Chapter Nine:
As Pretty As Ever
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

P

rimrose inhaled sharply, a laugh leaving her lips as she brushed the wet hair sticking to her face out of her eyes. She turned her head to look at Stanley, a large grin spreading across her face when she saw that he already had his eyes on her. "We found him."

Stanley nodded with a grin, sticking the key in the ignition as Primrose tore her eyes from his face.

Primrose gently rubbed her thumb against Harold 2.0's back. "Thank you, my handsome Stanley."

"Yea-Yeah, yes, of course. No.. No problem.." Stanley stammered out, clearing his throat and drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

He watched in silence as Primrose quietly spoke to Harold 2.0, a large grin spreading across her face.  Stanley's eyebrows knitted together when she turned to look at him, an unreadable expression passing over her face.

Primrose silently reached forward, pressing her hand against his cheek and gently rubbing her thumb against his cheekbone. He inhaled sharply, suddenly feeling the urge to reach up and take her hand into his. Stanley's heart jumped as she grinned at him, slowly retreating her hand. His face warmed up as his mouth grew dry. "Wh-What.. uh, what-what was that for?"

"There was mud on your face, my handsome Stanley." Primrose hummed, turning her head to look out the window. Stanley grinned, silently looking down at his lap from the nickname.

Stanley liked it when she called him that. He liked it a lot. He liked it far more than he'd ever say to her, even if she asked him directly. He would even go as far as to say that he loved it when she called him that. Because he did.

Stanley loved it when she called him My handsome Stanley.

"If I was a weather.. I'd be a.. hm.. I'd be snow."  Primrose hummed, raising her arm to look at Harold 2.0 as Stanley shifted gears and began driving away from Ricky Berry's house. "I think you'd be.. you'd be sunshine, handsome Stanley. You'd be sunshine. Because no matter how much this beautifully evil world rains on you.. You always shine through it all. I admire that about you, my handsome Stanley.

Stanley laughed, trying to force the blush down. "I-I think you'd be sunshine, too.."

Stanley wished he could bring himself to say more, but she spoke so much more eloquently than he did and he didn't even know where to begin.

Primrose blushed, a giggle slipping past her lips as she pressed a short kiss to Harold 2.0.

A wish flashed through Stanley's mind. A wish that caused him to zone out as he drove through the forest.

Why did he want her to kiss him?

"Watch out!" Primrose gasped, squeezing her eyes shut as a figure appeared beside the road.

"Oh, fuck!" Stanley cursed, slamming on his brakes and swerving as a figure rushed past his car. Primrose winced as her head hit the back of his carseat.

"Are you okay?" Primrose asked, unbuckling herself from the car and getting out carefully. She grimaced at the site of the car, her eyes turning to Stanley quickly as she scanned his face for injuries.

"Fuck!" Primrose jumped, her eyes widening as she stumbled into Stanley when the trees around her crashed to the ground at once.

Her free hand clasped around his as she looked around the forest in shock. Harold 2.0 tighten it's grip on her arm as she leaned closer to Stanley as the sound of crunching wood echoed in the valley.

"Syd!" Stanley called out, stepping forward and pulling Primrose along with him.

"Fuck.." Stan cursed, nearly toppling over into the mud. "How did-"

"My dear Sydney, what happened?" Primrose leaned forward, checking her friend's face for any sign of.. well, anything, that could help her figure out what she had just seen.

"I mean.. you-you just.." Stanley stammered, shaking his head in disbelief as his body became paralyzed from the shock.

Syd looked around at the fallen trees in fear as she stepped closer to the pair, "Th-They were like this when I got there.. I s-swear. They were!"

"We.. We saw you.." Primrose muttered, her hair sticking to her face as her mascara began to run down her cheeks. "What.. how did you.."

"No, no, no, no. No.. We saw it, Syd." Stanley stammered out, his hand still clasping Primrose's.

"Well, you better keep this a secret, okay?" Syd shouted, her voice strained as she locked eyes with Primrose. "Not a fucking word from either of you! Got it? Promise me, please!"

The sound of thunder clapping in the distance caused Primrose to jump and nod her head frantically, "Ye-Yeah, yes.." 

A flash of guilt washed over Primrose when she realized that Syd probably thought that she jumped because of her, when in reality it was the roaring thunder. Primrose could never be scared of Syd, and she made a mental note to tell the girl that in person.

"Okay, okay.. I-I promise, Syd. We promise." Stanley said quietly, his breathing becoming rigid as he watched Syd disappear into the trees.

He slowly turned his head to look down at Primrose, who held a shocked expression on her face.

Even while soaking wet and clearly freaked out, Stanley still thought Primrose was as pretty as ever.

~~

"You can stay the night here.." Primrose murmured, looking from Stanley's eyes to her darkened house. "If you don't want to go home."

She could sense the fear radiating off of him the moment it set in that he had damaged the car far more than what he could afford to get fixed.

She felt horrible for him. If she could, she would take Stanley's dad and banish him to a far away island so that he would never be able to hurt Stanley again. She hated seeing Stanley hurt, she hated it more than anything else in then world.

Primrose knew that Stanley deserved so much better than what the world dished out to him.

Primrose watched as Stanley swallowed thickly, his eyes focused on the street lamp in front of him. "N-No, I should.. I should go back.".

"If.. I'll leave my door unlocked tonight." Primrose whispered, afraid to raise her voice as if the boy would crack under her intense gaze.

Stanley swallowed thickly, nodding his head slowly as he turned to look at her. "Thanks for.. for tonight, Prim. I had a great time at the party with you."

Primrose smiled softly, brushing her damp hair behind her ear. She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow, my handsome Stanley."

Primrose carefully shut the car door behind her, quickly walking up the steps to her house and opening the front door. She turned her head, waving one last time before entering her house and shutting the door behind her.

"Was that a boy?"

Primrose jumped, her face reddening, "It's Stanley, dad."

"Stanley..." The man trailed off, indicating for her to continue as he looked up from the tv.

"Barber." Primrose sighed dreamily as she walked towards the stairs, keeping her promise of not locking her door.

"What? Is he a barber or somethin'?"

Primrose laughed, "See you tomorrow, dad. Love you."

Primrose was right about keeping the door open, because Stanley showed up mere hours later with tear stained cheeks and an eerily silent mood about him.

Primrose held him as he cried silently, his arms clasped around her waist as he released all of the emotions he had been holding in.. and when he finished crying, a small thank you was heard.

Primrose only nodded, pressing a kiss against the crown of his head as she held him tighter. "Anything for you, my handsome Stanley.. Anything for you."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

{ A/n: this felt worse than my usual writing,, sigh }

{ Edited: No }