off limits ( m.s. )

TWENTY SEVEN

XXVII.
SOTC: the beach - the neighbourhood

- irl -

irl

  
    he pulls away as quickly as possible, though it's tough. she's essentially gripping his head. matt never meant for this to happen. ella is not the girl he wants to be kissing, and he has no idea why she tried to come on to him.

    she's surprised, hands still cradling his face as she stares at him in confusion. matt shakes his head.

    "i cant, you need to stop." he forces himself to say it, to just spit it out.

    "whatever, matt. it's your loss anyways." she shoves herself off of him and walks away, disappearing into the crowd before he can say anything else.

    he presses his fingers to his lips gently. he's still not sure how they even got into that position. he was talking with nathan on the couch for a second when someone pulled him away. ella had swooped in, and he tried to keep it friendly, but then all of the sudden she was on top of him.

    he doesn't want her. it's not high school anymore. matt wants ruby; he wants to hold her by her waist, play with her hair, tuck it behind her ear for her. that's all he's wanted for months, and he can't believe he even let ella get anywhere near him.

    he pushes himself up off of the couch and makes his way through the masses, trying to get back to his group.

    he finally reaches the double doors a minute later. the nighttime air settles on his skin as he steps outside and it calms him slightly. the string lights cast shadows on the backyard, and he spots his brothers in the hordes of people.

    he approaches them, and they look startled by his presence for some reason.

    "oh, hey. did ruby talk to you?" nick asks him lightly.

    his brows furrow. "no? i haven't seen her since..."

    matt's mind races, and he feels his stomach drop when it clicks. he hasn't seen her since he went inside, since ella decided to try and make out with him. but she couldn't have possibly seen that, right?

    unless she did, in which case he's royally fucked and he needs to find her now.

    "since what, matt?" chris asks, arms crossed over his chest.

    "doesn't matter. i'm going to look for her."

    he's tearing through the crowd before they can stop him, eyes darting from person to person as he searches for that flaming red hair he knows so well.

each second that passes without finding her, matt grows more and more anxious. he's bumping into people left and right, earning himself more than a few dirty glances, though he doesn't care.

she's not in the backyard, so matt checks the inside of the house next. kitchen first, then the living room. he even bangs on the bathroom door just in case, to no avail.

he's terrified now, and he's not sure where else she could be. the only other place he can think of is the street, so he fumbles his way to the front door on shaky legs.

    when matt swings it open, the road greets him quietly. there's nobody out front, at least at first glance. the lights are dim, but he sees her squeezed between his car and someone else's, sitting on the curb.