𝐴𝐹𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑁𝑇𝑆 𝑂𝐹 yesterday, Rosemary was feeling particularly worse than she usually does. There is only one person in the world she's ever wanted to spend more than a minute with and that's Tate. Their limited time was magical to Rosemary, she wished that she hadn't witnessed what she did yesterday.
Rosemary was in her room cleaning her record player, but every time she'd glance over to the In Utero album on her desk, she'd think of Tate. Nirvana is a beloved band by millions, but she's never met anyone that has the same passion for it as Tate. They both knew every word to every song and followed that band religiously. Rosemary just wished she could have been alive in the nineties to see them.
Rosemary let out a breath as she grabbed the record and put it in the box with the rest, trying to hide it so she could get Tate out of her mind, but it seemed as though she couldn't even get him out of her room.
Rosemary felt someone tap her shoulder, but because she wasn't sure who it was and her family would have just said her name, she instinctively grabbed said person's arm and pushed them against the wall, holding her arm to their neck, but it was only Tate. "Is it weird that I kind of like this?"
Rosemary rolled her eyes as she let go of Tate, seeing as he's not a threat. "What are you doing here, Tate?"
Rosemary moved and sat down on her bed as Tate walked towards her. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I was just trying to help you, I thought that's what you wanted."
"I wanted her to leave me alone, but whatever that thing was was too far." Rosemary explained, still seeing that creature in the darkness of when she closes her eyes. She felt so uncomfortable thinking about whatever she saw. That fear within her was caused by Tate and he wanted to shoot himself for it.
"I'm sorry. I just want you to feel safe." Tate apologized again as he sat down next to Rosemary, so close that their arms were pressed against each other.
"Tate, I don't know if we should be friends. I mean, you're my dad's patient." The relationship between these two was already ethically questionable, but that connection between their hearts transcended morals. There was something Tate and Rosemary had that was unheard of.
And Tate couldn't lose her. There's not many people he can actually speak to, so the luck that the love of his life would walk through that door was unlikely. He didn't want Rosemary to push him away, he'd do anything to stay with her forever. Anything...
"But I like talking to you. I like talking to you more than Mr. Harmon." Tate expressed, but Rosemary was set in her ways. She may hate that she's coming to this conclusion, but she wanted what was best for Tate. Him getting better mentally was what was best for Tate. "It's just not a good idea."
"I thought you liked me." Rosemary looked next to her and into Tate's dark eyes. They were still dead. She couldn't fathom how his eyes had that appearance, but it was mesmerising. His gorgeous features were not helping her let him down easy. "I do like you, Tate. You're the only person I can actually relate to, but it's still not a good idea."
Tate was doing everything in his power to make Rosemary stay in his heart, but she was unwillingly trying to escape. He hadn't seen her smile since yesterday and Tate was the reason for her gloom. It was killing him. In an attempt to make her smile he tickled her as he teased, "But I make you happy."
Rosemary didn't react. She only looked to Tate, who wore a confused expression as to why that didn't work. "I'm not ticklish, Tate."
As she spoke, Rosemary lightly tickled his side, to which he flinched. It was merely a joke, but it brought something far better. A wide smile formed on her face, which Tate thoroughly enjoyed, but she was teasing him. "But you are."
"Rose, no." Tate objected seeing that she was about to attack him with admiration. Rosemary started tickling him, which made him burst out laughing. He kept trying to stop her, but it wasn't working. He was just happy that she was smiling.
Tate was struggling to defend himself, so it ended up with Tate laying on his back and Rosemary straddling over him. Tate was able to hold her hands to keep her from tickling him, but the two were still laughing. It wasn't until Rosemary was able to hold his hands against her bed that their faces were only inches apart and their smiles faded. The two felt tension between them, a strong electric feeling that Rosemary unfortunately put an end to.
Rosemary got off of Tate, who was sad to see her go, and she sat at the edge of her bed. Tate sat a little behind her, and put his chin on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. I do like you, Tate." Rosemary patted his knee before Tate very excitedly asked, "So we can still hang out?"
Rosemary smiled again and nodded her head, which only made Tate's smirk more genuine. "Good. I did lie though, I'm also here because I have a meeting with your dad."
"That's okay. I'll see you around."
"Bye, Rose." Tate kissed her cheek just before he stood up. Rosemary watched as he left, but seemed to be in a completely frozen state. She was paralysed with rosey red cheeks. That small kiss might have been the single greatest moment of her life.
