teach me to be innocent, l.hemmings

#29: lower your standards

MOOD BOARD: GABRIEL 

I had always thought I had seen the beauty in things, but I realized I had never known true beauty until I saw him laying shirtless next to me, all tangled in the sheets. His lips were slightly parted with a hint of a smile curving his face.

There was a soft hum that resonated in his chest as he slept and I found it comforting to know that he could sleep so easily. The morning light had begun to creep its way into the quiet room, a ray of sun touched his chest and I found myself smiling.

His hair was undone and unruly and he was beautiful. When he finally woke up, his eyes were foggy with sleep, yet the way they smiled down at me made me wonder if, in all my bare vulnerability, he found something beautiful too.

"Morning," he mumbled, twisting in the sheets as he wrapped his arms around my waist. He dragged me closer until our chests were pressed together.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." I hummed, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Sleeping Beauty?" Luke rubbed his eyes. "I always thought of myself more like Ariel."

I rolled my eyes, but kissed him softly. "Ariel is too good for you, Luke. You have to lower your expectations."

"You're so supportive, Ari. Thank you." He bit my shoulder playfully.

"Lesson twenty-nine; lower your standards." I pressed my lips to his lightly before rolling over. A soft giggle escaped my lips as he pulled me back until his chest was pressed against my back.

"What are you doing?" He yawned. He peppered kisses over the back of my neck before nuzzling his head into my back. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He acted like a little kitten when he woke up, all cuddly and needy for attention.

"I'm seeing if there's any news on Ashton or Gabriel." I replied, grabbing my phone from the bedside table. I quickly unlocked it and checked my messages. It was only 9 o'clock, so I didn't expect much, but I was still disappointed that none of my messages were about the boys.

I was about to tell Luke there was no news when he exhaled loudly. I twisted around and raised my eyebrow but he was staring at his own phone.

"It's blowing up all over Facebook. People are praying and thinking about both of them." He paused, a little disgusted. "People who didn't even like Ashton."

I waved my hand dismissively and sat up. "People deal with things in their own way. Did Aleksander post anything? He was the one who stopped it all."

There was a long, drawn out pause. "No, nothing."

I rubbed my lower lip, thinking about it all. Now that I was hysterical in the hospital or dealing with Katherine, I had time to absorb just how disgusting this act of violence had been. People had gone out of their way to bash Ashton and Gabriel based on what gender they liked.