Chapter Text
“No, no, no!” You yell, sprinting after your bus in the pouring rain, watching it pull away as your jacket flies in the wind.
This could NOT be happening.
This was just the cherry on top of your very shitty life. You just couldn't catch a break.
You lost your job two months ago due to budget cuts. Last month, you got evicted from your house in the suburbs. Last week, you had to sell your beloved car just to stay afloat, so to say everything in your life right now was a firestorm wreaking fucking havoc on your mental state was an absolute understatement.
Holding back tears, you start frantically looking up and down the busy street trying to spot a taxi, a rental pushbike, anything, to get you to your interview. Rain is dripping down your face as you pull out your phone, wiping away the droplets on your screen. You pull up the timetable for the bus.
The next one comes in an hour.
You will never make it.
“Shit!” You yell, exhausted, as the tears start running down your face- you can’t stop them. Thank God for the rain, at least no one will notice you’re crying- drowned in a busy city, everyone too distracted to notice.
“What am I going to do?” You say softly to yourself through quiet, defeated sobs.
As if the universe finally decided to take pity on you, a taxi pulls up on the other side of the road.
You can still make it.
Not taking any chances, you fly into a sprint- wind and rain whipping your skin, your body colliding with people littering the city sidewalk as you nudge your way through the crowd. Quickly looking both ways, you cross the road. You don’t see the black motorcycle speeding towards you through your tears and the heavy rain.
“Watch out!” A panicked male voice screams, breaking your focus on the silver taxi.
Time seemed to slow down.
Eyes widening in panic and fear, they finally focus on the huge black motorbike hurdling right at you- its rider wildly waving his arms, the roaring sound of the engine vibrating through your chest as it gets closer and closer. The bike gets so close, for a split second, you see your reflection on the rider’s black helmet before you dive out of the way.
Reaching out both arms to brace yourself, you gasped for breath as your head hit the pavement.
Everything went black for a moment. You honestly thought you were dead. That might be nice, though- no more having to worry about bills or putting food on the table, you could rest now. It seemed, however, that the universe had other plans.
Searing pain woke you up- your head and hands burning in agony as blood began to seep out of the scrapes that had formed. You slowly sat up, dizzy and disoriented. Everyone on the busy street was looking at you- hundreds of eyes fixed on your disheveled form sitting in the middle of the road. Deep brown orbs were worriedly scanning you as your brain finally processed that the rider was now not even a few inches away from your face- his bike hurriedly parked up next to a line of parked cars with the helmet hanging off the handlebars.
“Holy shit, are you okay?” Hurried words asked you, sounding muffled through your shock.
“H-huh?” You managed to wince out.
“Are you alright?”
“I-I, I think so?” You replied.
“Fuck, I don’t think you are. What were you doing jumping out in front of me like that?” He hurriedly asked you again.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking! I missed my bus, and-”
“Don’t worry about that now.” His deep voice cut you off, an air of alarm still lacing his words. “I’ll take you to a hospital. Here,” he said, wrapping his strong arms around your midsection as he helped you stand up, directing you towards his bike.
“I have to get on that?” You fuzzily asked, taking in the monstrosity of the motorcycle through bleary eyes- nerves shooting through you at the sheer size of the thing.
“Yes,” he replied curtly, huffing his breath.
“But I’ll miss my job interview!”
“You’re really worried about that when I almost just ran you over?” He quipped, crossing his arms in front of him- his black leather riding jacket creasing with the movement. “You need to go to the hospital! You hit your head pretty hard...” He said softly, his eyes focusing on the wounds on your face.
The fog in your brain dissipated enough to let you get a look at the man who had almost killed you. He was tall, a good head above you. His long, black hair framing his handsome face- a studded piercing passing through his thick, black eyebrows and another one, a black ring, sitting on a corner of his pink lips.
Noticing you’d fallen silent, he sighed, his broad shoulders following the movement of his chest.
“Look, don’t worry about that. I’ll handle it for you, but right now, you need to go to the hospital. You’re clearly in shock and you’re pretty scratched up,” he said, uncrossing his arms, his face falling with pity.
Maybe it was because he was handsome, or maybe it was because you realised you definitely would not be able to pass an interview in this state, you relented.
“Okay.” You said dejectedly.
“Good. Okay. I’ll help you get on.”
