Later that morning, Miles and Chelsea walk to the bus stop, Chelsea waving goodbye to him, and he musters a soft smile, and says "Later..". The small word caused Chelsea's chest to flutter slightly, and she smiles back at him, before getting on the bus. Miles takes a breath, before turning to go back to go home.
As Miles walks home, he is met by Mary's warm embrace as she tearfully says "Miles! We heard about what happened at the dance..! We're so glad you're okay..". Richard watches a news broadcast covering the scandal, and asks "Where's Mallory? Did you see her..?", and Miles nods, his gaze lower. Richard and Mary breathe a breath of relief, as Miles slowly walks upstairs, but Richard stops him, saying shakily "Wait, son.. Are you okay..?", but Miles nods, and looks away quickly. Too quick to let the words sink in. And heads upstairs.
As he closes his bedroom door behind him, he stumbles to the bed, looking at Chelsea's coat on the bed, and his hands tremble and hover above it. "I just.. wanna exist.. without.. feeling like everything's gonna.. break around me..", he mutters, cuddling with the coat, sniffing it. That familiar scent. Hints of tobacco, jasmine, and feint notes of coffee. Chelsea.
He closes his eyes, curling up in his bed, but no tears come out. He feels himself dozing off, as he wraps the sleeves of Chelsea's coat around him, remembering the feeling of her embrace, that warmth, the safety of being held by someone.. dangerous, yet safe.
As he dozes off, he feels his body become weightless. A dream. He walks through a forest, several broken statues around him, as he walks towards the forest's center. At the center, a massive lake, and a fox near the edge. Its leg is wounded, as it crawls towards the lake, but Miles holds it in his arms, walking with it to the lake.
The closer he gets, the fox's presence begins to envelop him, warmth spreading through his chest as the fox turns into Chelsea, hugging him from behind. "Let's go together..", Chelsea mutters, and Miles looks down, seeing his reflection in the lake water. And says "Okay.", before stepping into the lake water, Chelsea still hugging him as they sink deeper..
Then, Miles wakes up, sitting up in his bed, the coat at his side, and his face feeling warmer than usual. He places his hand on his chest, feeling just how fast his heart is beating. He looks at his bedroom window, the same one Chelsea would climb through in their childhood. But, as Miles gets lost in thought, a knock interrupts his thoughts. "Hey, bro..", Mallory says, slowly walking into his room. Miles turns his head, and Mallory, smiling softly, says "Well, uh.. Happy birthday. Sorry it's a bit.. gloomy..".She hands him a new phone, and Miles' eyes widen slightly, he holds the phone, saying "Huh.. I almost forgot..".
Miles gets ready, showering, and wearing Chelsea's coat, and leaves the house, but, as he steps out, looking out to the park, he sees her. Chelsea. Sitting awkwardly at the benches. An involuntary smile spreads on his face as he slowly walks up to her, and Chelsea's face lights up, as he approaches. "Hey, Chels..", Miles says, putting his hands in the coat's pockets, and Chelsea chuckles, saying "Hey, my coat looks pretty good on you..". Miles blushes slightly, looking away slightly, saying "Thanks, I guess.. Anyways, what's up..?". Chelsea lets out a stifled laugh, saying "I'm sorry for laughing. When did I get so old that you had to start acting awkward?". Miles, initially embarrassed, joins her, laughing.
Miles looks at the fox plushie bag, saying "You still have that plush?", and Chelsea nods, patting it slightly, and says "I take this little guy everywhere..". She suddenly looks up at him, saying "You can.. keep the coat. That way, we both have something from each other..", as she looks down, still smiling. Miles' eyes widen slightly, as he gently tugs on the coat sleeve, saying "That.. would be.. nice.", trying to hide his smile. He finally sits next to her, no distance between them anymore, and Chelsea notices. She smiles, as he leans his head on her shoulder. She asks "Everything okay?", and he nods, tracing little lines in the bench with his finger, as he continues "I..uh.. I'm still worried about Shane, and Anny..". Chelsea gently pats his head, and he smiles softly. "But, I'm choosing to giving him space.", he says, before looking up at her, asking "About time, huh?".
Chelsea lets out a chuckle, looking up at the sky, saying "I worry about you, you know that right?", which catches Miles slightly off guard, but he doesn't move away. "I remember what you said at the school event. That I.. matter to you..", she continues, now looking at him, eye to eye. She holds his hand gently, saying "You matter to me, too. And I'm not gonna pretend you don't.". Miles looks away, his chest tightens, as a blush forms on his face, his mouth opening, but no words come out.
Chelsea looks down at their hands, connected. She stammers "You know.. I.. uh..I..", but gently brushes the fox plushie bag, finally saying "I had a huge crush on you when we were kids..". Miles sits there, in shock, as she continues "I know it's.. awkward, but I just.. I trust you enough to tell you.". Miles leans closer, saying "Chels.. I think.. I felt the same. I mean.. you were all I thought about. You still are..", but covers his mouth, realizing what he said. Chelsea's eyes widen, as her grip on his hand loosens slightly, but she doesn't let go. She looks down, her expression unreadable, and Miles looks away, pulling away his hands, and covering his face. "Shit..! Shit! Why did I say that..? I'm sorry, I.. didn't mean to..". But Chelsea tries to interupt "Wait, Miles.. It's okay..", but he continues, getting up from the bench, saying "I ruined it, of course I did.. Can we forget I said..?".
But Chelsea pulls him, a bit too hard. And he lands on top of her, their faces inches away from each other.
Both of them stayed there, paralyzed. Miles, stuck between leaning into it and pulling away.. teetering dangerously close to the former. "I.. I'm sorry..", he stutters, trying to get off of her, but she stops him her grip not wavering. "It's okay..", she says, her breath on his face. He finally looks at her face, and sees it. Her cheeks are bright red. And sweat drops are forming on her face.
Miles has only one thought on his mind...
"When i was younger, whenever she got too close.. I'd freeze up. A million feeling that I couldn't understand.. But.. I don't know what's scarier anymore.. the fact that I haven't changed since.. or the fact that... she feels the same."
Age: 17
Around the corner, Mallory passes by,, while talking to Naya. "I.. dunno, maybe I can move back to my old class with Miles, I know I can't avoid him forever, but..", and Mallory says cheerfully "That's the spirit! You can't just keep running from this..", but stops as she sees the scene with Chelsea and Miles unfold. Miles on top of her, and Chelsea holding his sleeve, keeping him there. She freezes in her tracks, not saying a word, as Naya keeps asking over the phone "Hello..?"