𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐲

t e n

"Daniel?" Amaya's voice was soft against the dark quiet of the guest room. Daniel must have already been half awake, or else he likely wouldn't have heard her with how quiet she had been. He opened his eyes and sat up groggily, rubbing them so he could see her better.

"Amaya? You good?" He realized then that she was sniffling, and he scooted over on the queen sized bed, patting the spot next to him. "C'mere, talk to me."

Amaya slowly sat down on the bed, and it was then that he noticed she had her favorite childhood stuffed animal, Mr. Fuzz, with her. He didn't dare laugh; he slept with a stuffed animal well into his teen years, and even now, he would bring his first stuffed animal on tour with him. It was a sentimental thing, he supposed, and if the little fraying bear made her happy, he wouldn't complain.

"I... Jonah did something amazing for me, and I..." Amaya shook her head, refusing to look at him. Daniel, now fully awake for the most part, moved an arm around her shoulder, bringing her into his chest.

"You can talk to me, Ams. I'm here to listen, always," he reassured her softly, and she sighed, shaking her head.

"I-I can't, Daniel. I- I'm not... I can't."

"Okay, okay." Daniel shushed her, running a hand down her hair. He didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. He was honestly surprised that she hadn't gone to Mary Kate, but he figured that made sense in hindsight; he was in the house, and Mary Kate was across the street. Besides, even though they weren't good at admitting it, Daniel and Amaya had always been close in ways she just wasn't with the other boys.

Oh. Could it be? No, right?

"Amaya–"

"I'm not in love with him, Daniel," she exclaimed, promptly bursting into tears. It was messy, the hot tears pouring down her cheeks faster than she could wipe them away, and she kept sniffling to keep herself from accidentally sneezing. She wasn't beautiful in this moment, but she was genuine. Daniel knew how rarely she cried like this, and it broke his heart. So he did what he knew how to do best: he hugged her tighter, Mr. Fuzz being sandwiched between them.

"Okay, okay, uh... Maybe you're just saying that because you're stressed?" he suggested, and he barely felt it when she shook her head against his chest. She hiccuped, wiping her eyes on his shirt. "You've been feeling a lot, Ams, it's possible that you're so overwhelmed you can't handle being in a relationship right now, but I know you love him, and..."

"That's the problem, Dani," she cried, moving to blow her nose with a tissue next to the bed, Mr. Fuzz being discarded onto the floor absentmindedly. "I love him, but I'm not in love with him. Oh, God. I have to break up with him, right?"

Daniel sighed, nodding. "Yeah, yeah, you probably should. It only seems fair."

Amaya looked at him for a long second, biting her lip. He was right, honesty was the best policy. She shouldn't lead Jonah on, she knew that.

And then she was leaning in, and her lips were on his, and he pulled away, said her name, but she shook her head, whispered his name, and he couldn't— he just couldn't say no. There was so much hurt, so much need for comfort, so much trust in her voice that he couldn't dare turn her down. He reconnected their lips, and he knew she was trying to just forget her dilemma, but wasn't she putting herself in a bigger and more confusing situation?

But he couldn't think about it. He couldn't think about how they were both betraying Jonah in that moment because her hands were on his sides, her tongue was in his mouth, and then before he knew it his shirt was off and she was singing praises in ways he didn't know was possible. They were going too far, making their betrayal too deep, but she asked if he wanted to stop, and he said no. He said no.

Then her mouth was on his neck and their clothes were on the floor and there was no turning back, no turning back, no turning back.

There was no turning back, and neither of them regretted it. Maybe they would in the morning, but for now, they couldn't regret anything.