Close As Strangers

Chapter 7

Sunday saw Steph curled up in Michael's arms on the sofa as they relaxed, watching movies together, though occasionally he would pick up the acoustic guitar he had brought with him and sing for her. The couple were laying together on the sofa, talking softly about trivial things, knowing that Bethany was working in her room upstairs and Megan was at the boys' house so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"I liked that last one," murmured Steph, her head on her boyfriend's chest as she watched him play with her fingers. "Does it have a title?"

"Long Way Home," he replied softly, his other hand resting on her waist, his thumb running over her skin under the shirt of his she was wearing. "I wrote it with Ash the other night. We're hoping to do a gig over summer."

"That'd be cool," she agreed, cuddling closer to him. "After Sydney, right?"

"Most likely," he said, tightening his grip on her reflexively. "You're still coming with, right? My grandparents want to meet you."

"Don't remind me, Mikey," she mumbled, tracing her fingers over his chest in random shapes. "I'm nervous enough about it already without remembering I'm meeting your family."

"They'll love you," he assured her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Just like I do."

"I love you too," she echoed with a smile, leaning up to kiss him properly. "I wanted to ask about Ash, actually."

"Everything ok, babe?" asked Michael, brushing her hair out of her face.

"He and Bethany have been getting closer recently," she explained quietly, listening to his heartbeat. "Does he have feelings for her, or is it nothing more than friends?"

"It's just friendly," sighed the black haired young man, shifting her body until she was lying on top of him. "Much better," he murmured, burying his face in her neck before continuing. "He's got a thing for this girl he's talking to online. Aurelia or something; he goes by Adair."

"What?" questioned Steph, pushing herself up a little and making him pout. "He's Adair?"

"Yes, why?" he whined, trying to pull her back down. The blonde opened her mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by a noise from the doorway.

"You ok, B?" she asked, seeing the brunette standing in the doorframe, looking anxious.

"I'm not interrupting?" she checked, obviously needing to talk but not wanting to disturb her friends' alone time.

"Yes," muttered Michael, earning himself a slap around the head.

"Ignore him," Steph told her, getting off the young man, who promptly sulked, inviting the older woman to sit. "What is it?"

"He asked me to meet him," breathed the twenty two year old as she sank into the armchair that didn't hold Michael's guitar. "Wednesday after lectures."

"What did you say?" she asked, glancing at her boyfriend as the brunette quietly freaked out.

"I said yes," replied Bethany, playing with her hands as she tried to calm down. "I'm just worried he'll be disappointed when he sees me. What if he decides he doesn't want to talk to me anymore? What if he takes one look at me and leaves? Oh God, he's gonna hate me."

"I have no idea what's going on," started the black haired boy, sitting up. "But whoever this guy is, he'd be an idiot to hate you. If he's disappointed, then you can do better, love. Be worried about him disappointing you, not the other way 'round."

"I just don't want to get hurt again," she mumbled, avoiding their eyes, not wanting to admit her fear to her friends, despite not hesitating to tell Adair about it. "Mark broke me; I'm already hurting enough right now without Adair walking away from me."

"If he does, me and Ash will happily beat him up for you too," offered the twenty year old. "None of us want to see you hurt again."

"So you don't think it's a bad idea?" questioned the brunette, looking for reassurance.

"Not if it's what you want to do," replied Steph, wanting her to go through with the meeting without seeming too eager for it. "Don't worry about it so much; he's gonna love you."

"Sorry for interrupting your date day," apologised the older woman with a sigh. "I'll let you get back to it."

"Later, B," said the young man, waiting until she had left the room, lying down before tugging his girlfriend back on top of him. "I'm not letting you go this time, babe," he murmured into her hair.

"What do you think's gonna happen when they meet?" asked the blonde, huddling into his warm embrace, feeling safe with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"I have no idea," he mumbled, not particularly caring at that moment.

"You didn't catch that she's meeting someone she calls Adair?" she questioned, smiling when he looked at her in surprise. "There we go," she teased as he realised the same thing she had a few minutes ago.

"Bethany's Aurelia?" he choked out, staring up at her.

"Yeah, and she's crushing on Ash," explained Steph, knowing that if he did change his mind about the brunette after meeting her, he would try his best not to hurt her. "So his being Adair is a good thing."

"And he said he and B were just friends," mumbled Michael, shaking his head to himself. "The liar. Not sure how he'll take it when they meet, though. It'd be cool if they started dating; Meph and Legan are real. They'd be Ashany, I reckon. We just have to find Calum a girlfriend now."

"As long as he doesn't hurt her," sighed the blonde, cuddling into her boyfriend again. "That's all that matters. It would be nice to all be dating though."

"You know he wouldn't hurt her on purpose," he reminded her, smiling as she hid her face in his neck. "And if he doesn't look after her, I'll still beat him up."

"I love how protective you are of her and Megan," the blonde told him as he ran a hand along her arm, the other still tightly around her waist.

"I'm more protective of you," he said softly, tightening his grip on her as if to prove what he was saying. "I love you, Steph."

"I love you too, Michael," she whispered back, moving so she could kiss him, her hands on his chest, his delving into her hair as he deepened it. Neither of them cared who saw or what they thought, not that they were aware of anything other than the feeling of being together.