ALL I DO.
{ irl }

"where are niola and matt?" nick asks, being the first to notice the duo's absence. everyone was so interested in rayne's game that nobody noticed they were missing from the group.

nick, chris, and rayne pause their game and try to remember if they saw them exit the room or not. camille groans, sad that the game has ended when it just started to get good — rayne became magically pregnant with a pink, mermaid princess baby.

"i think niola told me something about going to get a drink." camille says, finally comprehending what she was told half an hour ago.

"and you didn't tell us!?" chris shouts, frantically realizing that this could mess up their plans if matt and niola started arguing. "we need to get them to make up, not run off alone and start fighting!"

"i didn't think anything of it because you guys were playing your game!" camille defends herself, but quickly notices how pathetic her excuse is. "well, you should have been paying attention to your brother!"

"you know how quiet matt is!"

"and!?"

"the fuck do you mean and!?" chris shouts, getting in her face. "he's silent! how am i supposed to notice when he leaves if he doesn't make any noise!?"

camille and chris continue to argue. what's funny is that neither of them are even mad at each other, their mad at themselves for not paying attention. so they've decided to take their anger out on the other instead of thinking logically.

nick is tempted to watch them argue all night, letting them waste their time and get even angrier about that.

but the way they're yelling is making rayne uncomfortable. rayne starts to squirm as if she's watched people argue like this before, and it didn't end well. her eyes dart around the room, waiting for something to get thrown or for someone to get hurt.

nick doesn't understand why she's so on-edge, but he knows that he needs to shut chris and camille up so rayne doesn't start crying. because if rayne gets upset, niola will kill everyone in the house (and nick is kinda scared of niola when she's mad).

"SHUT UP!" nick screams, making the entire room go silent.

chris and camille look at him in shock, surprised by his sudden outburst. but they quickly notice how loud and annoying they were being. they apologize to nick, hug each other, then start tehir search for niola and matt.

after a few minutes of searching, camille found them.

she was in the kitchen, looking for food instead of helping — then she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. she looked toward the movement before seeing niola and matt standing side by side on the back porch.

camille quietly got chris and nick's attention. then she pointed toward the scene, making all three of them gasp. they didn't even need to trick them into talking. somehow, they solved their problems on their own.

"i think they still need a tiny push," nick whispered before walking up to the door that leads to the porch. then he locked it. the noise was silent, so niola and matt didn't even noticed that they were now locked outside together.

niola leans forward against the railing of the triplets' back porch. she looks up at the sky, admiring the way the clouds clump together and the stars wink at her as though they all understand how nervous she feels with matt standing right beside her.

his presence was enough to make her heart speed up in her chest. but she would rather die than admit that to him. so she kept her breathing regulated and her muscles relaxed.

to matt, she seemed perfectly fine. more than fine, actually.

under the starlight and greyed clouds, niola looked like what he envisioned a goddess to look like. everything about her was perfect. matt didn't see a single flaw — he never has. even the first time he ever laid eyes on her, he knew she was undeniably beautiful.

her curly hair falls over her shoulders, outlining her face with beauty. her eyes scanned the night sky, reflecting the stars' shine and the clouds' relaxation.

"i've always loved the concept of outer space." niola muttered. "to think of something as endless seems impossible. i feel like everything in this world is temporary — friends, family, shelter, love. none of it stays put." she lowers her eyes and looks at matt with a gentle smile. "but space is different. every planet has an assigned spot, every star knows where to go. everything just knows where it belongs."

for a moment, matt doesn't know what to say.

something about the way niola is looking at him makes matt feel like he should be looking at the ground rather than into her eyes. she has a sharpened gaze, the kind that could slice right through the air and directly into his heart. but given the right situation, her eyes can turn soft, making him feel the urge to tell her everything that is burdening him.

"maybe you just haven't found out where you belong yet." matt suggests. "once you've found the right people to surround yourself with, nothing feels impossible."

the way matt is talking makes niola's breath catch in her throat. his voice is so smooth and soft, like she's the only thing he cares about.

for a moment, they just stand there. under the stars. staring into each other's eyes. both of them completely stunned by the other.

then, niola looks back up at the stars.

"before rayne was born, i felt like nobody cared about me. my mom was never home long enough to hold a simple conversation. and my dad spent all his time away from home." she explains. "i had no friends at school, because i was too focused on getting good grades — stupidly hoping that my accomplishments would get my parents's attention and they would finally love me. but they didn't."

matt watches her closely. he's waiting for her to tear up, for her voice to shake, for her to show some sort of sadness. but she doesn't. and honestly, he thinks that's worse. the fact that such a tragic story is so normal to her makes the story even more disturbing.

"what i'm trying to say is that as i got older, i realized i shouldn't waste my time on people who don't care about me. i deserve people who actually give a shit." niola says, looking matt directly in the eye before continuing. "and so do you."

his eyes go wide, not completely registering what she's trying to say. "what do you mean?"

"i want to ask you a question, matthew." niola says, stepping close enough to him that their chests are touching. "i want you to answer honestly."

matt's face suddenly felt warm due to how close they were. "of course."

niola reaches up and wraps her arms around his neck, their noses brushing each other. matt's mouth was less than a centimeter away from hers. every single nerve in his body was fighting the urge to kiss her.

"here's my question," niola whispers against his lips, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "do you want to kiss me?"

matt feels like his heart just stopped working. like someone just stabbed him through the chest. still, he's unsure if that feeling is due to anticipation or dread. he knows that this question is theoretical. even if he says yes, there's no way she would let him kiss her. but matt can't help but hope for that to not be true.

"yes," matt admits, remembering that niola asked him to be honest. "yes, i do."

then he notived her eyes had filled with an emotion matt can't quite read. which is weird considering he can always understand niola's feelings.

she steps backward, distancing herself from him — physically this time. niola looks at teh ground before shaking her head in disbelief even though she had guessed that would be his answer. "that's the problem."

"what?" matt asks, wanting nothing more than for niola to explain what's going on. "what are you talking about? why'd you ask me that?"

"because i can't love you, matthew!" niola shouts, looking up from the ground with tears in her eyes. "i can't..."

niola's answer hasn't done anything to make matt less confused. if anything, he's even more confused now. but he won't tell her that.

she leans her back against the railing behind her, putting her face in her hands as she sobs. matt walks over to niola and wraps his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. niola hesitates, but she eventually leans into him, soaking his shirt with her tears.

"i love you, matt." niola says between sobs. "but you deserve someone better than me."

"but what if i don't want someone else?" matt asks, feeling the urge to cry with her. but he doesn't want to make her worried. "i want you, silvers. nobody else."

"i made you pretend to be my boyfriend. then i made you watch rayne. then i made you take care of me while drunk. then i ignored you." niola reminds him. "i thought that would be enough to make you hate me."

matt runs a hand through her hair, "i could never hate you."

for a while, the two of them just stand there, hugging. and niola realizes that this is her favorite place in the world — in matt's arms.

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a/n : can u tell i have a thing for cheesy romance? 🤭fights that end in hugs? stargazing? fake dating in general? and when both of them think that they don't deserve the other????
god i love cliches
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