Requested: you dont have to do this but its lgbt so i hope you do. hcs of Oscar (Delancey ofc) slowly getting a crush on a guy but he has internalized homophobia??? i hope that makes sense ♡

Warnings: internalized homophobia, homophobia, mentions of bullying and fighting

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• You were new to being a newsie
• Your parents kicking you out the second they’d found out you were gay
• When you showed up to the circulation the next day Oscar’s breath seemed to catch in his throat
• He always tried ignoring this feeling but something about you made those feeling stay on his mind all day
• It didn’t take long for everyone to realize Oscar was treating you a whole lot nicer than everyone else
• As soon as it was brought to his attention he seemed to completely change
• You turned into the most picked on newsie of the entire lodging house
• It hadn’t been until a week later that you found out why
• Walking back from a long day of selling you found yourself pinned up against the wall in the alley
• You weren’t surprised to see it was Oscar but your heart started to beat out of your chest nonetheless
• You’d never been this close before and you were sure Oscar was finally going to lay a hand on you
• The entire alley was silent
• Nothing but the sound of people walking by filling your ears
• Oscar didn’t say anything 
• Only staring at you with a look of confusion on his face before his lips met yours
• Your eyes almost popped out of your head
• But something about the passion that had been put into the kiss made you melt and kiss back
• The second you started to run your fingers through Oscar’s hair he pulled away quickly
• He gave a small smile before leaving you there
• This had continued on for weeks
• It confused you at first
  
• Until you realized Oscar was trying to hide who he was
• You couldn’t blame him
• All the times you were pinned up against a wall with both of you speaking quietly to one another made up for it
• A few times you almost forgot about your relationship with each other
• Forgetting that you understood why Oscar would always pick on you along with the other boys
• But one day it seemed to be different
• It seemed as though something pushed Oscar over the edge
• Fighting out in the open leaving you with a good shiner for weeks
• He tried making up for it the night you walked back to the lodging house
• Explaining his father’s suspicions of his late night adventures
• You hadn’t accepted it
• Wanting him to figure out what he truly wanted before ever coming near you again
• To everyone’s surprise a few weeks later Oscar visited the lodging house
• It seemed he figured out what he had wanted
• Kissing you in front of everybody
• Willing to be a newsie just to get you to believe him
• But you were too keen on having surprise visits in your favorite alley to ever allow Oscar to become a newsie

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@mathletemadison@the-moon-looks-old-and-gray@theatrequeer@snakeyboimusical@mariah-vg@briefexpertgladiator@neko-kaiyo

Easy | O. Diaz

Pairing: Oscar x Flores!Reader

Timeframe: Season One

Summary: After finding out about the claim Oscar put on her, Y/n sets out to spite him.

masterlist

A/N: Ok, now I’m gonna start alternating the order I post my imagines in so it’s not just back to back Spooky fics hehe x

I left a little over 4 years ago when I went to college, thinking my block would never be the same, but now that I was back I quickly discerned that Freeridge did not change. At all.

Same houses. Same cars. While the kids playing on the streets were a little older, they all looked the same to me.

As I approached Spooky’s house, I realised it was just how I remembered. Three Santos sat at the doorstep with bottles held loosely in their hand, scanning the streets and commenting on what they saw.

“Hey, hey, look!” One called out, nudging the Santo next to him to look my way. “That’s the hyna we been talking about.”

The Santo met my gaze and grinned eerily as he looked me up and down. I furrowed my brows and glared at him, but he remained unfazed. Still, I continued walking along the pavement.

“Flores,” the other one sang like my surname was a melody.

I told myself to ignore them. Freeridge was my home too, and I was not going to let three men in cargo shorts ruin my otherwise happy return. I was doing so well too until the third one opened his damn mouth.

“Isn’t her little sister that weird girl with asthma?”

I stopped in my tracks, fuming, before turning towards Spooky’s house and marching towards the third Santos, who was still snickering. I could tolerate being talked about, but I did not play when it came to Jasmine.

“Aren’t you the one who cried like a little bitch when I kicked him in the balls?”

The other two laughed because they were there when it happened. Spooky hosted a party to celebrate our high school cohort graduating, and I kicked one of my classmates in the groin after I caught him trying to slip something into another girl’s drink while she was not looking.

Not that same classmate was rising to his feet and walking towards me with a deathly glare.

