The Treehouse [BxB]

twenty nine

Mickey was sprawled out on Fran's bed, staring up at the ceiling while she sat at her desk, typing away on her laptop. He had been back at university for a week now, but Fran had only returned the previous night. And because she was a skilled procrastinator, she had done no work over the Christmas break, and was desperately trying to catch up now, before lectures resumed.

"I saw Riley." Mickey told her.

"Yeah, she mentioned it." Fran replied, her eyes scanning the computer screen, "She said she was glad to hear you were happy. Last time she saw you, you weren't."

"Last time, I was a mess." He sighed, hopping off the bed, and crossing the room, "Did you get up to much over the break?" He asked her absentmindedly, peering over her shoulder, "There's a spelling mistake-"

"I know." Fran swatted his hand away, "And no, I didn't do much over the holidays. I had a lot of sex, though."

"With who?"

She shrugged, "Some girl I met online. She's cute."

"Yeah?" He rose his brows. He was restless, with too much energy to kill. He picked up a tube of mascara and unscrewed the cap, staring down at the brush curiously.

"Yeah. She goes to uni in Manchester, though."

"That's not too far from here."

"It's far enough." Fran spun around in her chair, and noticed him rummaging through her makeup bag, "What are you doing?"

"I don't know." He sighed, putting the mascara back, "I'm just bored."

She shut her laptop, a smirk tugging at her lips, "You ever thought about wearing makeup?"

He scoffed, "No."

"Really? Because you look pretty interested in my-"

"I'm just bored." He said again.

"Maybe you should try it. You might like it."

He shook his head, and decided to change the subject, "Can I tell you something?"

She rose her brows, tucking her blue hair behind her ear, "Of course."

"Remember how I told you that River was back...?"

She nodded.

"We're kind of..." He scratched the back of his neck bashfully, "Well, we're kind of dating now."

She smiled widely, revealing her pearly white teeth, "Shit, that's great, Mickey."

"Is it?" He asked anxiously, "Because I'm scared we're gonna fuck it up and ruin what we had."

"You won't."

"How do you know-?"

"I don't." She shrugged, "But I know you're not a reckless person. Maybe you were once, but you're not now. You wouldn't have done anything without thinking it through first."

He knew she was right. He had spent many sleepless nights stressing about his new relationship with River, but the outcome was always the same; he wanted this, and so, he wasn't going to shy away from it. "You don't think it's a bad idea?"

"I don't think it's my place to say." She responded. Maybe it wasn't the answer Mickey was looking for, but at least it was an honest one. "Look, Mickey, maybe it won't work, okay?" She said softly, "But it's worth the risk. And if you don't try, you'll never know."

He nodded, "You're right."

"I know I am. Now, can you please leave, so I can finish my work?"

He laughed, "Sure."