𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 AWSTEN KNIGHT | on hold

nine

ix. 22 BY TAYLOR SWIFT

monday, may 19th, 2014 (6 years ago)

IT WAS HERC KLINE'S 22ND BIRTHDAY. May 19th, 2014. Naturally, he played 22 by Taylor Swift more than once.

  Rosie Soap was only 21 at the time, a few months away from turning 22, and she was going to be late to the party. She had said that days ago. Something to do with work or school or something.

  Awsten Knight was waiting for her. He looked down into one of those red Solo cups full of root beer as people from his friend's school filed in and out of the apartment.

  It was a Monday night. Everyone around him had school tomorrow. Awsten wasn't sure why Herc had to have this party tonight of all nights, but it was very important to him for some reason that his birthday party be on his birthday exactly.

  Awsten couldn't find Aurora, or West, or the birthday boy, so he stood by himself. Otto was busy and couldn't make it, Travis had to work, and Jawn was out of town.

  He didn't have a girlfriend to bring with. He'd just got out of a relationship, but there were still issues with her that caused his troubles to continue. This party was supposed to be a distraction.

  So 22-year-old Awsten Knight stood near the front door, waiting for the only person in this world who could distract him.

  "Hey, I'm here. Sorry, I'm late," Rosie Soap apologized, walking into the apartment what felt like hours later. She had seen Awsten right away, and her night was instantly made better.

  "What took so long?" Awsten asked. "You screwing your professor or something?"

  "If only," she laughed. "Maybe it would help me sit through his lectures easier."

  "Juniper, I was joking. Don't fuck your teacher."

  "Where's Herc?" she asked, finally taking her coat off and hanging it up on the coat rack.

  "God, who knows. Haven't been able to find him all night," Awsten admitted.

  "Have you been standing here by yourself all night?" she asked, checking her watch. "Jesus, are you serious? All night?"

  He shook his head. "No, no. I was talking to Rora earlier...and some guy named...Chip? Does that sound familiar? I don't know. He told me about the 'benefits of smoking cigarettes' and nearly knocked me out when I told him I don't drink."

  "Yeah, he's had some classes with Herc over the past few years," she laughed. "I've never liked him."

  They stood in the doorway talking for a while. "Fuck." Rosie smacked her forehead. "My room. I forgot to check if they locked the door like I asked."

  She had a thing about where her bedroom door always needed to be locked if people were over while she was gone. Aurora and West almost always forgot to lock it for her.

  But when Awsten and Rosie went to check, "Thank god," Rosie sighed. "Wait here."

  She left Awsten standing outside her bedroom as she quickly ran back over to her coat and grabbed her keys. When she came back, she unlocked her bedroom door and ushered for him to come inside.

  "No one cool is here anyways," she shrugged. "Might as well have some fun tonight."

  Before the two of them knew it, they were kissing. Hurried movements, the both of them had wanted to do this for so long, and now they finally were.

  But after what seemed like the thousandth loop of '22,' Awsten pulled away.

  "No," he said, his eyes still closed and his voice a little rough. "No, I can't do this. Rosie, I can't..."

  He pushed Rosie off of him and got up from her bed. "I'm sorry," was all he said before leaving her bedroom and then the party.

sunday, december 13th (now)

"What is there to talk about?" Current, 28-year-old Rosie asked.

  "I've thought about that night almost every single day," he admitted.

  Rosie laid down on her bed and looked up at the stickers on her ceiling. Awsten did the same, mirroring their position from the night before.

  I don't want to talk about this, she screamed in her head.

  She didn't want to talk about that night. Didn't want to talk about how it shattered her like glass when he got up and left.

  So she told him that. Well, not all of it. "I don't want to talk about this," she repeated, this time aloud.

  "Okay," he said simply. Maybe they'd talk about it later; He hoped they'd talk about it later.

  There was a small silence between the two of them before Rosie asked, "Before we don't talk about it, could you at least tell me why you got up and left?"

  "No, I can't do this," 22-year-old Awsten's words rang through her head.

  "Why couldn't you do it?" She turned to look at him. "Why couldn't you stay and keep kissing me?"

  Awsten turned to look at her as well. His choices haunted him to this day. That drive home from Herc's party was when he had finally realized what he said to her.

  "Because that's not how I pictured it," he explained. "That's not how I wanted to kiss you first."

here's the cake, lol. it looks really gross but omg it was so good.