“I’d like to see you try and do that now, puta.”

I suppose his point was that he was no longer the scrawny little high schooler he was when I humiliated him. However, I could see through his little act. They were all the same to me. Same fragile ego. Same macho hyper-masculine pride.

“Trust me,” I hissed. “If you had any balls left, I would.”

The other two laughed again, and I stood and waited for the third to throw a fit or try and scare me into walking away. Instead, he just smirked, as if he knew something I did not.

“Ayo, Spooky!” He called out, glancing back at the house. “Your girl’s sure got a mouth on her.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What?”

I had no recollection of having anything more than a casual friendship with Oscar Diaz, mostly because that was all it ever was between us. I wondered if he told his gangmates something I did not know and felt my heartbeat quicken.

“Claimed you last week,” the Santos explained, smirking at my reaction like it was just what he wanted. My frustration grew tenfold. He looked me up and down again before snickering. “Not that anyone else wanted to.”

His words would have stung if I gave two shits about his opinion of me. I wanted to make a snide remark about how a guy with a receding hairline had no right to be picky, but my opportunity to make a comeback was interrupted.

“Y/n.” I looked over Santo’s shoulder and saw Spooky coming out to greet me. The other three took their seats on the doorstep, sipped their coronas and enjoyed the show. “Nice to see you again.”

“Wish I could say the same for you,” I glared.

“C'mon,” Spooky laughed as he walked closer to me, even as I continued to scowl. “Don’t be like that.”

There it was. The same Spooky I knew and tolerated who never took my anger seriously. In high school, when I got angry with him for taking so long to do his portion of our group project, he thought he could make it up to me by bringing me homemade tamales.

Granted, I did eat the tamales because I knew how good of a cook he was, but that was beside the point. He could not just charm his way out of everything, and if no one had taught him that yet, I was more than willing to do so myself.

“Did you claim me?” I asked angrily.

“And what if I did?”

He continued to smirk, which made me even madder. The three Santos behind them chuckled, and I found myself flustered. They found my anger amusing and Oscar’s annoying charm admirable.

“Well… then you need to disclaim me,” I demanded.

“Or what?”

He inched closer to me and raised his brows as he posed his questions. I knew he teasing me. Trying to get a rise out of me. And perhaps, given that I was no longer a high school teenager, it would have been appropriate to respond maturely. To walk away and be the bigger person.

However, part of me felt like I was being challenged. Like he was asking me if I had enough nerve to go up against the Santo’s newly risen leader. He should have known better than to underestimate my wrath.

I glanced over Spooky’s shoulder and noticed his toolkit laid out. He was still fixing up the car he bought in high school- the one he loved so dearly. Quickly, I turned back to Spooky and grinned sarcastically.

He was startled by my fake enthusiasm. So startled that he did not have enough time to stop me from bolting towards his toolbox and grabbing the biggest nail I could see. By the time I got to his car, I looked back and saw him standing dumbfounded.

His shock morphed into horror as he witnessed me dragged the nail along the side of his car, scratching the red paint. I contemplated leaving at that until I remembered the three pendejos still sitting on his doorstep, and so I did the mature thing; I punctured one of the back tires and tossed the nail on the ground before making my way home.

If it was not clear to him when we were in high school, I knew it was clear to him now; I was not to be fucked with.

***

It was my first Saturday back in Freeridge, and my tia gave me her express permission to go out and have fun. If I had known all my old friends were going to a kickback at Spooky’s house, I would have never agreed to them picking me up on their way there.

I was several drinks in when I stumbled my way over to Sad Eyes who sat alone on one of the sofas. He was the most tolerable Santo, in my opinion, and therefore the best person to talk to about the claim Spook put on me.

“It doesn’t mean he wants you like that,” Sad Eyes explained. “It just means no one else can make a move on you.”

I hated that so much. Though I had no prior plans on doing anything with any Santo other than Spooky, I hated that he had gone ahead and taken that choice away for me.

I wanted to retaliate.

“Not even you?” I asked Sad Eyes.

“Y/n, I’m flattered. But I don’t like you like tha-”

“Oh my god, stop,” I rolled my eyes and shuffled closer until our knees touched. “I just want to get back at him a little bit.”

“Wrecking his car wasn’t enough?”

