I Need You

Prologue

*AJ's POV*

I walked through the dark hallways of my house, making my way around to the back. The music of the party blared throughout the house so loud, that I could feel it all the way through my body. Or maybe it wasn't the music at all that was making my heartbeat like that. Lea had really outdone herself with this party. The blackout lights making the smooth, white walls look ultraviolet. Almost everyone in the school was here which was surprising since our house isn't even that big. 

I squeezed through the mobs of drunken and faded teenagers around me until I got to the area below my stairs. It was near the staircase with a section in the wall with tables and stuff. Across from the section, there was a couch with railing behind it. I saw some familiar faces in my grade and a couple that I always see around school but never get the chance to talk to since they always disappear before I get the chance to. I saw Kayden, Arturo and Klara too. Then I saw Reese. 

She looked amazing as always, even in this purple light. The way it illuminated her light brown, freckled skin made me feel something flutter in my stomach. She was wearing a white shoulder less crop top, dark blue ripped jeans with the ends cuffed, good hoop earrings, and her signature platforms. Her hair was down and put into a side part and her brunette hair was starting to show out despite her attempts to dye it blonde. This just made her hair have a sort of dirty blonde ombre effect. 

She ran down the stairs crying. She was pretty frantic, and she looked as if she was having a panic attack. At the top of the stairs, I saw the boy that she was with earlier before he disappeared around the corner. I instinctively ran over to her with my arms open to hug her, but she put her arms on my shoulders saying, "I DON'T NEED A HUG!" in between sobs. "I don't need a hug..." She said as she looked me in the eyes, shaking my shoulders back and forth out of pain. 

Then she turned around and started to walk away. Maybe I should just leave her alone. She doesn't need me anyways. But I didn't leave. I just stayed exactly where I was as i watched her walk away in a brisk manor. Then she suddenly stopped. She turned around, tears continuously filling her eyes, "I need you to hug me." So, I hugged her tightly. Her head nestled in between my head and shoulders, her arms wrapped firmly around my waist and mine around her back. 

My hands playing with her wavy hair softly as she cried into me. I kissed the side of her head gently, telling her that it was going to be okay. Even though we were pretty much complete strangers to each other, I felt a sense of familiarity in her, as if it was supposed to be like this. I only knew her through school because well everybody knew Theresa Steele. She was by far the prettiest girl in school. I only really had one elective course with her, but we never really spoke. 

Eventually we sat down on the couch, still holding each other as we sat. My right arm wrapped around shoulders, squeezing her gently just to let her know that I was still here for her, while my left rested lightly on her stomach. I felt her sobbing as her labored breathing calmed slightly. She leaned into me, and I could feel her body heat radiating up against my side. We just sat there for a while like that, listening to the faded music in the background. BILLIE EILLISH by Armani White playing in the background, making the whole room vibrate with every bass drop. 

At some point, I felt her link her pinky finger with mine with the hand that was resting on my stomach. I felt her breathing change into a calm quiet pattern and I knew she had fallen asleep. I looked down at her and she looked peaceful despite everything that had happened. She rested with her mouth slightly agape, and I couldn't help but look down at her lips. She really was beautiful. But why would she take comfort in a someone she barely knew?

I woke up in the morning and immediately felt the absence of her pinky linked with mine, but she was still there sitting right beside me. She was awake and I could tell she'd woken a long time before me because she was talking with my friends and her friends that she knew from the party. A wave of embarrassment washed over me when I realized my hand was still resting slightly on her stomach. I removed my arm from her stomach because surely, she didn't want me near her anymore. She was the most popular girl in the school, and I am just the little sister of Lea Wilson. 

Then she turned to glare at me. "What? You don't like touching me?" She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Then she said "You comfort me and you're kind a-and caring. You're kinda cute and now you want to leave too?". I smiled because I didn't know that she had gotten so attached. She looked at me with confusion and annoyance before I interlocked my fingers with hers and kissed her gingerly on the neck below her ear.