(Started 11/13/24 1:36 a.m. Wednesday - finished 11/15/24 15:24 Friday)

Continuation of How Have You Been (Part 1)

Darius x reader

Summary: Darius and Ben go to Y/n's house to warn her of the danger the five of them are in. But Y/n's not the same vibrant person she used to be. Not only did Brooklynn's death have a big impact on her, Y/n feels half-responsible for Brooklynn's death. Not to mention, Brooklynn and Y/n had talked over the phone about Darius's abrupt confession to Brooklynn and ever since then, Y/n was too hurt to talk to Darius. She'd ignored Brooklynn's theory that Darius did have feelings for Y/n but gave up because he thought Y/n didn't reciprocate his feelings and had moved on to Brooklynn because he thought he'd have a better chance. Little does Y/n know that despite dismissing Brooklynn's theory, Brooklynn had actually had a very surprisingly accurate guess.
Warnings: mentions of Brooklynn's death, fluff, a little angst maybe, and more fluff
Author's note: okayyyy we're just going to ignore the fact that there's probably no way they would've been able to stand in the back of Ben's van throughout this whole one-shot continuation, alright??? (By the time I realized this, I was already halfway through writing it sooo....um yeah, deal with it I guess.)

—

(Y/n's pov):

I don't realize I've fallen asleep until I feel a wave of grogginess wash over me and I blink my eyes open, suddenly aware of another presence directly beside me.

No, not beside me...under me.

Embarrassment pours over me as I realize I fell asleep on Darius's chest, unbeknownst to him.

Somehow, he moved us both to Ben's make-shift bed in the back of his van.

Trying not to wake Darius up, I carefully attempt to move off of him and put some much needed distance between us so I can regain my crumbling dignity.

Unfortunately, Darius stirs in his sleep the second I start to move.

Eyes fluttering open, he locks eyes with me before realizing our awkward positioning and his eyes widen in panic. "Oh...uhh..."

"Sorry, I was a lot more exhausted then I thought I was...didn't mean to fall asleep on you," I apologize, avoiding his eyes.

Trying my best to not-so-awkwardly climb off of Darius—with the very little amount of dignity I have left—I slip and fall off, hitting the floor of the van with a resounding thud, my arm and hip taking most of the impact. "Ow."

"Y/n!" Darius rushes to check if I'm okay, getting up from the bed to help me up. "Are you okay?"

Darius helps me stand, gently grasping my elbows to stabilize me, the physical contact sending butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

Then a sinking thought turns the butterflies to nothing when I remember the fact that Darius has been ignoring me all these years...until now.

Yanking my arms out of his grip, I turn my back to him, trying to hide the tears misting my eyes.

He senses the sudden change of mood immediately.

"Y/n, wait..." Darius protests, catching my wrist.

"Oh, so now you wanna talk to me?" I ask him, a cold bitterness adding to the chilliness in the expression I send his way as I turn back around to face him. "Didn't seem like that for the last several years, to me."

He bites his lip, guilt melting into his expression as he lets go of my wrist. "I know...I know, you're right. I...shouldn't have done that, it was stupid, it was immature, and it hurt you. And for that I'm really sorry, Y/n."

The sincerity in his voice softens my expression, giving me the boldness to step forward and close a little distance between us as I look up at him. "Then why did you avoid me, Darius?" I murmur, hurt, confusion, and anger all warring inside me.

Darius opens his mouth before sighing and briefly closing his eyes. "I..."

My brows furrow, my expression one of confusion, the butterflies in my stomach have resumed their rapid fluttering as I wait in anticipation for his answer. "Yes?"

I take an ever-so-little step towards him, having to tilt my head up more to look him in the eyes when he finally opens them.

Darius wars with two different emotions inside himself, I can see it in his eyes. I just wish I knew how to decipher the mystery that is him, hiding behind his beautiful, chocolate brown eyes.

"Darius," I whisper, still waiting for his answer.

He opens his eyes and stares down at me with an intensity I'm afraid to guess could even mean.

I'm afraid I'll get it all wrong, that I'll completely misinterpret it.

"Why?" I ask again.

And again he remains silent, a deep intensity pooling in his brown eyes.

Not wanting to nag but also desperately wanting an answer after all these years, I decide to ask once again as Darius closes his eyes again. "Darius, why—?"

"Because I'm in love with you." He blurts out, eyes snapping open to look me dead in the eye.

It's so sudden, so abrupt that I can't even register what he's said until a couple seconds later.

"What?" I manage to utter, staring wide-eyed up at him.

"I've been in love with you since I nearly lost you back on Isla Nublar," he begins to explain. "And I was too scared to tell you and because I thought I'd never have a chance with you I tried to move on to Brooklynn instead but..."

My brows scrunch in thought. "You're in love...with me?" I repeat, not really believing I heard that right.

"Yeah," he murmurs, reaching a hand up to rub the back of neck nervously, searching my eyes for any reciprocation of his now exposed feelings. "Do you...?"

"Yes," I immediately reply, not even letting him finish asking.

I don't know where the heck I get the courage but before Darius can say anything in return, I lift myself onto my toes, grabbing Darius's face in my hands, and pressing my lips to his in a long-awaited kiss.

