016. ━━━ ❛ NO ONE LIKE YOU ❜
real life. . .

          MAISIE GLANCES OVER HER own reflection staring back at her, stepping further away from the mirror and turning slightly to catch a better look at the black miniskirt she's just put on.

she went to the mall when the sun was still out, not having much else to do with her parents gone and an overwhelmingly loud silence from the household across from hers. needless to say, she walked out with plenty of new additions for her closet that she doesn't really need. now, she's trying the pieces on, which is usually her favorite part, but she keeps finding herself sighing.

she adjusts the lacy white top she has on, which looks good in contrast to the leather skirt, but doesn't beat the itchiness of the fabric causing her to move the v-neck every five seconds. she then pulls up the skirt to sit on her waist better, analyzing her appearance afterwards with a low hum.

she just needs something to keep her mind off of matt. when he took her home from the shitshow of a party the other night, the drive was very quiet and tension-filled, so she knows it must be because he's still upset she won't tell him why she left. she wishes he would just let it go since she's had to let go of so many things that she's seen, but they haven't spoken since.

matt and maisie never necessarily went out of their way to speak to each other before they hooked up in the first place, and he was moreso just an annoying neighbor that she had the displeasure of running into every now and then, but it feels different now, and silence between them bothers her.

it's as if the universe can read her mind, because her phone pings on her bed. she spins around on her heels and heads for her bed, having to rummage through shopping bags tossed aside to find the device. she unlocks it as she walks back to the mirror, her footsteps slowing before eventually coming to a halt.

m word
Are your parents home?
now

maisie feels something familiar brew in her stomach as she makes eye contact with herself through the mirror. she looks over her outfit, mindlessly placing a hand on her hip before looking down and beginning to type a reply with the other.

no
delivered

she then intently watches her screen to catch him typing a response, eventually holding the phone with both hands as she impatiently waits. she hates to admit it, but she's been waiting for another text from him since the regret of fleeing his home last time hit her.

her little patience is wearing thin, when loud knocking from downstairs causes her to immediately look up from her phone. instantly, her eyebrows shoot to her forehead and her legs are moving to get the front door before she even realizes, traveling through her bedroom door and down the staircase as quickly as she can.

when she makes it in front of the door, she takes a short moment to catch her breath. she moves her hair behind her shoulders and internally prepares herself before finally reaching for the handle. she is not prepared at all, however, for the sight stood in front of her on the other side.

a crease automatically grows between maisie's eyebrows when matt is revealed to her not in his usual state of nonchalance, but with a subtle mix of blood and sweat not only slightly smeared across his forehead, but coming from a fresh gash on his bottom lip. concern floods her features rapidly, her natural instinct being to step forward and reach out for his chin. she can tell matt is in discomfort due to his pain displayed through his eyes as she turns his jaw to look at the damage to his mouth, but he keeps a mask up as he attempts to force an easy smile. "hey, mason," he says hoarsely, his voice soft enough to make her frown as her eyes jump from his visible wound to his eyes. the worried expression cast on her face causes him to lamely attempt a joke, "you should see the other guy."

"what the fuck, matt?" she says seriously as she drops her hand from his face, her voice quiet as she's never seen him so torn up before. her line of vision drops to his torso when he tries to subtly rubs at his ribs, making her stomach sink in suspicion of the probable bruising there. she then looks back to his face, catching him falter at her openly showing such care for him. she doesn't seem to think twice about her actions though, when she ultimately steps to the side to open up space. "hurry up, come inside."

"it's not even that bad this ti—" the look maisie shoots matt causes him to realize the mistake of his wording and pull his lips together as she closes the door behind him.

matt takes in a shaky breath at his injuries once he's stood by himself and she notices, him feeling a small hand on his back before she suddenly appears at his side. he raises his eyebrows, feeling his body sigh at her touch on him, which takes his attention from the pain. "what happened?" she asks softly—careful, even. matt frowns, knowing he can't tell her.

matt only sighs heavily, looking from her eyes to the floor when he answers with a shrug, "you told me to come to you." he feels her hand drop from his back, so he looks back to her, finding a newfound frown on her lips. she seems dissatisfied with his response, but she doesn't voice her thoughts.

she gestures to another room with the nod of her head. "go sit on the couch," she tells him, matt following her gaze to find the living room. he then nods, and watches her turn around to go elsewhere.

taking the opportunity with her back to him, his eyes trail over her figure. her outfit tells him she had places to be before he showed up, and if that's really the case, he's glad to interrupt. she's seriously killing him with the skirt. his gaze stays locked on her until she turns a corner, his tongue subconsciously moving to roll across the inside of his bottom lip. he then unfortunately comes into contact with the gash on his bottom lip, the sting causing him to quickly close his eyes and curse quietly underneath his breath. he is unwillingly snapped from his trance, leading him to head towards the couch she directed him to with a frown.

by the time maisie meets him in the living room, he's laid back against the cushions comfortably. he instantly sits up however, at the sound of her footsteps coming into the room. she appears from behind the couch outside of his line of vision, and holds both an icepack and a first aid kit. "okay, lift your shirt up," she says first, making matt burst out coughing.

