Secrets | TMR | One

5:4

A/N Gonna give u a nice chapter after that last one
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Not three hours later, Nick is awoken, once again, by that familiar feeling of static. His brain jolting awake, alerting him of the restricted blood flow.

Dark clouds fogging his skin and lightning bolts surging through his veins. But rather than his face being the receiver of the attack, it is his hand. His left one, to be precise. The boy keeps his eyes closed, not quite ready for his corneas to be burnt with the morning sun piercing through the window. Attempting to move, his hand burns with the sensation of tiny nails being jabbed into the creases of his fingers.

Drawing his right hand up to shield his eyes, Nick squints his head towards the wall and begins gently peeling his lids open. As soon as they land on the source, a warm and loving smile weaves itself onto his features.

Adeline lays next to him, her body facing his, with her head resting on his forearm and her left hand tightly clutching the crook of his elbow. Her hair dancess all around her, cocooning her face within its thick mane of fiery tangerine coloured curly locks.

She looks... calm. Peaceful, even. Worlds away from how she looked just a few hours prior. It warms Nick's heart to see her this way, without the worry lines on her forehead, and without the burden of her memories trapped behind her deep blue eyes, like sunken ships lodged in the murky sands in the depths of the ocean.

She looks beautiful.

Nick continues to gaze at the girl, his eyes fluttering over her entire face, taking in every blemish, every freckle. Grated chocolate delicately sprinkled over swirls of vanilla. The skin on the left side of her face sunken in slightly from the position she lays in, curving graciously around her cheekbones and chin. Even the right side of her face, with the skin squished together against the pillow, is still mesmerising to him.

It is moments like these that the boy realises the true difference between loving someone and being in love with them.

And, by God, he was in...

"You should take a picture" her quiet voice mumbles, and as Nick flickers his eyes down to her lips, he notices a soft smirk toying with the edges.

A small smile of his own twirls its way onto his features, and an airy chuckle is released through his nose. "I don't have a camera" he whispers, pulling his right hand over and using it to tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.

"You cheesy bastard" Adeline responds, her voice hoarse and groggy from hours of crying the night before. She allows a few small giggles to choke their way out of her throat as she turns onto her back. "Don't ever say anything like that again."

"Fuck up" the boy chuckles. Keeping his eyes trained on the side of Adeline's head, his features turn serious. "How are you feeling today?"

Nick could feel the shift in the atmosphere, could see the way her eyes swirl as the memories of the night before battle their way to the front of her mind.

He can see the moment it all hits her.

Adeline says nothing in response to his question, and Nick can tell by the faraway look in her eyes that she has become trapped in the memory once more. Still, he waits a moment, knowing that eventually, the inevitable lie of "I'm fine" will tumble from her mouth, and the ghost of a smile will flutter over her lips. But that is all it will be.

A ghost.

Transparent in the way it will not travel as far as her eyes, but instead, gently flurry over the top of her features. She keeps it there during the day. Like waves created by a boat sailing across the great ocean, her face never seems to relax from that smile.