I laughed aloud, even though I did not find Sad Eye’s retort all that humorous. Just as I finished, I placed my hand on his chest and gazed into his eyes with as much affection as I could fake. He finally caught on to what I was doing.

“You don’t know what you’re doing, Y/n,“ Sad Eyes warned.

"If you know what’s good for you,” I threatened while still smiling at him. “You’ll be quiet and enjoy this while it lasts.”

A brief glance over Sad Eye’s shoulder confirmed that my plot for rebellion was working. It was a good thing too, considering I had no plans of stopping any time soon. At least not until the night got interesting.

“Whatever it is you two got going on,” Sad Eyes groaned. “It’s annoying as hell.”

“There’s nothing going on, that’s my whole point,” I argued.

Sad Eyes must have been studying me closely as I glanced over to Spooky again because when I looked back at him, his hand was reaching for my face.

“Your cheeks say something else,” he commented.

I reached for my face defensively. Had I been blushing? Or was Sad Eyes just trying to psych me out so I could leave him alone? There was little time to figure that out before a shadow loomed over the two of us where we sat.

“Compa,” Spooky nodded. “You good?”

I turned to Sad Eyes who sat up straight.

“Yeah,” he answered sheepishly.

“Why you talking to Y/n, then?”

I rolled my eyes. Something about two idiots talking about me like I was not even there made my blood boil. I turned to Oscar and snapped before Sad Eyes could come up with a half-hearted excuse.

“How is that any of your business, Spooky?” I scowled.

“Just never knew you two were so close,” he shrugged.

I rose to comment on how it was still none of his business. Regardless of where I stood with Sad Eyes, I did not need to report to him about the men I conversed with. Claim or no claim. However, before I could even begin reprimanding Spooky, Sad Eyes shuffled away and headed to the house.

“Man, I don’t need this shit,” he grumbled.

“You know what? Me neither,” I scoffed.

While Sad Eyes raced for the door, I started walking towards the fence. Oscar followed me out as I headed towards the pavement with every intention of calling it a night and going home.

“Y/n,” he called out.

“God, just leave me alone!“

“It’s late, Y/n,” Spooky warned. “You can’t just walk home alone.”

We were a few houses down the road when I turned and groaned at the sight of Spooky still following after me. Was it not enough that he ruined my return and my Saturday night? Did he really have to annoy me all the way to my front door?

“I can’t believe you,” I scoffed. “We haven’t talked since high school but the minute you hear I’m moving back you put a claim on me like I’m a fucking house on the market.”

I shoved him as hard as I could, but the booze in my system weakened my arms. Oscar barely stumbled back and when he continued to move closer to me, my frustration with him only grew.

"Like… who the fuck do you think you are? My handler?”

“Just come back to where everyone else is,” he spoke calmly.

In hindsight, I knew he was just trying to lead me back to where I would be safer off, but tipsy-me took his attempt at staying rational as him patronising me- treating me like one of his little homies or the little hynas who look to him as a leader.

“I get that you’re used to running these streets, Spooky,” I droned. “But you can’t tell me what to do.”

Spooky chuckled, and so I decided I was not yet done with him.

“And you know what? If you wanted me, you shouldn’t have gone and gossiped about it to your stupid friends,” I snapped. “You should’ve just grown a fucking pair and told me yourself.”

I waited for him to retaliate and say something snarky, or to, at the very least, be fazed by what I said. However, Oscar did not do that. Instead, he smiled and nodded his head once before replying briefly.

“Ok, fine,” he quipped. “I like you, Y/n.”

His response was the last thing I expected him to say. My breath hitched as I struggled to think of a response. However, my trusty encyclopaedia of comebacks disappeared from memory and I was left with no other choice but to drop my jaw in shock and stare blankly.

“What do you have to say?”

Spooky’s tone was teasing, even more so than usual. He grinned at me like he had won the back and forth dance we had kept up for as long as we knew each other. I furrowed my brows, unable to let that be the case.

“It’s never gonna happen,” I hissed.

His annoyingly charming smile was not going to work on me. I glared at him and breathed heavily, fuming from how annoying and infuriating he was.

I tried not to be startled when he inched closer and lifted his hand. I knew I should have slapped his hand away, but by the time his fingers grazed over my skin, I felt paralysed by something. Something that burned inside of me. Spooky’s smile lingered in the silence before he eventually met my eyes and laughed.

“Your cheeks say something else.”

