inhale, kevin day.

xix. doomsday

chapter nineteen
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While Maeve wouldn't consider herself a good person, she knew she wasn't inherently bad either. It was for this reason that she came to terms with the fact that she couldn't let Neil walk into a night in Columbia with the Minyards while oblivious to what was waiting for him because Neil, bless the poor boy, was as oblivious as he was socially inept.

     Not a rare attribute for a Fox, and so she'd be his back up. Kind of...

     She wasn't actually planning on letting any of them know the real reason for her tagging along.

     She'd known before she'd even shown up to the boys' room that she had to mentally prepare herself for the toxic environment that she was knowingly walking into. And so she came prepared, lugging with her a bag full of everything she needed to get ready— clothes, makeup, a couple cans of Red Bull and plenty of candy. She was also quick to let them know she was going because she wanted to.

Maeve didn't bother waiting for the inevitable "who invited you" from Andrew before declaring the bathroom a boy free zone and locking herself into it with all of her things.

     Despite living just a few miles away and her constant presence in her life, Abby still made sure to call Maeve every single afternoon to check on her, ask her if she'd had dinner yet, what she'd done that day, who she'd talked to.

     The most boring details of her life were the most interesting to Abby, and she'd never understood it. Never thought to think twice about it... at least not until just two mere hours before their daily call when Kevin had texted her throughout the entirety of a game replay he'd been studying and she read through the entire thing, as if she actually cared.

She would've been overthinking it still if not for the photo she'd sent that had his end going silent almost immediately. She'd laughed about it to herself when it took him five minutes to text her back, welcoming the distraction.

     Come over, he'd said back.

     As if it was that simple. She wished it was.

     But it wasn't, and now she was realizing that letting loose tonight just because of the crisis Kevin Day gave her by merely existing in her presence wasn't an option. It made her more angry than usual, that they were separated by a door, physical and metaphorical.

     The physical one rattled on its hinges, Andrew's voice cut through her thoughts as he shouted at her from the other side.

     "Kevin needs your oh so valuable opinion." She pictured him rolling his eyes as he continued to lazily pound his fist against the door,"He has no idea what he's doing."

     She did roll her eyes as she stepped out while adjusting her hair,"Does he ever?"

     Andrew gave her a quick once over before saying,"At least one of you has the decency to care what you look like."

     From their room, she heard Kevin grumble,"Why does it even matter what I wear? We're just getting drunk. Your deal with Neil is your business."

     "We have a reputation to uphold." Nicky cut in, standing beside Kevin when Maeve walked in with Andrew behind her, he threw up his hands and turned to her, exasperation lining his features,"C'mon, Maeve, just tell him how hot he looks in what we chose for him."

     Kevin scoffed,"No one's giving Aaron shit—"

     "Aaron always looks the same." Maeve countered, everyone turning to face him laying down on his back with his hands clasped over his stomach, looking bored out of his mind. She kept her gaze on him for two seconds longer and then moved on, his outfit was pretty much an upscale version of his usual — button down, nice pants and shoes — comfort over style, and the complete opposite of Maeve's ensemble for the night.

     "By that, she means put together." Aaron said, though he went ignored.

     Maeve surveyed Kevin's outfit for longer, eyeing the fabric straining against his biceps and the tightness of his trousers around his thighs. Fuck. Fuck. She made sure to keep her expression as annoyed as she'd been since she walked into their dorm and rose a single eyebrow at him, ignoring the tingle going down her spine as she realized he'd been taking her in too.

Eye fucking, she thought back to Matt's words before pushing them away again.

"I don't see the problem." She said simply,"They're clothes, they fit, what more could you want? Get your panties out of their bunch and finish up, if I'm ready before you are then we're gonna have some serious problems. Andrew, don't bother me again."

She walked out, ignoring his remarks on what to do if the building suddenly caught fire and slamming the bathroom closed again. She ripped her leather blazer off her shoulders the moment the lock clicked into place and cursed again. It wasn't just that she was attracted to Kevin, lust she could ignore, lust she could deal with. The other four letter L word on the other hand, was a problem she didn't want to have to ever get so near to again.

     Love and people were fickle— unreliable, difficult to understand, much less think about pouring the emotion into a single person and relying on them to return the sentiment.

Kevin Day, if left unchecked, would be the death of her.

He'd lost count of the tattoos.

     There was the easiest one to spot: a question mark on her right hand middle finger. Followed by the 'patience' written across her inner elbow, he knew she had a butterfly across her back on the left side, he knew about the '13' on her left wrist. 'Lucky', a wishbone, a lamp... she definitely had one in every language she spoke, he just didn't know their meanings.

     The knowledge of where most of them were and the clothes she was wearing were enough so he couldn't take his eyes off her. The fact that she was now sporting a new one he'd yet to uncover was exhilarating. He wanted to uncover it.

Maeve was wearing a cropped black t-shirt that left her entire midriff exposed, the belly button piercing she'd gotten on full display. He had the strangest urge to kiss her there, feel it on his tongue and drag it all the way up to her new tattoo while he was at it.

The black mini skirt she wore only added to his desire, it was tanned abs and legs for days and he couldn't exactly be blamed for staring when the only thing covering her up slightly was a black leather blazer that was longer than the skirt hugging her thighs.

Kevin was starting to think he was addicted, obsessed, consumed by all that was Maeve. While Exy was usually at the forefront of his mind, she'd stepped up to the plate and fought for her place and kept it in the few short months they'd known one another.

     He couldn't remember it ever being like this before, he'd always told himself he found her annoying and her lack of energy and effort in everything — especially Exy — was a turn off, but now he was beginning to realize that was a bold faced lie. He'd been drawn to her from the moment he met her, and maybe even a little before that.

He still remembered Riko's interest in Andrew for the Ravens and Court and he couldn't forget the mention of her. Riko had scoffed and rolled his eyes relentlessly when Kevin had brought her up. If I had to pick another girl, sure. That was what Riko had said, and then he'd moved back onto Andrew. Then once Andrew had rejected him, Kevin thought for sure he'd try to get Maeve next, but he supposed his pride had been hurt too bad to even think about going to her after that. Now he was glad he hadn't.

     While it was true he didn't know much about Maeve, just the two puzzle pieces (as she took to calling them), one thing was clear: she'd been through enough. She was a Fox for a reason, they all were. And she didn't need the trauma that came with having a number inked onto her face. He didn't. And yet, there he was, still representing Riko's idyllic dream.

He'd never hated anything more.

Maeve's eyes met his then and he could tell she was agitated too, only he had no idea why.

Just that it was looking to be one long night.