This Beautiful Chaos, Chapter 6

You Couldn’t Scare Me If You Tried

The shift was gradual. So slow I almost didn’t notice.

But suddenly, it was there. In the way I woke up and reached for my phone, not with hesitation, but with anticipation.

Because Evan had already texted me, like always.

EVAN: Morning, Peaches. Hope you dreamt of me. If not, you can make it up to me later.

I snorted, rolling my eyes, but instead of brushing it off like I might have weeks ago, I texted back without hesitation.

ME: Dreamt about pizza. You were there, but only to pass me the parmesan.

A few minutes pass. Then…

EVAN: I feel used. Objectified. Absolutely degraded.
EVAN: …What kind of pizza tho?

I laughed out loud, like actually laughed, at 8 in the morning, before my diet coke, before my brain had time to convince me I was being an idiot.

And that’s when I knew I was letting him in.

I was fucking cooked.

The next time I saw him, I hadn’t even planned it.
It was late, one of those nights where I’d usually be curled up in bed, exhausted, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram before giving up entirely. But instead, I found myself in my car, outside a dive bar where Evan had just finished a set.

I didn’t text him that I was coming, didn’t overthink it, just went.

And when he stepped outside, hair still damp with sweat, guitar slung over his back, that wild, reckless grin on his face like he had just won something… I felt it again.

The moment his eyes found mine, the way they lit up like I was the last thing he expected but the only thing he wanted to see.

“Peaches!” he called, immediately jogging over, the dim streetlights casting a warm glow over his face. I rolled my window down, smirking. “Look at you. A whole rockstar now.”

He leaned into the open window, bracing his arms on the door. “Admit it. You’re impressed.”

I hummed, pretending to consider it. “Mmm. You were on key for most of the songs.”

His mouth fell open. “Oh my god.”

I grinned, but before I could say anything else, he was kissing me. Just like that, like he didn’t have a single doubt in his mind.

And this time, I didn’t fight it. I let myself melt into it, let myself believe that maybe, maybe he really meant it when he said he wasn’t going anywhere.

Later, back at my place, we were curled on the couch, wrapped up in a silence that was warm and full instead of heavy. The weed had settled in, leaving me relaxed against him, my body leaning into his like it belonged there.

Evan ran his fingers through my hair absentmindedly, his voice soft when he finally spoke.

“I think this is the start of something beautiful.”

I let my eyes close, breathing him in, letting his touch sink into my skin like an anchor. I think you might be right, Wild Man.

I didn’t say it out loud, not yet, but I felt it.

The next day, I did something I never would’ve done before.

I texted him first.

ME: You couldn’t scare me if you tried. Trust me.

It wasn’t much. Just words on a screen. But to me, it was everything, because I meant it.

For the first time, I wasn’t bracing for the fall. I was just… falling.