Vikk's P.O.V.
I yawned, sitting up in bed. There was snow piled up outside of the window and I smiled to myself, knowing that it was a fresh layer of snow for skiing and the day would be good. We were on a ski trip, we as in the whole pack, and we were waking up on the morning of the second day.
I looked over at the other bed in the room, where Lachlan was curled up, fast asleep. I smiled to myself because he looked so young, so innocent and so peaceful that I couldn't help but feel happy myself because he was so content.
I slipped from my bed and headed down the stairs to get some food, where everyone already was. All 4 other boys were already downstairs, Preston and Mitch perched at the breakfast bar with bowls of cereal in front of them and Jerome and Rob sprawled out on the couches with laptops in their laps.
"Morning Vikk." Jerome mumbled, waving his hand at me in greeting. "Lachlan still asleep?" I nodded, pouring a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee before plopping down at the kitchen table to eat.
"You ready for skiing?" Preston asked through a mouthful of cereal and I grinned.
"Of course I am!"
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"We're all going out tonight." Mitch stated, stuffing his wallet into his back pocket. "Have fun editing, we'll be back later, dunno when."
I raised one eyebrow but shrugged.
"Let me guess, this was planned two minutes ago?"
"Maybeeeeeee but that's besides the point." I sighed and nodded, waving goodbye to the other three who were standing inside the front door. Lachlan was too busy editing to go out and I was just tired, the ski trip was for me to take a break from everything and I just wanted to sleep, not go out. "By the way there's meant to be a thunderstorm tonight."
He added that last bit almost as an afterthought and I froze, immediately knowing why the four of them were going out. They were trying to set me and Lachlan up again and I was well aware of it, even if Lachlan wasn't.
"You lot are all dickheads." I glared and Mitch grinned, waving his hand dismissively.
"You'll thank me later." And with that he headed out the door, leaving alone in stunned silence and a kernel of fear lodged in my chest.
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I whimpered and covered my head, jumping as a boom of thunder echoed through the air. I was scared, I was terrified and the only person in the house with me was the person I had had the biggest crush on for the longest time.
He was downstairs, he had finished editing and was taking some time to relax by watching some show on the television in the lounge. But this meant I was alone up in our shared bedroom, scared out of my mind with my hands over my ears.
The rain was beating on the roof, lashing against the window and after an hour or so I got so scared, my heart pounding ever time lightening lit up the sky, that I started to call for Lachlan. My voice was strained and far too quiet for him to hear me, so I knew he wouldn't come.
I pulled a blanket around my shoulders and stumbled from my bed, whimpering in fear whenever the crack of thunder sounded and practically crawled down the stairs to find Lachlan. He was, as I thought, relaxing on the couch and watching television and to my surprise he was watching Harry Potter.
He looked up as I wandered in and just moved over a little, patting the couch and gesturing for me to lie down beside him. I fell onto the couch and curled up beside him, pulling the blanket up over my head and just tried to ignore everything outside. Lachlan wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer.
Everything was okay for just a little while. Lachlan was quite content to continue watching Harry Potter and let me practically lie on top of him, running his hands through my hair every time I jumped.
But then the power went out.
Everything just cut out and the entire room went black, scaring the life of me and making me bury myself even closer to Lachlan. He hushed me gently.
"It's okay Vikk, you're okay, it's just a thunderstorm, it's just a power outage." I started to cry when the thunder boomed so loudly it sounded like it was directly overhead. Lachlan pulled me closer and wiped the tears away with his thumb.
I sobbed quietly, listening to the pounding rain on the roof and just bracing for the next boom of thunder.
"Vikk?" He whispered. "Can you look at me please?"
I raised my head and he smiled painfully, knowing that I was really, really scared.
"Oh Vikky...." He sighed, pushing some of my hair out of my eyes. "Come here, it's alright."
I pushed myself closer and nestled myself in his chest, sighing a little and slowly managing to relax as he carded his hand through my hair. H My head moved with his chest, going up and down along with his slow and steady breathing and whenever there was a boom of thunder overhead his grip tightened, telling me he was there and everything was okay.
My eyes had just flickered closed when I felt his lips on my forehead. He placed a gentle kiss there, continuing to run his hands through my hair as though nothing had happened but I knew what it meant.
There was no big confession, not even a proper kiss really, but I knew what that kiss meant and he knew that I knew as well. In that kiss was his love and I returned it by gently squeezing his hand, telling him that it was okay.
I almost couldn't hear the wind and the rain as I fell asleep, Lachlan blocked out all of the noises of the thunder and swirling storm just by being there and it was comforting. I fell asleep to his gentle breathing, his light touches and his comfort, not a dark thought in my head.
That little kernel of fear was gone, replaced by warmth and love in my heart.
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There was quiet giggling and I nestled closer to Lachlan, gripping the blanket around my shoulders. He was still asleep and I was curled up into his side, and as I blinked, opening my eyes for the first time, I was greeted by his chest.
I rolled over and was immediately greeted by 4 faces, who were all grinning and giggling. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, poking my tongue out at the others, who were all looking like they wanted to explode with happiness, Mitch was jumping up and down and Preston was bouncing on his toes.
"What?" I mumbled, feeling Lachlan stirring gently behind me. He groaned and I felt his arms reaching out for me, wrapping around my waist and trying to pull me back into him.
"Oh my god that's so cute!!!" Rob whispered-yelled, spinning in the circle and clapping excitedly. "I cannot believe that all it took for you two to get together was a thunderstorm."
I glared at him tiredly and sat up on the couch, the blanket falling from around my shoulders. I yawned and gently reassured Lachlan that I was still there, his arms were still reaching out for me, so I squeezed his hand to tell him that I was beside him.
His reaction was immediate and he relaxed into me, finally opening his eyes as he woke up.
"Hey Lachy." I whispered, giggling a bit as he smiled when he heard my voice.
"Mornin' Vikk." His voice was hoarse and rough and cracked half way through the sentence, making me laugh. Jerome giggled, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Thanks for last night Lachy." He opened his eyes and smiled at me.
"It's okay Vikk, everyone has fears." He sat up and kissed me gently. "And now it's my job to protect you from them."
