★ . ꜝꜞ ᳝ ࣪ CHAPTER 030! ☁️ׂ ɞ˚₊
❝ i'm the one ❞
( real life )

✶ IRL!

chris is trying to remain persistent in his staring at his lunch tray in front of him, just like he has been for the past five minutes since he first sat down, but it's becoming increasingly difficult because for the first time in what feels like forever, he can feel destiny's eyes drift towards him ever so often.

he may be going completely crazy, but he just feels different about today. he has a good feeling and he's running with it.

maybe it's just chris getting too excited at the sight of jordan and destiny finally broken up, but he doesn't care, he's been waiting for this moment. and the second he opened his phone in homeroom to find her back in his instagram likes, he knew this was it—his opening.

so as he sits in the cafeteria with the girl infecting his thoughts like some plaque directly across from him with all their friends around them, it's hard to focus on anything but her. he should be pretty good at this by now, seeing as he's gotten plenty of practice in these past weeks, but it's still hard to keep his eyes downcast when he feels her looking at him during his moments of silence.

currently, he's replaying every significant moment of the day in his head, and he thinks back to this morning in the car. maybe me and your mama playing was a sign—is that a crazy thought? he shakes his head at the theory that childish gambino is seriously communicating with him, and finally raises his head up, forcing his eyes away from the magnetic gaze across from him and to whoever is currently speaking.

"sooo, does anyone have actual plans for fall break next week?" nick's voice fills the ears of table.

a loud silence follows his sentence, to which everyone curiously glances to one another, causing nick to quickly get his answer. "good!" he chirps, clapping his hands together. matt and chris quickly share a look, seeing the lightbulb above his head before he begins eagerly sharing his idea, "i was thinking we should all stay at the lake house together—because we haven't really gotten to completely hang out since school started."

"wait, our lake house?" chris speaks up for clarification, his brows furrowed.

nick looks to his brother and hums, "obviously."

ruben and adora are both beaming at the idea, chris can clearly tell once he looks over to them. "nick, that's the best idea you've ever had," ruben tells him seriously, his voice geeky before he clicks his tongue and jokingly adds, "not sure how us unsupervised in a house together would go because we're literal children, but..."

"it would go completely fine, ruben, because in this case, the only children are you, adora, and des," matt responds with a chuckle, leaving ruben to huff as adora giggles next to him. destiny laughs quietly as well, catching chris' poorly-hidden gaze. matt then turns his head, directing his words to nick when he says, "love the idea, but nick, you know there's seriously no way—"

"mom and dad would say yes?" he finishes his sentence predictably, matt's eyes widening before he laughs and nods his head. "well, let me assure you, mom literally suggested it to me," he informs him, causing multiple pairs of eyebrows to raise.

"what?" chris speaks out before matt can, his voice unbelieving. him and his brothers have never stayed at the lake house that they own without their parents, so suddenly having the privilege to do so now would definitely be surprising to chris. "no way," he denies.

"yes way," nick tells him dubiously, chris only narrowing his eyes. nick senses his brother's hesitance to believe him, and it doesn't surprise him either, so he's quick to explain further, "i was complaining to her the other day about how this is our first break from school and i don't even have anything to do, so she literally suggested we go."

"in that case, we have to go," matt cuts in, glancing to nate who nods his head eagerly. chris' curious eyes travel to destiny, as her and nate are the only two in the group outside of the triplets who have stayed there before. her gaze is cast on ruben and adora, sharing the same smile that they also have plastered on their faces and giving chris the benefit of the doubt that the lake house is a good idea.

"yeah, marylou's never let you go without her before, so you like have to take the opportunity now 'cause who knows when she'll let you again," nate argues for nick's brothers, him clearly keeping the luxuries of the lake house in mind as matt and chris both nod.

"exaaactly, nate!" nick grins triumphantly, then glancing to ruben and adora. "you guys will love it, i swear."

destiny nods in agreement as the pair grows visibly excited. "there's literally a hot tub," she tells them excitedly.

ruben gasps like a child, causing the entire table to laugh, as adora grins like a maniac. "say less, bags are packed!" she exclaims, legitimately sitting up in her seat.

