Old Friends (Colby Brock x Reader)

Chapter 17 - Exploration Part 2

Reader's POV

The moment Colby left the atmosphere in the room changed, and I shivered as an eeriness set in.

Glancing back towards the stairs, I wished I had just let Colby pee in the corner of the room.

A few seconds passed, and the dark creepy feeling started to get too much.

Deciding to go down and wait for Colby, I quickly jogged down the stairs to the ground level. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs when I saw a door open by the entrance that definitely wasn't open when we went upstairs. Going over, I peered down another staircase.

"Colby?" I called his name. I heard a faint response from below and the sound of shuffling.

"Why has he gone down there?" I asked myself as I took hesitant steps down the stairs.

My nose wrinkled at the musty smell that hit me as I reached the last step.

"Colby?" I asked again, but I didn't get an answer this time.

Instead there was only a scraping noise coming from behind some furniture stacked up on the far wall.

"Colby, you better not jump out at me!" I said warningly, because this was just like him. I remembered all the times he tried to jump scare me when we were at school.

"Okay, starting to get a little freaked out now..." I thought when there was still no response.

"Colby?" I cringed as my voice wavered slightly as fear started to creep in.

Suddenly there was a slam, and a low voice growled from the corner of the room.

"Get out!" The deep whisper echoed, and I startled when I realised that it wasn't Colby's voice. I screamed and turned my heels to book it back up the stairs.

"Colby!" I cried when I made it half way up.

"Y/N?!" I heard him yell from somewhere else in the building. I spotted him as soon as I reached the main area again, and I launched myself at him.

"Y/N! Y/N WHAT- ooff" I cut him off as I slammed into him, throwing my arms around his waist as I buried my head into his shoulder, tears wetting his shirt.

He wrapped his arms around me almost immediately, and I was pulled in gently against him.

"Y/N, what's wrong? Are you okay?!" I felt his panicked questions reverberate in his chest next to my head, but I could only choke out more sobs.

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Colby's POV

I gripped her tighter when I felt her trembling as she cried harder. I had never seen her this upset before, and I hated it. I continued to hold her until there was no more tears, only quiet sniffs.

"Hey..." I murmured softly, pulling away I cupped her face between my palms. My heart clenched at her tear-streaked face, and I brushed my thumbs across her cheeks to brush them away gently.

"Y/N, What happened? Where were you?" I asked lowly.

"Can we just go please?" She replied shakily.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Come on." Taking my hands from her face I offered one out for her to take. She stared at it for a moment, before shuffling closer and tucking herself into my side instead. Not that I minded at all as I threw my arm around her shoulders.

Her hands wound into my t-shirt along the way back to the car. I could tell how out of it she was feeling due to the fact that I had to help her climb over the fences this time. I wanted to ask so many questions, but she was being so quiet that I knew I had to let her talk in her own time.

We made it back to the car 15 minutes later.

I gazed at her after we had climbed into the car, wanting to say something to comfort her but not knowing what. I sighed as I turned to slide the key into the ignition.

"I-" My eyes shot back to her when I heard her soft voice.

"I followed you downstairs because I didn't want to be alone. I heard noises coming from the basement... I thought it was you so I went down there..." She explained, her tone haunted. "There was a bang and a voice... It told me to get out." Wet eyes met mine, and I gawked at her for a moment as I processed what she had told me.

"Jesus... I'm so sorry, Y/N." Leaning across I grasped her hand.

"It's not your fault." She told me adamantly, but I didn't answer.

I felt like it was my fault. I took her to that place, and she wouldn't be hurting like this if I hadn't.

Her eyes softened, before she sighed and pulled her hand away. "Let's just go, alright?"

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An hour later...

I followed after her into my bedroom to ask if she needed anything before we went to bed.

"Can you sleep in here tonight?" Unbeknownst to me, she repeated a similar request that I had the night before.

"Yeah, sure." She nodded gratefully.

I slipped into a vest top and shorts while she changed in the bathroom, and we were soon laying facing each other on my bed. She had the hood of the hoodie that was once mine pulled up over her head, and I smiled at the koala ears.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"Just a little shaken up I think." She responded with a trembling breath.

"It's okay. You're safe now." I reassured her softly which made her smile. She shifted so she was snuggled up into me and I flopped an arm over her.

"Are you okay?" I was glad that she couldn't really see my face as I answered.

"When I heard you scream, I-" I shuddered at the thought, and Y/N must've felt it because she moved closer. "I thought that you were hurt." I finished, and my arm unconsciously tightened around her waist.

"It's okay. I'm okay, Colbs." She soothed, before continuing "we'll just have to make sure to stick together next time."

I pulled away slightly to stare down in mild shock at the top of her head.

"What?! You want to go exploring again?" I asked incredulous.

"Yeah... I don't want to go back to that place ever, but it was fun up to that point."

I laughed and shook my head slightly. I couldn't believe how strong she was.

However, it also made me fearful. I was going to have to do better in looking out for her next time. I won't let her out of my sight.

I don't know why I feel so protective over her, although I felt the same about the girls in my friend group, especially Kat and Devyn. However it was more like a big brother protectiveness with them, it was different with Y/N... More intense.

"Maybe it's just because I've known her for longer." I mused.

Or maybe it was something more.

I remembered the conversation I had with Sam at the beach, and the similar one I had with Brennen at the bar last night. They both wanted me to act on my feelings for her, but they didn't understand. Neither of them knew what it was like to have fans constantly commenting on every single relationship they had with a girl. I thought back to how well the fans had accepted Kat when Sam had introduced her as his girlfriend.

"Why couldn't they do the same for me? Don't they want me to be happy?" I asked myself miserably.

In the end it would all come down to whether she even felt the same way about me, and whether we thought it was worth getting the backlash.

Glancing down I noticed that she wasn't moving and was breathing heavily. I murmured her name softly, and deduced that she had fallen asleep when I didn't get an answer.

I scooted closer so her head was tucked under my chin, and closed my eyes. It felt so right to have her in my arms like this. I soon fell asleep with a smile on my face.