| coconut and macadamia

Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey.

-Lord Byron-

_________________________

- L I L A -

Perspiration gathered at my temples, my hair swaying in its high ponytail as Matthew placed the weights down at his feet. Unbeknownst to him, I was practically salivating at how appealing he looked.

His leg muscles tensed, and his biceps strained against his tight, black shirt. Over the last three weeks, Matthew's arm had healed nicely, the only reminders of the accident being the scars he received.

His dark hair - recently cut - stuck to his forehead, and he drunk from his water bottle, his Adam's Apple bobbing. I caught myself admiring him.

Taking the friendship thing seriously, I backed away from Matthew and tried to keep the kissing to a minimum. He was recovering from the accident well, which was more than I could say for Greg.

He truly was suffering the most since Yasmine had cut him off completely, and Matthew stopped speaking to him. All of his friends, somehow, acted indifferent to him since the blame was on him due to the fact that he was the one behind the wheel.

Katherine and Angus decided to sue for the heightened medical expenses, and the cost Matthew had to pay; losing his sight completely. Unlike everybody else, I checked in on Greg from time to time, and he wasn't coping with his community service.

"Lila?" Matthew spoke into thin air, his grey eyes searching for me in the room.

"Yeah," I had no problem refocusing on him, my fingers itching to push through his hair.

"I asked if you wanted to go," he continued, pulling his white cane to its normal length. "I'm done with the weights; are you done with yours?"

Nodding silently, I stepped towards him and brought him into a hug he didn't expect. He laughed, wrapping his arms around me before pulling back. I rubbed my arm, and stared up at him with starry eyes. "I'm sorry, I just really wanted to hug you."

"Hey," Matthew grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth. "I'm not going to object to your hugs."

Wiping away a stray strand of hair, I smiled softly and paused to gather my phone and earphones. Matthew had his white cane with him, the end knocking into my foot once I took a miscalculated step to the right.

Silence roamed between us, and I halted when I noticed Matthew's bag in the corner of the room. He followed in my pursuit and stopped walking once I retreated further into the room to retrieve his bag.

Reaching for it, my cheeks flamed a fervent red when a box of condoms fell to the ground, a squeak pulling through my lips. I shoved it back in the bag, handing the bag back to Matthew.

"Why are your hands shaking?" he questioned, taking the strap and placing his bag on his back. His face paled as he felt the open zip, his lips parting.

"My dad made me get them," he bit harshly into his lip, his cheeks matching mine. "God, this is embarrassing."

Nervously laughing, I felt so grateful that he couldn't see my cheeks. If anything, that just made me want him more, and he couldn't see that. "Better to be prepared than not," I chuckled, avoiding his gaze.

He nodded soberly, scratching his nose. "It's not like I have anyone to sleep with, but dads will be dads."

You have me. My subconscious thought, further hurling me into embarrassment. I didn't voice my thoughts, mildly surprised when Matthew stopped and began staring at me with attentive eyes.

"You dated Carter before me, right?"

Thinking back to Carter, - who Yasmine had had a brief fling with - I confirmed it with a short hum. He had been my first on my 17th birthday, but we had broke up due to us both falling out of love with each other.

"For a year, we broke up a couple of weeks before I met you."

He acknowledged my response with a nod, smiling almost nostalgically. "That was probably one of my most memorable days."

I agreed, stepping up on my toes to kiss his cheek. I couldn't stop being so affectionate to him because when he wasn't showing any affection, I craved it more.

As his hand brushed mine, he took hold of it, linking our fingers slowly. "Am I out of the friend zone?"

I stared up at him, exhaling softly. "I don't know."

He manoeuvred his cane to his side, trapping it with his arm before he ducked his head to below my ear. I stood frozen in place as he placed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. "Well, I'm not going to kiss you until I am."

Feeling my knees slightly buckle, he wrapped a strong arm around my waist, keeping his lips stationary. His forehead resting against mine and I instinctively draped my arms on his shoulders.

"Say it, Lila."

Closing my eyes, I inhaled a strong intake of breath. "I love you."

With that, he positioned his lips squarely on top of mine, spreading a strong shiver down my spine. Briefly opening my eyes, I backed up against the wall, feeling his body cage me in.

His lips pressed to mine with a searing intensity, the planes of his toned stomach pressing against mine. I felt him take dominance of the kiss.

Breathily sighing against his lips, Matthew tightened his grip on me and pulled me flush against his body. This was most definitely a kiss way different to our previous ones.

My lips were no doubt slightly swollen from the pressure Matthew put down.

I leaned my head against the wall, clutching at the hair at the nape of his neck. Of course, all good things must come to an end, and the ringing of my phone did exactly that.

