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

chapter seven

007. -- letters addressed to the fire // pictures of us - beabadoobee

the next morning, nova's head was still reeling from the night before. she got up, that fuzzy feeling still present in her stomach. after the record store, they got ice cream, stopped by the movie theatre to see josh, and then headed back home where drake walked her to the door and kissed her goodnight. it felt so natural, so normal, to be kissing him. she went to sleep with a peace of mind knowing that drake parker was her boyfriend. 

the sunlight peaked through the curtains draped over the windows, and nova stretched before grudgingly pulling herself from the warmth of her bed, and the sweetness of her dreams. she reached over to check her phone, smiling widely when she spotted a text from drake that read: "good morning, babe." and suddenly, she couldn't wait to get out of bed and head to school. she swiped up, clicking on the message and typing back, "good morning, cutie. are you picking me up for school today?" a quick reply came, "yes, i'll be on my way in 20." 

and with that nova was finally out of bed, walking over to her closet and humming. now when she picked out an outfit, drake was fresh on her mind. was it cute enough? did he even know the band on the shirt she wanted to wear? she shook the thoughts from her head, settling on an old david bowie loose cut tank top with some boot cut jeans. the rest of the morning went on as usual. she did her hair, brushed her teeth, made some toast, and then sat on her bed, waiting for drake to arrive. as she stared at the ceiling she heard her phone buzz beside her. nova reached over, expecting another text from drake, but her heart dropped when she realized it wasn't. it was mindy. "can we talk at lunch?" 

nova sighed, swallowing thickly. maybe they could work things out. she gnawed on her bottom lip before typing up a response. "yeah, sure." and then turned off her phone. another buzz. from drake. "i'm here."

the blonde jumped up, grabbing her backpack and heading out the door. she reached the car where she saw josh move into the backseat of the car. as she made her way over, she put her bag on the floor of the passengers seat. "hi guys. josh- you don't have to sit in the back."

josh shook his head and gave a friendly smile. "no, it's okay. i'll let you and drake have your time up there, since all he does is talk about how much he likes you." he teased, wiggling his eyebrows. drake put his head in his hands and nova gave a soft chuckle.

"well it's a good thing i like him too." she smiles wide, reaching her hand over to drake and lifting his chin so he'd meet her eyes. he smiled widely before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her lips, and of course josh groaned in disgust from the back, earning a laugh from nova as she pulled away. 

on the car ride to school, nova informed drake of the text she'd received from mindy, and how they were going to talk at lunch. he didn't seem extremely happy about it, but he wasn't upset either. he told her "be careful."

once they got to school, after putting things away in their lockers, drake walked nova to class, his cool and cocky demeanor fading into a charismatic sappy loverboy that she craved to see more of. he wasn't hiding how he felt about her, to anyone- it was nice. when they reached the door to nova's first period he leaned in, stopping a few inches away from her lips. "i'll see you later, okay?" he whispered.

she nodded, biting her lip and laughing softly. "okay." and with that, she closed the gap and placed a kiss on his lips. 

when she walked into class, she had a few different pairs of eyes watching as she walked to her desk. and when she took her seat, the girl next to her leaned over and whispered, "are you really dating drake parker? he seems so different."

nova nodded, looking over at the girl. "yeah. i am." and then she was turning her attention back to the teacher, who's lecture seemed to go on for hours on end. the rest of the day until lunch was all the same. which, she was a little grateful for, considering she didn't particularly want to talk to mindy. but when the time came, nova knew she had to suck it up and get it over with. maybe it wouldn't go too horribly. maybe they'll make up and everything will go back to normal. but, normal with mindy wasn't the best, either. she was controlling, selfish, and judgmental. every time nova made a new friend, she worried what will mindy think about them? every time she bought new clothes, it was always about if mindy liked them or not. mindy mindy mindy. maybe it would be better if things ended. 

the girl was snapped out of her thoughts when the bell for lunch finally rang and she was forced to face reality. forced to face mindy. her phone buzzed. "meet at the library." from mindy. a short sigh escaped through nova's nose and she got up from her seat, sending back a simple thumbs up before making her way to the library. every step felt tiresome and heavy. as if her feet were trying to pull her back, before she did something she might regret. 

when she walked through the doors to the library, she immediately spotted mindy sat at a table in the corner. they made eye contact, and mindy quickly looked away, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, a nervous habit nova picked up on. eventually, nova found herself pulling out a chair and sitting across from the brunette girl with piercing brown eyes, very unlike the soft and kind ones that complimented drake's features. 

"i'm sorry." mindy said, breaking the deafening silence. 

nova's brows furrowed. "oh."

mindy sighed, crossing her arms. "look, it wasn't right of me to drag you out of josh's house like that, okay? i'm just worried about you is all." 

nova felt the frustration bubbling in her stomach already, worried? seriously? "mindy, i understand you trying to look out for me, but you don't know drake. he's not the person you think he is. he likes me. he really likes me, and i like him too." she replied, a little more defensive than she needed to be, but it got the point across. 

the girl sat across from her bit the inside of her cheek and her stare turned mean. there it is. "you think you know drake parker? well you don't. and what makes you think you'd be any different than all of the other girls he's dated, huh? you're not that type of person."

"what do you mean, not that type of person? to what? change someone for the better? be someone elses person and not their shadow? i'm sorry mindy, but you aren't good for me. if you were, you wouldn't be trying to ruin every chance i get at success and happiness. i can't ever outshine you, can't do anything without you breathing down my neck. and i'm done, alright? you and i are done. i can't be your friend anymore." nova said, pushing her chair away from the table and standing up, angry tears pricking at her eyes. 

she stormed through the halls, trying to find drake, and when she did, it was like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. he was sat at a table in the cafeteria, joking around with some of his friends. his eyes drifted around the room, and when they found her, his brows twisted in worry as he stood from his seat and made his way over to her. 

"hey, what happened?" drake said softly, pulling nova into a hug. 

nova wrapped her arms around his torso, grabbing onto the back of his shirt. "i told mindy i couldn't be her friend anymore. she told me i wasn't any different than all of the other girls you dated, and that i wasn't that type of person and-"

drake pulled away from the hug, cutting her off mid ramble. "what? nova, if anyone is different, it's you. i'm serious when i say i want to be with you. you're my girlfriend and i... i really like you." he said, wiping a few stray tears from her cheeks. 

she looked up at him with those blue eyes, taking in every freckle on his face. "i really like you too. and, it was for the better, mindy wasn't a good friend. she was always trying to be better than me. everything was always a competition."

"i'm really sorry. i know she was still important to you." drake sighed. 

"you're important to me. i have you." nova smiled softly. 

drake returned the smile, pulling her in once more and wrapping arms around her, holding her close. suddenly, the whole thing with mindy didn't seem so bad. it seemed a little more bearable. everything felt more bearable when she was with drake. everything felt right. 

word count: 1555