"real as fuck," ruben chuckles, then turning to destiny and momentarily growing confused. "how are you gonna be able to get off work though?"

chris' eyebrows raise just as destiny shrugs. "they only ever work me weekends."

ruben hums, relieved. the attention is then taken to nate when he speaks up with his eyes focused elsewhere, "so what happened there?"

chris' eyebrows furrow and he sits up to look for whatever it is nate is looking at, and the rest of the group does the same. all eyes land on jordan, sat with his football friends rather than them, his attention on his phone instead of his friends. chris sucks in an awkward puff of air, looking back to the table to catch the curious look on nate's face. he guesses destiny hasn't told him anything, so he's using now as an opportunity to ask her about it. while chris would obviously never boldly ask such a thing considering his and destiny's current relationship, his ears are so very perked up as well when he glances over to destiny.

her lips twist downwards into a frown before she pulls her eyes back to the table, looking to her brother and managing a shrug. "it didn't work," she doesn't tell much.

nate only blinks repeatedly. "he's pretty much the only guy you've ever liked," he says quite blankly, seemingly believing his statement to be true.

chris' eyes narrow, he can't help it. destiny visibly sucks in a breath at his words, chris feeling it in his chest when her eyes jump to him for only a second. if he blinked he'd have missed it, but he didn't. his eyes were on her, and he caught it. unable to resist, a small upturn forms at the side of his lips, getting a feeling he knows why she's looking at him and raising his hand to hide it. "he just wasn't the one," destiny tells nate, and it's such music to chris' ears that he has to force his eyes on his lunch tray again.

feeling confident in himself and his feelings to do with the girl right across from him, he kicks the chair of the person sat next to him. he watches matt quickly whip his head around, an expression of annoyance on his face which washes off only after chris mouths, i'm the one.

amusement takes over his features, matt resisting a laugh before he straightens himself out and mouths back with the shake of his head, you did not just say that.

"GET THIS BITCH OFF MY SCREEN!"

"HE DID NOT JUST FUCKING CUSS AT LEAH, WHAT THE FU-"

"NO ACTUALLY, GET THIS BITCH OFF MY SCREE-"

in the midst of adora and ruben's screaming over the recent episode of love island, destiny's cat mochi jumps off of her lap. this grants her the opportunity to sit up and reach for the tv remote. she has no hesitation in hitting the power button once she gets her hands on it, both ruben and adora gasping and quickly turning around to face her. ruben speaks first, "i didn't mean for you to really turn it—"

"no, i can't watch this anymore right now," destiny sighs, shaking her head as she pulls her comforter closer to her. "rob's making me sick."

"valid, and the fact that liv actually isn't a girls girl is really throwing me for a loop. i need time to process," adora ultimately agrees with the girl, maneuvering on the bed and then laying back on the open spot next to where destiny is sat up against the headboard.

ruben sighs loudly, "okay, no tv then." he lays back towards the bottom of the bed, destiny glancing amusedly between him and adora. when ruben catches sight of her careless expression though, he's quick to narrow his eyes at her. "you should be going after your man right now."

destiny's jaw quickly drops open and adora sits up almost as fast as she laid down. "excuse me!" she exclaims.

"are we talking about chris, because i was literally just thinking, it's weird that we haven't talked about chris ye-"

"you heard me!" ruben yells at destiny, adora's comment going unheard as she settles for watching the entertainment in front of her instead. "you said he said in his note that 'he'd be here,' meaning he's waiting for you!"

"ummm," destiny struggles with her words for a moment, knowing ruben's right and ultimately groaning. "i can't chase after a man," she tells him exasperatedly.

"uh, you can when it's the man you've been in love with your entire life," adora cuts in, destiny frowning at the knowing look on her face.

"okay, not my entire life," she argues in a mumble.

"just since you gained consciousness."

destiny presses her lips together, shutting up and covering her face with her hands. she then groans again, this time very loudly. she hears her friends' laughter and shakes her head to herself. "i hate that this is the topic of discussion."

ruben narrows his eyes intensely at her. "you should've known it would be the second you turned off the tv!"

destiny lowers her hands and narrows her eyes back, opening her mouth to respond when the doorbell suddenly rings. instantly, adora asks, "bitch, who did you invite to our love island binge?"

