════════════════

Note: I just realised that I only posted an A/N wishing you guys a Merry Christmas in the You're My Bodyguard, Not My Owner book (which not all of you read) and now I feel like a horrible person so please accept this delayed, copied and pasted wish from me to you:

A very Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it – may your day be filled with love and light. <3 This is my absolute favourite time of year; I love everything about Christmas. Thank you all for your wonderful support and love – especially during this month. It made my Christmas a whole lot better. I love you all. x

════════════════

Over the course of the month following Panic!'s gig, you and Dallon had become considerably closer. Despite only having two classes together, the two of you somehow managed to always be within at least one arm's length of one another; you were practically joined at the hip. You walked together between classes, ate together, studied together... it was astounding how inseparable you two had become in such a short space of time.

Now yes, Dallon was an exceptionally beautiful person – inside and out –, and yes, your feelings for him were slightly leaning towards the romantic end of the spectrum, but the day-to-day interaction and relationship between you was nothing more than platonic.

You were absolutely fine with this arrangement; you and Dallon relished being in each other's company, regardless of what you were doing, and that was enough for the both of you. Did the idea of dating Dallon seem incredibly tempting and oh so wonderful? Absolutely. But you were content with being just friends. For now.

You had decided to take Dallon up on his offer to give you some bass lessons to help you improve your long neglected skills, and those 4pm Wednesday appointments quickly became the highlight of your week. And not only because Dallon was such a phenomenal player as well as teacher, but also because making music with him felt more incredible than anything you'd ever done.

Currently, you were perched on the steps outside Lecture Hall 5, waiting for Dallon's class to finish. You rocked back and forth on your heels before taking a sip from your coffee, the one you had bought for Dallon held in your other hand.

It was Wednesday, so it went without saying that you were in a good mood; even better than usual, since you had perfected a certain bass line you had been struggling with for the past week or so, and you were itching to play it for Dallon as a surprise. Sadly, you didn't get the opportunity to.

Perking up once you saw a lanky figure clad in a black jacket exit the building, you rushed forward to greet Dallon.

"Hey," you boomed, holding out the caffeinated beverage to him, which he readily accepted.

"Hey," he boomed back before taking a sip and sighing contently.

"I'm so pumped for today's session," you gushed, practically hopping up and down from excitement, "I have a surprise for you! You're gonna-"

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down," he held out his hands to silence you, frowning somewhat as he chuckled lightly, "Today's session? You didn't get my text?"

It was your turn to frown now, and you shook your head no. "What text?"

Dallon fished his phone out of his pocket and studied the screen. After about ten seconds, a look of realisation spread across his sculpted face. "I didn't have my mobile data on," he explained, shaking his head at his mistake as he put the device back into his pocket, "I sent you a text earlier to say that I can't make today. Tess asked me to help her out with her music essay and since I owe her for taking part in that Psych experiment, I couldn't exactly say no," he explained, grimacing slightly as he watched your face.

"Oh," you responded, involuntarily taking a step back.

Dallon's frown reappeared and he took a step forward, reinstating the original distance between you two.

"But I can call her and see if we can move the time to later tonight – after my band practice?" he offered; you shook your head to tell him no.

"Don't be silly; the both of you would be exhausted by then," you pointed out, shifting your weight from one foot to the other, "It's okay. We can always reschedule our session."

"You sure?" he asked doubtfully, raising his eyebrows.

You gave him a lazy smile. "Yeah. You do have a life and friends outside of this relationship," you sniggered, "and it would be cruel of me to deny others the wonderful presence of Dallon Weekes."

He smiled brightly at you and engulfed you in a massive bear hug, making you giggle.

"I'll make it up to you, babygirl," he whispered in your ear, "I promise."

While that prospect seemed devilishly inviting, you scoffed it off.

"There's no need, Dallon. Seriously," you insisted, pulling back from the embrace so that you could look at him, "Go be a good person."

He smirked at you and pinched your cheek affectionately before walking off to find Tess, shooting you a wink as he did so.

You watched him walk away over the central quad and when he was out of sight, you breathed out heavily. Guess there was no harm in practicing that bass line another fifty times, right?

~

Around the time you plucked the same succession of strings for the twentieth consecutive time, you decided that that was enough for today. You were positive that you could play that line in your sleep by now.

Checking the time on your phone and realising that it was only 16:15, you blew a raspberry through your lips. You had become so accustomed to spending this time of day on Wednesdays in Dallon's company and now that he was busy with someone else, you found yourself not knowing how to spend the remaining forty-five minutes.

Glancing around your cluttered dorm room, your eyes landed on your laptop. You considered squeezing in an episode of your favourite series, but you weren't really in the mood. Eventually, you settled on just taking a stroll around campus.

As per usual, your walk was pretty much uneventful. You had run into Ash, but he was on his way to a meeting with one of his professors and couldn't stop to chat, leaving you to continue trudging through the various quads.

When you reached the central quad, you spotted the coffee vendor that regularly traded on campus and you made your way over to buy a drink.

In a lighter mood now that you had a coffee in your hand, you turned around and started on your way back to the dorms. You caught sight of a familiar gangly figure out of the corner of your eye, prompting you to turn to the side.

You saw Dallon standing in front of a blond, doll-faced girl you assumed to be Tess. Dallon took a step closer to her and she beamed up at him, making your eyebrows arch. You didn't know that much about music, aside from your knowledge of bass, but you were pretty sure that helping someone with a music essay did not require standing that close to them. You were also sure that in order to write an essay, one needed a laptop. Or a pen and paper, at least. Neither of which were anywhere in sight.

You weren't the nosy type, and what Dallon did with other people was none of your business – but still, you stayed and watched, making certain to keep out of both of their line of sight. Normally, you could've just walked away without caring, but the fact that Dallon had lied to you coupled with the small sting you felt pass through your heart upon seeing him with Tess made you a little bit angry.

He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and you felt your hands ball up into fists.

Okay. It made you a lot angry.

Knowing that Dallon lied and brushed you off hurt, but knowing that he lied to you so that he could flirt with some chick you'd never heard of before pissed you off. Why not just be honest with you about it? That way, you wouldn't have to have been hurt by finding out he'd lied to you and you could stop yourself from falling for him.

Too late for that, an antagonising voice at the back of your head said. You shook your head vigorously to get rid of it.

You watched as Dallon slowly pulled out a flower from his pocket and handed it to her, mouth moving with words you couldn't make out. You gasped – not only because he had given it to her, but also because it was your favourite flower.

Feeling tears prickling at your eyes, you shut them tightly and took a deep, shaky breath as you tried to compose yourself. Once you were able to pull yourself together, you continued on your walk back to the dorms, determined to avoid Dallon Weekes at all costs from here on out.

_______________________________

Thank you for reading x