A Second Day Out Together

[Atom]

While walking with Zoey, Declan's eyes wandered around in a sleepy state...boy he sure was going to crash hard tonight...
After swimming and everything else emotionally exhausting, all he could think about was a cold drink and a bed to sleep in. Even though it wasn't going to be as dreamy as he wanted, Zoey's place would have to do.

The area where she lived was WAY nicer than his and he was glad it was this way. The thought of her walking around at night where his apartment was situated brought a sense of anxiety to him, there was some strange people out there. It looked like here a bunch of families and couples lived down her streets with a familiar feeling of home, trees lining the curbs and flowers in everyone's yard. You never seen much greenery around his place, once he saw a bouquet of flowers thrown in a trash can by his building- if that even counted.

Declan awkwardly smiled when she pointed out her house, following her all the way inside while nervously glancing around. Upon Zoey opening the door, his worst nightmare became a reality seeing other people, he hoped no one would be home so it'd quiet and there'd be no teasing. Alas, it was coming whether he liked it or not. Giving a small wave after wiping the sweat off his forehead, he pulled off his shoes, keeping his bag around him.


If it was one thing, he was no prince at all...

"Oh, uh, yeah sure." He nodded and followed Zoey wherever she went in the house. It was strange being in any of his friends places other than Teague's. Speaking of him, Teague was texting his phone right now, something about his parents trying to talk him into working for their business when he got older. If anything he was venting right now, maybe he'd give him a quick call later to see how he's doing...

 

[starrysky]

After Declan had stepped in and taken off his shoes, Zoey led him upstairs, which was just ahead of them near the front door. The stairs were wooden and creaky, with photographs of Zoey's family on the wall. Her hands grazed over the wood railing, while counting each step out of habit. "Sorry about my sister, by the way. She loves to tease sometimes." She turned to Declan with a hushed voice.

The second floor was small, with one washroom and three bedrooms. Zoey's room being on the right side, her parents in the middle, and Samantha's on the left. Dust had been collected on the door handle to her parents room. Both siblings never dared to go inside when they weren't home.

Colourful stickers were placed on Zoey's door, all with positive sayings on them. Upon entering the room, orange evening light poured into the hallway from her opened blinds. The room smelled of cheap cotton candy perfume. Inside, there were some band posters, printed out iPod pictures of Zoey and her friends, and cute posters she found at Hot Topic all plastered on the walls. A twin sized bed was situated horizontally at the back of the room, with a big window above it. An abundance of loose papers and drawings were hidden underneath the bed, some falling out onto the large Pusheen carpet.

"Yay we're here~! This is my room." Exclaimed Zoey while doing a small spin, making her dress flow with her. "So what do you want to do?" She smiled, as she went to go sit on her bed.

 

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"It's alright." Declan replied while surprisingly taking in a lot of the details scattered around her house. He quietly tripped going up the stairs, though glad she didn't notice. Mentally cursing himself for being a clumsy idiot, he validated it since he was so nervous right now. After catching his fall on the railing, he saw a family photo and slowed his steps. There were four of them...four...
Swallowing a hard lump in his throat, he derailed some useless thoughts and began to wonder why she hadn't mentioned her parents often, only her sister.

It was pretty obvious which door lead to Zoey's room, the cheap but sweet scenting hitting him like a brick. All the bright colours and things on her wall was extremely different from his room. If you could even call his room much of one anyway...

What to do?

"Uhh..." Declan fumbled for words after placing his messenger bag down by her dresser. "I don't know..." An impulsive answer. You could tell by first glance that he was unsure of where to sit or what to do now. While his dark eyes looked around, he spotted a familiar hair clip of purple flowers making him look somewhere else.

"I-I noticed you have family pictures in your staircase." Pausing, he scratched his cheek before shoving his hands in both jeans pockets. "It surprised me a bit, then I remembered you've never mentioned them at all."

Why did he bring that up? What made him? Seriously, what's his problem?

Declan leaned against the wall and pulled a soft smile through his own self deprecating shit talk over himself inside. The last thing he ever wanted to do to someone was invade anything personal. A subtle nauseous feeling came over him and he suddenly wished that his dark room and bed were closer so he could hide for 48 hours. Ugh, Declan took a quiet breath and held up his smile.

