A Kiss To Change It All (Part 32) - Montgomery de la Cruz
Pairing: Montgomery x Reader; Jeff x Best Friend! Reader
Warning: Mention of injuries, underage drinking, some solid dose of fluff because it was about freaking time.
Word count: 2.2k
You didn’t sleep well. To be quite honest, you didn’t sleep at all despite being tired and you almost threw your phone across the room when the alarm went off as you flipped on your back for what seemed like the billionth time in a few hours, kicking away the sheets as you suddenly felt annoyed by the white fabric covering you. Kimberly’s words kept repeating in your head no matter how hard you tried to think about something else and when you closed your eyes, it got worse as you visualized her sad smile and the way she looked at you as if she was envying you. Groaning, you dragged yourself out of bed and managed to get ready before Jeff showed up. The ride was silent until your best friend dared to ask you if you were going to do anything about what Kimberly said. A long sigh escaped your lips before you spoke. “What do you want me to do? He won’t listen to me.”
“(Y/N)…”
“Jeff, please. I humiliated myself in front of his whole squad, I’m not doing this again.” The conversation went dead after this. Jeff couldn’t push you to do anything against your will and he was certainly not going to do anything by himself because this would piss you off even more. You apologized for being rude after just a second. “I know you want what’s best for me but for now, but for now I just want to stop thinking about him.”
That’s what you did despite your whole morning classes being a total nightmare. Not a question teachers asked you were able to answer and when you weren’t asked anything, you found yourself dozing off until the bell rang. Everyone noticed your behavior, Montgomery included. You felt dizzy and sick as you walked out of your last morning class after everyone left not wanting to drag the attention back on you after you managed to stop being the main subject of the weird looks and whispers, only today you had the unfortunate idea of both skipping breakfasts and not taking your pills so you were dealing with the consequences. You took small steps and leaned against the wall as you made your way to the cafeteria but the floor felt suddenly soft under your feet as if you were walking on a soft mattress. The sense of nausea you were ignoring for hours crept from your abdomen making your dizziness worse until you lost your balance even when you stopped walking. You anticipated the moment your head would hit the floor but it didn’t. “I got you, (Y/N/N). I got you.” The exhaustion and sickness didn’t allow you to push Montgomery away. You didn’t want to anyway. He led you to the nearest classroom and made you sit as he knelt before you, concern and worry filling his eyes.
“Don’t ask if I’m okay, I’m not and it’s obvious.” You mumbled and made him chuckle. His warm hand found its way to your pale cheek, brushing away some loose strands falling in front of your eyes.
“I wasn’t.” Then it was silence for long minutes. A comfortable silence during which you stared at each other, his hand still resting on your cheek spreading warmth through your cold body. It made you feel better without him even trying. “I should probably get Jeff here.” Montgomery blurted out as he got on his feet and started walking away, breaking the comfort that settled between you for once after such a long time.
You frowned and quickly got a hold of his hand before he was out of reach, gripping it as tightly as you could and pulling him backward. “No need to worry him, I’ll be fine just give me a minute.” Grabbing a chair with his free hand, he sat facing you, rubbing mindlessly the back of your hand with his thumb.
“Listen, I…” You said at the same time. “You go first… No, you do…" The synchronization of your words made the two of you laugh uncontrollably.
Silence fell again between you after a minute. You opened your mouth to speak but you were harshly cut off by Kevin Porter who showed up always right in time. "Hey lovebirds, out!” He stood by the opened door until you were both out, Montgomery carefully holding you close to him. “You okay miss (Y/L/N)?”
“She isn’t feeling well.”
Porter frowned and approached you, resting a hand on your shoulder. “Do you need me to call your parents?”
“No need for this. I just need to eat something and I’ll be alright. Thank you.”
With a forced smile, you started walking away, stumbling a little bit before Montgomery held out his arm for you to lean against which you gladly accepted. He was careful not to walk too fast, kept glancing at you until you reached the crowded room. From the far back of it, Justin saw you entering the cafeteria and mentioned it to Jeff who jumped from his seat and rushed towards you. “Sweetheart, what happened?” You just sighed, gripping tightly Monty’s arm so he didn’t say anything.
“She wasn’t feeling well.” You dipped your fingernails deep in his forearm earning a low groan from the jock before he spoke again. “Now she is fine. Right?” He shot you a shy smile before freeing himself from your hold and leaving you with your best friend.
“I’m fine, Jeff. I haven’t eaten this morning.” Jeff didn’t leave you until you had finished the sandwich he brought you. He was worried about you having to head back home on your own after class since he had to stay to practice for tonight’s game. The boys had to beg coach Rick to let him play and when he saw how much your best friend improved since he got back, the coach didn’t have much choice than to let him play. “I’ll text you when I’m home, don’t worry about me, Jeffereykins.” Which you did right before you stepped in the shower, washing the sickness and exhaustion from your body. The hot water helped you relax enough so you drifted to sleep, a much-deserved nap before you headed back to Liberty.
