Downtown (auston matthews x oc)

-thirty-

𝖠𝗎𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗇

Auston felt like he couldn't drive fast enough. He needed to get to Nora.

Lex's trembling, panicked voice on the phone was more than enough to send him hurtling down his apartment stairs at twelve-thirty in the morning.

"Some reporter," Lex had stammered, "he called, and—it's been exactly two years since Nora got the call in the middle of the night about her parents. She's—she's not doing well, and she asked for you."

Auston pulled into the lot behind Nora's apartment, opting for one of the spots that required a service permit. If they towed him, they towed him—he couldn't have cared less. Lex buzzed him into the building, where he took the stairs instead of the elevator to get to the girls' eighth floor apartment. Lex was already holding the door open for him, so he thanked her quietly as he passed, then went straight to Nora's bedroom.

She was curled up in her bed, facing the door, crying softly. The sight broke Auston in a way he never thought he could be broken. In that moment, he would have done anything—absolutely anything—to take away her pain.

"Baby," he murmured as he went to her side.

Sniffling, she lifted her head so that Auston could slip in beside her, sliding his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. There, she cried harder and gripped the fabric of his t-shirt. "I'm sorry," she stammered, though Auston was quick to shake his head.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," he promised. He pressed his lips against the crown of her head and buried his face in her hair.

Nora, stuttering through her sobs, managed, "I thought—I thought they were calling to tell me about—about my mom and dad."

"I know, baby," Auston whispered, his hand gentle on the back of Nora's head. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled. "I'm right here."

Auston lifted his gaze to find Lex at the door, her expression soft and sad. She offered Auston a little nod of encouragement before shutting the door to Nora's bedroom quietly. As Nora cried, Auston ran his fingers through her hair, her cheek against his chest.

"Please don't leave," Nora murmured, trembling.

The thought of ever leaving this girl was a consideration Auston would never entertain. He leaned back slightly, far enough that he could tip Nora's chin upwards to meet his gaze. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised, brushing Nora's hair back from her face.

She nodded against his touch, and he leaned forward to leave a kiss on her forehead before he pulled her back into his embrace. There, she nuzzled impossibly closer to his chest, sobs finally starting to slow. Eventually, she stammered, "How did they get my phone number?"

Auston bit his bottom lip and rested his chin on the top of Nora's head. "I don't know," he sighed. "Let's go somewhere tomorrow to get it changed, okay?" he asked.

Nora lifted her gaze to look at him. "You have a game tomorrow," she reminded him. "In Ottawa."

He furrowed his brows at her, and a little smile found its way onto his lips. "You been studying our schedule?" he teased. A flush of color rushed into Nora's cheeks, which damn near sent him spiraling. "I forgot about that," he admitted after a moment, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Want me to stay back?"

"No," Nora snapped in a hurry. "Absolutely not." She sat up out of Auston's grasp and crossed her arms over her chest. "You can't do that," she instructed.

The pout she offered him was the least threatening thing Auston had ever seen. Still, eager to please her, he shrugged in surrender. "All right, all right," he murmured. Nora fell into his embrace again, where Auston let out a sigh. "But I'm coming right back here afterwards," he told her. After several long moments of silence, Auston remarked, "I missed you so much."

Against his chest, Auston felt the beat of Nora's heart increase ever so slightly, matching his own. It made him worry that maybe he'd said the wrong thing—pushed his luck a little too far.

But then Nora lifted her chin to look at him, eyes still glassy and cheeks flushed. "Really?" she squeaked, voice weak.

Auston nodded as he brushed his finger against her face then thumbed her bottom lip. "You're all I can think about all the time," he murmured, as if it wasn't obvious. He would do anything in the world for Nora Mallone—without a moment of hesitation. "I was so worried about you," he went on. "I hated that you were hurting and I couldn't help."

Nora sunk her teeth into her bottom lip, sniffling. "I'm sorry," she managed after a moment, just as another tear escaped her.

Auston wiped it from her cheek and shook his head. "You don't have to be sorry, Nor," he promised.

She sat up a little and averted her gaze down to her hands. "I shouldn't have pinned it all on you," she stammered. "I know it wasn't your fault."

The weight that had been bearing down on Auston's chest for the past two weeks lifted the tiniest bit. "I shouldn't have lied about Henley's reaction," he replied. "I was just—afraid. Afraid of losing you. And by trying not to lose you, I did exactly that."

Nora hesitated at this, as if she were weighing her next words carefully. "That stuff you said the other night," she began, "after the Bruins game." She lifted her eyes to meet his. "Did you mean it?"

"The stuff about you?" he pressed, to which Nora offered a nod. He hurried, "Of course. All of it." He studied Nora's expression as she blinked away several tears and hung her head.

"Can we," she starter, stammering a little, "go back to being friends?"

Auston's heart fell a little in his chest. Of course, he wanted to assure her, but he couldn't find the words. Because while it was certainly true—that he would do anything to have Nora back in his life—he wanted it to be as more than his friend. He wanted to hold her and kiss her and make her feel as loved as she deserved. He hated to think he'd fucked things up this bad.

After a moment, he replied, "Yeah," and nodded. "Of course we can go back to being friends."