David’s place, Post Band-Practice | Adam’s POV

  David sat across from me on the couch, his arms resting on his knees, waiting.

  He wasn’t rushing me, but the weight of what I’d been carrying all day pressed harder, demanding to be spoken.

  I rubbed my hands together, staring at the floor.

  “It… happened during lunch break.”

  David leaned back, listening.

  “There was this guy from school,” I said slowly, trying to find the right words. “He came up to me at my locker.”

  I paused, swallowing hard.

  David nodded, still calm, waiting for me to continue.

  “He confessed, said he liked me.” I laughed bitterly. “Like… right there in the hallway. I told him I wasn’t interested. Thought that’d be enough, you know?”

  ‘It wasn’t.’

  The words stuck in my throat, but I forced them out.

  “Before I could walk away, he… hugged me. Not just a pat-on-the-back kind of hug… like, full-on arms around me, squeezing. I couldn’t get out of it.”

  My chest tightened just thinking about it.

  “It felt wrong. Like… really wrong. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. All I could think about was getting the fuck away from him.”

  I clenched my jaw.

  “So I pushed him off and ran. Found some stairwell where no one could see me and tried to breathe. But it didn’t stop there.”

  David didn’t interrupt, but I could see it: the same protective instinct that always kicked in when things got serious.

  “It was like I was back there again,”

  I muttered, my voice dropping.

  “Back with her. That same… trapped feeling. That same helpless shit.”

  My hands curled into fists on my lap.

  “And I hated it, man.”

  My voice cracked again.

  “I can’t believe that a fucking hug could fuck me up so bad…”

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  The room felt too quiet for a second. I glanced up at David, expecting him to say something, maybe to judge me for it.

  He didn’t.

  Instead, his voice was steady.

  “You did the right thing. Getting out of there… that’s not weakness. That’s survival.”

  I almost scoffed. “Didn’t feel like survival. Felt like I was running from a ghost.”

  David leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

  “You weren’t running from a ghost, Adam. You were running from something real. You felt it. You reacted. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  I rubbed the back of my neck, my pulse still unsteady.

  “I thought I’d get over it by the time we started playing, but… it just stuck with me. Kept messing with my head. I didn’t know how to shake it.”

  David nodded again, his eyes serious. “I could tell something was up. But I wanted to give you space.”

  I sort of chuckled, more at myself than anything.

  “Yeah… sorry… for losing it... I didn’t mean for you and Nickie to see me like that.”

  David shook his head. “Stop apologizing. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. You were dealing with something damn heavy.”

  I exhaled slowly, not meeting his eyes.

  “You think… I scared her?” I said weakly.

  David crossed his arms, tilting his head thoughtfully.

  “Scare Nickie? Nah, I don’t think so.” He paused, then added with a smirk, “Confuse her? Probably. But scare her off? Not a chance.”

  I glanced at him, unconvinced.

  “You sure about that? She’s only known me for, what, a month? This isn’t exactly first-impression material.”

  David leaned against the counter.

  “Look, man, Nickie’s not exactly fragile. You’ve seen how she handles herself. Life’s probably thrown her a few curveballs too. If anything, she’s curious. She wants to understand what’s going on, not bolt the first time things get rough.”

  I stayed quiet, running his words through my head.

  Curious… It wasn’t what I expected to hear.

  David softened his voice.

  “If she had a problem with you, she wouldn’t be sticking around, much less texting you ten minutes after leaving practice. She’s not playing games, Adam. She’s here because she wants to be.”

  The thought gave me a strange sense of relief I didn’t know I needed. “Yeah… I guess so.”

  David smiled gently, patting my shoulder.

  “Trust me, little bro. If Nickie’s the type to get scared off, she wouldn’t be hanging out with us in the first place.”

  I huffed a weak laugh, and for the first time all day, the knot in my chest started to loosen.

  ‘Maybe David’s right. Nickie’s tough. She won’t get scared off so fast.’

  “Well, you can either sit here sulking, or you can let me make you a sandwich while you pretend not to like it.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “What kind of sandwich?”

  “The good kind.” David nudged me toward the kitchen.

  “Now move. You look like you’re about to pass out, and I’m not hauling your ass to bed again.”