 

[starrysky]

Zoey looked around and found a black nail polish bottle laying on her bed. "Oh! How about I paint your nai—" Declan's curiosity pulled her out of her usual cheerful state.

"I have more of a bond with Sammy, that's all." She looked down, fidgeting with the nail polish bottle. "My parents are always out of town for work. I don't really see them often. Ma sends money and letters for us every month."

Zoey had never felt good about her parents constantly being absent. The last time they were home full time was when she was 10. Samantha was practically her mother at this point, but she never wanted to admit it. Looking back up at Declan, she could tell he was tense and uncomfortable about this.

"H..Hey! It's okay you brought this up, you needed to know sooner or later." Zoey gave him a comforting smile, her eyes close to tearing up. "I trust you the most..so.." Her voice trailed off into a quiet tone.

"You can come sit beside me here! You look tired." She patted the purple and white dotted blanket.

 

[Atom]

Ah, that's why...

If you looked at it from a certain point, he could relate a bit with her, although if anything Teague would be happy to know someone is in a similar situation.
Declan felt a deep wrenching feeling in his chest after hearing it all. He brought this all on himself like the idiot he is so he'd just have to deal with it.

"I'm sorry." Was all his brain could manage to muster up after everything. Right now he was deciding whether to tell her about himself seeing as she just spilled almost everything. If it made her feel better, maybe he would. After everything they've done another part of him figured she deserved to know. Being a man of mystery was only attractive up to a point.
But before he could say anything else, Zoey offered him a seat next to her, unfortunately he saw the tears threatening to spill. Taking her gesture, Declan sat down carefully and tried his best to breathe away the nausea.

"I..." The last remaining fear held back his words, hands going numb and working their way to his shirt to fidget with something. "I know what it's like to have absent parents." The sentence calmed his nerves now that it was finally out. Slowly, Declan's head lowered and the evening light left his dark brown eyes, a glimmer no longer highlighting the real shine of them. At this point he couldn't feel his face. What was the point of parents anyway? Why were you considered a more put together person by having them?
"When I was eleven, I lost them in an accident." He paused, swallowing away his tears that he refused to let fall. "Same with my brother. My whole family, all three." All the memories were blurrier than usual for some reason, his vacant mind trying to piece them together. "I don't really talk about it to anyone but you told me a lot about yourself even though you didn't need to."

A small laugh that was just to try and hold back from crying escaped him but it failed. Right after the tears stained his cheek, the sick feeling went away. It was embarrassing to cry in front of her.

"They were killed while I was away and the house burnt down." Declans voice was different while he cried, desperate sounding. "So, hey, Zoey." The words tumbled from his mouth like a mess. "Don't ever feel alone, there's people who understand." Again, he tried to laugh but only cried more.

Noticing what he was doing, his hands flew to his face, throwing the drops off his cheeks. Declan couldn't stop apologizing for it, finally looking to Zoey with wet, red eyes in sudden shock, almost realization. "But, that was so long ago." The sentence barely came out in a whisper, low and saddening.

 

[starrysky]

Everything came together. The things Zoey was worried, or confused about..now makes sense.

She listened intently to Declan, his shaky voice must've meant she was one of the only people who have seen him like this. His words were comforting, making her feel like she really isn't alone afterall. It saddened her to think about how much Declan must be hurting.

"It's okay.." Looking into his red tearful eyes showed a different side of him. One that she was thankful she got the privilege to see. "You're not alone too. Me, Teague, Elliot, Millie, Bunny.. Dont forget that we're all your family. We all love you." She tried her best to be strong for Declan, choking back tears as those words fell out of her mouth. It was something she needed to be reminded of, too. Sometimes family doesn't have mean you're blood related.

"Um.. Hey," Zoey stood up, putting her bangs behind her ear. "I'm going to get us some snacks. I have chocolate and strawberry wafers!!" Her bubbly and excited nature had returned, hoping it will cheer Declan up. "Oh and, you can look around my room if you want~"

 

[Atom]

Everyone he told had the same reaction; unsure of what to say. He didn't really blame them, it was a lot to take in at once, even 8 years later not even he could.