My anger grew as I watched him toss his head in laughter. I wanted to punch that stupid grin off his face. Anything to get him to stop enjoying how flustered I was. I huffed and thought of what I would do.

While my arms were weak from the beers, I had a feeling the strength in the rest of my body would only be heightened. Before Spooky could finish laughing in my face, I grabbed his shoulders and thrust my right leg up swiftly until my knee collided roughly with his groin.

Spooky toppled over in pain and I bent down to smile at him before turning back around and walking home on my own, in the silence, where there were no more stupid men to annoy me.

***

He never told anyone what happened, most likely out of embarrassment. Somehow, that made it even better. I walked my streets thinking of what Spooky was getting up to. Whatever it was, he had to carry the knowledge that I kicked him in the balls and walked away smiling.

I thought for sure he would leave me alone, but it was as if the streets of Freeridge pulled us even closer together. I was not even meant to be at the Martinez house. I was only meant to drop in with some snacks for my sister and her friends.

However, just as I was about to leave, the front door busted open and la diablo himself came strolling in. The kids held each other in horror, but I watched with mere dismay as Spooky peeked through the curtains and watched the police cars zoom past.

“One of the homies got shot,” he explained.

“I wishIwere the homie,” I mumbled to myself.

Spooky must have heard me faintly because he turned around quickly and chuckled when I realised I was sitting on the sofa behind him. He ambled over and planted himself on the empty space beside me.

“Flores, mi amor,” he teased. “You know, if you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do was ask. No need to orchestrate a police lockdown.”

I had to hand it to him, he had no fear. Even after I kicked him in the groin, he was still back at again with his antics. I could not discern whether it was because he was just that ballsy or because I was just that lovable. Given the fact that I had been called a bitch by almost every man on our block, I ruled out the latter.

“Diaz,pendejo,” I spat. “Don’t know if you realise but we’re not alone.”

I gestured towards the dining table, where Jasmine and her friends sat in quiet fear. Before Spooky could say anything further, I stood up and headed towards the kitchen where I left the food I had brought.

“I’ll fix up some snacks,” I smiled at the kids.

Their little shoulders slumped in relief as the tension began to ease, but when the pendejo followed me into the kitchen, my anger rose once more.

“For all of usexcept Spooky,” I added, turning back to offer him a glare.

I tried to ignore his watchful eyes as he stood mere steps away from me while I quickly made guacamole for our chips. I knew he was just trying to agitate me, and I refused to give him that satisfaction. Even if I wanted to tell him to back it up.

“I wouldn’t add that if I were you.“

His voice startled me so much, I almost dropped the pepper grinder I held in my hand. Of course, he had strong opinions about food. If the sight of him did not repulse me, I would have listened.

“If I were you, I’d be quiet,” I warned.

I laid the snacks out on the table and took the seat in between my sister and Jamal. Ruby, Monse and Olivia sat on the other three seats, which left Spooky no choice but to hover from afar.

“What are you guys playing?” I asked as I ate my way through a handful of corn chips.

“Truth or dare,” my sister answered. “You want in?”

I nodded, glancing to the side momentarily just to check what Spooky was doing. Luckily he was on his phone trying to get a hold of Cesar. Now I was the one to slump my shoulders in relief. Being watched was stressful.

“I pick… Truth,” I stated when it was eventually my turn.

Before Ruby asked me his question, he exchanged knowing looks with my sister and the rest of their friends. I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.

“Is it true you had a crush on Spooky back in high school?”

My eyes widened in shock and I immediately turned to my sister, who was conveniently avoiding looking me in the eye. Perhaps it was on me for thinking I could trust my 8-year-old sister to keep a secret.

“Way to tell my business to the whole block, Jas,” I groaned.

“You didn’t answer the question,” Ruby persisted.

I turned to face him and he quickly sunk back, intimidated by my glare. I turned to the side again, just to make sure Spooky was not in earshot. When I was certain he was still making phone calls in the bathroom, I sighed.

“Ok, yes… I did,” I admitted.

“No way,” Ruby gasped, his shocked expression matching the rest of his friends. I realised Jasmine must have told them, but they refused to buy it until now. Perhaps I would have been better off lying.

“Yes way,” Jasmine grinned. “He made her tamales one time, and it was all she talked about for a week.”

“Because they were good tamales,“ I argued. "Not because I liked him.”