Well, at least I thought it did.

"Ignore it," he murmured. "Or I'll make you forget all about it."

Oh god.

"It-might-be-someone-important." I breathed in-between the kiss, feeling his mouth unfortunately wander from mine.

"The only thing that matters right now is you and me, okay?" he muttered hotly. "I love you too."

My phone, however, was persistent, ringing to no end. Matthew pulled back slightly and pecked my lips. "Answer it—but you owe me a proper kiss."

Picking up my phone, I was more than shocked to hear Yasmine's laboured breathing, soft sobs falling from her lips. "Lila. Lila, thank God. It's Greg." She rambled, making it hard for me to understand her completely.

"Yas, slow down. Start from the beginning."

"Greg's not answering my calls, and I-I think he's going to hurt himself."

Upon hearing what she said, Matthew leaned back, his eyebrows drawing in with confusion. "How do you know this?"

Putting her on speaker phone, I gently pushed myself off the wall, grabbing onto Matthew's hand as we hurriedly walked to the car. "H-he left me a note, apologising for cheating on me, and he said 'please don't forget me'."

"Where are you now?" I questioned, entering the car and waiting for Matthew to follow my lead.

"I'm in front of his house, it's so silent." She let out a trembling whimper. "Lila, I don't want him to die."

"We'll be right there, Yasmine. Try getting in."

---

Yasmine huffed tiredly, trepidation rolling off her in waves. She shrugged her jacket off, throwing her body against the door as I searched under the flower pots.

My eyes zeroed in on the welcome mat, and I stepped behind Yasmine, holding onto her shoulder as I slid my hand under the mat, feeling the coldness of the metal key.

"I got it," I exclaimed, feeling relieved. "I got the key."

The second the door opened, Yasmine raced towards the stairs, bounding up them with a sense of urgency I only ever saw when her siblings were close to finishing the last food in the refrigerator.

I followed her without thought, watching her fling the bathroom door open and gasp at Greg's shaking figure on the bathroom floor. She slid to her knees, wrapping her arms around him, and tossing the closed bottle of pills he held in his hands.

"I couldn't do it," he whimpered, sounding like nothing but a frail, broken child. "I couldn't do it."

Yasmine sobbed against his shoulder, tightly squeezing him and holding onto his hand for dear life. "Never do that to me, Greg." She surprised the both of us when she pressed a strong kiss to his mouth, burying her face in his neck. "I don't want you to die."

Matthew slowly came up from behind me, listening into the conversation with a deep frown. Greg noticed his presence and quickly turned to Yasmine.

"I'm sorry," he murmured dejectedly, running his hand through her curly hair and glancing up at Matthew briefly. "I'm sorry for everything."

Yasmine curled up in his lap, her body softly shaking in his arms. "I'm not letting you go."

They then remained silent, holding the other in their arms. I felt like an intruder, watching their intimate moment and began to back away slowly, bumping into Matthew.

He squeezed my hand in his, massaging it with delicacy.

After a long while of sitting on the bathroom floor, Yasmine gently hauled Greg up, being his shoulder to lean on when she walked him to his room, looking at me with gratitude.

"Thank you," she mouthed, helping him into bed before offering to retrieve a glass of water for him to drink.

Smiling in return, I sat at the edge of Greg's bed, placing a hand on his leg. "What was our agreement, Greg?"

His gaze slowly lifted to mine, and his shoulders sagged, a frown gliding its way onto his face. "That I should always talk to you."

Over the weeks that I never visited Matthew, Greg and I became closer since our situations were vaguely similar. I knew Greg wasn't in the right mindset, and tried to help him.

I guess I didn't do a good job.

"Talk to me," I uttered, squeezing his leg softly.

His lips parted, but he shut his mouth when Yasmine entered his room with a glass of water. He silently took it from her, taking a few sips before placing it on the floor.

"You guys should probably leave before my parents come home," he muttered quietly, wringing his fingers solemnly.

Yasmine shook her head, climbing across him and slinging her legs over his lap. Resting her head on his shoulder, she frowned. "I'm not leaving you," she mumbled seriously. "I don't care what your parents think about you."

Glancing up at me, I acknowledged her pleading look, carrying across the unspoken message that she wanted to be alone with Greg.

Standing up from the bed, I turned back to Matthew, and rendered him with a delicate kiss to his lips. He grinned slowly, reaching for my hand.

Seeing his hand in empty space, I helped him out, intertwining our fingers. He lingered close to me, smiling against the corner of my lips. It felt so good being this close to him, and as he began to speak, I couldn't help but mirror his grin.

"Let me take you on a date."