𝙃𝘼𝙉𝘿𝙋𝙍𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙎 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙎𝘾𝙍𝙄𝘽𝘽𝙇𝙀𝘿 𝙒𝙊𝙍𝘿𝙎; 𝙃𝙊𝙊𝘿𝙔

Chapter 17

I watched carefully as Hoody hesitantly pulled the mask over his face; head tilted down, so I couldn't see it yet. Dirty blond hair that was a bit longer than in the picture plopped out and he looked up, making hesitant eye contact with me.

His face was more hollow and sunken, which I chalked up to his lack of food and sleep on top of age. His eyes were dull, but held their steel color. His skin was paler than it had been before when he was a teenager, but spending all day covered up from head to toe probably didn't help. His thin lips were placed in a blank line from within his facial hair, which was a stubble lining his jaw and above his lip. His hair went almost to his eyes, dangling just above them from around his head, the strands messy.

My cheeks felt hot as I stared. His eyes diverted to stare at the table and I noticed the adorable gap between his front two teeth when he sucked in a breath from his mouth. "Is it everything you imagined?" He said, sarcasm pouring from his tone, and a hint of embarrassment peered through.

"Better." Hoody straightened to his full height in the chair, eyes wide as they stared at mine. His mouth was opened just barely enough for me to be able to see a bit of his mostly straight teeth, including the cute little gap between his front two, and my face exploded with heat. I pushed my face into the palms of my hands to hide it.

He grabbed my hands and gently pulled them away from my face. I flinched a bit at his sudden closeness. His forehead pressed against mine, and I glanced down at his lips, which were mere centimeters from my own.

I could hear his breath was a little shaky and I could see the unsure look in his eyes. He had begun to pull away, his face a bright red. My heart beat loudly in my ears as I struggled to form words.

Hoody grabbed his hood, and pulled it over his head, tugging it as far as it would go as he buried his face into his knees, which were pulled up to his chest. His shoulders shook a little as his breathing became audible. Was he having a panic attack or something?

I kneeled down in front of him, grabbing his mask in the process. "Hoody," I whispered gently and gently set his mask down in front of him. "Do you want me to leave the room?"

From within his hood, he shook his head and extended his right hand. I placed the mask in it, but he just threw it on the ground as he peaked out. His steely eyes were almost a dark gray-blue and his eyebrows furrowed. He released the tugging on his hood in order to take off his glove and push up his sleeve before pushing out his hand again.

Seeing my nickname written on his arm made me realize what he wanted. I placed my hands on his forearm and hesitantly let him wrap his fingers around my neck. His grip was gentle, and his palms felt rough.

His emotions began to take their place within me, his thoughts reluctantly entering my head. He was scared, frustrated, anxious. He regretted not kissing me, but only pulled back because he got embarrassed and nervous.

I wanted to make a joke, but knew it wasn't the time for that. He hid his face away from me, and I smiled. "Are you better?"

He nodded and carefully extended his legs around me. He tugged gently on my neck, trying to pull me to him. I obliged and sat with my back against his chest, extending my legs to somewhat match his as we both kept our grip on each other.

I could tell the exhaustion was catching up to me, and this mostly comfortable position was not helping. Relaxing against him, he stuffed his face into my shoulder and I rested my head against him. My eyelids shut and I slowly dozed off into a deep sleep.