"what?" he seems clearly taken aback from her request, causing her to resist rolling her eyes as he manages a breathy chuckle through his condition, "don't you think that's skipping some—"

"i know you're hiding new bruises under there," she cuts him off without a doubt, causing the amusement to fade from his face. she feels satisfied at getting him serious, going on to continue, "so let me see."

matt seems reluctant to do as she asks, judging by the way he sits there only staring at her for a few seconds. he then eventually fulfills her request with a light sigh, reaching a hand down to carefully lift his t-shirt and reveal the hues of purple underneath. worry immediately plaques maisie's chest due to all the colors, her face twisting up as she steps directly in front of him. he remains silent as she leans down to see the damage more clearly, watching her eyes only fill with more concern once she glances over the bruising. she reaches a hand out to lightly trace over the vulnerable area without thinking, only to immediately retract it when matt kisses his teeth. their eyes meet, and matt's head is a mess, because he isn't used to her caring for him so much.

she gently sets the icepack she brought across the bruised area of his ribs, watching his face for signs of pain as she does so. matt remains calm, trying to reassure her as much as he can by not reacting. "just keep this there," she nearly whispers.

"sure." he nods, letting his shirt fall back down after his hands have taken her place on the ice. he then watches her as she turns around and begins sorting through the kit for whatever she needs, his mind taking control when he can't help to ask, "were you planning on going somewhere before i texted?"

she pauses at the sound of his voice, her head turning momentarily. "no," she answers shortly before focusing back on the kit.

matt hums, waiting until she's grabbed what she needs and she's back right in front of him to tease, "just playing dress up for me then, huh?"

she pauses again, this time fully for him to see before she eventually purses her lips. "no," she finally says again, leading him to wonder if her short responses are reoccurring for a reason when she simply moves on and approaches his mouth with a cloth in hand.

he narrows his eyes slightly as she cleans up the dried blood on his lip, analyzing her expression and her short replies internally before he tries prying whatever it is out of her, "well, talk to me, mason." when she only spares him a look of confusion, he sighs. "say what's on your mind," he tells her as she draws the cloth back from his mouth.

"what's the point?" she catches him off guard by responding honestly, raising the cloth to his forehead to wipe the smeared blood there off as her eyebrows scrunch together in slight frustration. "i know you won't answer anything i ask you."

"yeah, to protect you," he tells her with the same frustration that she feels with him. her eyebrows now furrow instead, her hand lifting the cloth from his face as he sighs airily. he manages to quickly run a disheveled hand through his hair before continuing, "seriously," he emphasizes.

maisie sets the cloth to the side, crossing her arms as she doesn't deem his explanation good enough to commend his actions. "i don't need protecting," she says surely, feeling confident in her words until matt dryly laughs.

he shakes his head, the amusement leaving his features. "you do."

maisie stares at him for a prolonged moment after he's spoken, eventually shaking her head as well. "you should try protecting yourself instead," she tells him with her same earlier frown returning to her face, turning away from him to grab an alcohol pad from the first aid kit. matt stays silent watching her, keeping his eyes on the way her hair falls behind her back. she comes back around to face him again and can't help but to glance over his face. "just look at you."

"it's too late for me," matt shrugs, trying not to think too much on the sadness displayed in her eyes. "i'm used to it all by now."

maisie sighs, "whatever that means." she then takes a step closer to him, matt instantly taking notice of the closer distance between them as he now has to look up at her. he glances down to what's in her hand before focusing on her eyes completely. "this is to clean it up, so it's gonna sting."

matt nods his head, smoothly placing his hands on each of her hips once she leans down closer to him. she quickly catches on to this with a clear narrowing of her eyes, but matt remains confident in his actions, only giving her a nonchalant grin. "go ahead," he tells her without fear, finding solace within his touch on her skin showing above her miniskirt.

she then begins cleaning up the wound on his bottom lip, him flinching a few times but remaining unbothered for the most part. once she's done, she lowers the pad and watches him dramatically groan. "ouch," he mocks, his hands remaining set in place on her hips as she turns around to trade the pad out for the cloth to dry the area a bit. when she spins back around to him, he slides his hands further around her. her eyebrows raise at the smirk that forms on his lips right before he says, "you'll have to kiss it better, mason."

she's immediately sent rolling her eyes, unable to hide the amusement flooding her features. "yeah, i bet you'd like that," she says sarcastically, patting his bottom lip with the cloth before finally setting it aside.

"oh, come on," he pleads, inching closer to her as he pulls her body closer to him with his hands on her hips. he easily notices the way she bites down on the inside of her bottom lip, sending his mind into a frenzy. "you're the nurse, i'm your patient, and it's the only way i'll get better," he tells her, voice playful as she's finally no longer able to hold back the upturn at the corner of her lips.

she's clearly resisting a full blown smile the longer she looks at him, and it only adds to matt's amusement as he stares at her. "and no one else can do that for you?" she eventually sighs, using the only response her brain is able to come up with.