“But you admit it.”

My head whipped and my jaw dropped when I realised Spooky was not only back, but he heard what I just said.

“You liked me,” he added, smiling amusingly as she moved closer to where we were all sitting.

“Keyword: liked,” I corrected.

“Well, actually-“

“Jasmine!” I shrieked.

It was bad enough everyone knew about my schoolgirl crush on Spooky, they did not need to know anything more. I swore to myself that the minute Jasmine and I were alone, I would deliver a much-needed lecture on girl code and avoiding my wrath.

I could feel Spooky watching me intently, his annoying grin ever-present on his stupid face, which was why I continued to look away. Thankfully it was only a matter of seconds before the police sirens returned and a voice on a megaphone announced the end of the police lockdown.

“Well, I’m leaving,” I huffed.

My feet could not have carried me out the door faster. I focused on my car where it stood parked in the driveway, desperate for a quick getaway because I felt mortified.

“Y/n c’mon we should talk about this.”

Spooky sure seemed to have a knack for following me during my storm-offs. I felt him reach for my hands in an attempt to get me to stop, but I shook him away and kept walking.

“Nothing to talk about,” I retorted. “And don’t think this changes anything between us. I’m still mad at you!”

I slammed my car door shut and quickly locked myself in. Oscar stepped back and huffed, accepting his defeat. I sighed in relief before inserting my key into the ignition and waiting for the engine to sound.

My heart dropped when I turned the key only to hear the engine sputter. I glanced over at Spooky, whose spirit recovered instantly. Now he was smiling to himself, amused by the fact that I was now trapped.

“You good?” He snickered, tapping on the passenger window.

I cursed beneath my breath and tried again, pleading my beloved car to cooperate. However, each time I turned the key, the engine refused to make the sound it needed to in order for me to get home.

“If we push it to my place, I can check to see what’s wrong for you,“ Spooky suggested.

“No way!”

That was a trap if I ever heard one. Not to mention, I barged out of the house with the intention of getting away from Spooky. Waiting around for him to fix my car would be betraying that pursuit.

“C'mon… I’ll do it for free.”

I sighed. That was a damn good offer. Especially considering the fact that all the repair shops in our neighbourhood were run by mechanics I had already managed to piss off and were, therefore, likely to overcharge me for even just a consultation.

I could have sworn Spooky knew this because he smiled at me like he had already won the argument. Begrudgingly, I put my car in neutral and got out of my seat. I glared at Spooky and made sure to cut him off before he could say anything.

“Shut up and help me push.“

As we dragged my car down the road, I realised how competitive he and I were. Halfway through pushing my car, Spooky asked me if I needed to take a breather, and the rage I felt made me want to finish the job myself.

I wondered if we were always like this. If we stayed somewhat friends throughout high school because we annoyed and challenged each other so much that we both grew to like it. I felt it must have been true because even in college with all the intelligent people I found myself surrounded by, I never felt what I did when I was with Spooky.

By the time we reach his house, I lifted the bonnet of my vehicle while Spooky grabbed his tools. By the time he got back, he had taken off his flannel. I caught myself staring at his bare arms and the part of his chest peeking through his white tank shirt, and immediately shook myself out of it.

"So, what’s wrong with my car?”

“All that matters is that it’s an easy fix,” Spooky answered, eyes already focusing upon the problem area.

“Why do I get the feeling you had something to do with this?”

I narrowed my eyes at him playfully.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Because I’m just dying for alone time with the girl who scratched my car and beat me up.”

“Your words not mine,” I teased.

Spooky laughed but never said anything further. Instead, he just went back to focusing on fixing my car while I stood aside and watched patiently. I never thought I would be disappointed by his decision to be quiet, but there I was.

Things felt ever so slightly different between us now that he knew I used to like him. I did not feel so enraged by the sight of his face, and I could hardly tell if I liked it or not.

“Why are you back, anyway?” He asked after a good while. “I thought your plan was to move to New York after graduation.”

“I can’t believe you remember that,” I whispered smiling, pleasantly surprised and, quite frankly, impressed with his attention to detail.

“I remember a lot about you,” he whispered.

There was silence between us for a moment as I tried to decipher whether or not he meant for me to hear that. I hated how much I was overanalysing our interactions now that he knew how I felt about him.

