Broken Arrows

17 | a terrible argument

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."

—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

☁☁☁☁

She woke much later than usual, feeling exhausted yet content. The sunlight poured through the crack in the window, flooding the room with a golden glow. Her face was half pressed into the pillow, half faced toward the wall. Her hair was splayed out over the pillow as she lay on her stomach.

If she so much as shifted, she felt the pressure of fingers on her back. Sachi turned her head slightly to find the boy lying beside her. His raven locks were a mess, and she felt a strange satisfaction knowing she was the one to cause it. His eyes were shut, despite his hands trailing down her back, tracing patterns over the skin.

She'd never seen him look this way; tired, sleepy, lazy.

Sachi rolled onto her side, a smile curling her lips. She stole the opportunity to press a kiss to Elliot's temple.

The simple gesture woke him up instantly, eyelids fluttering as his dark blues peered up at her. As his gaze settled and he remembered where he was, a lazy grin overtook his face, warming her core.

"Hey, Sach," he said, his voice hoarse. He pulled her closer to him, and as their skin pressed against each other, flashbacks of the previous night came back to her like a movie. Images of skin against skin, of sliding sheets and intertwined fingers, made it to the forefront of her mind. She still felt his warmth burning her alive, felt his hands moving into her curves.

She'd expected her first time to be like a fiery explosion. While there was fire, there was no extreme giddiness that came with it. Instead, she felt peaceful. Calm. Content. And she knew then that she didn't regret what had happened, and she knew she never would.

"Hey," Sachi replied, batting her eyelashes. "How'd you sleep?"

He ran a hand down her arm. "Great. I don't think I've slept so well in a long time."

A snort of amusement escaped her as she rolled her eyes, knowing well that sleep hadn't been one of their priorities last night. His chest rumbled with his laughter, and he rested his chin on her head.

"I'm assuming Hunter and Erin are back."

"Probably." She snuggled closer, the need to be near him growing with the passing second. "Lola too." She sighed. "We should head out."

"Yeah," Elliot agreed, though he didn't sound too pleased about it. His hand cupped the back of her head as he shifted to kiss her one last time. It was quick, fleeting, and a moment later, he was pulling away. "Okay. Now we should go."

"One more," Sachi purred, sitting up slightly. The covers started sliding off at the sudden movement, and she had to yank them back up.

He chuckled, but he still brought his lips down to hers once more. This kiss was even shorter than the last, though it was just as sweet.

☁☁☁☁

Sachi tried taming the mess of raven hair knotted onto her head. She wasn't sure what Elliot had done to it last night, but it was a pain to smoothen out. Mats and frizz stuck out at awkward angles, and no amount of fussing could fix it.

"Relax," Elliot said, walking by her side. He was tugging at his shirt, fixing the sleeves so that he looked presentable. "It looks fine."