"no one," destiny answers, her brows furrowed. adora and ruben furrow their eyebrows as well, sharing a questionable glance before looking back to destiny. the three of them all sit in silence, none of them wanting to go check and instead listening to see if the unwanted visitor leaves.

when the doorbell goes off for a second time, destiny sighs, beginning to get up. before she stands, she throws the remote into an open space on the bed. "there," she says, watching them both immediately reach for it and laughing before she exits the room.

she then ventures downstairs to the living room, turning towards the front door to find whoever is interrupting her and her friends conversation. she has no idea who could be on the other side when she reaches down for the handle, so when she finally opens the door to face the visitor, she feels the wind be knocked out of her.

her breath embarrassingly hitches due to chris being the one in front of her. they haven't been stood face-to-face like this in what feels like forever considering the terms they're on, so time feels especially slow once they lock eyes. she feels like she must have entered a different dimension on the way down here, because there is no way he's really on her doorstep right now.

trying to recover from her visible speechless state, she pulls her eyes off of his face, attempting to look elsewhere. "nate's not here; he has practice today," she tells him, deciding to assume that's why he's just suddenly appeared at her house. he couldn't be here for her, right? they haven't had a full conversation since their last argument, their only form of communication being through a note, so that would be crazy.

"i know," chris' voice is just as soft as it was the night they kissed, and her eyes immediately jump back to his. his words catch her off guard and completely obliterate her at the same time. he knows? she guesses when he said he'd be here, he really meant here. destiny is unfortunately speechless yet again, busy trying to distract herself from her pounding heart in her chest. he's literally wearing the stupid nike tech he was wearing that night, does he realize that? "can i come in?" boom, destiny's completely obliterated again.

"oh," she says. oh, she says. is she fucking stupid? she blinks repeatedly, trying to break herself out of her chris trance, which is just ridiculous because she only recently realized how much she still wants him. "yeah," she says hesitantly, trying not to sound unsure when she presses her lips together and steps aside. "sure."

destiny waits for chris to come inside, but he first turns his head to look back to the car parked in the driveway. destiny furrows her eyebrows, leaning forward to find matt in the driver's seat—of course. chris waves his hand as if telling him he's good to go, and destiny can make out an upturn in the corner of his lips before he pulls the car out of the driveway. she turns around and smiles as she begins walking to the living room, knowing chris will eventually follow.

she stops in her tracks, however, when walking into the room causes her to spot ruben and adora at the top of the staircase, their curiosity clearly having gotten the best of them. destiny's eyes widen as their jaws drop looking behind her, destiny assuming it must be due to the sight of chris walking in. she forces a clearing of her throat to grab their attention and then shoos them with the wave of her hand just like chris had done with his brother. she feels satisfied when she watches them disappear around the corner.

"so what did you—" destiny starts her sentence before she spins around, then cutting herself off when she finds chris not sat on the couch like she had expected, but right there. in front of her. she coughs, adjusting her voice and backing up just a smidge. "what did you uh, want to talk about?"

chris sighs, taking a step back and confusing destiny in the process. he runs a hand through his hair and walks over to the couch, finally speaking once he sits down. "i'm sorry, des," he apologizes, his voice heavy like he's wanted to get that out.

satisfaction instantly brews in destiny's chest at the sound of words she's wanted to hear from him for a while now, but she ignores it, crossing her arms over her chest as she stands there. "what for?" she questions, wanting more from him.

he sighs again, looking down to his feet. "i lied to you," he confesses vaguely. destiny's eyebrows raise, and chris looks up to see the look on her face. as if he can sense the 'about?' ready to leave her lips, he continues quietly, "about how i feel."

despite destiny's heart skipping a beat in her chest, she keeps her nonchalant front. "yeah..." she says, unsure of what else to say to that.

chris awkwardly presses his lips together, placing his hands on his knees. "so, uh..." he trails off, breaking their eye contact. "yeah, i just wanted to apologize..." the conversation isn't really going like he planned it to in his head.

destiny also presses her lips together, feeling a bit disappointed in the lack of a direction this is going in. it doesn't feel like everything's out in the open just yet, and she knows this isn't all that she wanted. "is that all you came here for?" she asks, dropping her arms to her sides. "so that we can be friends now and—"

"friends?" chris repeats, causing her eyes to jump back to him. she can feel his words in her stomach when he adds with a shake of his head, "i don't want to be your friend, destiny."