"You're right..." Declans head lowered again, finding his eyes closing while the overwhelming conversation blurred his vision. At this point he had stopped crying when Zoey's words came through. There was no way he'd easily recover from his past but keeping what she said at the back of his mind could bring peace in the hardest of times. Even a stubborn, lazy person like him had to at least put some effort into maintaining the last bit of life inside. "I trust you though...s-so if you ever wanna know anything about it...or about me...I-I mean...you know...I just didn't want you to feel alone." The last bit came out so quiet, he was sure it was almost inaudible.

Finally, Declan chuckled and looked up, his ponytail beginning to fall out. "Sorry, I suddenly...uhm...did all this." Again, his hands cleared his eyes and he then took quiet breaths.

Zoey's beaming personality never failed to throw away the clinging bad atmosphere that stuck to Declan. Someone like her was detrimental to his views on life and even himself.

"That'd be great." Declan gave a shy smile, standing up from the bed with her. "O-Oh..! I wouldn't want to intrude too much, I mean it's your room..." Despite what he just said, his eyes were already wandering around the room in curiousity and hopes of distracting himself.

Declan just hoped she wasn't weirded out or upset that he suddenly broke down in front of her. Coincidentally, he recalled the conversation with Teague and how much worse it was. Since he was the only friend in years and the only person he could trust, it was like a huge spilling of every awful feeling he had ever had. Still for some reason not as embarrassing as how they met..........

 

[starrysky]

"Don't worry about it~ My house is yours." Zoey laughed, before jetting off downstairs.

Her lively act died down as soon as she left the room, tearing up while recalling Declan's words. "I hope there's some chocolate cake in the fridge.." She sighed.

Samantha was asleep on the couch, with a 'Would you like to keep watching?' Netflix screen showing on the T.V.. Quietly, Zoey walked into the kitchen. The fridge held a single piece of the chocolate and candy cake she had baked, out of practice for Declan's Valentine's Day present. Her high spirits returned, with a big smile on her face. Thinking about Declan's happiness cheered her up. Even more now after knowing everything. It was nice that he liked her baking, too. Though, she always wondered where his obsession with cakes came from.

While rummaging through the cabinets, Zoey finally found the two packages of different flavour wafers. She grabbed two plates and a spoon, all happening to be from the constellation kitten cutlery set Elliot had given her for Christmas. Placing the cake in one plate along with the spoon, and some wafers in the other, she went back upstairs careful not to drop anything.

"This'll be good," Zoey smiled as she walked up the noisy stairs.

"I'm back!" There was Zoey, bursting through the door. "I brought some cake too.. I think you'll like it." She set the plates on the bedside table. "I just wanted to.. say thanks because you told me a lot of things today."

 

[Atom]

When Zoey left the room, Declan pulled his hair out of the tie and ran some fingers through it. It was completely dry, probably from how hot it was outside. Despite what he said, he looked around her room and found an older picture of them. After recalling everything, he assumed it was taken about three months after they first met. Something that caught his eye was the look on his face. Comparing it to other pictures, he seemed more okay with the groups company now.

Fortunately for him, Zoey didn't take too long and he was pulled from his own deep thoughts.

"Oh..." Declan's eyes widened at what she had brought. He didn't expect her to do that at all. After she set them down, he gently took the plate into his hand and tasted it. Geez, it was so good...Zoey had to already be a master baker. Even though he had like three scoops of ice cream earlier, he could always accept more chocolate, especially hers. Declan closed his eyes and smiled sweetly at the taste, like a child.

After opening them again, he looked over to his right when sitting back down on the bed, spotting the nail polish. Declan picked it up and looked to Zoey with a sheepish smile. "How about you show me those amazing painting skills?" It was obvious he was trying his best to smile.

 

[starrysky]

Zoey's face beamed while watching her friend dig into the cake. She never thought she was that good at baking, but it was nice to see Declan enjoying it. Reaching over, she grabbed a strawberry wafer. It was crunchy, and the flavor of the strawberry creme layered between the wafer was strong. Hmm, I wonder what ingredients they used, maybe I can...

"Oh..!" She looked down at Declan's hands. "Sure!" Her voice filled with excitement, thinking of how he'd react to painted nails, and especially what Teague would say. How excited he would be finding out that his best friend has his nails done, just like him.

