BABY BLUE & PASTEL PINK ↣ matt champion

YOU'RE GROWING SOFT

matt and scarlett had been texting almost daily ever since their lunch. matt wasn't lying when he said he was starting to care about her; he was being genuine about how he felt. being truthful is important in gaining someone's trust, and is even more important in building a relationship.

"who you talkin' to?" romil, matt's friend, asked. he leaned over the table, trying to peek at matt's screen.

they were sitting at a table in the dining area, like they usually did. matt seemed a little quiet today, being more occupied with his phone.

matt pulled his phone away quickly, hiding the screen against his chest. "no one."

"yo, is it that girl you're going on a mission with?" merlyn asked.

"i ran into her the other night. she seems pretty nice." russell piped up, deciding to join in on the conversation.

"you did?" matt was suddenly interested in hearing this story. neither russell nor scarlett told him about the encounter.

"yeah, we ran into each other after i had a cigarette. we didn't talk for very long, since she was in a rush, but she's cute." he explained.

"oh." matt said, elongating the 'o.' that must've been when she was going to bobby's room. "wait, did you just call her cute?" his eyebrows knitted together.

"not like that; i meant she's adorable. don't get overprotective now, matt." he chuckled.

"i'm not!" he scoffed in disbelief. "you guys act like i'm in love with her now." he rolled his eyes.

"looks like you're growing soft." ciarán sang, laughing like a water gun afterwards.

"am not." matt huffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"less than a week ago, you hated her. now, you suddenly act like she's the only girl that matters to you. you've definitely grown soft for her, dude." ciarán stated, noticing a slight change in matt's attitude.

"listen, just because i'm starting to be nice to her doesn't mean i'm growing soft." he shook his head.

"you're more than nice to her, buddy." ciarán said, nudging matt with his elbow.

"shut it, ciarán." matt scowled, getting up.

"you going to scarlett's room now?" romil teased, joining in on the fun.

"i've had enough of this bullshit." matt said, shaking his head. "you guys are dicks." and with that, he walked away.

the last thing he heard from his friends was: "now you know how we feel about you!"

he could hear their laughter, and without turning around, he flipped them off. "fuckin' assholes." he mumbled to himself as he walked back to his room.

ratt 🐀: do u think i'm soft
scarlett 🧟‍♀️: i don't think so, why?
ratt 🐀: just curious
scarlett 🧟‍♀️: and there's nothing wrong with being soft

matt smiled down at his phone, pleased with scarlett's reassurance. when he was younger, he struggled with masculinity. he was surrounded by friends with toxic, fragile masculinities, who called everything gay, and said 'no homo' after everything.

it was only when he became a spy and made new friends when he grew comfortable with his masculinity.

he remembered when he was hanging out with the boys, he put on romil's lipstick and ciarán painted his nails for fun.

in that moment, he felt so careless; and from that point on, he didn't give a shit about what anyone had to say about his sexuality.

meanwhile, bobby was questioning scarlett's sexuality.

"why the hell were you two talking about sex?" he laughed.

"well, it was thanks to your stupid condoms." she grumbled. "i told him about it, then he asked if i was virgin. he wouldn't stop talking about sex after that." she chuckled, recalling their conversation.

"i'm telling you, those condoms are necessary." he shrugged.

"for what?! we're taking down someone who runs a sex trade. being horny is the last thing on my mind." she rolled her eyes.

"hey, you never know when your hormones start acting up." he chuckled, earning a punch from scarlett. "i forgot to mention: i saw you hanging out with champion the other night."

"why are you two such stalkers?" she scoffed. "first, matt saw you walking with me; now, you see me with matt."

"scarlett, i have to guard the place." he shook his head, laughing.

"okay?! but that doesn't mean you have to notice everything." she crossed her arms.

"it kinda does." he countered.

"whatever." she knew she had the lost the tiny dispute.

"hey, why were you even with him anyway?" he raised an eyebrow. he was genuinely curious, knowing that salem wouldn't willingly hang out with matt. after all, they've known each other for their whole lives, and her hatred for matt champion hasn't changed ever since she met him.

"so you know how ian made me have lunch with him?" salem asked, to which bobby nodded. "well," she elongated the word before continuing: "jada saw us together and got jealous."

"the girl who has an obsession with him?"

she nodded, "yeah! she stopped me right after out lunch and told me to meet her in the training room."

"can she even fight?" bobby snickered.

she let out a loud laugh, "no! i was fucking her shit up until she pulled out a knife. here's the crazy part—" scarlett paused for a brief second for a dramatic effect, "—matt showed up outta nowhere and stopped her."

"where the hell did he come from?" bobby asked, confusion written all over his face.

"he said he was watching from the dining area. i had told him about the fight earlier, but i didn't think he'd actually come. i'm glad he did, though." at the memory, a faint smile appeared on scarlett's face.

"i know you probably don't like me saying this, but i think you have a better chance of getting with matt than jada does."

scarlett's nose wrinkled up in disgust. "you could've kept that to yourself." as bobby's mouth opened to respond, she interrupted him, making sure that no more bullshit spewed from his mouth. "ANYWAY," she began loudly, "she dropped the knife, but i still got cut." she moved the hem of her shirt, revealing the healing scab.

bobby's eyes widened, "holy shit, how'd you manage to clean that up?"

she leaned in close to him, like she was telling him a secret. "matt cleaned it up for me." she whispered.

if bobby's eyes grew any wider, they'd pop right out of his skull. "matt champion?"

scarlett nodded, "he offered it too! i didn't even ask."

"where's the real matt champion? he must've been replaced with an imposter." he shook his head in disbelief.

scarlett let out a loud holler, "right? i couldn't believe it either! we've been talking everyday since then."

"you let him clean it up for you? and you two have been talking everyday?" he raised an eyebrow. now where was the scarlett he knew?

"he was begging me to; and he thinks it'll help with our bond or something." she scoffed, causing bobby to laugh.

she decided it was best she didn't mention her vent and their hug. nobody, not even bobby, needed to know how close she was getting with matt.