The first night had been excruciating for Lulu. Her body had turned into a painful cage that was impossible to get away from. Every breath had crushed her from the inside, usually followed by a grunt, almost inaudible to everyone outside of Fezco's bedroom. Every movement had felt like torture, reminding her that she had no control over her body and that she had to rely on others to get better.

Letting go of control, for Lulu, was like abandoning herself completely. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was just not something she was used to doing at all. She had grown up with this idea that trusting others fully would lead to disappointment and pain.

It wouldn't just be a negative experience —Lulu was well aware that trusting people had brought so much joy into her life. She thought about her relationship with Maddy, which was the perfect example of a healthy and meaningful friendship with a hint of palpable love that still made people talk, sometimes questioning the secret nature of their connection.

But she also thought of her relationship with Rue and all the pain it had caused to be so loving and trusting. She hadn't lost Rue, definitely not. But things had changed between them and Lulu would sometimes blame herself for not being there for her enough -even though Rue had turned her back on her more than once.

And, sometimes, she thought she had reached the limit of what she could give to others. But that was exactly when Fezco got into the picture as more than just a friend.

The girl who had been so reluctant at the idea of getting into a relationship with anyone had found herself diving deeper and deeper into this blossoming relationship, not once doubting the choices that were made. Whenever she thought they had both reached the epitome of love, Fezco would do something to prove that it was all endless.

Stolen glances, lingering touches, unexpected kisses, that was Fezco's love language. A morning cup of coffee settled on the kitchen counter for all the times she spent the night, sometimes with a little present next to it. A book that he thought she would like, a poster of her favorite movie, sometimes even jewelry —knowing all too well that Lulu would beg him to stop buying her presents, especially if it was expensive.

But he also knew that his heart would get warmer at the sight of Lulu reading the book he had bought her, settled on the couch as if it was now her home as well, and that his jaw would drop to the floor when he would see her all dressed up and ready for an event, the jewelry adorning her body beautifully.

And that first night, right after her assault, Fezco had never once left Lulu's side, unable to close his eyes and drift to sleep, way too preoccupied by the girl's state and his stomach twisting and hurting whenever a pained whimper would uncontrollably leave Lulu's lips. He had wanted to hug her, make her feel his presence next to her on the bed, but he knew that touching her would hurt her so he stayed by her side, wiping the tears that would roll down her cheeks as she barely slept.

The following day, Lulu couldn't lie and pretend she was fine. When she got up to go to the bathroom, she winced so loudly that, a second later, Fezco and Ashtray were by the bedroom door with a scared expression on their faces.

Lulu chuckled at them, "I'm good... I need a shower," and she slowly walked past them, grimacing once she knew they couldn't see her face.

"D'you need help?" Fezco offered, rushing to open the bathroom door.

Lulu gave him a cheeky look, "Not that kind of shower, babe."

Fezco's eyes popped open, feeling his cheeks warming at Lulu's words, meanwhile Ashtray groaned, "Ugh, Imma gag real quick, I swear to fuckin' god," before walking away as fast as humanly possible.

Lulu noticed Fezco all flustered and she pecked his cheek, "I'm all good, thanks. But I'd love some coffee..."

Fezco smiled and carefully rubbed his thumb against her cheek, appreciating every second spent with her, before nodding and making his way to the kitchen.

... ... ...

It was now late in the evening and Fezco had forced her to go back to bed, saying he would take care of dinner and that she was not allowed to lift a finger. And she did as he said, scrolling through Instagram and sometimes getting out of bed to smoke a cigarette by the window, even though it required for her to move her body and try to ignore the pain in order to go and destroy her lungs.

A few hours later, and after eating a home cooked meal, some noise started catching her attention. She instantly recognized Rue's voice and soon understood that something was wrong.

But, did Lulu want to get out of bed and go through physical pain to face the best friend that had emotionally hurt her more than once in the past? No, she didn't. And maybe it was selfish, and Rue was probably in need of some help and some love, but Lulu needed that just as much and she certainly didn't have the strength to go help Rue right now.

When she heard Fezco yelling at Rue and very clearly kicking her out of his house, Lulu knew she had made the right decision.

Fezco silently walked inside the room and sat down on the bed, almost slamming his head against the bedhead in defeat. Lulu finished her cigarette and looked at him for a second before sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Fezco looked up at her, already relaxing against her touch, "I don't want ya to be hurt," he said, clearly mentioning the fact that any physical movement could still be very painful for the girl.

"I'm not made of glass," Lulu replied with a smile, "Hug me."

Very delicately, Fezco wrapped his arms around Lulu's waist, bringing her body even closer to his before letting his head rest on the crook of her neck, relaxing even more when she started rubbing the tip of her fingers against his neck, drawing patterns all the way down his back.

That was when Maddy's words echoed in Lulu's mind. She had never truly told him how she felt about him. And, even though their actions did all the talking, maybe it was time to open up even more to him. Maybe it was finally time to show him that she did trust him with her life.

Her heart started pounding crazily as she slightly pulled away from his embrace, just enough to be able to look at him in the eyes.

And, suddenly, it was like she was back in the past, reliving all these moments where she had tried to make a move on him, going through feelings of anxiety, excitement, self-doubt and embarrassment. She also remembered that she probably looked like shit, well she did sport a black eye and a busted lip, and she wondered what the fuck was wrong with her for trying to do something like this right now.

She was now losing herself in her internal digressions when Fezco brought her back to reality, playing with her hair, "Lulu?"

"I love you."

The three words had left her lips, slipping out of her heart and brain to materialize in reality, before she could even understand what she had just done. But Fezco's fingers tensed against her skin and she silently gasped, knowing all too well that she couldn't go back in time now.

She let out an awkward chuckle, looking away and shaking her hand as if she was trying to erase the moment, "Yeah, it's... it's whatever," she babbled foolishly, letting out a nervous laugh, "I don't even know why people, like, make a big deal out of—"

Fezco had placed his hands on each side of her face and captured her lips in an intense kiss, his heart pumping faster than ever in his chest. No one had ever told him those words before, not a single soul. Never the way Lulu just did.

Before Lulu came into his life, Fezco had always thought that he would never settle down with anyone. Not because he was incapable of loving, not even because his life was dangerous. Simply because he never once thought he would cross paths with someone who would see right through the mask he presented to others and find things to love under the surface.

That was until Lulu magically changed everything.

He pulled away with the biggest smile ever, "I love you."

Lulu's eyes brightened, smiling from ear to ear, and she kissed him passionately as Fezco responded with the same intensity. And when one of them would pull away to catch their breath, the other would kiss back immediately as they both lost themselves in the moment, forgetting about their problems, the pain, the world to bask in their love.

... ... ...

, okay so i absolutely LOVED writing this chapter but i'm scared you guys are gonna find that its too much like too lovey-dovey, i kinda tried to keep it low key but hey they are both crazy about each other sooooo

so yeah hit those comments i really wanna know how you felt about this one!

what do you wanna see next??

also thank you soooo much for over 500k reads?!?!!! that's absolutely insane! before the start of season 2, i had like 50k reads so wtffff