Piercing Hatred | ✔️

48

~Flora's POV~

Knox and I wandered down the hallway towards our apartments together, his arm loosely thrown over my shoulder. "You've been a little quiet the entire way home." Knox murmured, glancing down at me. "Is something bothering you?" He wondered.

I shook my head and looked up at him, biting on the inside of my cheek. "No, I've just been thinking a little bit." I responded softly, leaning more into the comfort of his body. He cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side ever so slightly. "What's on your mind?" He murmured, the two of us coming to a slow halt outside of my apartment. I shrugged my shoulders weakly and stepped away to gaze up at him better, my eyes meeting his more directly. "Just...I guess I've been thinking for a while now about you and I...about us."

He paused, seemingly surprised. "Us?" He echoed, dark eyes searching my green ones. "What about us?" He frowned. I could've sworn that I heard a hint of nervousness in his voice.

My cheeks began to burn as a blush crept up my neck, likely tinting my face a faint pink. "Well, we spend time together a lot, and we've been sleeping together for a while..." I began hesitantly, fiddling with my fingers nervously. I couldn't explain why I was so anxious to have this talk with him, considering he likely already knew how I felt for him, and I knew he felt the same. However, there was something indescribably real about talking about it. Once it was said, it couldn't be taken back.

"And I was thinking about how we haven't really talked about what we are." I mentioned softly, glancing up at him once more instead of studying my fingers like they were the most interesting thing I'd come across. "But I love you," I confessed, watching the way his eyes bugged wider with surprise. "And I don't want to go any longer without saying it."

For a moment he simply looked at me, likely processing my words. He and I had never really talked so bluntly about our feelings before, yet I had just confessed my love for him out of nowhere. I could imagine he was at least a little bit taken aback.

"I love you, too." He responded quietly, an ever so faint pink color filling his cheeks that made my heart melt. "How long has this been bothering you, Flora? If I know you at all, then you've probably been thinking this for a while now..." He said, frowning at me. I shrugged my shoulders, a little bit embarrassed that he knew me so well yet, at the same time, I felt sort of flattered that he knew this. "Maybe a month or so...?" I trailed, uncertain exactly how long.

Surprised, his eyes widened. "A month?" He echoed. "That's before Gabriela even moved into my place. Why didn't you say anything until now?" He wondered, furrowing his eyebrows. I paused, chewing on the inside of my cheek as I glanced down at my feet. "Technically it wasn't my fault. I was going to tell you, but that night I went to your apartment and found her there..." I explained, pursing my lips at the memory. "Naturally, I got a little distracted and upset, so I never said anything. Part of me thought if I said it too soon after she moved in, it might seem weird."

His brown eyes softened with understanding. "You worried I'd think you were saying it in hopes of me kicking her out." He stated, to which I nodded my head earnestly.

A smile tugged at his lips. "Such an over thinker." He teased, earning a light smack on the arm from me. "Don't mock me." I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. He chuckled and looped his arms around my waist, pulling my body against his. "Mock you?" He hummed, his lips ghosting against my skin as he nuzzled his head in the crook of my neck. "I'd never."

The gentle brush of his lips against my skin made me relax against his body, my mouth tugging up slightly. I wrapped my arms around him and shivered, loving his closeness.

"I'm sorry that you had to be stuck with these thoughts, doll, and that you felt like you couldn't tell me." He murmured, but I quickly shook my head, curling my fingers into the fabric of his shirt. "It was my own choice." I responded quietly. One hand slid up my spine and gently tangled into my hair, angling my head back as he raised his head to look at me.

"If we're being honest now," He began softly, absentmindedly running his fingers through my hair. "I kind of assumed we were official already." He confessed, causing my eyes to widen as I looked at him, stupefied. "Huh?" I said dumbly, taken aback. I'd spent a month now fretting over this, and he was telling me he already thought of us as an item? "You never even asked me, though." I huffed, turning my nose up sulkily.

Knox smiled in amusement at my behavior. "Will you do me the favor of being my girlfriend, then, doll?" He asked, causing me to cock up a brow. "Favor?" I echoed, hiding an amused smile. "You're making it sound like it'd be an inconvenience for me."

"But I suppose I can do that favor for you." I said playfully, trailing my fingers over the width of his broad shoulders. My belly flip flopped with happiness and excitement, but I tried my best to play it subtle so I didn't seem weird. He, on the other hand, didn't bother to hide it whatsoever as he smiled at me, a sparkle in his gaze that made my cheeks flush.

He was looking at me in a way that I'd never been looked at before, with such an intense gentleness and care. "Yeah?" He murmured as he cheekily slid his other hand down to squeeze a handful of my backside. "I don't want to go yet." He admitted, and I grinned up at him. "You could always just c—" I began to speak but was cut off by the sound of a door opening—specifically, Knox's front door.

Gabriela stepped out and immediately glared at me when she saw me, but I didn't miss the way she wiped that expression away when Knox turned to face her direction. She smiled innocently and placed her hands on her hips. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." She said to him, not really even acknowledging me anymore. "I just heard talking and wanted to make sure it wasn't some weirdo." She explained, running a hand through her hair.

Knox just shrugged and looked down at me with a smile, at which point her attention diverted to the way his hand was clasped in mine. "That's fine." He muttered dismissively. "Flora and I were just discussing..." He paused and his lips curled into a small smile. "You know, work stuff."

It was pretty obvious by the fact that steam looked like it was about to come out of her ears, but she didn't buy that excuse at all. She glared at me so intently that I wondered if maybe she'd heard the conversation from inside his apartment. Part of me didn't want that to be the case, but the far more petty side of me hoped that she had heard because then she'd know she stood no chance with him. And with no chance with him, she also stood no threat to me or my relationship.

I smirked back at her in response to her glare.