BLAME IT ON SEPTEMBER
CHAPTER FORTY
❝LETS BLAME IT ON SEPTEMBER, 'CAUSE IT HURTS TO REMEMBER. WE CAN FIGHT TO HOLD ON, BUT AUGUST IS GONE, AND EVEN IF THE SUN FALLS I HOPE WE DON'T LOSE IT ALL, 'CAUSE NO SUMMER LASTS FOREVER. LET'S BLAME IT ON SEPTEMBER.❞

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      He kissed her knowing that it will probably the first and last time he'll ever get to. Seth knew he shouldn't have kept his hopes up because Rosé was in pain, she wasn't looking for someone to replace the void lodged in her heart. She was looking for answers. Still, he couldn't help but feel as though he was taking advantage of her rather than her taking advantage of him. In a way it was almost like a goodbye kiss for him; goodbye to whatever future they could've had, goodbye to the possibility of them being together, and goodbye to the girl he loves.

      He pulled away, his eyes closed, his chest rising up and down from his panting, and his heart refusing to calm down. His hands remained around her torso, his fingers gripping onto the skin as if she'd suddenly vanish out of thin air if he didn't hold her tight enough. But when he opened his eyes the sight made him weak in the knees. Rosé's lips were swollen and bright pink, the lipstick she wore no longer as effective or obvious. Her breathing uneven from the lack of air they received during the kiss.

      Without thinking Seth leaned in once more, this time the kiss was much more softer, much more hesitant than before. It wasn't as desperate or as fast paced as their previous kiss. It was almost as if he wanted to engrave this into his memory. Rosé responded, kissing him back was almost effortless for her, and that troubled her.

      "What do you think you're doing?" Tom suddenly walked towards the two, separating them and placing Rosé behind him as he stared at Seth with disbelief in his eyes. His best friend opened her mouth, his name quickly falling past her lips, but before she could say anything or explain what was happening he interrupted her. "What are you doing? You said you'd stop — "

      Rosé placed her hand on Tom's arm and quickly tried pulling him away towards the hotel. They stood near the entrance of the hotel, people who were walking in and out began to stare at them with confusion, almost as if they were expecting a fight to break out. But she knew that Tom would never instigate a fight, he wasn't the type of person. Then again she hasn't seen him in years, who knows how much he's changed.

      "Tom let's just go," she tried as she tugged her friend's arm. She glanced around and caught the harsh stares and glares of the people around them. Panicking, Rosé began harshly tugging on Tom's sleeve and attempted to move him away from Seth. "Thomas, people are looking let's go!"

      Seth shook his head as he bitterly chuckled. He wasn't intimidated by Tom, not after knowing everything that he doesn't even seem aware of. He could ruin him right now by spewing every thing he knows about Rosé, her crush on him or how Rosé often broke up with her boyfriends whenever Tom didn't like him. Because that's all she could think about which is his feelings in consideration.

      "Did you tell Annie about our conversation on Instagram?" Seth asked, ignoring Tom's initial question. His eyes burned angrily at Tom, but did a good job at masking his pain knowing that Tom was always going to be right. And maybe it pained him to see Rosé go to his side rather than his own. But he knew who her heart wavered to, there was no doubt about it. "Or did you also hide that from her like you did about your relationship with Camille Abbott?"

      Tom's cheeks flushed from embarrassment and anger as he tried taking another step forward. But before he could, Rosé quickly stood in between them and prevented anything from escalating any further. His fists remained by his sides, his hands shaking with anger because he knew Seth was right. He hasn't been a good best friend to Rosé, he knows that he also knows that he's incredibly selfish for keeping her at arm's length only for whenever he needed her.

      But Tom would rather be selfish than let her go. And maybe that's what started this whole feud or anger towards Seth, the realization that Seth is actually a genuinely nice guy. Tom was never afraid of losing Rosé, not even when she moved to another country and made amazing friends like Kelsey or Seth. But seeing this Seth guy, seeing how annoyingly perfect the guy is, annoyed him. And maybe it was because he knew that Seth is the opposite of him. 

      There was a painstaking thought that he would take her away from him. And with Tom being so used to having Rosé around he's not sure how to live without her by his side. Yes, he can do it, but it won't be the same as it was before she came. Because even though they may not have known each other for a ridiculously large amount of time, she knew him better than anyone else.

      He didn't want to lose her, that much he knew.

      "She's my best friend, the things I do may not make sense, yes, I know, but it's my way of protecting her," Tom said lowly, his head shaking as a bitter smile ran across his handsome face. "But I hope you know that this is me protecting her from things I don't see fit. You're probably a good guy and I'll admit, I don't like you because you can potentially take that best friend position away from me. But I'll be damned if I let you take her away from me."

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      Rosé followed after Tom and closed the door behind her as soon as she entered the room. The tension thickened as time passed by. His hotel room was cool with the windows being left open and the air conditioning practically blowing a cold storm in his room. She cursed under her breath as she set the air conditioner into an appropriate temperature knowing that Tom would later on forget and wake up with a headache. Just as she closed the windows shut she heard him call out her name.

      "Rosie," he said in a hoarse voice. She turned around and saw him sit on the foot of the bed, his eyes tired and his voice bleeding with pain. Without even thinking she replied with a simple yes as she walked over to him to stand right in front of him. "I'm sorry for causing a scene, I didn't mean to. You know that, right?"

      The artist furrowed her eyebrows out of confusion as she nodded. Without thinking she reached forward and brushed away the hair that dangled in front of his eyes. "Of course, Tommy," she murmured as she ran her hand through his curls, having seen Nikki do it to him before. "What's wrong? You're not usually this nervous. Something bothering you?"

      "I just don't want you to think that I'm some other guy now, because I'm not."

      "Of course I know that. I don't think any different of you, Tom. Don't worry. One fight won't have me running for the hills. The amount of fights you've seen me in should've had you packing to another country." She was trying to lighten the mood, he noticed, but it still would not ease the painful thoughts in his head.

      Hesitantly, Tom looked up and met her eyes once more. He reached out and pulled her closer, his head resting on her stomach, his cheek flat against her skirt as his chin felt the exposed skin of her torso. He felt her hesitate before she ran her fingers through his hair again. If only he noticed the hammering inside her chest.

      "Will you stay the night? Please?"

      "I will, don't worry." She took his arms off her waist and went to grab the spare pillows out of the closet, but before she could he pulled her back once more. She looked at him quizzically, but Tom refused to meet her gaze this time around. Licking his lips he shook his head slowly, "No pillow wall, not tonight if that's okay with you. It's — I'm just going through a hard time right now."

      "Alright."

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A/N;

I love Tosé so much. They're so cute, it's amazing. But I also need shipnames for other couples / brotps of this book! For example, we have Seth and Rosé, Tom and Noah, Kelsey and Rosé, Tom and Camille, etc. So if you guys would like to help out I'd be more than happy!

Dedicated to Saphire2102! Thank you for the support love!

Much Love Guys.

( written: september 1, 2017 )
( published: september 2, 2017 )