baby; ruel van dijk

28 - irl

Ava's POV:

I thank Kaylee, like always, and hop out of her car.

I got to practice a littler earlier than usual so Ruel wasn't there waiting for me. I decide to just head inside and hope i'm not interrupting anything.

I finally reach the correct door and quietly push it open. From outside I could just barely hear music playing and someone singing.

The first thing I see is Mark sitting in his usually spot with Chelsea standing next to him. She notices me first and waves me over.

I quietly greet the two and watch Ruel as he sings in the booth, still not spotting me yet. After a few seconds he finally looks up from the guitar and spots me. He pauses while I smile.

I realize the song he's singing is unfamiliar. I've been here quit a lot and I know all of his songs by now, but not this one.

Ruel grins and sets the instrument next to him against the wall before walking out. He immediately wraps his arms around me for a hug. "You're here early." He mumbles against the top of my head.

I nod. "I thought we could talk before starting." We pull away and I notice Ruel looks nervous.

"We're gonna go talk for a few minutes, is that okay?" He asks Mark. He nods and begins talking to Nate, who I just noticed sitting on the couch.

He then grabs my hand and leads me through the door I came in previously. We stop once we're right outside the back door.

"So um, first I just wanted to say that I think we need to tell Alex." I say, now feeling nervous too.

Ruel nods. "I agree. Do you want me to?"

I shake my head. "I think I should do it, maybe he'll be less angry."

"You're probably right." He steps closer and grabs both of my hands. "Now...what about us?"

I sigh. "I honestly don't know. I-I like you a lot, but I haven't really had good luck when it comes to boys."

He frowns. "What do you mean? Is this what you were talking about over text?"

I nod and shrug. "It's just, the last guy I dated was very pushy. I never wanted to do anything and that must've made him angry so he cheated on me." I take a deep breath. "I guess it's kind of my fault since I never even let him kiss me, but-"

Ruel suddenly interrupts me while cupping my face. "Hey, hey, him cheating wasn't your fault at all. He should've respected you and your comfort zone." He looks at me with sincerity. "I'm not like that Ava. I'd never hurt you. Please just give me a chance to prove that to you." His voice is soft yet pleading.

I take a second to think.

So far, Ruel hasn't forced me to do anything, he hasn't hurt me either. He's super sweet and I definitely like him a lot. Not to mention he's helping me with one of my biggest fears.

The only problem is my brother.

Alex has already told me that I can't date one of his friends cause it's "bro code". I have no idea what he'll do when he finds out about this.

So for the tenth time, I bring him up.

I shake my head. "But Alex..."

Ruel chuckles. "You're cute when you're worried."

I pout. "I'm serious."

He grins. "So am I."

I open my mouth to argue but before I can, soft lips connect with mine. My whole body seems to just relax. I grab onto his wrists while his hands are still resting on my cheeks. We move our lips in sync and deepen the kiss.

We pull away for air after about a minute. Our breathing is heavy and our lips are slightly swollen.

"You know he'll never talk to you again." I mumble.

Ruel sends me a small smile. "Baby, as long as I have you, no one else matters."