she steps forward, throwing out her hands in exasperation and trying not to raise her voice when she can't help but grow a tiny bit irritated with him. it's just that, while that's what she wants to hear, his actions don't really reflect that all the time. "then what do you want, chris?" she quips, chris' brows coming together to create a crease on his forehead before he stands up to meet her eye-to-eye. "how do you feel? because you have yet to tell me any of it," she tells him frustratedly.

he shakes his head, like his feelings are a struggle for him to communicate. he's silent for a few seconds before he sighs for what feels like the thousandth time since he walked in here. "you've ruined me, des. your lips won't leave my head," he tells her, her lips parting and eyebrows furrowing immediately at the vulnerability she feels within his words. "and i get that i fucked up by lying and acting a fool, but there was nate and there was jordan... i just didn't think it was gonna work, and when i realized i was wrong, it felt too late to take anything back." his explanation is good enough for destiny to feel smitten, but he still feels the need to continue, "but des, you have to understand, ever since i've figured out how i feel, it's like everything makes sense."

destiny's eyebrows scrunch together, her eyes soft when she tilts her head slightly, "what do you mean?"

chris takes in a breath, managing a shrug as he looks down at her. "it was just always you," he says easily, destiny's heart soaring in her chest. he's really saying the words she's dreamt of hearing since middle school—this can't be real. "you're the reason i could never find what i was looking for in other girls. i could never be happy with any of them; that's why i was so fast to jump ship. i was desperate to find what was literally right in front of me—i honestly can't believe i didn't see it before." his words leave destiny in an awestruck state, but now that he's finally opening his mouth, it's like he can't stop. he's grinning like a school boy when he sums it up with, "i know it's you. you're the one i really want, des."

chris is saying everything she's ever wanted to hear, so it's a little hard to think straight as she stands before him. she finds herself blinking repeatedly like a fool. "oh," she dumbly says, unable to come up with anything else at the moment.

chris chuckles, able to read her expression as he subconsciously steps closer to her, "yeah, oh, des."

she feels like she's going crazy as she processes how close he is to her, glancing between his two eyes when she asks, "what about nate?"

chris sucks in a breath, revealing hesitantly, "he made me promise him not to ever try anything with you." destiny's eyebrows raise, knowing nate also made her promise him a very similar thing. just as doubts enter her mind, however, she's distracted with the newfound touch of his hands on her waist. her breath hitches and she glances down to the touch, knowing she's craved it since she last felt it as much as she wishes she could deny it. "but he doesn't have to know how we feel."

destiny looks up, feeling a wave of confidence wash over her when she tilts her head at him just slightly. "we?" she narrows her eyes enough to make him sweat. "that's bold of you to assume."

"oh," chris says, realizing he's been doing all the talking very quickly. a shade of red overtakes his face and destiny quickly laughs, impressed at herself for making him appear bashful. a sheepish smile takes over his face as he subconciously pulls her closer, "well, i was kind of hoping..."

destiny grins, knowing where his words would've gone before his trailing off. she amusedly rolls her eyes. "you already know, chris," she responds teasingly, chris returning her grin before he licks his lips and slides his hands from around her waist to her lower back.

when chris lowers his lips to hers, it only feels natural. immediately, destiny is submerged with the overwhelming feeling he provides her with a kiss all over again. his lips move against hers slower than they had the first time they kissed, almost more delicately and full of even more passion than she can remember. just as her hands find the strings of his nike tech, he pulls away and shoots her a smile cheesy enough to make her knees weak. "just like i remembered," he mumbles before leaning back in.

the moment is much more short-lived than destiny was hoping all because her friends are the ones to burst her and chris' bubble. her focus leaves him once she hears giggling.

"they're literally kissing."

"WHAT? move your fat ass hea—"

there's some sudden thud heard upstairs, much louder than either of her friend's voices and finally enough for chris to pull away from her for a second time. his eyebrows pull together in confusion and destiny presses her lips together, slowly lowering her hands from his clothing. "ruben and adora," she explains shortly.

"oh." he blinks. it takes him a moment to actually click what she's said, and then once he has, he begins to laugh, "ohhh."

💌

sneaking around era + group vacay !!!!! so fun

this took much longer than i planned... the hyperfixations i blame are love island (if u couldn't tell) and the sims 4 (i finally got it pirated #blessup)

<3
jaden