Austin's POV

There was something obviously upsetting her. Raelyn froze, for barely a second, when the group of boys rounded the turn. My first rational thought was that the boys were scared her for a moment, that she wasn't expecting a herd of hormone-driven beasts charging around.

I could read this pack of boys like a book. They were excited and giddy over something. The way they were bouncing around, the expression on their faces, it said it all. Or maybe this was my mind just overly exaggerating things. Either way, it seemed to halt Rae for a moment.

I took the second to look down at her. The late morning light illuminated each strand of blonde hair that framed her face. My heart must've skipped a beat, and that wasn't good for my health! As the teens passed by Rae, I could hear each rude remark with sharp clarity. It was my turn to take deep breaths and calm down. I flexed my hands into and out of fists a few times before taking the lead and passing them.

There was one boy, blacked haired in the middle of his gang that Rae's eye caught and then broke. I didn't want her habit coming back, the one where she would dig her nails into her skin.

Even passing them, I could still hear their remarks that weren't as quiet as they hoped to be. One struck me deep and I could see that Rae didn't ignore it either.

"I bet they slept together last night." His voiced died off as we passed the bend. If Rae felt like she had the habit coming on, she would tell me, but I wouldn't try to invade in her thoughts.

It took only a few steps before she spoke up. Her beautiful, tiny voice barely broke above a whisper. Staring at her for a moment, I caught her breathtakingly stunning blue eyes filled with pure misery. I loved her to death, and I never wanted to see this look on her face again.

Pulling her into my chest, I could feel her collapse in there. The sobs were absorbed by my black jacket. After letting her go, I she broke down, telling me the story behind the boy, James, and what happened between them.

"No one should ever treat you like that. You're beautiful, sweet, and intelligent. Don't listen to him." I attempted to soothe her. The fight, the anxiety, the pain seemed to visibly ebb out of her after that. For a long minute, she caught my gaze and held it steadily, only breaking to wipe her face. No matter how red it got, she was still gorgeous in my eyes, and nothing could change that.

I bent down slowly and she reached up to meet me. The kiss was not angst filled, long and romantic, or uncomfortably intimate. It said, 'i'm here, it'll all be good, and I never want to let you go.' Rae's lips were warm and soft. The touch of peppermint lingered on her skin. I breathed it in, filling my veins with her being. When we finally broke, all I could see was her. The sound of the birds singing to us in the distance was simple, white noise. There never was anything that caused her pain, and she looked like it was all down the road-which it had seemed to walk that way.

From her letters, I had begun to act as the big brother for her. Now I was falling in love, slowly but hard. From her tussled blonde hair after waking up in my arms, to her deep love for her little sister, she was perfect all around, no matter how she might protest that. I couldn't help but crash head first into love with her.

And from the look in her eyes, she felt the same way.

Notes

AUSTLYN!!!!
Sorry for basically a repeat of the old chapter, but I needed a change in POV from Rae's to Austin's.
Rate/Comment/Subscribe