Devon sighed and shook her head, looking over at him with a slightly pained expression. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t all because of you, okay? This comes from everything that’s happened to me. Yes, you triggered it, but it’s not your fault that I’m like this.”
Sebastian flinched, but nodded slowly. “I—I understand that, of course I do. But I should have known better than to lose my temper and yell like that. You wouldn’t be feeling like this at the moment if I hadn’t taken my anger out on you like that, which is why I want to make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Devon murmured, looking down again. “Really, Seb…”
“I want to,” Sebastian told her, guilt seeping into his voice. “I promise you that I’ll never do that again.”
Devon sighed, the breath shaking once more. “Okay… If you really think you need to…”
Sebastian stared down at his hands, which suddenly tingled with need. But no—he couldn’t do that in front of Devon. She’d only blame herself if he slapped his own face… despite the fact that he deserved to hurt. “I do..”
Devon nodded slowly before finally glancing up up at him, keeping her head low. "Would you mind just… Um. Just holding my hand?" she whispered.
“Anything for you, Devon.”
Sebastian reaches out for her hand, clasping it with care between both of his.
Devon let out a slow breath and curled her hand around one of his. She let her eyes close as she leaned her head back against the wall, already beginning to feel calmer.
Sebastian brushed a cautious thumb over her muscles, evening out the rhythm of his erratic breathing in hopes that it would somehow soothe Devon further.
After a while, Devon had calmed down significantly. Her breathing had evened out, and she didn’t have the right feeling in her throat anymore.
“Thank you,” she breathed.
"You don't need to thank me," Sebastian answered, careful to keep his voice lowered and his tone soft. "You're feeling better?"
“Yes. And I’m thanking you for being here. I’m not going to stop that,” Devon said, slowly opening her eyes and looking at him.
Sebastian met her beautiful blew eyes, giving her hand a light squeeze. "I—You're welcome, in that case. I'll do it anytime."
(blew eyes. Lol.)
Devon hummed softly, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly as he met her eyes. “Well… Then, thank you for that, too…”
(I hate autocorrect. So much. So. Much.)
"This is the one time I'm going to let you thank me for something I'd do without hesitation," he teased lightly, careful with his word choice.
(Lol. 😂)
Devon smiled a little, a soft chuckle slipping past her lips. “Fine… But I just thank people. It’s habit. So you’d better get used to it if you’re going to continue to date me.”
It was the first time that either of them had fixed an official term to their relationship, and it sent an ecstatic grin racing across Sebastian’s lips. “Gladly, if it means dating you.”
Devon's smile widened a bit, her cheeks turning a slight pink. "Good… I'm glad," she said softly.
Immensely relieved that she seemed to be okay, Sebastian leaned his head back against the wall. “Is there anything you need?”
Devon shook her head with a small sigh. "No, but thank you anyway. And… I really think k should actually get going, now. I do still have to pick Layla up, after all… Um… Is there anything I could do to help you with the card situation?"
The smile fell straight off Sebastian’s face at the awful reminder. “Oh. Uh—it’s fine. I’ll just—I’ll just call her.”
"Sorry," Devon murmured with a grimace at his reaction. "I probably shouldn't have brought that up… If you want… I could probably stay while you call her? Only if you want me to, of course."
Sebastian shook his head. “I have to face her eventually, you know? And I’m afraid of losing my cool again and yelling. Besides, Layla’s waiting for you.”
Devin smiled a bit, nodding slowly. "If you're sure… In that case, I'll see you later," she said softly as she stood.
Sebastian nodded after that. And instead of saying goodbye, something entirely different nearly slipped from his mouth. Just three, immensely meaningful words that he hadn’t dared to give thought to. Lucky, he caught himself before speaking them aloud, instead giving an awkward, spluttering ‘goodbye’.
(Stop making me pretend choke on air! Gah! My poor heart!)
Devon's face scrunched up in slight confusion at his spluttering, but she shook it off and brought the smile back onto her lips. "Bye, Seb. Come into the coffee shop when you can next."
(Hehe…)
“I—I will. Um, see you soon. Give Layla my, uh, best,” Sebastian stammered out, face flushing pink.
"Sure. Bye, Seb. I hope everything goes well," Devon said in quiet confusion as she stepped out the door, her shoes already on and her things already in her hands.
(Skip? Not it)