I fear getting close to people because I think they will just eventually walk out of my life, no matter how close we were.

Mae

"Mae, wake up." A soft angelic voice whispered. Mae. It knew my name. How wonderful. It was pure bliss. It felt like I fell asleep in front of the sun. My face was the warmest part. I was toasty warm and didn't want to get up. I could lie here forever and be completely satisfied. And that's what I wanted to do. I curled up with the soft texture I was gripping onto and started falling back to sleep.

"Mae, it's Zach. Wake up." I grabbed an arm full of the softness and clutched it to my chest, inhaling the masculine scent. I slowly opened my eyes to see what the smell was and it was Damien.

The soft texture I was clutching and hugging onto was his hoodie. I was starting to feel embarrassed until I saw his arms around me.

I sat up with wide eyes, alarmed with my surroundings. I opened my mouth to tell him 'I'm sorry' but Mitch's words echoed in my head and I closed my mouth. Damien seemed happy but then he masked his emotions.

The realization hit me, Damien didn't leave. He stayed with me. I smiled at him and he smiled back but someone cleared their throat.

"Mae, we have to go," I looked at Zach with a confused look. He noticed and pointed to the clock which read six in the afternoon. I had a race soon! I slept for six hours. I looked at Damien and he looked like he just woke up too.

"Where are you going?" Sleep was evident in Damien's voice. His sleepy voice was one of the sexiest things I've ever heard and also the cutest. I looked at Zach for an answer.

"To the hospital," I was confused.

"To the hospital? Mae, are you okay?" Damien sat up and started checking me over. I nodded and looked at Zach for an answer.

"She's fine. After the crash two weeks ago. She's supposed to have a check-up." Damien seemed convinced but he looked at me for reassurance, so I smiled and nodded.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Damien asked so I waved him off and shook my head. He got a ping on his phone and read it over. "Crap, my brothers need me. Are you sure you don't want me to come? I could text my brothers back." I shook my head and smiled.

"Today, Mae" Zach interrupted. I rolled my eyes at Zach and got off the bed. Zach walked out to go to his room and I motioned my hand for Damien to follow me so I could walk him to the door.

I rubbed my eyes as he got off the bed. He walked to me and grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers. "Is this okay?" He asked. I looked at our hands and I liked it. I was scared of trusting him but I nodded anyway. He pushed the hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. "And this?" He asked and he traced his index finger under my jaw and ended at my chin. I nodded again, not able to meet his eyes. He lifted my chin so I was left with no choice but to look at him.

"Mae, you ready?!" Zach asked from his room. I took a step back and Damien smiled. Is this what a hummingbird's heartbeat felt like? I could feel the heat coming up my cheeks and making me flush.

"You're so, beautiful," he murmured. I blushed and he chuckled. I blushed harder because he saw. Why do I have to be so embarrassing? He hugged me and reluctantly pulled away. I walked out the door and put my hands to my cheeks to calm them down. I hear his feet shuffling in the back of me so I knew he was following me to the front door. "I left a gift for you on your bed." He said when he was standing outside his car. He got in and drove off.

I ran to my room and checked my bed. It was his hoodie. I didn't even notice that he didn't have it on. I grabbed it but a white piece of paper fell out of the pocket. I opened it and it was a letter.

Dear Mae,

I'm writing this as you're sleeping on me. I hope you don't mind I stole some paper. The other day, I did see your scars on your back. I hope you didn't think I was being a pervert. I didn't stop because I saw that you didn't have a shirt on. It's because your scars caught my attention.

Like the one on your leg. I want to know what happened. The times I didn't see you, I was worried. So many thoughts crossed my mind. So many horrible thoughts.

We need to talk. I'm here, Mae. And I don't plan on going anywhere. You need to know that you can trust me. I know trust doesn't come easily to you, so I'm planning on earning your trust.

I'm not leaving you, Mae. The only time I'll leave is when you tell me to. Actually... even then I'll keep fighting it.

Love,
Damien.

So many things were going on in my head and in my heart. Could I really trust him? I wanted to trust him but then again, I didn't want to get hurt. I put aside those thoughts to focus on the race. I needed my head to be clear. I got dressed in my fighting attire and headed out. I found Zach waiting by my car. I got in and headed to the storage. The car ride was silent but comfortable. I cleared my mind of all thoughts and pulled into the storage before I walked to check on Alec.

After a couple of rounds of racing, I ended up winning. It wasn't even a close call. It was barely seven and the sun was still shining brightly. Throughout the whole week, I've been in a group chat with the new students that came. Axel, Solan, and Daniel. They were all really funny, always cracking joking and mainly ranking on Solan.

Let's hang out. -S

I'm down -D

Same -A

Me too. -M

After deciding on going to the mall, I took a shower and blow-dried my hair. It was sort of hot outside so I settled on a t-shirt and ripped jeans. The ripped jeans didn't show my skin, so I didn't wear any leggings underneath. I walked into Zach's room so I could tell him where I was going. He was in a furious game with James, and Zach was loosing. I waved in front of him but he didn't listen.

"I'm gonna kick your ass!" Zach told James over his headset. "I'm not even that far behind." I snapped my finger in front of him and decided he didn't need to know. "Wait, wait, wait. Where are you going?" I turned around and he was looking at me.

"I'm going to the mall with the guys," I told Zach. "The new guys, I mean."

