FicWad

Annabelle honked her car’s horn when she was in Axl’s driveway; normally he’d be standing out there waiting for her, but for some reason, he was still inside. She paused, contemplating whether she should go to the door and knock or just wait for him to come out on his own. She looked up when she heard the door open and slam shut again.

'That can't be good…' She thought to herself, watching as Axl stormed over to the passenger side of her car. As he got closer, she saw that he had a black eye, and she didn’t even have to guess how it got there.

Axl threw his bag in the backseat without opening the door, since Annabelle’s car was a convertible, and Axl tended to do that sort of thing. He got in the passenger side without a word, and Annabelle could feel how tense it was already becoming.

She pulled out of his driveway without saying anything, knowing it was better to not talk to him when these things happened. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to be as discreet as she could, knowing if he caught her, he wouldn’t be happy.

"What? Why do you keep staring at me?" Axl asked, seeing her looking over at him.

"I’m not, I’m watching the road, dude," she said, her grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly, her knuckles white.

"Don’t give me that bullshit, I know that you’re staring at me and I know why," he snapped.

"If you knew why, then why’d you ask?" She retorted, mentally kicking herself. Normally she wouldn’t argue with him, but lately she’d been growing tired of his ever-present antics.

"What?" He asked. He heard what she said, loud and clear; he just didn’t believe that she talked back to him like that.

"Why would you ask me why I’m looking at you if you already know?" She repeated, her voice faltering slightly.

"Just fucking forget it, alright? I didn’t need your bitchiness on top of my dad beating me up again." He spat, looking away.

"Axl, I’m sorry, I didn’t-" She tried to apologize, but he cut her off before she could.

"What did I say? I don’t remember asking you to keep talking, did I?" He said, his nails digging into the door’s handle slightly.

Annabelle bit the inside of her cheek slightly, trying to keep the tears from falling. She didn’t know why she was tearing up, but she didn’t want Axl to see; she didn’t want to make him feel worse than he already did.

The rest of the drive was spent in silence, and Annabelle pulled into the school’s parking lot with a sigh. She hated school, and the only person who got her through it was Axl; they always got into trouble together, but they had fun doing it. And being in a fight with Axl, she knew it would be a long day.

She found a parking spot and took her keys out of the ignition, moving to open the door when Axl stopped her.

"Annie, I’m sorry about how I’ve been acting lately, I don’t know what the fuck’s going on. I know I’ve been a prick lately, and I’m sorry…" He said, his voice trailing off.

Annabelle grinned slightly. He was the only one who called her Annie, and she loved it. She loved the way it sounded when he said it.

She looked him over, taking in his disheveled appearance; she’d only now saw his split lip and the bruises around his neck. Her lip trembled slightly, and she barely noticed herself tearing up again. She hated how she’d treated him earlier; it wasn’t fair to him to have to deal with his father and then have to leave his house and deal with her as well.

"No, if anyone should be apologizing, it’s me. I was a total bitch earlier, Axl, and I’m really, really sorry." She said, looking down at her hands which found rest in her lap; she couldn’t look him in the eyes. At least, not now.

Axl brought her into a hug, and she froze; that wasn’t like him. He wasn’t one to give hugs, especially not out in the open like they were. Despite that, she wrapped her arms around him, nestling her head into the slope of his neck. It was amazing how fast his moods shifted— one minute he was on edge and picking a fight, the next he was apologetic and remorseful.

She breathed in his scent; he smelled like cigarettes and cheap cologne. Her grip on him tightened, and she didn’t want to let go. He was never affectionate like he was being then, and she was determined to make it last as long as possible, if even only a few more seconds. His hands raked through her hair, and he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"We’d better go inside, if we’re late again, Mrs. Zimmerman’ll kill us," he said with a light laugh, and Annabelle nodded in agreement. He gave her one last squeeze before letting go, giving her a reassuring smile. She sniffled slightly, only now realizing that she started to cry more when he hugged her.

The two gathered their things and got out of the car, Annabelle locking her car before they walked into the school together.