There was a decent crowd forming when you arrived by the field by which the cheerleaders were rehearsing. You glared at Sheri when your eyes met as you walked past them to get yourself a seat. Clay showed up right before the game started, headphones resting around his neck. He seemed nervous as he bounced his leg up and down, eyeing the students surrounding you both. “Are you okay?” You asked.
He gave you a small smile and nodded. “Yeah… Hum… Do you know where Tony is?”
“Haven’t seen him in a few days.” Your interaction went dead after this as he looked away, still searching for Tony.
The game started with a warm row of applause and dance from the cheerleaders to Jeff. You loudly cheered for him and you were the first one to congratulate him after Liberty won. “Did this for you, sweetheart.”
“And I am so proud of you.” You were cut off by the boys who wanted to celebrate with their teammates. You just stepped back and watched your best friend laughing with his friends. “What the…” You mumbled as you felt someone drag you away from the crowd. “You are determined to give me a heart attack someday, Cruz!”
“Sorry.” He smirked. “How do you feel?”
“Much better.” You paused. “Thanks for this morning… even though you sold me right away to Jeff!” You pushed him playfully. “Snitch.” Before he could speak, Bryce and some other jocks showed up, bringing you a feeling of discomfort right away. You excused yourself and quickly made your way to where your best friend was.
“So you and Monty…” Jeff climbed next to you in bed, observing how your cheeks went from normal to bright red in a matter of seconds. There was no celebration tonight, everyone was too exhausted or had plans to do anything so after the boys were done, you headed home with your best friend. Your father instructed that Jeff should stay with you as he is gone on a business trip for the weekend. “Have you talked?” You shook your head and dropped it on the pillow, sighing heavily.
No matter when you found yourself alone with him, there was always someone to interrupt you before you could go any further in your conversation. You were starting to think that whatever you had to say to each other wasn’t meant to be said. “Have you set your alarm for tomorrow?” Jeff has an important medical appointment the next morning so after he checked his phone one last time, you both went to sleep. After you dropped him by his place, you drove back to your house and to your surprise, Scott, one of Montgomery’s friends, was sitting by the front porch. “Scott, hi…”
“I need your help, (Y/N)” You shot him a concerned look so he spoke again. “Monty is in trouble. You’re only one he will listen to.”
Scott gave you directions to where Montgomery spent the night. A remote place outside of town. You had never been there nor he had told you about it. There was nothing but broken walls, some tags, and empty bottles and cans on the ground as you walked and made your way deeper in the place. You spotted him seated on the ground, holding a beer with both hands. According to Scott, he spent the night drinking so you weren’t surprised to see him completely wasted. You got closer to him, that was when you noticed his bruised and bloody face. The moment he noticed you, he stumbled to stand up, catching his balance on the tagged wall behind him “(Y/N/N)…”
“Hey.” You gave him a smile as you stepped closer to him, resting your hands on his sides to prevent him from falling. He looked down at your hands, surprised by your gesture. He was way too drunk to get anything that made sense out of his mouth even when he tried to. “Let’s get you home.”
“No…” Montgomery groaned and pushed away your hands, crashing on the wall behind as he lost the support you were giving him. “Dad… He…” You could have guessed sooner that his father was behind his beat-up face. The way his face turned into a terrified expression, you understood that this time was worse than the previous ones.
“I meant my home, Monty.” He shook his head and tried to walk away but almost fell on the ground when he tripped on his backpack. This time it was your turn to catch him before he hit the ground even though your strength almost gave up on you since he was way heavier than you were. “You don’t want me worried about you, uh?” You got worried though. A lot more than you ever did when you had finally managed to convince him to go home with you and got him to take a shower. You helped him take off his clothes regardless of how hard he tried to do it himself. The horror went up a few notches when you saw the large bruise covering his right side and when you made him stand under the hot water, you saw a few more on his back and shoulders. He never had injuries like those before. At least not while you were together. The shower didn’t do anything regarding the amount of alcohol he had in his system so once out of the bathroom, you made him lay on your bed and hoped that a solid hour or so of sleep would make its effects.
“Fuck…” Montgomery couldn’t remember anything of what happened between the moment he started drinking to the moment he opened his eyes in your bedroom. At first, he thought he was dreaming but the sharp pain that shot from his side confirmed that he wasn’t. You were nowhere to be seen. He managed to get up, gripping his side with one hand and the towel hanging on his hips with the other as he walked out of your room and down the stairs.
“Jesus, you weren’t supposed to get out of bed.” You dropped whatever you had in your hands and rushed to help him sit on the nearest chair. “Dumb question but how do you feel?”
“Like shit."
You sat a glass of water and some painkillers in front of him which he downed in a second. You waited for a moment before you got closer to him, resting your hands on both sides of his face, as you learned to press a warm kiss on his forehead. ”I’m here for you, Monty. I’ll always be.“ He let go of his injured side and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you as close to him as he could. He had told you many times before that you were the angel in his life and despite him being surrounded by a lot of friends, you were the only one who truly cared about his well-being. You made him feel loved and wanted, that was something he never found in anybody else. Maybe the reason why he could never move on and always found himself dragged wherever you were.
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