LOVESTRUCK ━ lip gallagher¹

18 | turn around

★

EVEN THE THICK BLANKETS Amara was wrapped in couldn't keep the cold outside air from sinking on her skin, and Lip himself was freezing, too, so curling up against him hardly made any difference. "Jesus Christ it's cold as balls," she muttered, and though his eyes were still closed, he nodded in agreement. One of his hands was drawing patterns on her bare back as he pulled her closer—if that were remotely possible.

"You're not gonna leave now, right?" He wondered, and she blinked in confusion, turning her head to look at him. His hair was ruffled from sleep, and she ran a hand through it absentmindedly.

"You're the one with the one night stand record."

"I know," he replied, almost sheepishly. "But I've been thinking and...I don't want that with you. I mean I want to be with you. And not just as you know..."

"A sex partner?"

"Yeah. I don't want you to get scared off again like you always do." She furrowed her brows. "I think we all have it. The barricade around our hearts because of what our parents did. But I don't want you to pull away again."

"I won't," Amara promised. "But I will freeze to death if we stay here naked any longer." She went to get up, only pausing once she realized he was staring at her. "Turn around."

"Every now and then I get a little-"

"Lip!"

"Seriously? I've already seen it all already."

"Just do it!"

"Fine," he huffed, looking mildly amused as he flipped onto his other side, and she quickly slipped on her undergarments, before pulling on her pants and sweatshirt.

"I'm done."

"I know."

She whirled around. "Tell me you watched me the whole time."

That glint was in his eyes again. "Definitely not."

She shot him a look. "You're full of shit. Asshole."

"That's usually what asses are full of," he retorted cheekily. She glared at him, and at the same time chucked a pillow at his head. "Gigantic bitch."

★

Cleaning up the tents took shorter than Amara expected. It was a lot easier to take them down rather than putting them up—she and Lip had been one of the first people done. Of course, she'd suggested helping the others out, but the blonde boy shook his head and tugged on her hand—and that's where they were, now. Trudging up a hill with the sun beating down on them.

Amara had pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail that swung back and forth over her jacket covered shoulders. She kept her eyes on the back of Lip's head, a little confused. After she finally managed to convince him that they needed to leave the tent, Lip disappeared for a good hour and when he returned he was acting completely off. Amara kicked and poked him but he did not let up.

He'd been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time they walked up the hill, barely squeezing her hand back when she went to grab his. She didn't know whether to push him so he'd roll back down on the grass, or cry because maybe after the previous night he began to realize that he didn't want to be with her anymore.

"Lip," she finally broke the silence, groaning almost. "Where are we even going? My legs are starting to hurt-"

"Only starting to?" He asked, shooting her a lopsided grin that made her roll her eyes in attempt to hide the blush forming on her cheeks. "We're almost there, anyway."

"Where is 'there?'"

Her question was answered when they finally reached the top of the hill, and she felt her eyes widen in surprise. A gust of wind blew, making her shiver, but the weather was the last thing on her mind as she stared at the scene in front of her.

A small white and red plaid blanket was laid out on the dying grass before them, a wicker basket sat on top, two wine glasses off to the side. "Holy fuck." Lip let out a relived sigh. She glanced to him in shock. "You did this?!"

"Well, yeah-"

His reply was cut off as she threw herself at him to crash their lips together. He grinned against her, and by the time they pulled away, they were both completely breathless.

"You like it, then?" Lip asked once they had settled onto the blanket. Amara was bundled up in his coat after he insisted she wore it. She pulled out the wine glasses with a quizzical head tilt. "Oh, yeah. I just brought orange juice though. Figured we could act fancy for the hell of it."

She laughed. "Fine with me."

They ate mostly in silence, sometimes, Lip would crack a joke about the night before and she'd have to punch his arm. Other than that, he was oddly fidgety and she'd often find him staring at his hands nervously. It took her about ten minutes before the curiosity got the better of her, and she dropped her hash brown onto the paper plate.

"I think I could have a better conversation with the trees right now."

He lifted his head. "I'm eating."

"Never stopped you before," she retorted, and he rolled his eyes. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Okay, grandpa." When she shot him an annoyed look, he sighed. "Just thinking, y'know?" He said after a moment. "About everything."

"About my amazing sex skills you mean," Amara corrected. This time, he punched her arm. She snorted. "Well, what then?"

"Just...life and stuff."

"Very specific."

The next words out of his mouth were spoken so quickly that she blinked a few times before she put together what he'd said. "I want you to be my girlfriend."

She nearly spat out the juice she was drinking. "What?!"

"I mean I want you to be you don't have to be obviously I was just-"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

She kicked him. "Of course I'll be your girlfriend, dickhead."

Lip's face broke out into a smile. "Really?"

"Well now that I think about it..." She trailed off, pulling a mock look of thought. He scoffed and tackled her to the ground and stabbed her with his fingers until she was breathless with laughter.

He straightened up, pulling her along with him. "You really want to? Be my girlfriend, I mean."

Though her voice was thick, her expression did not flicker. "You're all I've ever wanted."

★

a/n

finalllly only took them 53 chapters