He seems startled for about half a second before he slides his arms around my waist, pulling me closer and against his chest, kissing me back with a little more intensity.

We break apart to catch our breaths, just staring at each other in disbelief.

"I can't believe—" I start to say before Darius interrupts me by pulling me in for another kiss.

"Hey! Everything okay back there?" A still very-much paranoid Ben yells from the driver's seat up front. "You guys didn't get snatched from the back of the van or anything, right?"

Darius and I both smile into the kiss before pulling away and turning to Ben.

"No, Ben, we're fine," Darius yells to Ben who, despite that he doesn't seem entirely satisfied with Darius's answer, turns back to driving and turns up the heavy metal music playing on the radio station, drumming his hand on the steering wheel.

Darius and I exchange a knowing look.

I can't wipe the stupid grin off my face as I look up at Darius, unable to believe he's just kissed me—twice.

Or the fact that he—Darius Bowman, the guy I've been in love with since day two—loves me.

Not Brooklynn, me...

"Wait..." I say, suddenly realizing. "Is that why you didn't show up that night?"

Guilt washes over Darius's face like a bucket of ice-cold water. "Oh...yeah, that's why. I was also just embarrassed about what I said to Brooklynn and I had a feeling she'd told you and that just made it twice as embarrassing and...I just...couldn't go. And then I changed my mind. But...by the time I got there, she was already..."

I pull away from him, taking a step back as the memory from that night douses the happiness I was feeling only seconds ago with a heavy splash of grief and guilt. Darius reaches out to me as if wanting to hold me but refrains from actually touching me.

"I almost didn't go either," I admit quietly in a guilt-tinted tone. "But, Brooklynn was my best friend, and it sounded like whatever it was she was trying to show us was really important, so I went anyway—even if it meant having to see you..."

Darius doesn't say anything, he lets me speak, wanting to hear my side of the story after all these years.

"We were hiding behind a bush and...the allosaurus just came out of nowhere..."

Reaching out, Darius gently grabs one of my hands, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Then all of a sudden there were raptors chasing after us," I continue. "Brooklynn gave me her phone—for a reason I didn't know at the time—and told me to run to her car...She said she'd be right behind me...but when I turned around to check...it was too late for me to do anything..."

Darius gives me an empathetic yet grim look as he gently rubs his thumb over the back of my hand.

"Anyway, I wasn't really thinking when I turned on the car and drove away..." I continue. "And I can't help the guilt I feel whenever I think back on it. Would Brooklynn still be alive if I hadn't left so quickly? Is it my fault she's dead?"

I try my best to blink away the tears building up in my eyes and leaving my vision half blurry, but they spill down my face anyway.

"Y/n," Darius says, but I can't look him in the eye, not when I've just admitted to the fact that I'm half responsible for Brooklyn's death.

"Look at me." It's the gentleness in his tone that convinces me to lift my gaze to meet his eyes.

He doesn't look mad, he looks...like he knows exactly how I'm feeling, which I only now realize is because he does.

I wasn't the only one that was supposed to meet up with Brooklynn. I'm not the only one haunted with guilt.

Darius rests his hands on my upper arms, leaning towards me to be eye level with me as he speaks. "You're not responsible for making a decision you weren't in the right mindset to make. It was a hard choice and you were scared. There was also nothing you could've done. If you'd tried to go back to help Brooklynn"—he pauses, the reality of the possibility that I may not even be here if things had gone differently suddenly sinking into his mind—"you probably wouldn't be here...we would've lost you both."

Darius's eyes water, and he's suddenly pulling me into a tight hug, like he's afraid I'll slip through his grip if he lets go.

I hug him back just as tightly, soaking in the warm, comforting embrace.

"It's not your fault either, D," I whisper. "You know that, right?"

Darius doesn't answer verbally, he simply nods, his face hidden in my shoulder, and I can tell he's crying from the way my sleeve dampens.

"I'll stop blaming myself if you promise to stop blaming yourself," I murmur, tightening my arms wrapped around Darius's shoulders. "None of us—not even Brooklynn—could've anticipated the extent of the danger that was waiting for us there. And sadly, it is what it is, but I think it's time to accept the fact that no matter how many different variations or methods we could come up with—what things we could've done differently—it's not going to change what's already happened."

Darius nods again, giving me one last reassuring squeeze before pulling back to wipe the remaining tears from his face.

Neither of us says anything as we sit down side by side on Ben's make-shift bed, staring up at the map hung on the wall of the van. It's covered in pictures, notes, and basic sketches and such.

After a second, Darius wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer to his side, letting me lean against him.

Then we simply sit in comfortable silence—minus Ben's heavy metal rock music blasting through the speakers at the front of the van—content with not talking and just sitting in each other's company.

—

Author's note: soooooooooo.........

That's was pretty terrible but hey, at least it's something!

*sigh* anywayyy, hope you guys have a great day/night, God bless!!😌❤️

(If you haven't drunk any water or eaten anything, just take a few minutes go do that—your well-being is important and it matters to me. If you're up late, try to get some sleep, okay?)