Tonight - A Tronnor AU

o5: rubatosis

rubatosis

n. the unsettling feeling of being aware of your heartbeat

January 19; 7:47 pm

Connor hurried through the hallways with his backpack almost falling off his shoulder. He passed a janitor cleaning the stairs, and hurtled down them two at a time, almost falling flat at the end. He had waited behind in the library, and lost track of time. It was now past dusk. Ricky had called him three times, and Connor didn't particularly want a fourth call. They were going to a party downtown, and he was on the verge of being left behind.

Connor fumbled about for his phone, skidding to a stop as his fingers found no trace of the metal. Frantically, he turned out both his jeans' pockets and the single one in the front of his hoodie. It wasn't there. "No, no, no...fuck!" Connor stamped a foot in frustration, swearing so loudly that the janitor came rushing down the stairs. He flushed at the man's glare and mumbled an apology, which fell on deaf ears.

He must have forgotten his phone in the library. Connor pushed back a lock of hair from his forehead, preparing to sprint back. He couldn't possibly leave his phone behind. His sneakers crunched loudly as he ran back, panting and sweating, but determined to make it before the library closed. The back of his hoodie clung to his t-shirt, which in turn, was matted against his skin with sweat.

Phil Lester, the librarian, was just about to enter the key into the lock, when Connor rushed up to him and shoved the door open, ignoring the latter's exclamation of protest. He immediately found his phone by the glow of its screen, which was covered with notifications.

"Sorry about this, Mr Lester," Connor got out, between breaths. "Forgot my phone."

"That's alright, Mr Franta," the older man smiled down at him. "Are you okay?"

"Thank you, I'm fine." The screen lit up again. "Fuck, I gotta go! Night, Mr Lester!"

Connor turned on his heel, beginning his mad sprint back. If he continued at this pace, he would reach the dormroom in fifteen minutes, short of breath, with an ache in his limbs and weird looks from people all the way there.

He felt all the breath get knocked out of his body. His legs gave way all of a sudden, and he would have hit his head against the wall, had not a pair of arms steadied him.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," Connor grunted, pressing a hand against his chest. He looked down at the pair of anxious hazel eyes, and tried to smile. "Seriously, it's cool. What're you doing here?"

"I came looking for you!" Bethany exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure they left us, though."

"What?! How could they?"

"Relax, I have the address. We can still go."

"But - but, I lost my fake I.D. Ricky knows that! I was banking on him to get me through."

"Oh." She bit her lip, casting her gaze at her feet. "You know, if you don't mind, we could just go somewhere else. You know, someplace quiet, just have a chilled-out evening."

Connor mulled it over, subconsciously running an eye over her. She was dressed for the party, wearing an off-shoulder top that contrasted sharply with her pale skin, skinny jeans and subtle makeup. She had obviously looked forward to it. He felt bad that she wasn't able to attend. 

"Okay," he gave in suddenly. "Sounds cool."

"How about going to watch a movie?"

"I'd like that, but if you don't mind, can we watch Netflix? I honestly don't feel like going out now."