all that glitters » david dobrik au

thirty eight

"Okay, bye guys!" I waved to the group with a smile. It was the next Wednesday, and I was leaving school after lunch to go take a nap before work. David also had his last class before lunch on Wednesdays, so we could leave together without the fear of him getting caught for skipping and given in school suspension. We had been so close before, but David's charm (and money) had gotten him out of almost anything. "Do you think Corinna and Gabbie would want to do something with me Saturday?"

"Since when do you hang out with Corinna and Gabbie?" David tucked one hand into his khaki pocket, the other pushing some of his unbrushed hair off his forehead. He always looked so weird at school, so different from his casual, black-on-black attire, but still cute. He made everything look cute. He'd look cute in a hotdog costume. "I didn't think you were, like, friends friends. I just thought you talked."

"Yeah, well, I'm branching out," I laughed, tossing some of my hair over my shoulder. I was still debating on whether or not I should cut it. The ends of my light brown hair just barely grazed my ribs, but I thought it was time for some collarbone length tendrils instead. David supported me either way. "They are the only girl friends I have here, if you haven't noticed. I can't talk about everything with you and Todd, you know?"

"What can't you talk about with me?" David furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "We can talk about everything! That's called being a supportive boyfriend."

"Can't talk about you," I teased with a smile. "And trust me, there's a lot to talk about."

"Listen," David grabbed my wrist as we approached where his Mercedes was parked, spinning
me around and pulling me to a halt. "I have something for you. Don't be mad, okay?"

"Why would I be mad about a gift?" I giggled, then added, "I love gifts!"

"Okay..." David trailed off, pulling open his trunk to reveal a dress bag. A dress bag. A dress bag, engraved with the name of the prom dress shop I went to just two and a half weeks ago with Gabbie and Corinna.

My mood immediately shifted from light and playful to... scary. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me."

"Look, I bought the one you wanted for you," he tried to explain, but I was already seething. David's richness had never made me feel so stupid and patronized. "Gabbie showed me. You shouldn't be working all the time; it's not good for you. I just wanted to help you."

"I didn't ask for your help, and I don't need your help," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest until his eyes trailed down to my cleavage instead of my angry face. "You're a pervert. And an asshole. You can't just buy things. This is not a gift; this is bullshit."

"I just wanted to help!" he defended himself, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "You can pay me back, if you're that worried about it. You're working every single day, you don't go to sleep until two, and then you wake up at six. I just want you to be healthy. While we're on the topic, you haven't eaten lunch in two and a half weeks, and you never go out to eat with me anymore."

"I eat breakfast and lunch, just not at school," I told him, feeling my heart beat quicken in my chest. "I'm too busy to eat dinner, but I'm fine, David. Stop trying to change the subject."

"What'd you have for breakfast this morning?" David cocked his head to the side all too cockily as he asked the invasive and unnecessary question.

"Why does it matter?" I countered, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. "It was big, okay?"

"You're lying to me," he quieted his voice down as someone passed by us to get to their car. It was Erin Gilfoy, of course, because who else would pass by at a time like this?

"No, I'm not!" I whisper-yelled back, taking a step closer so hopefully the nosy bitch couldn't hear me. "I had some bacon, and two pieces of toast, and eggs, and—"

It was in that moment I knew just as well as David did that I fucked up. I couldn't retract my statement. I said it with my chest. Now, I had to face the consequences.

"You're lying straight to my fucking face, Mona. You don't eat eggs. You never eat eggs. Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not!" I snapped.

"You're breaking my heart, Mona," his words were more of a plea than anything else, and he really sold it by placing one of his hands over the emblem on his blazer.

"Nobody breaks your heart," I coldly mocked, not letting his genuine concern get to me. I added with a sarcastic chuckle, "That's what you told me the first week I met you, isn't it? Before the lake house? You're too big and bad for anyone to break your heart."

"I love you, Mona."

It was one of those things I honestly never expected to hear from David. With the way he acted with his family, I wasn't sure he even knew what love was. I didn't think it was an emotion he felt. I thought it would always be like, and I accepted that. I never thought it would be love, and I definitely never thought he would say it—really say it—first.

That was why I spluttered out a sorry, "What?"

"I love you, and you're breaking my heart," David teared up, his eyes foggy and his voice shaky. "It breaks my heart to see you like this. I have never loved someone the way I love you, and it's scary to see you hurting. You are so fucking pretty no matter what you look like, not because you have the perfect body or the face of a model—which you do—, but because you have the biggest fucking heart in the world. You love everyone. You care about people you probably shouldn't care about. I literally thought I was a sociopath before I met you because I never cared about anyone but myself after my mom died, but you made me care again. So I love you, and I want you to be okay, and if that means I have to sew a fucking prom dress together to make it fit you right, then I will. I will take up a home-ec class and sew one for you as soon as possible. I just want you to be okay. I love you."

It was all too much, too fast. I stared at him for a second, sure the freakiness was apparent on my face. I was never too good at hiding what I was really thinking. Then, I said I gotta go, and turned on my heel, leaving him alone and hopeless in the parking lot.

ok i promised soft chapters but then i got depressed. this is halfway soft?? he said he loves her so good enough

xoxo abby