𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘

𝐗𝐈𝐈 ━ 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶

chapter twelve
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"Hey, (Y/N)," Dante greeted (Y/N) the next day with a grin and a wave when seeing her walk into the AP Literature classroom. "How you doing?"

"Good," she nodded as she sat down beside him, unpacking her bag for the class. "You?"

"As good as I can be."

"I feel that."

The two chuckled before turning to attention when Mr. Lee started the class. Just like the previous day, Dante walked with (Y/N) to her classes and talked with her about anything and everything, something that once more filled her heart with joy. Even at lunch, his other friends included her in all of their conversation. Maya and Zara chuckled whenever she said something humorous, and Carlos always made sure she was watching whatever stunt he was doing at the moment.

It was fun.

Sometimes, she would catch Dante's gaze, and always he would give her a warm smile. For some reason, it made her heart beat just a little bit quicker than normal, but she always brushed it off.

Arriving at Devon's apartment—she still wasn't comfortable calling it home just yet—and opening the door, (Y/N) walked up the stairs towards her room to complete some homework. An hour or so later, she was done, and when popping an earbud out to not hear anyone home still, she shrugged and decided to continue working on her short horror story. She was so close to figuring out the ending, but a plot point just didn't add up right, a frustration that made her put off finishing the story at all. After trying various possibilities that ended up in her furiously smashing the delete button, she jolted in her seat when a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Woah," Devon exclaimed as he backed away, holding his hands up. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no," (Y/N) breathed out as she removed her earbuds. "I was just a bit startled, is all. When did you get back?"

"A few minutes ago," he smiled. "I saw your car in the driveway, so I just wanted to let you know that I was here." He then glanced over her shoulder to her computer screen, noticing the title and uttering, "Oh, are you working on that short horror story you told me about? I'll still be able to read that once you're done, right?"

"You... want to?" She blinked, surprised.

"Of course," Devon chuckled as he sat on the edge of her bed, crossing his arms. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well..." she sighed as she slightly turned back to the computer, her finger drumming against the wooden surface of her desk as she chewed on her lip, then glancing back at Devon. "Again, I wouldn't mind since it'd give me a proofreader, but that would only happen if I actually finish the story."

"And, you can't because...?"

"Because I don't know what I'm supposed to write from the viewpoint of the other narrative in a chilling enough way," she grumbled, scrolling through the story. "The story is separated into two parts. One of the main character, the other of the antagonist. However, I've written the antagonist's character in a way that I don't even know how I wrote it, if that makes sense?"

"I see," Devon hummed, slightly amused over her explanation of her problem. "How about this... look at your antagonist from the main character's perspective. What terrifies them the most about this antagonist? Then, once you've found it, write the antagonist's viewpoint out like that. Of course, make sure to keep it different enough that it's not the same, but overlap them so it intertwines smoothly. That will make your story so much more interesting to the reader."

"That..." (Y/N) trailed off, her mind obviously is turning. "...is amazing! Jeez, why the hell didn't I think of that?"

As (Y/N) grumbled to herself, her hands flying over the keyboard whilst her eyes flicked through the rows of text she was creating, Devon watched her with a soft smile. He was pleased that he was able to help her, knowing that such a feat would surely allow for her to open up to him again.

How he couldn't wait.

He was fond of the idea of a daughter.

Especially a daughter who looked up to him.

He knew he wouldn't want any girl in that role other than (Y/N).

Standing up, he reached his hand out as if to gently pat her hand in a caring manner, however when his mind flashed back to how electricity seemed to jolt through him upon the slight contact of just her hand against his, he refrained. Withdrawing his hand and letting it drop to his side, he watched (Y/N) for a few more moments before quietly exiting her room and shutting the door behind him.

Leaning against the doorframe, he exhaled.

What is happening?

Shaking his head in mild irritation from the strange mix of emotions he had been feeling lately, Devon walked away from (Y/N)'s room and downstairs towards his computer. Already, he was searching up wedding venues, dresses, caterers, guest invites, and so on and so forth. He had no time to waist in preparing everything for his proposal to Katherine in five months time. Already, he picked out the restaurant and date perfectly to coincide with their first date on their first year anniversary of dating. He had no doubt she would say 'yes,' and therefore planned accordingly for that.

Propping his chin up with the palm of his hand, using the mouse to scroll through various images of wedding ideas and necessities, he then glanced towards the stairs, almost seeing (Y/N) descending them in those oversized sleep clothes of her.

Rapidly, he blinked.

Rubbing his eyes with his pointer finger and thumb, he looked to the stairs again, and such a hallucination was no longer there. Disturbed at the sudden image that popped into his mind and before his eyes, he steeled himself so as not to make any hasty decisions that would sway his plans. Digging his nails into his palms, he forced himself to shove all thoughts of (Y/N) out of his mind. She was important for his plans, yes, but at the current moment, she was becoming some sort of strange distraction due to his fixation on family.

It would need to stop.

After all, he couldn't afford such distractions.

He flicked his gaze to his side, wondering why instead of Katherine whom he was dating, his mind instead fixated on her daughter.

Immediately, he quelled such questions.

It's fine.

His eyes narrowed.

It's fine.

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To be continued...