the ones society stole

13. hope

"when the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine, that's amore."- Dean Martin 

Arabella unzipped her her bag to its fullest extent in order to have an easier access to the snacks. Since it was the middle of the day, they had the theater to themselves. They both had an unspoken, unanimous decision to sit at the top row in the back. 

"Ready to watch the greatest movie of all time?" Arabella asked, munching on a chocolate bar. 

"Heck yeah." 

"Pick your poison." She motioned to candy land that was her bag. 

Jacian knew that this moment would come, so he wordlessly picked up the pack of twizzlers and began to slowly munch on it. Hopefully, she'll be too consumed with the movie to notice. 

Even though she wasn't one to show it, she was very anxious to see where this would lead. Was this a date? Or were they just two friends hanging out? She pushed the thought aside as she reached in her bag for the wine, mentally face palming when she realized that she forgot to steal a fucking corkscrew. 

If she didn't throw out her lighter then she could have opened it. 

"Fuck." 

"What happened?" Jacian asked her, suddenly attentive to the fact that something could be wrong. 

"I forgot the corkscrew." She pouted, jutting out her bottom lip. 

His eyes were instantly drawn to her full lips, who never seemed to have anything on them. No matter how much eyeliner she wore, how much highlighter she used, she always did her lips simply with chapstick. It just made them look a hell of a lot more kissable, at least to him. 

He murmured a simple "I got this," before he pulled out a small razor from his bag. He took a deep breathe knowing that this will lead to a lot of questions, but he figured that it was his turn to reveal something about himself. He silently impaled the blade into the cork and began to twist it out. 

"See, we don't need a corkscrew." He said with an uneasy grin. It was in that moment that she thought he was 10x more attractive. But, why the hell was he carrying a razor? She opened her mouth to ask, but decided against it. If he wanted to tell her, then he would. 

"Bella," His voice was soft, like the embers after a wild fire, "I-I want to tell you something. Something that is really um, personal. But promise not to freak, okay?"

She knew what was coming, she used to do it too. So she just kept silent and nodded her head for him to go on. 

But then, she stopped him. 

She knew how hard it is to open up about this, let alone speak about it. She lifted the arm chair and scooted closer to him, being sure to not break eye contact. Softly, she took his hand in hers. Her fingers gently caressed the hem of his sleeve, her eyes asking silently for permission. He nodded at her slightly as she slowly rolled up his sleeve, letting a soft gasp escape her lips. She put a trembling hand up to her lips as she blinked back the tears. 

He had no idea how his pain impacted her. How her eyes threatened to spill wet, salty tears. He had no idea how her throat contracted and her heart tied into knots. She felt his pain, and it took everything inside of her to not let those tears fall. She wasn't going to let them fall, they weren't her tears to cry. 

"How long?" She asked softly, "How long have you been doing this?"

He didn't answer, and it was in this moment of clear cut clarity where she cursed his little to no use of words. She mentally pleaded for him to just say something, to say anything. Her fingers pushed up the next sleeve, and that was when her tears finally fell. 

His skin was tattered with scars, old and knew. There were recent ones that couldn't of been a day or two old. Even in the darkness of the movie theater she could still see how wretched of a mark depression left on him. How she wished that she could have dragged the blade across herself instead of watching him go through something like this. In her eyes, he was just too pure. She thought of him as something so kind, he was the last person in the world who should have to suffer. She barely knew him, all she knew was that he did not deserve this. He somehow found the strength inside of him to lift his right hand and wipe away the tears that cascaded down her cheeks. 

"Bella," He tilted her chin up, "Please. Please don't cry over me." 

"How could I not?" She asked, as she unconsciously moved closer. He quickly became aware of the fact that he could easily fall for the way she held him so tenderly. 

"Look at me," He wiped one more tear before gliding his thumb delicately down her face before tilting her chin up, "I'm a mess Bella, how could you ever want someone like me? Especially after everything you've been through with your ex, you deserve so much better."

Sometimes the ones who think they don't deserve us are the ones who do. 

"I don't deserve better, I am a mess to after all." Even through the tears, she still managed to smile and that is probably what captivated him even more so. 

"Look at you, Bella. You literally went through hell and back for someone who didn't even love you. I don't know what happened but even a blind person can see you're hurt. Yet, you still manage to positively impact others. Like look at Troy for example." 

Arabella laughed shakily, accepting this compliment and growing fond of the nickname she's hated for so long. Maybe, it was because he was the first person to make her feel beautiful, to make her feel secure. 

"Would it be weird if I asked you to kiss me?" She said suddenly. The regret followed suit real fast and she mentally face palmed herself again. 

"No." That was all he said. 

And then he brought his lips down to hers. 

It was a feathery, soft kiss at first. It was as frail as the people, each of them too scared to take it to the next step. He pulled away first, the hesitance getting clearer as the space got bigger. He began to withdraw himself completely, and put back his walls. She felt him retract and stopped him. Slowly, she slid her leg over his until she was straddling him. Her breath fanned his face and the close proximity made his heart skip a beat. 

She collided their lips together once more. This kiss becoming hungrier. His hands ran up and down her waist as hers intertwined themselves in his hair. The sweet wine was an aftertaste that lingered as they tasted each other, entangling themselves in the mess that they both believed each other to be. Jacian released her lips and gave her soft pecks across her cheek and up and down her neck, her soft sighs of pleasure making the hairs stick up all over his body. 

He quickly captured her lips once more, this time slower. He projected all of his emotions into that kiss. His guilt, his insecurities, and lastly, the complete adoration he had for her. 

The two finally broke the kiss and Arabella climbed off his lap, snuggling next to him. He put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead as she kept her legs rested on his. 

For the first time in forever, the two had hope that things were going to be okay.