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

chapter four

letters addressed to the fire - chapter 004.

drake sat on the edge of his bed, where he and nova had sat a couple nights before. he found himself replaying moments in his head. the way she looked at him, and the warmth of her hand against his cool skin. it was frustrating for someone like drake to be so hung up on a girl because usually it's a one and done deal. the one thing he learned from his dad? commitment hurts. play the field and you don't have to stay long enough to find out if it was worth it or not. although it wasn't the healthiest way of avoiding heartbreak, it sure saved him a lot of it. 

despite his rules, and walls, something about nova made him feel different. he was drawn in by her unlike the other 74 girls he'd "dated". it was all about impressing them, making them feel special, and then once they got too attached, he'd break it off. which looking back, made him feel horrible. but he didn't know how to stop. he never had any good role models growing up. his dad was a deadbeat, always drunk or cheating. and then one day he was gone. he'd watched his mother and sister hurt from how horrible he was. luckily, megan wasn't old enough to remember most of it. but drake on the other hand remembered it all. the yelling, the fighting-- it was etched into his brain. he mainly remembered the look on his mothers face when she had to tell him that his father, if you could even call him that, wasn't going to be around anymore.

every so often he'd get belated birthday cards in the mail, but he doubt his dad even knew his middle name, let alone his birthday. his mom would always say, "it's the thought that counts.", but drake didn't care about what his dad thought. in fact, he wished he'd just stop sending them. and eventually, he did. the cards stopped as he got older. and around when josh and walter moved in is when they stopped completely. maybe his mom stopped giving them to him. or, maybe he just didn't care. either way, it felt like a weight off of his shoulders.

drake sighed, running a hand through his hair as he finally got up, not bothering to change out of the clothes he went to school in. it's just a date, after all. 

as he made his way to the bathroom, he got stuck looking at himself in the mirror. he was nervous. why? he kept trying to tell himself that she wasn't different- she's just like everyone else. don't get attached. but some feeling in his gut was urging him to find out the hard way. 

he was snapped out of his thoughts when josh appeared in the doorway, knocking. "getting ready for your date, i see." josh remarked, smirking.

drake shrugged, trying to downplay his nerves. "just another night out." but his words felt hollow even to him.

josh's eyebrow perked in curiosity. "yeah. sure. you sure do seem nervous for a regular night out."

"hey man, can't blame a guy for wanting to impress. how's it going with mindy?" drake asked, her name feeling sour on his tongue. drake and mindy never really got along, but he knew she was important to josh. who, he'd of course taken a liking to. at first it was hard to get along with his new found brother, until it wasn't anymore. they needed each other. and although neither of them would admit it, they both knew it deep down. 

drake watched josh's expression change and he knew it wasn't going to be good. josh took a deep breath and leaned against the door frame. "yeah uh. we haven't been talking very much. she must be going through something because she's been kinda standoffish and cold."

"mindy is always standoffish and cold, josh."

"yeah, with you, dummy. but it's different with me. trust me." josh gazed at the ground, crossing his arms over his chest. "i love her, but... i don't know if i can do it anymore. she just gets this way and then-" he stops himself, looking back up at drake. "sorry. i know you're stressing too."

drake bit his lip, debating what he should do next. he'd never been good at comforting people. "i'm sorry, man." he said, placing a hand on the taller boy's shoulder before giving him a quick hug. after they pulled away there was an awkward silence between the two. "anyway uh- i've got a date."

"i have work- oh, we're going to the same place."

drake thinks for a moment, before nodding. "yeah you're my ride. no way out of this one."

eventually, the boys made it to the theatre. drake walked in, eyes scanning the lobby before he spotted nova sat at one of the tables. the brunette took a deep breath before making his way over to where she sat, legs crossed, hand clutching her brown leather purse. she seemed so effortless. it was obvious the nervous feeling was mutual, but she played it off a lot better than he did. "nova!" he called out, a cheesy grin painting his face.

she turned, face brightening as her eyes find his thin figure, taking in what he was wearing, how he was walking- he sent butterflies right to her stomach. "hi." she returned the smile, getting up out of her seat and meeting him halfway, hesitating for a moment before going in for a hug. 

at first, drake thought she was going to try and kiss him, but a hug felt a lot better. not a lot of girls were interested in him the way she seemed to be. she just wanted to be around him. to be close with him. he planted his head on her shoulder, arms tight around her torso as they stood in the middle of the theatre. he hummed, before she pulled away. "what's your favorite candy and drink?" drake asked. 

nova smiled wider if that was even possible. "sour patch kids and coke." 

drake nodded, "be right back." and with that, he made his way over to the snack counter, digging in his pockets for the money he had with him for new guitar strings. this seemed more important. "josh-- give me two sour patch kids and uh... coke and a dr. pepper." 

josh sighed, "fine. but this is the last time i'm-"

"josh, relax, i'm paying." drake said, putting the money on the counter in front of him. 

the boy raised both eyebrows, crossing his arms. "wow. you've outdone yourself. i never thought you'd stop stealing from me. and i definitely never thought you'd care enough about a date to actually pay yourself." he said, turning and grabbing the drinks and candy, taking the money and placing them on the counter.

he glanced at the floor, a smile creeping onto his face. "yeah, this feels different. it's good. anyways, thanks brotha." he turned back around, finding nova once more, handing her the candy and a drink. "sorry, i didn't have enough for popcorn, so i got you two candies." 

she furrowed her brows. "oh, you can have one of them, i don't need two trust me." she held out one of the packs, giving him a reassuring smile.

"are you sure?" 

"i'm positive."

the night went on like normal. the movie ended, and the pair found themselves stood at the doors of the theatre. so far, drake was questioning everything he knew about girls. and nova was questioning everything mindy had told her about the seemingly kind, sheepish boy stood in front of her. he was nothing like the stories. drake seemed to care about what she liked, they whispered through the whole movie and ended up getting warned by one of the workers that someone had been complaining about the noise because he was asking her about her favorite music, movies, and video games. she missed the movie, but, it was well worth it. 

"it's pretty late. do you still want to come over? we can just watch tv and talk."

drake felt his face warm up, his face hurt from smiling so much. "yeah, that would be great. if you want i could take us there. i'd have to drop josh off at home first, though." 

nova nodded, grabbing one of his hands and intertwining it with her own. "that sounds good."