plus two ⌁ hayes [IN EDITING]

seize

« hayes »

i sit with my legs crossed, autumn's head laying on my lap. it's clear that after our late night last night she's still tired. my hands are casually roaming through her long hair, speeding up the process of her falling asleep. though, it may not be happening anytime soon.

what started off as whispering, transitioned into mumbling and then into talking. i think emma and jack tried to keep quiet at first, knowing that autumn's sleepy but they're failing, because they're getting louder by the minute.

unsurprisingly, a door slams and both emma and jack storm out of her bedroom. autumn jumps, startled by the sudden shift in environment. it began as relaxed and calm, which has now turned into awkward and almost hostile.

it's clear as day that they're fighting. i knew he would find out eventually, i just didn't want to be the one to spoil it. "i would never!" emma gasps, sounding needy and desperate. i gently remove autumn's head from my lap and set it down on the couch, standing up and walking toward them in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

"woah, what's going on?" i groan, running a hand through my hair to hopefully tame it. i rub my eyes, metaphorically waking myself up. jack balls his fists, his face turning red.

"she was flirting with some other guys!" he exclaims. i huff, and there it is. i've known about this for a while and felt guilty for not sharing it with him or anyone else but i did hint at it the one day. autumn follows me, standing beside me now.

emma keeps advancing towards him but autumn is quick to pull her back, just to be mindful of his current feelings. "can we please just talk about it?" she begs. he shakes his head vigorously, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

"what is there to talk about, emma? you're cheating on me!" he yells, stepping toward her somewhat aggressively which is my cue to grab ahold of his shoulders. ugh, it's too early in the morning to be doing this.

"jack, this might be a big misunderstanding—" autumn tries to reason with him, but is cut off by his mischievous snickering.

"easy for you to say," he laughs sarcastically, making her furrow her eyebrows in confusion. "you've had a boyfriend for two days and you're already cheating!" i look from him to her repeatedly, trying to see some sort of reaction from either of them. she just looks emotionless until she processes what he said and has a tidal wave of sadness and guilt wash over her face.

in this moment, i'm super angry that he went off on her. yeah, he's upset but autumn was just trying to dilute the problem. he had no right to blow up like that. i shoot my head to the side, solely to make eye contact with him, showing just how mad i am. i back him into the nearest wall, looking down at him considering i still have that extra 3 inches on him.

i impulsively decide to speak intimidatingly to him. "don't talk to her like that," i growl. he nods, closing his eyes and awaits a hit or punch making me laugh. "pussy," i snicker, forcefully pushing him.

autumn grabs my hand, pulling me away from jack. i let her, not feeling energized enough to put up a fight. i put a bored face on already, awaiting her lecture on how i can't go around fighting people for her; especially not my closest friends. instead, she kisses my cheek, thanking me.

jack is pacing back and forth while emma stands there watching him, helplessly. i quickly peck her forehead, heading straight for j. i bite my lip, feeling bad for the guy. it's hard for me to watch him pace around and look so distressed.