoy it as much" Matt crossed his arms. "I was so excited when Grace said she had a girl for me, then-"
"You were excited?" You asked surprised. "Really?"
Matt's cheeks went warm. "Well, yeah" he mumbled the words as his eyes dropped from yours. "She said you were funny, witty, beautiful-"
"Then you met me and realised it was a lie?" You finished for him, rolling your eyes in the darkness.
"No" he shook his head, the bed creaking under his weight. "She wasn't wrong. You were all of those things. But I wasn't, and it seemed like..I don't know. Like you didn't think I was good enough for you, I couldn't keep your attention"
You smiled, registering his words. "You thought that I thought you weren't good enough?"
"That's what it seemed like yeah"
"I didn't think that" You said, keeping your body relaxed as you kept your focus on the memory of meeting Matt. "I wasn't thrilled to be there, but that's because she set the date up without telling me. I thought you were handsome but then you started to act weird and flirting with that girl, so I thought you were an ass"
"You still think I'm as ass, princess, don't lie" The teasing replaced the nerves and for once, Matt's joke had the intended role on you. You rolled your eyes again, more playful.
"Don't call me princess" You said, biting your lip. "So..we both fucked up that day"
"Yeah" Matt nodded, smiling. "I guess so"
"Can we start again?" You asked, barely audible over the storm outside. "Like, all the way at the start. No more grudges, no more yelling. Even if it's just for this trip is for Grace and Lisa-"
"It doesn't have to be just for the trip" Matt cut in, looking at you again. "We're going to be around each other for a long time. It'll be easier if we get along"
You nodded, holding one hand to him. You made a fist, holding out your pinky finger to him, smiling. "Truce?"
"Truce"
