Unseen

Chapter 18

I sent Flynn a text over an hour ago now, telling him that my parents said he could come over, but I still haven't heard anything back. Hoping he's just sleeping and not blowing me off, I set my phone aside and settle at my desk to work on the final draft of my story for submission.

My eyes flying across the screen, occasionally adjusting or rewording certain things, I completely lose myself in the little world that I have created, successfully transporting myself to a scene of my own creation and losing all sense of time and reality. When a hand lands on my shoulder, I gasp loudly and rip my eyes away from the screen, not having noticed anybody enter my room, only to be met with a pair of wide, chocolate brown eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I did text you, but I guess you didn't see it." I blink rapidly several times, trying to calm my racing heart and bring myself back to the present. Is it normal to lose yourself so thoroughly in the world of fiction? "Mouse?" I shake my head and take a deep breath, offering him a smile.

"Sorry, I was just working on editing." I glance at my phone and my eyes widen when I see that four hours have passed since I sat down.

"No worries. How's it going?" he asks, nodding at my computer to clarify what he's referring to before he slowly starts looking around my room, and I'm suddenly hit with the realization that he hasn't been in here since that day.

"Uh..." I clear my throat and save the document before closing the lid on my laptop and spinning in my seat to face him. "Good. Just putting the finishing touches on now."

"Would you boys like some lunch?" Pops asks as he pokes his head into the room, glancing between the two of us.

"That would be wonderful, sir, thank you," Flynn says with a small smile and Pops flushes lightly and rolls his eyes as he stands up straight.

"Please, Flynn, sir is far too formal – just call me Luke. But... maybe use sir for Ash, he's..." he trails off, biting down on his lower lip as his eyes flick over to me before returning to Flynn and shrugging. He turns on his heel and leaves us alone while Flynn turns to look at me with an eyebrow raised.

"He's what?" he asks and I sigh as I stand up from my chair.

"Not a fan of you. You have a lot of work to do if you're planning on sticking around, dude." He pales slightly and lowers his gaze to the ground, chewing on his bottom lip as he shoves his hands in his pockets. He stays silent for several moments before his shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath and he nods to himself before looking back up at me.

"Well, then, let's go eat, because I have some charming to do." I snort and roll my eyes, taking his hand and dragging him out of the room. As soon as I realize what I'm doing, I quickly drop his hand and blush, looking down at my feet as I walk down the hallway.

"Sorry," I mumble and he chuckles in reply, nudging my shoulder with his in a playful manner as we start descending the stairs.

"I figured after what happened this morning, holding hands would be a non-issue," he teases and I glance up at him to see him smiling back at me, making my blush deepen.

"And what exactly happened this morning?" I jump and look up to see Dad standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow raised as he watches us.

"N-nothing. Pop said there's food?" His eyes narrow slightly before he slowly nods and gestures towards the kitchen. I duck my head and move to pass him with Flynn, but he grabs my wrist and halts my movements. Flynn slows his steps, glancing back at me, before stopping altogether, but Dad clears his throat and looks pointedly in the direction of the kitchen. Giving me an apologetic smile, Flynn slowly turns and makes his way in the direction Dad sent him.