In Every Universe | Quinn Hughes

25 | Lily

I CAN'T HELP IT, BUT I BURST OUT LAUGHING. Not only because Quinn Hughes is on his knees in front of me, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips turned into a tiny pout, but because of the insanity of it all. It was completely and utterly downright ridiculous.

College was meant to be a new beginning, somewhere I could find myself, and all I'd done is become completely lost. And suddenly, in amongst all of the laughter, I start to cry, hard.

Quinn is back on his feet in seconds, reaching out to cup my face in his palms, his thumbs tracing circles on my skin. And I'm sure it's supposed to be comforting, but all it does is stab my heart more, and then I can't stop myself or hold back a second longer.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I cry, hugging my own arms around my chest.

He frowns, shaking his head. "What do you—"

"Make up your mind, Quinn! Cause I'm sick of this! I can't keep doing this. We're going in circles, you love me then you're bringing a girl home to kiss in front of me—"

"Lyla, you kissed my fucking brother!" He snapped, taking a generous amount of steps away from me.

"After you made it clear that I was just a game to be played," I admit through a sob. "I've been telling you since day one!"

"And I've been telling you that you're not," he shouts, tugging at his hair. "Why won't you listen to me? You're not a fucking game to me, Lily?"

"Then why did you bring home that girl?" I cry, wiping furiously at my eyes.

"Because you kissed my fucking brother!" He cries, tears of his own pricking the corners of his eyes. "Do you understand how much that hurt, Lily?"

"I told you I stopped him, it was a mistake!"

"What? You accidentally fell into his bed?"

I glare at him, hard. "That was after you brought that girl home and you know it."

"Why did you run straight to Jack?" He asks me, his voice full of hurt. "Do you know how hard it's been to watch you two act like you're dating?"

I frown. "He didn't lead me along."

"Is that seriously what you think I've been doing?" He asks, his eye wide as he lets my words settle in. "You think I'm leading you on?"

I nod, biting my bottom lip harshly. "That's how it feels."

"Jesus Christ, Lily," he laughs, short and bitter. "How hard is it to convince you that I'm in love with you?"

I pause, my body coming to a complete stop as I stare at him, both of our eyes filled with tears with flushed cheeks from crying. He's breathing heavily, his shoulders rising and falling like he's trying to catch his breath.

I falter for a fraction of a second, then I whisper: "What?"

Quinn rolls his eyes, like this is just general common knowledge and something I should already know. "I've been trying to tell you for weeks, Lily, but you keep freaking out on me and deeming us just friends."

He says the words like they leave a bad taste in his mouth, and I then myself frowning at the idea of it all.

"I just need you to listen, Lily, Christ," he breathes, lacing his fingers with mine, and pulling me to his chest.

We're still alone in a strangers bedroom, the commotion of the party a thing of the past, and suddenly I don't think of anything. Not the way he'd hurt me, not anything that's happened, not even Jack, and all I see is Quinn.

Quinn and his gorgeous eyes and the stubble he's grown out and his hands that grip my face, fingertips that dance on the skin of my temples and eventually lace in my hair.

"Well?" I ask, eyebrows pulled together and lips turned down in a frown as his eyes search mine almost desperately. "I'm listening."

He shakes his head incredulously, like he can't believe what's happening, all of it, all the way back to the beginning.

"I'm in love with you, Lily," he breathes, nudging his nose to mine. "Like, stupidly so. So much that it hurts, so much that I've made these absolute ridiculous mistakes to try and get your attention—"

"I've made mistakes too," I whisper, palms covering his.

He nods, breathing quietly. "You've made mistakes too."

"I'm sorry," I tell him, fear in my voice that maybe we were past the point of redemption. "I'm sorry for it all."

"I'm sorry too," he sighs, pressing his forehead to mine. "For everything, all the way back to not telling you when we met this I felt."

"I don't want to fight with you anymore, Quintin," I cry, my hands shaking and my voice cracking just a little.

But Quinn's eyes light up, maybe because I've called him his full name, and I hadn't done that in weeks, and it makes him feel just a little bit better. Like maybe there was a way through this after all.

"I know that we're an insane mess," he chuckles, forcing a laugh out of me too. "But I do love you, Lily, and I really want to kiss you."

I swallow thickly, his words knocking the wind out of me as they somehow catch me off guard, even though I'd seen them coming from the moment he followed me up here. I nudge my nose to his. "Then, kiss me."

And he does.

He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me as close to him as I can get, near suffocating me, but I love it. My own arms wrap around his neck, a tiny whimper slipping past my lips before I can stop it, and all of a sudden, we're okay.

The world comes to a stand still, and everything fades away until there is only me and Quinn and the sound of us breathing life into each other, hearts beating for each other. I know in this moment that I was made for him, that no matter how much time passed or how far away we were to each other, that we would always belong to each other.

One of his hands cups the back of my neck, tipping my chin up so that I can kiss him deeper, and I feel myself falling in love over and over, wanting to relive this moment for the rest of my life. He lifts me up, my legs wrapping around his waist, but there's no intent for things to go further, and I know that deep down we're both content with just knowing that for this moment we have each other.

I am his and he is mine and I would always love him, always want him, always find him in every lifetime, in every world that exists and in every single universe.