Justification | Deetranada AU

ascent

Continuous

(Dee POV)

Finally, he looks up, noticing her. He experiences a series of emotions, surprise, confusion, happiness, and hesitancy. 'I'll see you tomorrow,' he says to his friend, not bothering to look back as he approaches her. Dee looks down at her feet, trying not to smile.

He stands in front of her, staring as if she isn't real. She stares back, her own shock at seeing his face again surprising. 'Hey,' she manages to squeeze out. He smiles, her voice like confirmation that she's real. 'Hey,' he replies, a small laugh coming out. 'Happy to see me, huh?' she questions. He laughs again. 'Yeah, why wouldn't I be?'

She shrugs, pushing her hands into her jacket pockets. 'How'd you get here?' Don asks. 'My brother dropped me off,' she explains. 'Oh, okay.' It falls silent, their initial excitement traded for awkwardness. She clears her throat, turning her gaze to the ground. 'You uh, you wanna get food or something?' she asks.

'Right now?' he questions. 'Uh, yeah,' she replies, looking up. 'If you gotta wait for Anna then that's fine, I can take the bus back or something.' Her voice trails off, her mind cursing her for taking a chance. 'No, no, it's fine,' he says quickly. 'She has debate team until six so we have time.' She nods, looking around to avoid showing him her smile. 'What's close?'

'Follow me,' he says, waving his hand for her to pass by him. She does, his gesture odd but appreciated. He falls in step, the only sounds their footsteps and her restless mind. You got this. Go slow, say as much as you can. 'You okay?' he asks, interrupting her thoughts. She gives him a small smile. 'Yeah, just thinking.' 

She takes a silent breath, closing her eyes as they continue walking. Get him to ask, don't rush it, don't offer too much. She nods to herself, looking to him in hopes that he doesn't see her strange behavior but he isn't focused on her. The sun hits him as they turn, shining off of his smooth skin and she finds herself racked with nerves and an unfamiliar feeling all over again. The fuck is wrong with me right now. Calm down, bitch.

She looks down just as his hand moves gently in front of her, moving her further into a parking space. She frowns until the roar of an engine passes by. Shit, I ain't even hear it. She chuckles nervously. 'Sorry, I was in my head,' she explains. 'It's fine, they didn't blow the horn or anything,' he adds.

She nods, starting back along the car line. 'What's on your mind?' he asks, stuffing a hand in his pocket. She shakes her head, 'Nothin' really. Just been doin' that a lot. Thinking 'bout things that happened, things I got planned, all that.' He nods, motioning for her to follow another student down the sidewalk.

'Hopefully, you don't hurt yourself doing that,' he observes. She sighs, the truth of his statement all too real. 'I'm usually at home, I don't be out like that no more,' she says, maintaining a consistent tone throughout despite the nerves bubbling in her chest. She can see him start to speak, his eyes concerned but she jumps to speak first.

'Where you takin' me?' she questions, adding a smile to lighten the mood. 'Uh, yeah. It's a bistro a lot of us go to for lunch. It's okay but it's the closest thing we have,' he says. His sentences are simple but she finds herself smiling at his cadence, missing the way their voices contrasted. 'You go a lot?' she asks, distracting herself from the thoughts coming to her mind.

'Not really but they have chicken tenders so...' His voice trails off as he shrugs, looking at her. She laughs, gently shoving him. 'I eat other stuff too, fool.' 'You sure? 'Cause that's all you ever asked for,' he teases. 'I see why Key calls you nugget.' He stops walking as she tries to shove him again, making her miss completely. 'Shut up, Don,' she says loudly, putting on a frown.