Gustholomule 🌈🌈

Chapter 4

Matt's POV

Augustus was sitting next to me, his expressions were strange but indistinguishable so I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I wasn't sure why I told him how upset I was, but the awkwardness that was between us seemed to be disappearing now and I felt like I could tell him anything. Well except for one thing, I thought dryly.

"Wanna see something cool?" He asked me, his eyes wide and starry. I nodded, unsure of what he would pull out but it was, a rock?? 

"A rock?" I questioned, slightly puzzled to how it was 'cool'.

"Not just 'a rock'! Look," and Gus handed it to me and I noticed a little shine and glimmer within its layers, real pretty. "I got it from the human realm!" Augustus explained, "I thought you might like it, y'know since the whole H.A.S thing." He laughed a little and rubbed his hands nervously.

"It's for me?" I was shocked, maybe a little teary. No one had ever given me something like that and honestly, it made me really happy. Augustus nodded and I hugged him again. "Thank you, Gus." I whispered and it made his ears twitch again in that cute way he does. My own ears went pink.

"Anything for you, 'Matty'!" He laughed sarcastically, elbowing my side softly. I slipped the stone into my little pouch and swore to keep it safe silently. Did I really mean this much to Augustus? It was a little hard to believe given our history together but he does seem genuine when we speak.  He's not embarrassed to be my friend like the others had been, we were equals. My eyes started to water, Gus had realised and panicked. "I'm sorry!! I thought you were okay with that nickname!" And he continued apologising profusely. I wiped my eyes and shook my head.

"No it's not the name, it's fine!" I started, "it's just, no one's ever cared about me this much, excluding my parents and Steve." I chuckled a bit at the end, man I missed them. Augustus had relaxed a bit but still looked concerned.

"Really? I mean it's not hard to believe with the way you used to act, but no one's ever gotten to know you?" He asked, his expression still ridden with the same concern.

"No, not really." I answered, rubbing my hands together again.

"That sucks.. but hey, I'm always gonna be your-" he hung on his sentence for a short moment, "-friend." I was confused as to why he paused but wasn't worried about it to be fair. I thanked him again, feeling my smile stretch wide and my eyes soften.

A while after, we must've hung out for a few hours, talking about the things that happened with each other's absences in our lives. The light that was shining through the boarded up windows was dark now, only the gentle sliver of moonlight was coming through. Thankfully, lights were still on somehow and Gus turned the room light on. 

"Seriously? That's unbelievable!" Augustus responded to a story I had said, explaining how Boscha forced her way to lead New Hexside.

"I know! It's all true though." I laughed. Since before we had moved to against a wall, sitting on the ground although it was cold. This is how we were at the graveyard, just like this. After we finished our business, helping rebuild, we used to sit and just talk and even if Augustus didn't know, I loved it. We sat close now, our shoulders touching but we were both comfortable. I could feel the warmth he emitted and it was relaxing in some sort of way. Gus rested his hand on mine and I was a little taken aback, but finally I offered to intertwine our fingers silently and so we did.  It felt so natural to have his hand in mine, interlocking. I rested my head on his shoulder and with his other hand, he stroked my hair softly, it felt nice.

"Hey Matt," Gus whispered.

"Hm?" I mumbled back, getting sleepy with the hand holding and hair playing.

"Do you think," he stopped for a minute again, biting his lip as if to avoid saying something but he eventually came out with, "do you think you'll ever find another person to.. to spend the rest of your life with?" He asked, and my heartbeat sounded 100 times louder.

"Uhm, I would like to." I confessed, although I knew I had found that person and he was holding my hand. "But I don't know if anyone would feel the same."

"What? That's impossible! You're smart, you're funny, you have charm!" He listed some very flattering things about me, "you're a bit nerdy but you know, that makes you cute.." he started talking softer towards the end of his list. My face started burning and I could tell I was red. I removed myself from his shoulder and stared into his eyes.

"You think I'm cute?" I watched as his ears twitched again.

"Erm, yeah I suppose I do," he pressed his body into mine more and looked back at me. We continued what felt like an eternal staring contest until I felt myself leaning into his face, holding my breath. I snuck a look at his lips and he had very clearly noticed and glanced at mine. In that moment, I felt lightweight and almost not there. Our hands were still tightly locked together and with our free hands I pulled mine to his waist and he rested his on my cheek. Gus began to pull me closer and we both continued the lip glances until I had shut my eyes and felt our noses touch. I felt his breath on my face, it was shallow and short, I could almost feel our lips pressed when a screeching student in the hallway startled us. When we came to our senses we swiftly pulled away, very clearly not wanting to acknowledge what we were about to do. However, our hands were still clasped and we did not let go.

"How about we just go to sleep here." I offered, trying to break the silent air. Gus nodded in agreement and I slid off my cape as a makeshift blanket. It did not fit us together comfortably and our feet were poking out. Thankfully I had found some cushions for pillows and maybe that would make it a little comfier. As I closed my eyes facing Gus, who had fallen asleep already, I thought about how smitten I was with him and dozed off again, our hands continued to rest on one another's.