The Monsters Inside and Out (Scott Howl x Depressed Reader)

98. Much Needed Cuddles

Scott drives along the same path as always, and before you know it, you're already at the park. You both get out and Scott once again scoops you up in his arms and walks you to the picnic table. He gently sets you down on it, and sits right next to you. You both look out at the view of the city in a comfortable silence. You lean over and gently place your head on his shoulder, smiling as you rub your hands together. Scott asks, "So.. What have you been thinking about?" You cock your head to the side, "Me? What do you mean?" "Well.. I can tell that you had a lot of fun today, and so did I! But.. I just felt like something might be wrong." "Oh, well.. It's nothing. It's stupid." "It's not stupid, it's your feelings! Your feelings aren't stupid. Sometimes they don't make any sense, but they're not stupid." You chuckle, "Well.. It's something I shouldn't even really care about." He looks down at you with a calm, understanding expression. "And what is that?" "I found out yesterday, that my dad died." "Oh.. I'm sorry (Y/N).." "Don't be. I didn't know him, he wasn't the best guy, it's okay. Really." "But.. He was a member of your family. Even if you didn't know him, or didn't like him, I still think it would be sad to find out that he's gone." "Yeah, I guess.. I don't know.." Scott wraps his arm around you and smiles. "It's okay not to know. I don't know a lot of stuff, and I'm fine!" You chuckle again, "You know plenty." Scott picks you up again and places you in his lap. He wraps his arms around you and says, "Thank you." The two of you continue to happily watch the city.

Not much later, you notice Scott's breathing starts to get heavy. You caress his hand and ask, "What's wrong?" "S-So.. Mawmaw isn't.. G-Getting out of the hospital as soon as we thought.." You almost feel your heart stop. He adds, "I don't know what happened.." "Is everything okay?" "Yeah, a-as of right now, it's okay. But.. She's just not well enough to go home yet.." "Is that what the text was about? That she wasn't able to come home as soon as you thought?" "How did you know about that?" You chuckle awkwardly, "I guess I just noticed.. I saw your phone go off, and when you checked it, you looked a little sad. But then you started smiling again because of Liam's story." He laughs and squeezes you tighter. "You know me so well, (Y/N). "Yeah, I know. But why didn't you say anything? Why did you just continue with everyone? We would have understood if you had just told us that you were upset." "Well I guess I wasn't too upset.. I felt like it was too good to be true, and I was just having such a fun time with everyone, I don't think I could have been sad. Even if I wanted to.." You smile to yourself. "That's crazy.. That's exactly how I felt today. I was so tired this morning because I could barely sleep last night, because of what I learned about my dad.. But then when you told me Mawmaw was going to be out of the hospital, I got so happy and then as the day progressed, I just stayed that way. There was no way for me to be sad with you guys around." "We have the best friends in the world." "Yeah, we really do."

You and Scott continue to make small talk for a little while longer, until you let out a quiet yawn. Scott says, "Whoa, you sound really tired. Does my baby need to go to bed?" You blush a little. "Y-Yeah, I guess I am kind of tired.." "I thought so." Scott picks you up and carries you back to his car, asking, "Are you able to come stay at my place tonight, or do you think you should go home?" You sigh, "I guess.. I guess you should take me home.. I should like, at least get some stuff to bring. I can't even count how many times I've stayed over at your house without bringing anything, and just making you give me stuff that I would need. Take me home real quick and I'll grab some stuff, and then we can go back to your house. I shouldn't have any problems with my mom." "Okay, baby." He kisses you on the forehead, causing you to blush and cover your face, groaning in embarrassment.

When you get home, you notice that all the lights in your house are off, which is odd, since it's really not that late. When you try to open the door, you notice it is locked as well. You take out the spare key you keep on you just in case and you unlock the door, it slowly creaking as you do. You flick on the light and walk down towards your room. You glance into your mom's room to see if she's there, and she's not. You think nothing of it and just walk in your room. You grab a set of clothes, a set if pajamas, and a few toiletries, then stuff them all in a plastic bag. You shoot your mom a quick text before you leave, letting her know you're staying the night somewhere. You go back out a freet Scott, who's still waiting for you. He asks, "Did everything go well?" "She wasn't even home. I don't know where she is." "Isn't that her car, though?" Scott points at your driveway, and indeed points at her car. You respond, "Yeah.. It is. Whatever, she's probably out with one of her friends or something. It is Friday. I don't care anyway." Scott nods and drives away.

He pulls down his driveway and parks in front of his house. You sleepily hold his hand as you both walk into the front door. Inside, you see the whole Wolfpack, except for the leader, sleeping on the couch, with the TV on. You walk into the kitchen to see the leader sitting at the kitchen table, his face resting on one hand, and his other hand drawing circles on the table. Scott says, "Hey, bro. Uh.. Can't sleep?" He ignores Scott. Scott frowns and says, "Wait here, (Y/N). I gotta get my room ready. I'll be right back." He rushes up the stairs and you hear his door slam. You look back at the leader, who's looking back at you. He quickly turns away. You clench your hands and take a deep breath. You take a few steps closer to the leader and gently place a hand on his shoulder. "I-I'm sorry about everything going on.. I know that we're not that close but.. I'll be here for you guys. For all of you." He turns and looks up at you, glaring. You quickly pull your hand away. "I-I'm sorry, I just thought-" You're cut off when you suddenly feel a pair of beefy arms wrap around your waist. He leans his head against your stomach, saying nothing. You carefully lay your hand down on his head, stroking his hair, trying to comfort him. Scott thumps down the stairs. "Alright (Y/N), I'm ready for.. Oh! Sorry to interrupt.." The leader pulls away from you and stands up, the same glaring expression on his face. He says, "It's fine." He puts his hands in his pockets and starts walking to the living room. However, he stops next to Scott, and you hear him say, "This one is my favorite." He walks on. Scott smiles, "Me too."

Scott grabs your hand and leads you upstairs, to his room. You get inside, and there are white Christmas lights along the top corners of the room, where the walls and ceiling meet. The two of you change into pajamas and Scott puts a big blanket along his arms, forming what looks like a cape. He lies down in his bed and gestures for you to lay on him. You do so, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. He wraps his arms around you, which also wraps you both in the blanket. Within seconds, you've already fallen asleep.