𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

Sing me a song

"What the hell did you do?" I question as Lydia closes her locker. Her eyebrows furrow as a tint of confusion latches onto her face. 

"You're upset?" She tilts her head to the side faking an innocent smile.

"You had no right to call him here. No right." I spat and lower my head when a bunch of people turn to look my way. "We're trying to find a murderer and you decided to call my ex boyfriend into town. You had no right to do that Lydia Martin." She sighs, leaning against her locker as we both lock eyes on a very happy Laine heading our way.

"Look." She starts, grabbing my shoulder to make me look at her. "You love him. You always have and I wanted to remind you of that feeling to draw a very, very clear contrast to the feelings you think you have for Derek." 

"You want to convince me to stop falling for him."

"Oh you're not falling for him. You're infatuated with the idea of him. Your mind has somehow twisted him saving your life a few times into him loving you and I don't want you to get hurt. "

"Five times." I look down at the small scar folded around my hand and return my gaze to her. "He has saved my life five times and he could do so because I was always with him."

"Yes, it was because you're with him that you needed to be saved in the first place." I open my mouth to object, but the sound of Laine's boots stopping behind me causes a sudden disappointment to silence me. Lydia refocuses her gaze from me to him and plasters a small smile onto her lips. "I'll see you guys at the bar, right?" She asks and I see Laine nod beside me before she hastily scurries away.  

"Hi..." His soothing voice comments and the richness of his accent melts away the very meaning of the word. 

"Hi." I reply, turning to see him. He smiles, fiddling with one of the pins on his jean jacket before looking up at me, causing the long locks of black hair to fall in front of his face. I smile as he awkwardly shoves the curls away from his face before taking my book-bag off my shoulder and onto his. 

"You ready to go?" I nod slowly as a reply and start walking at his side as he leads me out of the school hallway. We pass Isaac on our way to his truck and I feel my heart ache at the thought of him driving home with Derek without me in the front seat. 

Laine jumps into explaining everything that's been going on in his life the past couple of months and I rest my head against the leather seat, looking out of the window as I we drive. Like I've always done when he comes back into town, except my mind is far away from his presence.  Shifting between thoughts of Derek and the person murdering people in town and then back to Derek and wondering if he'll show up at the bar to see my set. 

"I've missed you, flower." Laine comments beside me and the smile on my face forms as a natural reaction to the nickname although my fingers trace the edges of my lips as soon as I do. His hand reaches over to delicately grip my leg and I tense in the hold. "I missed you damn bad." He adds smiling as his eyes remain focused on the road and I sigh. 

I've always loved Laine and I know he's always loved me. And for so long that's been enough.  He'd come back to me and we'd be happy and for a few months, for a few intoxicating seconds I'd always get lost in him. In his love and his perfection and the feeling of utter bliss that came with kissing him. But it would always end with a sad goodbye and a promise to come back. And I'd gotten so used to that emptiness of him leaving that I stopped wanting him to stay. I'd gotten used to waiting to be broken. Because he has and always will have that pathetic effect on me. I'd always jump back into his old blue pickup truck with him and listen to the great stories from his tour while his hand climbed higher and higher up my thigh.