Austin’s POV

Oh man, when Alex and Jack dared Alan to kiss Kylar, I knew that the three of us were on the same page. We all turned away as the ginger grabbed the girl’s shoulders, her eyes wide. All I last glimpsed was Alan leaning in, head tilted to the right slightly, eyes closed in anticipation.

I felt Raven lean into my arm, smiling for her friend. Oh man, I wish Alex and Jack could’ve dared me to kiss my black haired girl. She had been through some tough stuff, especially with that girl, Jay. I’m glad we got rid of her. Raven the seemed a little at ease.

Alex whistled as we turned around and found Kylar leaning into Alan. Their cheeks were pink, but both seemed happy. It was starting to get a little late. Dante, Nico, Skars, and Kylar stood up after another few rounds. They had to leave before Warped closed. We would be on the road soon enough.

Raven and Kylar hugged, promising to text each other. Skars took Nico’s hand. I figured those two were dating.

“When’s your next break?” The light brown haired girl asked. Raven thought for a moment.

“We have a month long break starting September eighth. I promise we’ll be back in Gold Ridge by then and we can hang out.” She beamed. Nothing could compare to that smile and it made my already weak heart flutter.

“Good! Text me when you get back so we can go up hiking again!” Kylar gave Raven one last hug and went out the door with their other friends. Alan tagged along, saying a very long farewell to the girl.

Raven came back, stretching her arms over her head and yawning. The blue eyes looked sleepy. Tino and the others were already heading off to bed early.

“Austin, I’m tired.” She complained. I smiled and leaned back on the vacant couch. As soon as I made eye contact, I was lost in orbs of sapphires and my body went numb. Even slumped over, hair frazzled and begging to be brushed out, I saw the most adorable girl in the world.

“Food make you full and sleepy?” I asked her with a quiet laugh once I regained my senses.

“Yes and now I have to get ready for bed. Have you ever felt like you’re just really tired, but you know you won’t fall asleep? Seriously, I’m that way right now.” Her voice grumbled to me. My brain instantly sent me quick daydreams of holding her and rubbing her back until she fell asleep, but I was frozen to my spot.

“Here, I’ll brush you hair.” I offered. I knew that made her even fall asleep faster. She stumbled off to her bunk and came back with a blue brush. Handing it to me, I crossed my legs and patted the green cushion in front of me. I leaned back on the arm of the couch and she patiently sat still before me. Her back was arched, neck bent and her head drooped over.

“Thanks.” Her voice purred back as I gathered her jet black hair and started to lightly run the bristles through it. With every brush stroke, I could almost see her eyelids drop down further. The quiet bus seemed filled with wordless screams of tension. What did I say? What do I say to tell her that she’s beautiful?

“There. It’s brushed out.” I murmured, running my fingers through the soft strands. It was long, down to her back. She murmured happily and let out a content sigh. Outside, stars tried to poke through the heavy air pollution that loomed over the city. Only the moon succeeded in shining through the brown blanket. I could’ve sat like this for hours, just playing with her hair.

“I know this might sound weird, but can you keep playing with my hair?” She asked, a faint note of embarrassment at the question.

“Oh yeah! Sure.” I responded happily. I saw her cheeks pull back as she smiled. Working my fingers through her hair, I brushed through it, accidently rubbing the back of her neck. A shiver of pleasure ran resonated from her body. Oh, so she liked that…

Raven was so close on the brink of sleep, but forced herself awake. Eventually, she leaned back into my chest, head resting on her shoulder. I think my heart just stopped. I felt like the luckiest guy in the world to be so close to her.

But did she feel the same?

“Mmm….Thanks Austin.” She murmured, her voice groggy. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah, anytime.” I tried to answer back nonchalantly. Soon enough, I heard her soft breath fall into time with my heartbeats. Little Raven was asleep already. It was awesome that I got to spend so much time with her and now we had another month or so on the bus before we had a break.

Alan came back, grinning like a fool. He gave me the thumbs up until he saw Raven curled against my chest.

“You….like….her?” He asked me, just barely mouthing the words and adding hand motions into the mix. I raised an eyebrow, like, no duh! Rolling my eyes at the little heart he made around us, I went back to quietly stroking a stray piece of Raven’s black hair.

Notes

If you're an unashamed Raven/Austin shipper (Ravelyn), raise you hand!

Okay, so we're getting an inside look here to what Aus thinks of Raven!!!

Yay for shipping!

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