✧.* letters addressed to the fire // drake parker

chapter two

002. letters addressed to the fire -- amelie by gracie abrams. / laurie and jo on the hill by alexandre desplat. 

nova approached the parker-nichols residence, the vibrant laughter easing her nerves. she could make out three distinct silhouettes in the living room. most likely josh, mindy, and drake. taking a deep breath, she raised a hand to knock. and just as her hand came in contact with the door, a smooth voice from inside called out, "i'll get it!" before she had any time to process, the door swung open and she was met by a tall brunette boy with a friendly smile. he glanced back inside, "it's mindy's friend." turning back to nova, his tone became very evidently flirtatious. "i'm drake. it's a pleasure to meet you. here's my number." he gave a wink, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it to her like it was something he did every day. who has their number written down just in their pocket?

mindy shoved past him, intervening with an exasperated huff. "drake, please spare nova. she's off limits."

drake raised an eyebrow in mock innocence. "says who?"

mindy glared at him, her eyes like daggers. "says me, and you know it."

with a shrug, drake stepped back, allowing nova to enter as she shoved the paper into her purse, not wanting to be rude., despite the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. nova couldn't help but let her eyes linger on him for a moment, drawn in by his magnetic energy. the night went on like normal for a while- but of course, nova ended up sat at the edge of the couch while mindy and josh flirted with each other. drake had gone up to his room, predicting that the pair would be getting along a little too well for his liking. 

nova got up with a sigh, shoving her hands in her pockets. "hey, guys, i'm going to the restroom." the two gave a few mumbles of alright, yeah cool, not paying much attention to what she was saying. so, she got up and walked up the stairs, trying to navigate her way through the hall. somehow, she took a wrong turn and walked into what was presumably drake and josh's room. on one of the beds, drake sat with a guitar in his hands, strumming his fingers along the strings as his left hand pressed down in a g shape on the fretboard. 

he looked up, stopping, a surprised look painted across his face. "oh-- hey, what are you doing up here?" 

her face turned pink from embarrassment, as his eyes scanned her figure, she forgot how to speak. "sorry. i was trying to find the bathroom. mindy and josh are flirting again. i felt like i was intruding." nova explained, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "i like your guitar."

drake nodded in understanding, a playful smirk present on his lips. "i called it." he sighed dramatically. "you can always come hang with me. i know mindy is like, your keeper though so... do what you wanna. and thanks. good luck finding the bathroom." his words were teasing, yet inviting, leaving nova torn between the two options; going back downstairs and third wheeling, or staying up here and spending time with drake. 

after a moment of contemplating, she spoke up. "i mean, if you'll have me, i'll stay."

a more genuine grin flashed across his face and he patted the space next to him on the ledge that his bed was planted upon. nova made her way over, sitting criss cross next to him. he began to strum again, seemingly, it was either a comfort thing for him, or he was trying to impress her. maybe it was both. "so, do you play guitar?" he asked. 

"i don't. my dad used to. i've always wanted to learn, though." 

"well, i can teach you if you want." drake shrugged. nova nodded and scooted closer to him. expecting him to move forwards with the guitar talk. but instead, his gaze was locked on hers as she sat there. after a moment she cleared her throat, and drake shook his head, chuckling. "sorry. uh. anyways- here. be careful." he said, handing her his guitar. she tried to remember how he held it, planted on his knee with his hand on the fretboard, and the other over the body. drake scooted closer, hands going to rest over hers as he snaked an arm around her back to reach the other side. 

nova's heart skipped a beat as his calloused fingers brushed against her own, directing her fingers on what shapes to make, how to change chords, and how to move up and down the frets. she could feel his breath right by her neck, but she tried to ignore it as she shifted, trying to give him more space for his hands, in exchange, taking up the room in front of him as she placed herself in front of him. he adjusted accordingly, placing his legs on either side of her as his chest pressed lightly against her back. the air filled with an unspoken tension and as he began to strum, she made the shapes of the chords. when drake stopped strumming, she looked back over her shoulder with a grin, and found his face inches away from her own. 

drake's eyes flickered to her lips, and she let out a soft breath, swallowing thickly. the logical part of her brain was telling her that kissing him was a bad idea. it would upset mindy- he was a bad influence, and he'd break her heart. but her body only said the opposite. his hand fell from the strings, down to her waist, and before she knew it, she was leaning in. 

just as drake was about to lean forward to close the space between them, the bedroom door swung open and nova jumped away from him, putting the guitar down as mindy stood in the doorway, looking at drake like she was going to cut his head off. "seriously? i talk to josh for two minutes and you're up here cuddling with drake?" mindy storms over to nova, taking her by the hand. "drake- stay away from nova. i'm serious." he tried to protest, but mindy brought her hand up, silencing him and pulling her out of the room. 

"mindy, come on you're being unreasonable-" nova started,

"no, i'm not." mindy snapped, pulling her downstairs. "i'm doing this for your own good. you cannot date drake. you can't like him, okay? he's horrible." 

they reach the door and josh follows after the two. "hey, what happened?" 

mindy spins around, practically seething. "drake was making a move on nova. so, i'm taking her home." josh furrows his brows in response, crossing his arms. before he could open his mouth to say anything, mindy pulled nova out of the house and slammed the door, getting in the car. 

"mindy, can you stop for a second? just hear me out." nova snapped, slamming the car door. "i understand why you don't like drake, but i'm not you. he was really nice to me up there, okay? he was just trying to teach me guitar." 

"yeah, he was also apparently trying to teach you how to kiss." she muttered, putting the car in reverse and pulling out of the driveway. "listen, if you want to ruin your life and get your heart broken? go ahead. i don't understand him, and i think he's stupid. but, i'm not going to stop you. but just sleep on it, alright? don't make any big decisions right now. he jumps into things. get to know him and trust me-- you'll feel differently."

nova turned to look out of the window at the street lights passing in a blur. she tried not to be angry with mindy for how she reacted, but it was hard. she was so over protective and honestly? controlling. it was hard to make any decisions without her best friend breathing down her neck. eventually they pulled into nova's driveway, and nova unbuckled as quickly as possible, grabbing her purse and stepping out of the car. "goodnight, mindy." she mumbled, slamming the car door and making her way inside. 

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word count: 1378