"no one like you," he replies so easily that the words fall from his lips like water, and maisie is only so strong, so only a few seconds are able to pass after he speaks before maisie suddenly brings her lips to his with her carefully placed hands on his cheekbones.

very quickly, the ice underneath matt's shirt and the extent of his injuries are long forgotten about as he's immediately sucked into maisie's magnetic pull. he sits up further as he slides his hands off of maisie's hips and up her torso, his skin hot against hers when he meets the bare skin of her back underneath her shirt. she gets pulled closer against him in the process, tilting her head down to meet him in the middle better as her hands remain locked in the hollows of his cheekbones.

passion is the drive of their heated moment until matt attempts to bring maisie down to him, trying to pull her waist over his lap when she has to suddenly stop him. she forces herself to pull back breathily, dropping her hands from his face to place them over his instead, and stop his movements. "i don't want to hurt you," she explains when he instantly frowns in confusion, keeping his injuries in mind.

"hurt me?" he repeats lowly with a chuckle. "don't worry about that," he reassures her, confidently pulling her onto his lap as she sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. she is really unaware of the effect that has on him, and it's just one of the factors about to send him into overdrive. he sucks in a breath, removing one of his hands from her waist only to move her hair out of her face. "you're really about to kill me over this skirt."

maisie can't help the smirk which grows across her face. "yeah?" she says, aware of what it does to him as she rests her hands behind his neck. "i went shopping."

"you did?" he repeats, an amused grin taking over his features. "well, i approve," he tells her, taking pride in the giggle that leaves her lips. the noise adds to his grin, flirtation in his eyes when after he returns his other hand to maisie's hip, he slides them both lower, seeping underneath the waistband of her skirt. "easy access," he teases, unable to help his dirty mind when she's on his lap.

maisie's jaw drops at the obviousness of matt's words, playfully swatting his chest in an area she knows there to be no bruises. she intends to respond in a fight, but her head quickly snaps in another direction when she hears a noise outside. "wait—what was that?" her voice quickly raises with panic, matt furrowing his eyebrows when she looks back to him. "did you hear that?"

matt only shakes his head, losing focus in the conversation as he looks down to her lips right in front of him. it's really her fault for talking so close to him. "you're going crazy, mason," he dismisses her absentmindedly, beginning to lean in once more without care.

maisie is fully convinced she's heard something outside though, and swerves matt. his jaw goes slack when she leans back, suddenly climbing right off of him. he's left to sit there in disbelief as she stands up and leaves him there to search for whatever she thinks she heard.

he has to close his mouth from where it was just remaining open, and lets out a sigh as he accepts defeat and sinks further against the couch cushion behind him. he mindlessly glances around the room, realizing he's never really been in maisie's house before.

he isn't given much time to observe however, because his attention is taken elsewhere with a sudden ping from maisie's phone. matt raises his eyebrows, curiously glancing to where she left it at next to the first aid kit.

he knows it's really not his business, but the small part of him telling him that it could be malikai, refuses to pass up an opportunity to fuck with him. that is the sole reason he leans forward to reach for her phone.

Unknown
How long until you're the one with the bruises?
If you think he looks bad, you should see the damage that he's done
now

matt feels the color from his face drain as his grip on her phone grows subconsciously tighter, his face falling as the sound of maisie's footsteps enter the room. "just a car driving by," she says with a sigh, mindlessly placing her hands on her hips as she walks into the area. she stops in her tracks in front of the couch once she sees matt with her phone. "what are you doing?"

matt's gaze lingers on her phone before finally standing up with it in hand, looking at maisie with his lips set in a serious, thin line. "how long have you been getting texts like this?" he asks, flipping her phone around for her to see as he cuts straight to the point.

the sight of her face dropping tells him everything he needs to know. "fuck, maisie," he instantly sighs, running a hand over his face and dropping her phone down on the couch. she walks over to him with a frown and he looks to her with his eyebrows drawn together. "why wouldn't you tell me?"

maisie frowns deeper at his question. "i..." she struggles, trailing off as his gaze on her is heavy. "i don't know."

his eyebrows furrow deeper, eyes jumping across her face for a few short seconds before he ultimately shakes his head. his face changes as he seems to come up with an answer for himself from the look on her face. "you're scared," he states, reading her clearly.

"what?" her face drops immediately, that literally sounding pathetic. "i'm not scared." she forces a laugh.

matt narrows his eyes, knowing her better than that. "you are," he disagrees easily, turning around and causing her face to fill with confusion. "it's why you left that night," he says like it's common fact now, everything beginning to make sense in his head. he begins heading for the door as he talks, which adds to maisie's confusion.

she follows behind him both irritatedly and lost. "so what?" she says questionably, coming to a stop and crossing her arms as she watches him open the front door and look back to her. "you're leaving because i'm scared?"

matt is momentarily taken aback before he shakes his head. "no," he denies, "i'm leaving to figure this the fuck out," he tells her seriously, adding to her frown when those are his last words before the front door is left closing behind him.

💌

guys hot take ppl who say "the sturniolo police are gonna get you girl😂!!!!!" are just as icky as the 'sturniolo police'

LORE DROP NEXT CHAP 😝😝 matt pov time

<3
jaden