one of the boys » david dobrik au

twelve

"You've got a crush," Zane singsonged the first moment we were alone. David had went off to do homework in his room, and Zane had practically begged to join me for a movie night. I wasn't all that interested in the superhero movie he picked, but I sat silently through it... until he started that.

"On who?" I asked, although I knew just from his smile what he was thinking.

"Shut up. You're telling me you're not in love with David?" he raised his eyebrows in a smug manner, like he had caught me. I had to laugh. If that were true, I'd be squirming and blushing and reverting back to my old shy self. The fact that I just thought it was funny proved to me that wasn't true.

"David's my friend. Do you not remember the rules we set when we moved in here?"

"So the rules are the only thing stopping you," he smirked and I rolled my eyes.

"No. I really don't have a crush on him. But if I did, I just wouldn't because we all agreed. Duh. I'm not a person who goes back on their word."

"You guys would be cute together," Zane commented. "But don't get your hopes up about anything just because I say it. David doesn't get girlfriends."

"There are no hopes to get up, Zane. I seriously see him as a friend," I reminded him. "Why doesn't he get girlfriends?"

"Mommy issues," he said, then seemed to regret bringing it up. "He'll probably tell you the story when he's ready. He doesn't really trust anyone. He didn't even tell me for the first two years I knew him. I just thought he was a player."

"He gets a lot of girls?" I asked, confused. In the time I'd lived in the house, Zane was the player of the group. David went home with Natalie every other weekend, but it was a rare occasion that he brought another girl home. I assumed Jeff was a player before he settled down with Carly (not that they had DTRed yet... which was scary).

"He used to. He still would if he went for it. I think he likes Natalie a little more than he lets on, but he doesn't want to pursue it," Zane said.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "It's weird to me that they hook up. They act like siblings in front of us. I really think he's just bored or something."

"He might be. I don't understand them either. He either likes her, or he likes having one regular fuck buddy instead of a bunch of random girls," Zane seemed to scoff at that. "Fucking boring."

"I mean, if she's good, she's good," I laughed. "Maybe she's particularly skilled in that field. She does have a big ass, you know."

"That she does, that she does."

By the time we finished gossiping about everyone we knew, the movie was halfway over and I couldn't follow the plot if I tried. I fell asleep and Zane left me alone sometime after that.

The next few days were pretty busy. Midterms were coming up, which meant I had to actually focus on studying. I was always a pretty smart girl, and I never really studied before I took tests. I was the type to review my notes a few times just an hour before the test and still get an A.

My professors made it seem like it was impossible to pass these midterms without a lot of studying. One of my classes only had two tests: the midterm and the final. This led me to believe that I really needed to buckle down and study, something that was hard to do in a house with three rowdy boys.

I couldn't comprehend how they could possibly drink so much. I had never really noticed before, when I wasn't so focused on reading over every single detail of my notes and watching endless videos over countless topics. Now, it seemed all they did was crack open beers and scream as they played their stupid video games. It seemed they didn't have many midterms to study for, or if they did, they didn't care enough to. I wished I could be as laidback as them.

I wasn't, though.

"You're seriously not coming out at all this weekend?" David asked from where he was leaned in my doorframe, Jeff over his shoulder staring at me.

"I can't," I sighed. "I really have to study."

"You've been studying for four days straight," Jeff reminded me. "You can go out one night. We can't go out without you. That'd be so sad."

"I can't fail my tests. I moved all the way here, and I need to make my first semester good," I explained, feeling tears prick my eyes. I wasn't necessarily sad, but it was annoying that I felt that I wasn't good enough to go out.

"Let me talk to her," David spoke quietly to Jeff, who nodded and left us alone. He took the opportunity to close my door and come join me on the bed, not bothering to even take his shoes off. "What's wrong, Cam?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm just gonna cry," I admitted, and David kicked my computer away from me gently, forcing me to look at him.

"You can cry. I'm staying here with you."

"No, you should go. I'd feel horrible if you stayed home just because of me," I told him.

"I don't care. I'm not gonna let you sit here alone and upset," he sighed. "So tell me what's wrong. Why are you studying so much? You're a smart girl."

"I just don't want to fail," I covered my face so he wouldn't see the tears building up. "I moved all the way here because a fucking boy hurt my feelings, and I'm, like, four hours away from home, and if I fail my first semester, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm gonna feel so stupid for coming all this way and trying to prove myself and then failing."

"Come here," he opened his arms and I laid down, letting him wrap me in a weird mix between a hug and a cuddle. "You don't have to prove yourself to anyone, yeah? You don't have anyone's opinion to worry about but your own. He really fucked you up, didn't he?"

I nodded against his chest. I said, "I did everything to make him happy, and in the end, it just wasn't enough."

"Nothing will ever be enough for a psychopath like him. The good news is, you're two hours away from your old college and you'll never see him again and he'll never know if you got a fucking B on your midterms, which is the lowest grade you'd ever get," he reassured me. "So do you want to stay here and cry, or do you want to go out and manipulate Matt into buying all your drinks?"

"Don't say it like that," I smacked his arm, pulling away from him. "I don't manipulate him. He's just nice."

"Whatever you say," David smirked. "So we're going?"

I huffed, wiping under my eyes where my makeup from earlier must've smeared. "Give me fifteen minutes to get ready. And bring me a drink, while you're at it."

He smiled, a genuine, bright smile, and said, "Anything for you, princess."

I LOVE THEM i need someone to care about me like i need it i need it

Xoxo abby