Stay//Poofless//discontinued

Chapter 15

Rob's POV

When Preston finally wakes up it's starting to get dark. I'm in his kitchen making some Mac n Cheese when he lifts his head.

"Oh god, what time is it?" he mumbled, raising his arm to see his watch. His sleeve inches down his arm and I see deep red gashes cut across the skin.

"Preston, what did you do?" I gasp, dropping the wooden spoon I was using to stir the food.

"Oh, fudge, you're still here!" He says, raising his voice slightly.

"Yes I'm still here, what did you do?" I walk from the counter and over to the couch. He quickly stands up, pushing his long sleeves back down to cover his hands. I stand in front of him and grab one of his arms, making sure to be gentle with his wrists. Slowly I pull one sleeve up, revealing the criss cross of lines. He turns his head to the side, averting eye contact as small tears escape his eyes. I run a thumb over them lightly, trying hard not to hurt him.

"Rob I-" he whispers before I cut him off.

"Don't apologize, please." I open up my arms slightly and allow him to collapse into me. I hug him, rubbing small circles with my thumb across his shoulder. He lets out a small sigh into my chest but our moment is interrupted by the beeping of a smoke alarm.

"Oh no the food!" Preston exclaims, a sad laugh escaping his lips. I run over and pull the pot off of the burner and begin wafting away the smoke with a dish towel. He enters the small kitchen area behind me and begins to dump out the blackened mac n cheese, laughing the whole time. How can he just move past this so fast?

"I guess we know I'll never work as a chef..." I say as I reach up and turn off the alarm.

"Of course not! What would the world come to if Rob-a-Dob-Flob actually got a job?" I punch him in the arm lightly and he sticks his tongue out at me. It feels strange joking around right after I saw what I saw.

"Meanie!" I yell as I grab the keys to my car out of my pocket, maybe I can cheer him up a little? "Well since I wasted that do you want to go get something to eat?"

"Um... what about...?" his voice trails off as he touches the bruise.

"If anyone stares at you I will fight them off." I say dragging him out of the door by his upper arm. He locks the door and follows me to my car.

"Where do you want to go?" He asks as I pull out of the complex parking area.

"I've got somewhere in mind." I reply smirking. Despite the current situation I still can't help but think about him. Every time I see him I resist the urge to just drop everything and kiss him on the spot. I may not be able to have him for myself but I sure did miss him. Every second I'm with him I know more and more who I am.

I drive to the diner a few minutes away from my house. We used to come here all the time before his main focus was Lachlan. God I wanted to punch his no good "boyfriend" in the face.

"Mic's!" Preston exclaimed excitedly. A big smile crept up on his face. As we walked towards the door I ran in front of him.

"After you fine sir," I said holding open the massive door.

"Why thank you," he replied, matching my official tone. We went inside and sat down at our favorite booth.

"BOYS! NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" A large voice boomed from the other side of the diner.

"Mic!" I yelled back, waving to him. He walked over to us, a smile booming across his face.

"The usual?" He asked, already writing down our order. We both nodded and he slid into the booth next to Preston.

Mic's Diner has always been our spot, this was the first place we went after we moved down to Texas and we developed a friendship with Mic, the owner. He was a chubby guy with a balding head but he was the first person we met here.

"So how's life treating you two? Get in a fight?" he asked pointing to the bruise on Preston's face. When he didn't respond Mic just shrugged and said, "Well I at least hope you left the other guy looking worse. But seriously, how's it going?"

"Life's pretty good, not much is changing. I've been with Lachlan for about 2 months now..." Preston says, his voice trailing off slightly. Oh Lachlan is definitely going to pay for what he did.

"Well it's good to see you boys but I must go now." He says standing back up. He walks away and back into the kitchen as we shout bye's to him. Preston and I spend the next several hours just talking, we eat and talk until the diner closes.

"Hey... Rob?" Preston asks when we are outside of the diner. He is standing with his hands wrapped around his arms. He is shivering and I can see his teeth chomping. It's getting into July and this is an unusually chilly night. Texas hasn't prepared anybody for weather colder than 70°.

"Yeah?"

"Can I maybe stay over at your place tonight? I-I don't really want to be alone..."

"Of course Preston! Any time! I've missed hanging out with you!" We both get into the warm car and drive back to my house. We're both super tired so we both end up falling asleep on the couch watching a movie. Right as we're drifting off to sleep I feel Preston's face next to mine.

"You saved me," he whispers, planting a kiss on my cheek. I feel my insides exploding but I don't dare to open my eyes and ruin the feeling. Preston settles into me as we both drift off.

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I have no clue what weather is like in Texas just go with it.

~Sky