𝚃𝚘𝚛𝚗- ᑕ0ᗰᑭᒪᗴ丅ᗴ

ch 19: sunny

After hopping out of the car in the parking lot of Heart and Seoul BBQ, I yanked Nate's arm to stay back with me.

Tristan gave us a look and I smiled at him, shoving him towards his parents, who were already approaching the entrance.

"I'll meet you inside in a sec. I just wanna talk to Nate really quickly."

Tristan gave Nate one more look before turning to enter the restaurant and as I turned to face Nate, he gave me a curious head tilt.

"What's up, Flower?"

I bit my lip nervously before taking a deep breath.

"I just-- I wanna make sure we're okay. I mean, I don't know... it's felt kinda weird since... ya know..."

Nate smiled and shook his head, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

"Don't worry, Flower... we're okay."

"Are you sure?"

He chuckled and pulled me in for a long hug, never letting me go as he spoke, keeping his chin resting on the top of my head.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I won't lie-- at first, it did sting, but, at the end of the day, you're my best friend. There's no way I can't not have you in my life."

He left a kiss on my forehead before pulling me away, turning me towards the restaurant with his hands on my shoulders.

"Now, come on. I'm starving."

✨

"Yeah, Dad... Korean BBQ was awesome!"

"Well, I'm glad you had fun, Babygirl. What time are you heading home? Remember, curfew's--"

"Curfew is at eleven. Dad, I know."

I looked over at the clock on the wall which read 10:20 and knew that with how close I lived, I'd be home in no time.

After telling my dad I'd see him later, I hung up and sat back, looking over Nate, next to me on the couch. He smiled and threw his arm back over my shoulder, where it was before I sat up to take my Dad's call.

"We have time for another episode."

He grabbed the remote to begin playing the next episode of the show we were watching just as I stood from the couch, stretching on the tips of my toes.

"I was actually gonna go check on Tris."

Nate's smile fell but he nodded anyway.

Tristan had initially begun watching television with us but said he wanted to skate for a while.

As I walked out the O'Connell's back doors, down the little trail to his personal skate haven, I was surprised to hear the familiar sounds of guitar chords being played.

As I got closer I could see Tristan sitting on the edge of the bowl with his leg dangling in, his back towards me.

The chords were definitely a little rough, but he didn't stop and I loved that about him... his determination. He played through every note of the melody, drawing me in with every silent step I took.

The moment I sat next to him on the edge he jumped back. After carefully setting the guitar down next to him, he turned back to look at me with a weird look on his face.

"I didn't know you played."

"I kinda picked it up last year..."

"Well, you sound really good."

"Yeah, right."

I lead over and nudged his shoulder playfully while kicking my legs back and forth.

"I mean it, Tris. It wasn't that bad."

He chuckled and tilted his head back as he nodded.

"Gee, thanks, Bunni. How will I ever be able to live this embarrassment down?"

"Aww, I'm sorry, Tris."

He shook his head, feigning heartbreak as he clutched his chest.

"No... I don't think I'll ever be able to recover, unless..."

"Unless...?"

He picked up his acoustic guitar and held it in front of me with a smirk on his face.

"Unless you play something for me."

I looked down at the guitar and began to nervously shake my head.

"Tris, I--"

"Have never played anything for me or even really let me hear you. Come on Bun... please. For-- for me?"

After taking a deep breath, I grabbed the guitar, setting it on my leg as I strummed a few strings, making sure it was in tune.

"Okay..."

🖤