Nightmares ➳ Connor McDonough/ Before You Exit Fanfic { edited }

Sixteen

Gwen's POV

What felt like an hour had passed and I was still buckled up in the passenger's seat feeling rather restless.

"Are we almost there?" I asked.

"Yeah, only about fifteen minutes left," Connor replied and I groaned.

"Come on, Gwen. The long drive is going to be so worth it when we get there."

"It better be."

There was a long silence that followed and I almost had to ask myself if Connor was still in the car with me, but I didn't have to because he placed his hand right on top of mine and I smiled.

"We're here," he said quietly.

I heard the car door slam and a few quick footsteps before the door on my side was opened and I was lifted out of the car before the blindfold I'd been wearing was taken away.

It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, I was pretty confused to find myself standing in the middle of an empty field that stretched out into nothing and nowhere.

"Uh, Connor," I said, still confused. "There's nothing here."

"That's the point. There's nothing and no one that can bother us."

"Yeah, but what are we supposed to do here?" I asked.

He took my hand in his and twirled me around so that I was facing the blue pick up truck that we used to drive here.

He kicked off his shoes and I decided to just follow his actions as I kicked off my sneakers.

He got in the back of the pick up truck and offered me his hand, which I gratefully took as he started helping me climb up.

Only then did I notice the mattress and all of the pillows and blankets piled up in the empty space of the back.

I couldn't really find the words to say as I looked at him with the biggest smile on my face before I tackled him with a hug and both of us ended up falling over onto the mountain of pillows. I squeezed him as hard as I could, trying to express how grateful I was.

"I just thought we should sleep under some real stars tonight," he said as he buried his face in my neck.

"This is the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me," I said, staring directly into his blue eyes. And in the immense darkness, I noticed how the color of them matched the night sky.

"Anything for you."

I gathered up a few of the pillows so that I had three and Connor had three. Then I rested my head on the pile that I had made, saving one pillow for me to hug, which will probably be replaced by Connor in a few moments.

"Why don't we try to get to know about each other more. Like, each other's families," Connor said, turning slightly red when he realized what he'd just said. "Y-you know, if it's fine with you, of course."

To be honest my dead parents and my pretty messed up sisters were the last things I wanted to talk about right now, but I really wanted to learn more about his family, so I decided to just go with it.

"Yeah, sure. You first," I replied and I could already predict what he was going to say next.

"Lady's first."

I sighed, not having it in me to argue.

"My dad was a lawyer. He worked really hard and he loved all of us very much. And he was a bit sporty, so most of my sports skills came from him. I remember he would always come home from work with something special for each of us. I would usually get Starbucks, because the addiction started with me. Tanya would get a pint of ice cream all to herself, and Avery would usually ask for sweets. My mom usually stayed in the house, taking care of my sisters and I. She was an aspiring author, so while my sisters and I were playing around in the front lawn she would have her nose in a notebook with a pencil gripped tightly in her left hand. She would always tell me how she never planned on getting married, followed by the popular saying, but things never go to plan. We were her whole life".

"What about your sisters? I don't know them that well, but Avery sure does a good job when it comes to date ideas," he chuckled.

"Well, Tanya's fifteen, she has ash blonde hair and green eyes, as you've probably already noticed," I said, shaking my head at myself with a small smile on my face. "She's the one who looks the most like our dad and she's always been proud of that. She's really into music, but after, well, you know, she hasn't spoken a word. No one's ever heard her voice since. Not even Avery. Not even me."

"What about Avery? What's she like?" he asked.

"Ash blonde hair, grey eyes, which we both inherited from our mom. Avery is a very loud person. She never knows when it's time to shut up," I laughed, recalling all the times she'd been yelled at for being noisy back in school and even at home. "She loves fantasy and all things unreal because she claims that living inside your imagination is way better than actually living."

"She's right, you know."

"Yeah, I know," I replied before I sat up straighter. "Now, tell me about your family".

"Well, my mom and my dad were pretty successful in their jobs. Not to mention, they were also always really busy, but somehow they always made time for the three of us. My mom and my dad taught me everything I know, and I was left to teach Riley, and then eventually, he had to teach Toby."

I looked at him, urging him to continue. I barely know his brothers and right now was a pretty good time to learn more about them. If they were anything like Connor, then I'd probably really enjoy spending time with them.

"Riley has always been the weirdest out of the three of us. I can't explain, but he does really crazy things and it's just -- "

"Weird?" I said, finishing for him, and he smiled, nodding.

"Toby, on the other hand, is very shy and quiet, unless he's fully comfortable with you. I remember we would set up little plays in our backyard and invite all of our neighbors. Toby would always end up playing the role of a girl, because there wouldn't be enough male roles," he continued and we both ended up laughing for a good amount of time. "And also because we just liked to bully him."

"You guys are so mean!" I exclaimed nudging him with my shoulder, but he didn't even budge.

Then suddenly, the atmosphere turned serious and my laughs faded into dead silence.

"They were the only ones I had left, but then I met you and -- I don't know," he said, his eyebrows furrowed, trying to think of the right words to say. "It just feels so different being with you."

"How so?"

His gaze flickered from me to the loose thread he was fiddling between his fingers. "It's almost like -- like I've found the other half of my soul."

Right after the sentence left his mouth, grey and blue made eye contact and right at that moment I knew what was coming. I knew exactly what to expect what to expect.

Slowly, we both started leaning in and I could feel his hot breath against my lips, making it harder to fight the urge.

"Connor."

"Yes?"

"Kiss me," I whispered and before I could process what was happening, our lips connected for a sweet kiss and I felt him smile into it, making my mouth curl up slightly as well.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he said with the biggest smile on his face, once we'd pulled away.

"Try me," I replied as I connected our lips once more.

~

a/n: if you guys wanted to know more about the other characters, here it is. not really satisfied with this chapter but hey, they kissed so... yeah. gosh, I'm so awkward um bye