"Why?" Zach asked and I furrowed my eyebrows because I couldn't understand why he was asking. "Since when are you friends with them?" The way he asked made it sound like this was the first time I was ever hanging out with them. He knew we had a project to do and I hung out with him at the library. We were talking and laughing then too.

"I can be friends with whoever I want," I made clear. "Besides, I've hung out with him before. Why are you making it sound like a big deal?"

"You hung out with just Axel and that was at the library," he snorted and I rolled my eyes.

"That's not really any different than just hanging out with him. I'm leaving. I just wanted to tell you where I went so you didn't worry or something. Clearly, it was the wrong thing to do," I told him.

"You don't even know them. What if they kidnapped you?" He asked and I laughed.

"They're high school students, not the mafia. Besides, I'm driving there and meeting them. It's not like they're picking me up."

I nodded and walked out and headed for the door. "Well, where are you going, so I know what to tell the cops when they ask for your last location?"

"I told you, to the mall," I told him when I walked back in. I walked out and drove off to the mall. I texted the guys and they said they were waiting in front of the mall. I got off my car and walked to the front.

"Hey, Mae," Solan waved. I smiled and waved back. He wore a navy blue shirt that said NASA on the front and jeans.

"What's up?" Daniel greeted and I smiled. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black jeans.

"Hey, nice shirt," Axel compliment on my Walking Dead shirt. He wore a thin, light beige long sleeve with black jeans and a jean jacket over his long sleeve.

"Thank you," I smiled. We walked in and Daniel wanted to go into Hot Topic so we went in. I went to the music collection and admired the music they had here.

We kept talking and it was fun talking to them. I was making new friends and the communication was easy and flowed nicely. They kept asking questions about me while I asked them a few. I answered some of them but some I didn't. They understood I didn't want to talk about it.

"So what do you plan on doing after high school, once you graduate?" Axel asked as we sat at Starbucks. We sat at a four-seat table so we were all facing each other. I ordered mine online to save myself time and so I didn't have to show the worker my phone and have them take down my order. It seemed more convenient.

"I want to be a social worker. I want to help kids," I told him and he nodded. "What about you?"

"I kind of want to get into racing, like professionally," he said and I smiled. "I've liked racing since I was a kid but just recently, I started thinking about it professionally."

"Yeah, you should. You're a good racer," I told him. "Do you guys all race?" I looked at the other two. Only Solan was paying attention. Daniel was on his phone and it made me feel a little uncomfortable because I couldn't tell if I was boring him.

"No, just Axel. I've tried it a few times and its fun but not something I'd do professionally," Solan said. "I wanna be an artist."

"Do you draw?" I asked.

"Ooh yeah, you should see his drawings. They're hella good," Daniel said. Solan laughed but shook his head. Daniel put his phone in his pocket and started talking about the different kinds of drawings Solan did. "Show her."

"They could be better," Solan warned. He pulled out his phone and showed me his different drawings. They looked like pictures rather than drawing, but I was able to see his notepad and his signature so I knew they were his photo and his drawings.

There was one that caught my attention. It was of the Stars. It was so detailed and colored. It was beautiful.

"Those are amazing. Seriously. You're hella talented," I praised and his ears got red as he laughed.

"Thank you," he smiled and looked down. My name got called so I got up and grabbed my drink from the counter. I sat back down and the guys' drinks were done so they got up and went to get them. They were talking by the counter while they all had their drink. I pulled out my phone and pretended to look through it. I got a text from Zach.

Still alive? -Z

No. -M

How mad would you be if I went to the mall totally by accident and saw you at Starbucks and decided to hang out with you? -Z

I couldn't believe him. I looked around and saw him and James outside of Starbucks, across the mall. James was looking at Zach's phone while he waited for my response.

Remember how I said I'd never commit murder? -M

Yeah? -Z

I'd start by taking that back and murder you and whoever is with you! -M

The guys sat back down and started drinking their drinks. I looked at my phone and three bubbles kept bouncing. I looked out the window and James and Zach were talking to each other as they pointed to the phone. Were they deciding on what to say?

"Something wrong?" Daniel asked.

"No, why, is something wrong with you?" I asked. There was a small panic lurking in my and I knew they could see it. I blinked and smiled. "My brother just texted me that's all."

Yeah I figured as much -Z

So then you better not! -M

"Do you have to go home already?" Solan asked. I looked at the time and it was already eight-thirty.

"I can stay for another thirty minutes. There is school tomorrow," I told them. They smiled and I smiled too. We started talking about our favorite Marvel movie and Axel and I got into a heated conversation.

"Thor is not better than Captan America!" He signed, incredulously.

"Thor is a literal God," I added to my argument.

"I'm gonna have to take Mae's side," Solan agreed and we high-fived.

"No, no, no. Captain America can lift Mjölnir. No one else can do that," Daniel disagreed. "If you don't want to admit Captain America is better, at least say he's equal to Thor. If not we can't be friends." We all laughed. Solan's phone rang so he answered it. He took a step outside and kept nodding his head.

"We have to go home," he said after he came back inside.

"Okay, we'll hang out another time," I assured.

"We're definitely continuing this conversation," Axel promised and I laughed.

"Deal."

We walked out and a lot of people were already gone. I ended up taking an hour and a half extra but I enjoyed my time with them. It was fun.

"We'll see you tomorrow at school!" Solan shouted as they were walking away.

"Okay!" I waved. They waved and went into their car. I finished walking to mine and drove home.

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A/N: I hope you liked this chapter.

What your ship names so far, for the characters?