Jaded • Harrison Osterfield • fwb!au

Chapter iii • nsfw •

The inevitable had happened. It waited until she was alone at home, curled up on the sofa watching The Bake Off on the telly with a warm cup of chamomile tea in her hands. Of course it happened then, it was impossible that memories like that made their way to the front and centre of her —or anyone's— mind in an appropriate moment, but what moment was appropriate to think about these sort of things?

She let out loud laughs, allowing them to mix with the music as her best friend twirled her around the dance floor at the school dance. She stole glances at Tom every now and then a glimmer of hope in her eyes every time he gave her a big smile and an approving nod. The lights dimmed as the catchy pop song ended and a ballad began to play, several groans could be heard over the piano and a few left the dance floor to take a break, but not y/n or her friends, who had their dates wrapped in their arms as they started to sway to the rhythm of the music.

Her arms slowly slinked themselves around Rae's neck his hands resting on her upper waist as he beamed at her and began to sway along the reduced space they were allowed in the small crowd. Her heart thudded rapidly, banging against her ribcage threatening with jumping right out. Her feet subtly shuffled closer to the boy, her right cheek almost touching his left one.

She liked him, she liked him a lot. He was her best friend, but she couldn't help but feel that all those smiles he directed at her were something else, that maybe he felt the same, that maybe he had fallen for her as well as she had for him. Tom knew and so did Harrison, they both had encouraged her to do what she was about to do because they too could see that something she saw in Rae's eyes. That was the reason for her heart attempting to escape her body, for her palms sweating and mouth drying out. She gave Tom one last glance and he gave her a thumbs up so she moved to face Rae, her eyes looking straight at him for a few seconds then she closed them, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on the boy's lips.

Rae's body froze, his eyes widened and his breath got stuck in his throat. When she pulled away her lovestruck eyes focused on Rae's shocked, dare she said panicked hazel eyes, she felt a weird shiver numb her body as she had just received a minuscule electric shock. "Rae, I really like you, I—" She began to speak but the boy's hands detaching hers from around his neck and literally throwing them back at her cut her short.

"Are you mental!? Y/n, why would I like you!?" Rae nothing but shouted at her, trying to make his voice be heard above the music, only for the song to end abruptly and his raspy voice expanded throughout the dance floor filled with their schoolmates. Several pairs of eyes on them, on her, including Tom's and Harrison's. Her breath began to quicken the more they stared, her eyes brimming with tears not only at the rejection but at the embarrassment he was putting her through.

The lights changed to bright blues and reds followed by upbeat music, "'M sorry," She wheezed, backing away from him, hitting a few bodies as she kept taking steps backwards to get away from him, from everyone. Someone held her when she was about to tumble down as she tripped on someone's foot, when she recovered her balance she turned and began to run, pushing through the people that had circled around her and Rae.

She faintly heard her name being called above the music but the loud, dizzying buzz in her head and the lack of air in her lungs were pushing her to keep going without wanting to look back to just make it out of the place that felt like it was falling down on her, crushing her. Her whole body clashed against the door of the auditorium and into the dark hallway adorned with colourful curly paper strings and sparkly tinsel. She was finally out of the room but there wasn't enough air in the hallway either, her numb legs summoned the strength to take her out of the building at a steady pace.