“My tia needed help looking after my dad,” I explained, not wanting to linger in the silence any longer. “So I told her I’d move back and find a job here.”

Oscar paused for a moment and stood up straight. My breath felt heavy in my lungs as his gaze pierced through me. He pursed his lips, as if unsure whether he should say something not.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I elbowed his torso playfully. “Especially when you’re supposed to be fixing my car!”

He shook his head and chuckled beneath his breath as if I was most recognisable to him when I was shouting out demands.

“What about you?” I asked curiously. “I thought you were gonna take up that scholarship for culinary school.”

“I had other shit to deal with.”

I knew to leave it at that. Although I was curious about how he was doing raising his little brother on his own, I had no right to pry. Goodness knows if anyone stuck their nose in my business, I would have had a lot to say about it.

Before the silence grew again, my eyes scanned across his house and landed on his car where it stood, parked in the driveway.

“I see you fixed the paint and the tire,” I smirked.

“Yeah, I had a feeling you weren’t gonna be too happy about me claiming you,” he chuckled.

My eyebrows knitted as I grew confused.

“So why’d you do it, then?”

He paused and gave it a bit of thought. It gave me relief. I had hope that this time he would actually give an answer and not some quick-witted remark that made me want to slap him.

“News got around that you were coming back and…” Spooky paused for a moment and then sighed. “I didn’t want any of the guys bothering you.”

“Because you do plenty of that yourself?”

“Exactly,” he chuckled.

Though we joked about it, I liked knowing his reasons for claiming me were far from perceiving me as an object or trying to get into my pants. It made me not feel so repulsed by the sight.

“God, you’re so annoying,” I sighed.

While it was true, I hardly meant to say it. I just wanted to fill the silence and keep myself from staring at Spooky for too long. I did not trust myself anymore. I shook my head and pushed his shoulder gently. His response was to just bounce back until our shoulders grazed against each other.

“Hmm,” he sang teasingly. “Is that one of the reasons you liked me?”

“No,” I answered defensively, this time pushing my shoulder into his. When he bent down again, I made sure he could not see my face before turning my expression. “I like you ‘cause you do the right thing… even if it’s in your own little messed up way.”

I studied his reaction closely, wondering if he noticed the way I said 'like’ as opposed to 'liked. From the way he met my eyes and moved slightly closer to me, I could have sworn he did. Part of me was even hoping he did.

“Can you pass the rag?”

I reached for the old cut up cloth he seemed to use for cleaning the grease off his hands, trying my best not to frown. When I extended my arm out to pass the rag, he took hold of both it and my hand.

My breath hitched when I realised he was purposefully holding my hand. Spooky noticed my surprise and took it as his opportunity to pull me closer to him, while I was too taken aback to pull away. Luckily for him, I did not want to.

I placed my hands on his chest and leaned in just enough to where his temple was pressed against mine. Our eyes were glued to each other. While I had known Spooky for so long, I felt like I had not truly seen him until now.

“I know I’m irresistible,” I whispered. “But if you wanna kiss me, you should know it’s not gonna be that easy.”

On one hand, it was my way of keeping my standards where they always were: high. On the other, it was my way of keeping my guard up and keeping my heart safe. I did not let a lot of people in. If Oscar wanted to be one of them, it would not come simply.

The thought of him losing interest and giving up so soon terrified me, but I would rather he let me know now than after I go letting my guard down any further.

I smiled as he groaned quietly, frustrated that I was not going to kiss him, for which I did not blame him. Then, as I braced. myself for the possibility of him letting me go, his grasp on my waist only grew firmer.

“Guess I’ll have to keep trying then,” he smiled.

His stayed glued on mine as his hand crept down my backside. I gasped quietly, only to realise he slipping my car keys into the back pocket of my jeans. His smile grew. He knew what he was doing, and I hated how much I liked it.

After whispering a goodbye, pulling away from and walking back into his house, I felt unable to get into my car. Not without saying one more thing to him, first.

“Oscar,” I called out, feeling nostalgia as I used his real name for the first time in a decade. He turned back to me expectedly, and I sighed while smiling at him. “… Thank you.”

It was the first time we said goodbye without having any reason to be angry at the other. It was the first time I left his house trying to fight the persistent urge to grin. Before I drove off, I lifted my hand to my face and grazed my fingers over my cheeks. They felt warm.

I finally realised why.