Gently, she grabbed the nail polish bottle out of Declan's hands and twisted the cap open as she got into a cross legged position to face him better. Zoey took his right hand and started painting with a careful, light grasp. His hands were soft and felt different than when it's intertwined with hers. Perhaps it's the sentimentality of being so close, or the blush on Zoey's face that got brighter with each passing minute. It was funny how something so simple as painting his nails could feel similar as something like a date..?! No.. Get it together Zoey.

 

[Atom]

Declan watched her intently while finishing his treat, he never had his nails painted before. Suddenly the conversation that happened minutes before was leaving his mind and he felt more at ease. Zoey seemed real focused on her work but he couldn't help take notice how red her face kept getting, though unsure why, it made him a bit worried.

To the right he saw the neighbourhood they just walked through outside her window. It felt like it went on forever from this view. The green trees and lowering sun was a view just short of heaven compared to the one he saw on occasion when his blinds were open.

"Oh—sorry! Sorry..." Panicked a bit that he had moved his hand after looking outside, his entire face flushed red. Not only from his slip up but this whole time he was actually really nervous over Zoeys hands so gently holding his. The worst part was that he had no idea why it was so flustering. Declans eyes darted in the opposite direction pretty quickly after her sweet scented closeness intoxicated him. Even though they had gone swimming earlier- where the scent of chlorine was all you could find, Zoey still smelled like the most sugary candy. It reminded him of her lip gloss earlier, making him lightly graze his tongue over his now softer lips.

This frustrated him greatly in two ways; One, he had no clue why he was suddenly going crazy and two, he couldn't bare to look at her in that moment.

 

[starrysky]

In order to avoid completely melting into Declan's fingertips, Zoey directed her thoughts on giving him the best manicure. The brush evenly swept over his short nails, producing a smooth, clean layer of nail polish. Her focus broke when Declan moved his hand, but her eyes meeting his reddened face was enough for an accepted apology.

"Hehe..Well, actually," Zoey grinned at her flustered friend, eyes wandering down to his neck.. Some black nail polish had smeared onto the side of his neck. While he was looking away, she leaned over, her mouth just a close distance away from his ear. "I should be the one who's sorry.." Her voice crept down to a whisper, and as swift she seemed, being this close to Declan to the point where she could feel heat radiating from his face made her feel just as nervous. A light hand reached up to the back of his neck as she started to pull away, and wiped the nail polish off with her finger. She could tell that Declan loved when she touched here, enjoying his silent reaction each time. Though, she wasn't sure why he seemed confused about it all.

"I never told you that you need to be careful with painted nails~ They need to dry first before you do anything." With a hidden, furious blush, Zoey continued from where she left off, making sure to fix the smudged nail.

Zoey had finally finished painting both hands, and she was quite proud of her work. It wasn't every day that she did such a good paint job, despite her anxious hands shaking throughout. "I'm done! I think it suits you." She exclaimed, giving her hands a stretch. "You should do my nails now!!"

 

[Atom]

"H-Huh?!" With Zoey this close he felt like his entire vision was spinning out of control. The breath from her words blew a soft air onto his hot skin.

He...he just wanted to...tell her to...no...! Keep it together...what is this?

Declans eyes darted back and forth from stealing glances at Zoey to staring elsewhere, she was really making a flustered mess out of him. Before he could brace himself, her hand smoothly swept over the side of his neck, this time earning an audible noise from it. A choked up, breathless gasp escaped him by accident, making Declan feel a thousand times more embarrassed than he had already been all day. It surprised him how sensitive he had become in such a short amount of time, almost feeling...teased.

While hoping Zoey didn't notice how hard and fast his heart was beating, he shakily pulled away his hands and looked at the job she had done. It calmed his nerves knowing she let go of them, giving him time to recuperate. Now that Declan really looked at it...he really did suit the black nail polish...maybe even better than Teague...

"Thanks..." Followed by a nervous laugh, Declan mustered a smile at her suggestion. "B-But I don't know a thing about how to paint nails..."

 

[starrysky]

Declan was so innocent and sweet, it never failed to make Zoey blush. The way his hands shook while being held by hers, it made her confused more than anything. "How come you don't just confess already!? I think you feel the same, but my head is spinning I'm not sure what to do." She thought to herself.

To teach him how to paint nails correctly, Zoey gave him the brush while she guided the hand that held it. "Hehehe no worries. I got you." She swept the brush over her index fingernail, though some had gotten onto her skin. "It's pretty simple. Just like that." With that, she let Declan continue the rest on his own, while also giving him a rest from making his heart race.