He reached his hand out, wrapping it around your much smaller one while taking care not to touch the bleeding wounds. He held it strongly while you awkwardly tried to mount the large bike, your head pounding in stress and pain. Once you were situated, he grabbed the helmet and softly placed it on you. He hopped into the seat in front of you, telling you to wrap your arms around him. The engine roared to life as he kicked the stand to take off.
“Wait!” You yelled, squeezing him a little tighter out of fright. “Can you just promise to not go too fast?”
You felt his chest move as he let out a light chuckle, the wind and the rain blowing his black hair towards you.
“Of course.”
-----
True to his word, the rider did not go fast. He drove you to the nearest hospital as slowly as possible, earning the two of you many aggravated honks from the other cars racing past you. You just dug your head into his strong back the whole time- embarrassed at the whole ordeal and upset that the universe really did have it out for you.
“Oh my God, thank fuck you’re okay!” Came a worried yell from your best friend Leah, breaking you out of your thoughts. She rounded the hospital bed, chucked her brown tote bag down, and threw her arms around you in a tight hug.
“I was so worried when I got the call! What happened?” She asked, her red hair glinting in the sunlight seeping through the hospital window.
“Ugh, it’s actually so embarrassing,” you stated, covering your eyes with the back of your palms. “I missed my bus, and I saw a taxi across the street, so I ran to try and get it, but I didn’t look to see if any cars were coming, and I almost got run over by a motorbike.”
Leah’s face was still stricken with concern, but her lips curled into a slight smile as a small laugh fell through them.
“Well, I’m so happy you’re okay, but geez, you really can’t catch a break! I didn’t think you’d be clumsy enough to not pay attention to traffic!”
“I know,” you said, laughing in unison with her, “I can’t believe I did that. And the poor guy riding the bike, I think I scared him half to death! I didn’t even ask his name...”
“Oh yeah, he’s cute, isn’t he?” Leah said cheekily, wagging her red eyebrows at you.
“How do you know that?” You asked, confused- tilting your head to the side.
“He’s sitting in one of the chairs outside the room. He was on the phone when I walked in.”
You were surprised the man was still here. You’d been under the impression he’d left once the nurses took you into the room to get you checked. Your heart warmed at the thought that he’d taken such care of you- he'd rushed you to the ER and stayed to make sure you were alright.
“Leah, would you be able to call him in here? I really need to say thank you to him.”
“Of course, just give me a second to go get him.” She said, jumping up off the bed, the blue hospital curtain swishing as she moved past.
A few moments later, Leah returned, sitting back down on the side of the bed, the man following close behind her. You could feel your face flush knowing how silly you must look; hooked up to an IV, bandages covering your hands and parts of your face, sitting in a crappy hospital gown. You mentally pepped yourself up, those things didn’t matter, you had to let the man know how grateful you were.
“Hi, uh, I just want to say thank you for bringing me here, and that I’m sorry for jumping in front of your bike. My life has just been so crazy lately, and I wasn’t paying attention...” You said, your words drifting off as your eyes focused on his stoic face.
He sighed, exhausted, and said, “It’s alright. Just make sure you pay more attention in the future.”
“I will, I promise!” You replied quickly. “Anyway... I never got to ask your name.”
“It’s Sebastian.” He said.
“Sebastian,” you repeated softly. The name fit him perfectly, somehow. “Well, I wish we’d had a better introduction, but it’s nice to meet you. And thank you again for all your help.” You said earnestly.
“Don’t worry about it. I, um, also have your phone.” He told you, your phone appeared when he pulled his hand out of the pocket of his black leather jacket he was still wearing.
“Oh, I didn’t even notice I didn’t have it. I guess my head is still a little fuzzy.” You said sheepishly, looking at the beeping heart monitor so as to not focus on his handsome face.
“How did you think I got here, silly?” Leah said in an attempt to make you laugh, lightly hitting your thigh through the thin sheet you were under.
You chuckled, looking back up at Sebastian who was looking intensely at you.
He cleared his throat before he continued. “I also called the place you were meant to have your interview at. You had like a hundred missed calls from them. I, um, let them know what happened and they said they’d still like to interview you when, you know, you get better.” He said, his eyes focused on the grey carpet of the hospital room.
You couldn’t believe how nice he was being, considering you pretty much threw yourself at his bike earlier today.
Your eyes softened, looking at Sebastian’s now seemingly shy form standing at the end of your bed.
