Chapter 9
"Okay, so my turn," you shift your seating position so that you were Indian style facing Sebastian. The movie that was originally planned was just playing quietly in the background and was currently the only light illuminating the room.
Sebastian looked at you expectantly for your next question.
"Who were you ten years ago? Who are you now?"
He leans back slightly and quirks an eyebrow. "Those are two questions! How can I answer that in a minute?"
You giggle but don't say anything and take a bite of your pizza instead. You take a pull of your beer and pick your phone to set the timer.
"Get creative then, handsome. Tick tock…" you respond in a sing-song voice, and wait for him to answer your question.
Sebastian takes a deep breath and lets it out in a slow exhale. Who was he a decade a go? And who's he now? Man, she isn't pulling any punches, he thought.
"A decade ago, I used to question a lot of things," he begins. "A bad audition, a good one, and everything else, I always have to pick on something or someone and ask. I didn't know then that I was causing myself a lot of stress and expelling unnecessary negative energy."
He pauses for a bit, suddenly remembering one of the most toxic relationships he'd ever been in. That one that made him close off. Having been single for the last few years, he hoped he wasn't that person anymore.
"Seb?" your voice grounds him back and he clears his throat just as the timer goes off. You shut it off and return your gaze at him, waiting for his answer to the 2nd half of your question.
"Who I am now…I guess you could say, I'm someone who has a better understanding of the world. The last ten years, I tell you, they were tough. It's challenging to try and be someone to somebody while trying to shift your perspective, you know? I just wanted to be me, to live my own life and be happy with it. I think that's why I haven't entertained relationships, I wanted to really be content and happy and I think-I really think I am at that point now."
He averts his eyes from you for a few seconds, hoping he didn't scare you off with how he talked about his past and his struggles.
"You do look happy," you mention thoughtfully. He looks up at you and smiles bashfully at you.
"I am, Y/N. I really am," Sebastian responds wistfully. "I told you I wouldn't be able to answer that in a minute."
You scoff good naturedly and poke out your tongue at him. You fiddle with the hem of your shirt before you speak again.
"I like listening to you talk about things," you say timidly. "You always seem to wear your heart out on your sleeve. Glad to see you still do."
You both continue on your Q&A game long after the movie had ended, the pizza box bare and the beer bottles emptied. You were buzzed but not drunk yet you could feel your cheeks were warm. Sebastian seemed no less the same as you were.
It had to have been past 1am when your yawns became more frequent. This doesn't get past Sebastian who starts cleaning up, prompting you to get off the bed as well and begin gathering your shoes by the bed. Sebastian notices and walks up to you just as you stumble to the carpeted floor with a soft thud.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asks, chuckling. "You aren't thinking of going home, are ya?"
"Um, I am? Hart would be looking for me--uh, my cousin, Hart," you say in a rather sleepy drawl. He crouches down and shoves your shoes under the bed before pulling you up with him. You groan softly and bump your forehead on his chest, making him laugh. Your sleepiness has caught on you and he prods it even more by running smooth, lazy lines over your back.
"Call her in the morning, you're staying here."
And that is how Sebastian woke up hours later with her pressed onto his side. He stirs a little and when he does open his eyes slowly, his vision is met with her dark hair to the side, her face bare to him. He smiles as he sees her mouth slightly open, puffs of breath coming out in between light snores which he found adorable. Her hand rests over the right side of his chest and he immediately reaches for it for him to hold. He sighs slowly so as not to wake her up and closes his eyes again with a smile.
Little did he know she was already awake and thinking how this was easily the longest dream she's had.
Sebastian lets the both of them sleep for a few more hours until phone buzzes on the bedside table. He tries to ignore it but whoever who was calling would not give up. She were still curled up to his side and he felt too damn comfortable for him to let go.
"Fuck," he breathes out softly, but the annoyance evident still. He reluctantly lets her hand go and reaches back for the phone to answer it, not bothering to check the caller ID.
"What?!" he whisper yells.
"Oops," Kayla's voice pipes up on the other end. "You still in bed?"
"...in an hour, Kayla, goodbye," Sebastian says and puts the phone back on the bedside. "Hey," he says softly as he turns to face you.
You pull up the comforter up to half of your face upon realizing you may have morning breath but Sebastian grabs your hand to stop you. He grins at you before kissing your forehead.
"Sleep okay?" he asks. His smile widens when you nod. "Better than I have in a while, to be honest," you tell him honestly.
"It is a good morning then," Sebastian says confidently before getting up and pulling you up with him. When he was standing and you were up kneeling on the bed, he dips his head down to give you a chaste peck on the lips. "Good morning indeed," you murmur with a smile against his mouth.
"YOU WHAT?! I was so goddamn worried, I barely slept!"
You cower a bit at the harshness of Hart's voice and you couldn't blame her.
"I'm sorry," you say, your voice small. You felt so bad for forgetting to call her to let her know of your plans. "I didn't mean to worry you."
Hart sighs heavily as she calms herself down. "So…you and the movie star huh?"
You try to play down your cousin's comment with a scoff but her reaction tells you she isn't buying your bullshit. "I'm leaving next week, Hartley," you state matter of factly. "We're just going to enjoy each other's company while we're in one place at the same time. That's it."
"Okay then," she says before jumping off the barstool. "Just…be cool alright? You know I just don't want you getting hurt." She takes her leave but not before giving your hand a light squeeze.
You thank her and sighed when she was out of earshot. "I'm gonna be fine," you told yourself and you desperately prayed you will be because at the rate your feelings are speeding up, it felt like you were going to crash right away.