 

[Atom]

"O-Oh...." Declan took the brush from Zoey and held it despite the small shake in his grip. "Alright..."
Still feeling a bit hot to the face and neck, he carefully grabbed her hand and held it on top of his.

"Like this?" With a few slow swipes of the brush, he had painted one of her nails. The way he looked back up to her was wide eyed and unsure but continued to do his best anyway, concentrating hard on the task.

 

[starrysky]

After watching Declan, she held up her hand to take a good look.

"Hmm..! Better than me. Good job." Zoey smiled at him with her eyes closed, similar to a happy cat. Afterward, she rested her hand on her knee so he could continue painting her nails.

She loved seeing him so focused like this. The way pieces of his hair fell down in front of his face, how bright his eyes looked.. It was something not everyone was lucky enough to see. He seemed so..cute and innocent.

"I'm totally going to take a pic of our matching nails for my snap story later." A warm blush crept up to her cheeks, tinting them a light pink. Their blushing was matching too..

 

[Atom]

"Better than you?! No way..." His eyes darted around at the compliment before continuing again. Just before finishing both hands, Declan looked up at Zoey who's eyes were looking right back at his.

"U-Uh...h-hey!! I'm done!" He put the brush back into the bottle while trying to calm the raging blush on his cheeks.

Gosh...he'd never get used to such blue eyes finding something interesting in his dull brown ones...

"I-I think I did pretty...okay?" The stutter in his voice frustrated him slightly while he stared down at her small hands.

 

[starrysky]

"Woohoo!!" Zoey exlaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. "They look great for your first try."

She was starting to get tired, but it was too early to sleep. The cheap striped clock sitting on her dresser only read 8:30 P.M.. Curious eyes searched around the room looking for something they could do to pass the time.

Oh..!!

Zoey jumped out of the bed and walked towards her closet. "I have something to show you." With a tough pull of the closet doors, a large musical instrument case nearly toppled onto her. She lifted it up with her skinny long hands and dragged it over to Declan. "Phew."

While opening the case, Zoey was careful of not ruining her freshly painted nails. A warm brown cello just a bit shorter than her was laid inside, along with a long horsehair bow. She took out both, and sat beside Declan. Behind them, an orange toned sunset crept through the blinds. Late summer nights spent with Declan, with opened windows pouring in cool air, and streaks of light hitting their backs.. This was something to always remember.

"I play cello!! It kind of and reminds me of your guitar, don'tcha think?" She laughed, strumming the strings with her thumb. "I don't know many songs, but I have a cool Green Day one I can play for you!!"

 

[Atom]

Declan watched Zoey spring up and excitedly go to her closet with confusion in his gaze. When the case nearly fell on her, he jumped up a bit in reflex but awkwardly sat down after she caught it. At first he was a bit confused as to what instrument it was but when she opened it, Declan knew.

Staring in curiosity now, his eyes widened at the cello in good shape, comparing it to his old, beat up guitar. But the biggest thought going through his mind was 'holy shit Zoey plays cello?!?!?!?'

"Yeah..." Declan laughed a bit. "I can't believe you play cello...but..." His hand reached out toward Zoey, hesitantly, but gentle as ever and tucked her bangs behind an ear. "You need to see what you're doing before you show me how amazing you are..." The words came out on their own, surprising himself in the process, throwing his glance somewhere else immediately.

 

[starrysky]

Sitting up straight and getting her hands and bow into position, Zoey was just about ready to play. "Cello is really fun—" Declan's soft hand startled her, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Oh, t-thanks.." Her voice shook and her pink radiating cheeks spoke more than her words ever could. Touching her bangs wasn't something she'd let anyone do, but with Declan, she didn't mind.

"Um.. So here's my song!" Zoey smiled at him, eyes bright and filled with love.

The song only had consisted of playing the melody, so she'd already memorized the notes. Her playing was smooth, but the strings squeaked occasionally. Throughout performing, she focused her eyes on the fingerboard. Mostly to prevent herself completely melting in Declan's gaze.

"Tada!" Zoey cheered after the song came to a quiet end. "I'm still practicing so I'm not that good yet but.. I hope you liked it."