The "I" In Lie

VI S. Explode

[AN: (The number of this chapter is 6.5) This is just a bonus chapter, maybe eventually a side story, who know~]

Victoria waited to be let in to Gabe's apartment. She fiddled with her hands and constantly changed positions. He was taking a while to show up-- He just buzzed her in a few minutes ago. Today was their six month anniversary. Only Victoria knew that. Gabe wouldn't have found it to be a big deal, she thought, but that's half a year! That was pretty is for her. She has never been in a relationship for so long before. And she was happy with this one. Very happy. It kind of embarrassed her, but she actually lost her virginity to this man. No relationship was ever serious enough to go that far; At least not to her. Boys had made their attempts, which always ended up with her running away and calling them off the next day. But this time, she actually initiated it. She felt different with Gabe. A good different.

A door swings open, revealing Gabe garbed in his signature purple hoodie, along with some black tight pants and a white "The Strokes" shirt.

"Hey, sorry, I had to tidy up a bit. Come on in." He lets her in and she smiles lightly. She came her with a question on her mind. And boy, was she nervous to find out the answer. She's been with him for months, and is still unsure of what his response will be. It scared her to the bone. If the answer was not good, it could ruin their entire relationship, just like that. Victoria cared too much about Gabe to let him go, and she hoped he felt the same.

She walked in and glumly sat on his lumpy old couch. For someone like Gabe, someone who dresses like him and acts like him, you'd expect his apartment to look a little nicer. The wallpaper seemed okay at first glance, but upon further inspection, you could see it curl up on the sides, falling apart at others, and bits tore off. The carpet was once a bright white, now an icky beige. There were stains practically everywhere you step, of all different colors. And all the furniture, from tables to couches, is old and worn. It was a (only) slightly yucky home, not very welcoming, but Victoria absolutely loved it here. She found herself spending the majority of her time at his apartment, more than her own home.

Gabe sat down next to her, only to have her head rest on his shoulder instantly. He pulled her closer with an arm, and they sat in silence for a minute or two. That's the thing about this relationship. They don't need to always being kissing or hugging or, like now, even talking to show that they love each other. They don't need to show anyone that they love each other, in fact. It's none of their business. A relationship is a personal thing, that involves certain people. It's only for them, and no one else. At least, a healthy relationship is.

"You're out of it today. What's up?" Gabe tries to break the void conversation. Victoria shrugs. "Tell me." She sighs.

"It's nothing..." She waits a few seconds out. "I'll tell you later, okay? Until then, I don't want to talk about it. Let's do something."

"Okay," Gabe never asked what she wanted to do. He knew if she wanted to do something in particular, she would have said so, and depending on the activity, he would've accepted or declined. "Well, I don't feel like leaving to go anywhere, do you?" She shook her head gently. "So, we could watch a movie," Victoria turned him down. "We could go on the balcony," She thought about it. "We could make music," Her head snapped up, smiling at him.

"Yeah! Let's do that!" She jumped a bit on the couch. Gabe grinned down at her.

"Then come on!" He got off the sofa, Victoria following him to the "music room". Instead of using the extra bedroom for a roommate or guest room, Gabe decked out the place with all of his various instruments. There was a grand piano, colorful guitars and bass guitars, a drum set, synthesizers, and Victoria's favorite, a red keytar. Upon entering the room, she ran to the instrument, throwing the strap around her to rest on her shoulder. Gabe walks by everything musical in there.

"Ah, what should I play today? Anything?"

"You could just sing today," They make music at least twice a week. This was the fourth time this week, and it was just about over.

"I mean I could..." He picks up a silver guitar and plays a quick, rhythmic tune. "But guitar," They share a smile, and Victoria plays a short melody back at him. Before they realize it, they are having full blown back-and-forth musical duel. Each time the songs gets longer and more intense. Eventually, they come to a point where they start playing one of their songs. Gabe starts to sing and Victoria pays more attention to what she's playing. They end with a big finish, like usual, and a small amount of laughing. Gabe set his guitar down and walked to Victoria to kiss her. Once she realized that it was going further than one kiss, she cut him off for a second.

"Hey, hey, hey, at least let me put my thing down," He smiled and wait patiently before she returned. And blah, blah, blah, smut, smut, smut, no need to get into detail. Long story short: Sex.

-

The boy and the girl are laying together in his bed. His arm is under her neck. She pulls herself in closer. She draws with her finger on his chest, debating on how to say what she wants to say.

"Gabe,"

She speaks after a while. They position themselves to face each other. He examines her make-up, and remembers how she looks without it. Honestly, she's gorgeous either way. He focuses on the black eyeliner, ending with a wing tip. It's practically flawless. The lines are curved perfectly around her eyelids. Her lips are draped in an elegant shade of crimson. The moonlight reflected off them. He put a hand on her cheek, brushing his thumb on those lips of hers.

"What?" He barely whispers.

"I wanna ask you a question.,"

"Anything,"

The silence lasted around five minutes. Victoria was nervous of her wits. She was starting shake.

"What's wrong?"

"Gabe," Victoria said with emphasis on the word.

"What?" He replied in the same tone, just a bit annoyed.

"I..." She looked directly into his eyes.

"Spit it out, Vicky-T,"

"I want to move in with you,"

Gabe bit his lip, expression blank.

"If you're okay with it."

She tried to ignore his body language, despite being about to speak it fluently.

He looks away from her, out the window above his headboard.

"I think I'm ready. I love you, and I want to spend as much time as I can with you and sleep next to you every night."

"You do that already."

"Not EVERY night."

"But basically!" Gabe stares at his ceiling, abruptly moving on his back, making the bed jump up and down.

"Are you okay with this?" Gabe sighs before shutting his eyes.

"You know that means commitment."

"Of course."

"And you know that I don't get along well with commitment."

"I know."

"And it's not that I don't want to commit to you, I do. I want to, a lot. It's just... Hard for me. I've only ever committed to one person, which ended poorly and... You know what."

Victoria is silent.

"It scares me. I trust you with my life, yet there's still that little part in me, you know?" He finds her hand as she nods, falling glum, tears attempting to break loose. "But my answer is yes. You may."