𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙱𝚘𝚢 (𝚋𝚡𝚋)

6.

Chantel walks into her and Gavin's apartment. She sets her backpack down in its designated spot before taking off her shoes.

She sighs and walks into their bedroom, seeing Gavin getting dressed. "Where are you going?"

"Work," Gavin replies, buttoning his pants. "Where else would I be going?"

"It was just a question, Gavin." Chantel takes her jacket off and sets it on their bed. "Do you know how long you'll be gone?"

"I'm in til three tonight. I tried to get my hours changed but Evan needs me tonight." Gavin turns around to finally face her.

Chantel sits down on the bed, putting her hands on her lap. Gavin takes a deep breath and sits down next to her.

"Gavin? I love you." She starts.

Gavin nods and reaches down to grab her hand. "I love you too."

"I just...I don't like where our relationship is headed. Going to sleep angry...Not talking all day. Barley speaking at dinner."

"I-I know...I understand. I don't like where it's going either," Gavin sighs. "I'm sorry my temper has been so short. I wish I had an explanation but...it just is."

"You're okay. I'm aware of your anger issues but...Sometimes I get worried that you're always mad at me and I feel like I don't know how to read you."

"I get that. I always close myself off to certain emotions rather than explaining them."

"But, I'm sorry too. I haven't exactly been the best girlfriend either. Especially not with my attitude."

Gavin smiles a little. "You know I love that lil' sassy attitude of yours."

"Yeah, I know," She leans over to put her head on Gavin's shoulder. "But it's not always needed and it's not always cute."

"We both have things we need to work on. Relationships are hard but I'm not giving up on you."

Chantel smiles and lifts her head. She wraps her arm around Gavin's neck and leans in to kiss him. "Me either."

**
Jaxon pushes the cart as he and Shawn walked through the grocery store. Jaxon stops them when they get to the aisle and he looks around.

"There," He points at the top shelf for the canned tomatoes that he needed.

Shawn reaches above him to grab one can before looking down at him. "One or two?"

"Two, please," Jaxon says. Shawn tosses the two cans into the cart as they start walking again.

Shawn smiles as he places his hand on Jaxon's shoulder. "This is one of my favorite activities to do together. We're such a couple."

Jaxon laughs at him. "We are. This is very slice of life." He looks along the aisles and picks up another can of vegetables.

"Oh, did you see the mail?"

"Mm. No, why?" Jaxon reads the label of a can before placing it down.

"Your mom sent over wedding catalogs. She seems pretty impatient." Shawn smiles.

Jaxon nods his head. "Oh, yeah. She is starting to go crazy about it. She keeps sending me wedding cake videos."

"I think it's cute. I'm super excited to marry you."

Jaxon smiles and turns around. "Aw. I'm super excited to-."

"Oh my god! Shawn Williams!"

Jaxon and Shawn both turn their heads to see a man standing in front of their cart. He was wearing a tee shirt and some shorts while holding a basket.

Shawn clears his throat and furrows his brows. "Uh, hi? S-Sorry do I know you?"

"It's Timothy! From high school!"

Jaxon internally rolls his eyes at the man in front of him. Timothy was Shawn's on-and-off boyfriend for a few years. They finally broke it off half a year prior to him and Jaxon dating.

Oh, and another thing. Timothy was notorious for serial cheating on Shawn.

"Oh...Oh my god. Hi, sorry I didn't recognize you. You look so different."

"Lost some weight...Cut my hair. I recognized you by your tattoos, though you seem to have gotten some more."

"Mhm. Definitely."

Timothy looks over at Jaxon and smiles. "Hey, Jax. I can't believe you two are still together!"

"Really? Is that so hard to...believe?" Jaxon asks, trying to muster up a smile.

Shawn clears his throat again as he places his hand on the small of Jaxon's back. "So, do you live here?"

"Working on it! Just got a new place and started working. Doing data entry, super boring. What about you guys?"

"Oh, well Jaxon is finishing school. I work at a tattoo shop downtown."

"Oh really! What's it called? Might have to come see you sometime."

Jaxon raises his eyebrows and takes a small breath to contain himself.

Shawn laughs awkwardly. "Uh, it's just called...Uhm. Fallen Angel Tattoos."

"Oh wow! You work there! I've heard great reviews. That's super cool," Timothy's phone starts ringing. "Oh shit. I have to go, but we should totally meet up and grab lunch."

Shawn nods his head. "Sure."

Timothy shoves his phone into Shawn's hands. "Here, put your number."

Shawn glances at Jaxon as he types in his number before passing the phone back to him. "Alright. I'll see you two later!"

"Bye," Shawn smiles as Timothy walks away. Shawn takes a deep breath and looks over at Jaxon. "Babe?"

"I'm not gonna say it," Jaxon pushes the cart as they start walking again.

Shawn walks with him, keeping his head low. "A-Are you mad at me?"

"No. Why would I be mad at you?" Jaxon furrows his brows as he looks up at Shawn.

"I dunno. You don't really like Timothy that much. I don't even know why I gave him my number."

"I'm not mad at you, baby. I just hate how he acts like he's not a piece of shit for what he did to you."

"That doesn't matter, though. I have you now."

"Still. I don't like him."

"It was years ago, princess." Shawn shrugs his shoulders, "I haven't even thought about him in years."

"Let's not forget how he constantly told people I stole you from him. Tried to make it seem like you were the one who cheated."

Shawn chuckles. "Hey, look at me a sec?"

Jaxon looks up at him. Shawn smiles and steps forward to fix Jaxon's hair. "It's not a big deal, okay? Just let it go."

**