Welcome to My World (Johnny/Dare)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked away and tried to make sense of that. It didn't make any sense, and she had just kissed Dare? There had to have been some warning, or some signal that she interpreted, misinterpreted. His eyebrows creased and his eyes went out of focus as he thought. Then he glanced toward the library. "I need to go to the library," he said, "There's a paper..." He had the distinct feeling Dare wouldn't let him, though.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's brows lowered, and his eyes narrowed, one more than the other. That moment Michael had taken to think set off an alarm for him, even if his words sounded completely genuine. "Do you need it now?" Dare asked. The library was big enough, but the chances of running into that girl were still high, and Dare couldn't imagine that the girl would just ignore them any more than he could imagine them being able to ignore her.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael licked his lips and looked up at Dare, then back to the library one more time before focusing on Dare. "Yes," he decided. Yes he did need it, and if he just happened to run into that girl that had scared him so badly, then all the better. He knew that it was irrational, that Dare loved him, but he couldn't easily forget the fear that had spread through him.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare sighed, the thought Michael had given his answer enough to tell him that there wasn't immediate revenge in mind. "Can it wait five minutes?" he asked. Just long enough for both of them to calm down. Dare released Michael's hand to slip his arms around the back of Michael's shoulders, one hand sliding up into that thick red hair. "I seriously don't know what happened," he promised softly. "But I swear there's no one else. There's never going to be anyone else."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael met Dare's eyes, then nodded and let them drop. "I know," he said, "Just..." He licked his lips and turned his head away. "It scared me," he admitted softly. There had been a moment of indescribable panic where he had been scared he was going to lose Dare, even if he couldn't imagine Dare ever doing anything like that on purpose.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare nodded, able to imagine how much it must have hurt. He hurt for Michael, but what else could he do but hold him? What could he possibly say to make it better when he didn't even know why that had happened? "If I'm going to have any last flings before we get married," he said softly, "I promise they'll only be with you." Dare closed his eyes and let himself breathe Michael in, even with the distance of Michael looking away from him.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael closed his eyes tightly and wrapped his arms around Dare's waist. He shook his head before looking at Dare. "I know," he said softly. "I trust you." The scare, while enough to shake him, wasn't nearly enough to take away that trust. His eyes dropped again as the image flashed in his mind again, something he hoped wouldn't happen for too much longer.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare wished so much that he'd just kept his mouth shut when he was walking away from that girl. A bruised eye was nothing compared to this, and he silently cursed her as violently as he could for having caused such massive trouble. For hurting Michael.

Dare opened his eyes and glared at the library door, as though by doing so he could give her one good hex, just one. He didn't even feel like he could kiss Michael right now, that it would be wrong after that girl had kissed him. He was sure Michael wouldn't want the contact, and though he really hadn't seen that girl's kiss coming, he felt like he should have been able to stop it sooner.

He didn't deserve for Michael to be so understanding, but how could Michael understand? It was obvious he still hurt, and Dare couldn't blame him. If he'd seen the same thing... Dare's eyes squeezed shut again. He didn't even want to think of it.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

At that moment, Michael wasn't thinking about anything other than the fact that he hadn't lost Dare. He rested his head on Dare's shoulder and buried his face in Dare's neck. What else could he do? There was no one else he could take comfort from, even if he did still feel the pain. All he could do was hold and be held and pray that the memory somehow disappeared from his mind.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

They stood there for some time, far longer than the five minutes Dare had asked for, before finally turning and heading into the library. It was still too quiet, but they'd survived so much together that Dare knew this would pass. As long as neither of them ran into that girl again.