“Thank you,” you said quietly.
“Well, hey! Now you can get a job and finally stop sleeping on my couch,” Leah joked.
“Ha-ha.” You emphasised, narrowing your eyes at her even though you were smiling.
“You’re sleeping on a couch?” Sebastian piped up from the corner, standing up straight, no longer looking at the carpet- his brown orbs staring deep into yours.
The white walls of the room felt like they were closing in on you. You felt embarrassed that he knew you didn’t have a job or a proper bed to sleep on, he must’ve thought you were pathetic. But times were tough, and life couldn’t seem to stop kicking you when you were down.
“Uh, yeah. I got evicted from my last house because the owners wanted to sell it and I didn’t have the money because I lost my job...” You trailed off, tears pricking in your eyes as you remembered how stressful the last few months of your life had been.
Leah, interjecting, soothingly said, “aw, honey, I’m happy to let you stay for as long as you want at my place, you know that, right?” She wrapped you up in another tight hug as she stroked your back comfortingly, trying to ease your tears.
“I’m, uh, actually looking for a roommate.” Sebastian said abruptly, causing Leah to pull away from you and study him intensely, skeptical of this stranger- being the protective friend she always was.
“Really?” You asked.
“Yeah, my friend just moved in with his girlfriend, so I have a room free.” He replied seriously- his eyes wide and hopeful.
“I mean, that would be great, but I don’t have a job right now.” You stated, a bit taken aback at the fact he would offer you a room when the two of you were pretty much strangers.
“That’s alright, I’m happy to let you off until you get a job. Besides, when you get out of here,” he said, hands gesturing to the hospital room, “it’s not the best idea to be sleeping on a couch after you’ve had a head injury.”
You looked at Leah’s concerned face and then down at your hands. You mulled it over. He’d already been so helpful and kind with everything that had happened that day, so you knew he wouldn’t be an axe murderer. You also did have a little bit of leftover money from when you sold your car that could tie you over and help pay for rent. You looked out the window of the hospital room- the sky was clear from the rain that had been pouring down before, the trees were moving softly in the wind, and there, softly appearing before you was a faint rainbow out in the distance. For some reason, it felt like a sign.
“Okay. I’ll do it.” You spoke.
Sebastian’s shy expression melted into a soft smile as if this were also somehow a blessing to him.
“Alright, that’s great. You don’t have to worry about it for now, I can sort everything out with her,” he stated, nodding his head towards Leah who was still sitting next to you, a hand laying protectively on your leg.
“I have to get going now, but I can give you my phone number.” His deep voice rumbled, making you feel weak, which was ironic given you were currently sitting in a hospital bed.
“Sure, here you go.” You said softly, reaching a bandaged hand to give him your phone.
He quickly typed away on your phone, handing it back to you once he was finished. A slight smile crept onto your face when you saw he’d saved his contact under, “Seb 🖤.”
“Alright, I guess I’ll be seeing you later,” he uttered shyly before quickly turning around and walking out of the room. You could have sworn you saw a blush covering his face.
“Wow.” Leah said, drawing your attention back to her.
She was looking at you intently, her arms crossed- her hands worriedly tugging at the green sweater she was wearing.
“What?” You asked.
“He’s a complete stranger.” She stated.
You sighed. “I know, but he was so nice and helpful today and I really do need to find a place, Leah. I mean, he didn’t give off a creepy vibe to me...” You trailed off, eyes searching her face for any sort of disagreement with your thoughts. Leah had always been exceptionally good at reading people from the moment she met them, and her intuition had always been on point. She had known an ex-boyfriend of yours was bad news from the start, and you had learnt your lesson about listening to her whenever she gave some sort of indication about someone.
“He didn’t give me a vibe either. I’m just worried, okay? I just want you to be safe, and after the past few months you’ve had... I just don’t want to see you in a bad spot again.”
“Yeah, well, I’m already in another bad spot,” you said, trying to make a joke as you gestured to your tatty hospital gown and bandaged head.
She tipped her head back and let out a short laugh.
“That’s true, but you know what I mean,” she said, lightly hitting your arm playfully.
After a fleeting moment of silence, Leah said, “alright, well send his number to me. I’ll have to talk with him to help move your stuff out of my place. You’re a lot of work, you know that?” She laughed again.
“You kill me,” you replied, feigning a shot to the chest.