Battle Scars [BxB]

T W E N T Y T W O

We were sat on my bedroom floor, crosslegged and facing each other. Luca looked even more attractive than usual in the dim light, his tousled hair falling over his eyes, his tight shirt strained against his muscles. I leant under my bed and pulled out his present, wrapped in brown paper and tied off with a pink ribbon.

"I-It's not much." I said hastily, "I didn't really have m-much money-"

"Theo." He cocked his head to the side, grinning faintly, "It's fine, I don't care. Anything you give me is gonna be great. Plus, you gotta save up for travelling, right?"

I smiled lightly and turned my attention to my lap as he ripped off the paper. "I-I got the idea when I saw all the photos on the walls in your dorm room." I told him quietly once he'd uncovered the thick black book.

He flicked it open, flipping through hundreds of pages of photos, all staring up at him happily. His lips twisted into a smile, his eyes darting back to mine, "How long did this take you?"

I shrugged, "A-A while. I did most of it in hospital."

"I love it." He commented, his eyes studying a photo of him wearing my glasses as I laughed from the side. "I don't even remember taking half of these."

"Y-Yeah, neither do I. When I saw the ones you had in your dorm, I-I realised how many we had, even if we'd both forgotten about them. I-I went over to your house and asked your Mum if I could b-borrow that old camera in your room to print them out. You know, th-the one we took a bunch of photos with last summer and th-then never looked at them again?"

He smiled widely, nodding in remembrance, "Aw, this one is so adorable." He commented, running his fingers over the glossy paper displaying our grinning faces.

We spent at least an hour sitting on the floor, examining the photos and laughing sweetly, exchanging short kisses between page turns. Luca said he'd go through it again in more detail when he had the chance, but for now, he wanted to take me out. I quickly changed as Luca watched me from my bed, whistling and making seductive comments, causing my cheeks to flame up.

Once I'd changed into a denim jacket and a pair of high waisted trousers, we left hand in hand. Luca still hadn't told me where we were going as I clambered into his car. His parents had wanted him to sell it but he refused, keeping the car at his house all year long only to use during the holidays.

When he pulled up to the bowling alley, I smiled to myself, a little knot of nostalgia tangling in the pit of my stomach. It was where we had our first date. Well, technically it wasn't, since we weren't together then, but it was a nice thought. It was just as sweaty and loud as I remembered, full of kids screaming and disobeying their parents as arcades flashed obnoxiously in the corner.

I didn't let Luca help me this time, I was intent on scoring on my own. He watched me carefully, his eyes not straying from my body the entire time. I couldn't understand how someone could be so fascinated by my appearance, but it seemed that Luca couldn't look away, as if I was a piece of art in a fancy gallery. It only made me blush and screw up, not being able to throw the ball correctly in my flustered state.

Luca laughed and took his go, sending the ball rolling smoothly down the lane, hitting almost all the pins and smirking triumphantly. His hands fell to my waist as he pulled me in for a short kiss, murmuring, "I win."

I pushed him away and pouted jokingly, slipping my fingers through his and leaning against his tall frame. We headed over to grab a pizza from the little cafe, just like we did last time. Luca's hand drifted until it was cradling my slim waist and he tugged me closer to his body as we approached. "W-What should we get?"

Luca tensed up as he examined the girl working behind the counter, "Holy shit." He muttered under his breath. I glanced up and caught sight of a purple haired girl, watching us with a grin.

"I totally called it." She announced.

And then I remembered who she was. The girl who flirted with Luca when we came here last time. Although we weren't dating at that point, I couldn't help feeling incredibly jealous, as if she was taking something away from me. I never thought that Luca and I would ever be anything more than friends and yet, here we were, tangled up together and smelling of each other's cologne.

"Uh, yeah, hey." Luca murmured, casting his eyes to the ground. He quickly ordered and paid for the food and without a second glance, headed over to the furthest table he could reach.

"W-Was that-?"

"The first person to figure out our secret. Even before we did." He said jokingly as I sat opposite him and he fiddled with the receipt.

I glanced over my shoulder subtly, before looking back at my boyfriend, "I'm thinking of g-getting a tattoo." I announced.

His brow cocked up in surprise, "Of what?"

"I don't know. M-Maybe your name across my forehead."

He stared at me blankly.

"Luca, I'm kidding." I grinned, leaning over to lace our fingers together. "I-I want one on my forearm. Y'know...t-to cover my scars."

"You don't need to cover them, Theo." He assured me.

"Why? They're not pretty."

"So?"

"I-I hate them." I shrugged. "And don't say that you think they're b-beautiful or some shit because that's not true."

"I wasn't going to." He admitted. "I'd never romanticise self harm, Theo, you know that."

I nodded faintly, watching a bug crawl across the table, extending my finger out for it. It climbed up onto my hand, it's countless legs pulling itself along, so tiny that I could barely feel its weight. "S-So, what are you saying, you like my scars?"

He shook his head, "No. I like you. And if your scars are a part of you, then so be it. That doesn't make you any less perfect to me."

I watched him for a while, trying to decipher his words and work out if he truly meant them. But then the pizza arrived and I wasted no more time on the matter. Maybe I'd get a tattoo one day. Maybe I wouldn't. But for now, I focussed all my attention on my boyfriend, counting the seconds until he'd leave me again.