Chapter Text
Sebastian almost wanted to turn back when he saw someone was already at his spot at the mountain lake. He didn’t want to go back to his room, though. He’d been feeling a little restless lately, and he couldn’t wait to go back to Zuzu City.
He also didn’t want to leave, but he didn’t like to think about the reason for that. It would be his last semester before graduation, and he would be able to figure out what he wanted before then.
He debated whether or not he should just go to the beach, but decided fuck it. It couldn’t be that bad talking to her. He walked closer to the lake, watching her long red hair blowing in the wind. “Hey,” he said.
Penny jumped, letting out a sigh of relief when she saw him. “Oh, you scared me,” she said, laughing.
He smiled at her. “Sorry.” He stood next to her. “Mind if I hang around?”
She shook her head. “Not at all.” He sat next to her, watching the lake.
Penny wasn’t someone he knew all that well. She was good friends with his half-sister, and with Sam, but they never seemed to talk all that often. He sometimes thought they could be friends, but he was plagued by the only significant moment they’ve ever shared.
Seb shouldn’t even have been home that weekend, but it was Abby’s birthday, and she had insisted on him coming over. He should have listened to his gut telling him he shouldn’t go back home, for more reasons than to avoid seeing Penny after what had possibly been the most traumatic event of her life.
“So, how have you been?” She asked him, no doubt to be polite.
He shrugged. “Not much. I’m leaving for college this weekend. I’m graduating next year, hopefully.”
“Oh, yeah, Maru told me about that,” she said. “Congratulations!”
He shook his head. “It’s not over until it’s over.” He still had a bunch of classes he needed to take, and he had no clue what he would do after he was finally done. Life wasn’t suddenly over after graduation, he had his whole life to think about now. He didn’t want to do that, though.
“What about you? Maru told me you’re going to college, yeah?” She nodded, her cheeks turning red. “Well, congrats to you too.”
She waved him off. “It’s not really a big deal.”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her, but she was looking straight ahead. He didn’t know much about Penny, but he knew she was dedicated to her studies above anything else. Pelican Town wasn’t exactly a city full of academics, and that was exactly the type of person she was. She didn’t belong here.
Besides, he knew she and her mother didn’t have a lot of money. The fact she’d gotten a scholarship was huge for her, and not something to be diminished. “It kinda is, though,” he said. “How many people in this town even manage to go to college?”
She dug up a bit of grass with her hands, still not looking at him. “I guess you have a point.” She sighed, hands still messing with the dirt. “Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“What’s the city like?”
Sometimes Sebastian forgot how privileged he was to live in the city. They lived in what was barely a village, of course lots of people here would never set foot in a place as big as Zuzu City. “It’s a really cool place. There’s lots of cool things to do, interesting places to visit. I really like it there,” he said.
“But it can be a little overwhelming at first. The tall buildings, the amount of people everywhere, and you can get lost pretty easily, not gonna lie.” He chuckled, remembering some of the many times in his freshman year he’d gotten on a wrong train and ended up on the other side of the city.
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been picturing…” She sighed again. “And… how do you make friends?”
He shrugged. “You just talk to people. Everyone’s kinda desperate when they’re a freshman. Friends are gonna happen, don’t sweat it.”
Penny was silent for a moment, and he thought it was kind of nice to just sit here, quietly. “Do I need to go to parties, though? I don’t… I really don’t want to drink.”
Sebastian felt a bit sorry for her then. He didn’t know too many details about her home life, but he knew who Pam was, and he knew how much she drank. It always surprised him how well adjusted Penny was, considering everything that had happened to her. “You don’t have to. I don’t really drink, and I’ve never been forced to, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank Yoba…” She paused. “I’ve been a little scared about moving lately. There’s just so much… I mean, I don’t know how the classes are gonna be, I don’t know how I’m gonna navigate the city, I don’t know how I’m gonna make friends, and I’m terrified of people thinking I’m just some loser.”
“Why would people think that?”
She scoffed. “Because that’s what I am?” She turned to him, and he could see her eyes were shining with unshed tears. “I’m just some white trash girl who somehow managed to get a scholarship.”
“Penny, come on, don’t sell yourself so short.”
She rolled her eyes. “How is it not true, though? What are they going to think when they find out all of the things I’ve never done because of where I’m from?” She took in a breath. “And when they find out I’ve never even kissed anyone before? Who would want to hang out with that loser?”
Sebastian still couldn’t relate to the panic before the first kiss. He had accepted early on that he didn’t have full control of a situation like that, someone else would also need to be on board. He hadn’t expected his first kiss to go the way it had, though it had been a lot better than he ever could have conjured up.
He hoped he wasn’t blushing, thinking about his first kiss that didn’t count because it’d been with the wrong person. The same person he just so happened to still be in love with, despite everything telling him to move on. “Well, I don’t think anyone will care about that.”
Penny sighed. “But what am I gonna do if… if someone wants to do that with me?”
“First kisses suck for pretty much everyone, but you can’t really predict when it’s gonna happen.” He paused. “It can be scary not knowing what to do at first, but you’ll figure it out.”
She looked out at the lake, clutching her cardigan closer to her. “I’m not scared of it being awkward, Sebastian. I’m scared of not knowing what to do because it could lead to things I’m not prepared for.”
Oh. That made more sense, given Penny’s past traumas. He still tried hard to forget about that night, but it was something he was going to have to live with. It was much worse for her, as he always tried to remind himself, but he couldn’t deny how much it had hurt him too. He wished he could have done more to help, but what more could he have done? Sebastian couldn’t change the past.
He looked at Penny, so small, so fearful of what the big city had in store for her. It was a different life from Pelican Town, a different rhythm. It could swallow her whole. But, he knew that if she let herself, she could find somewhere she belonged there. She needed help, though.
An idea clicked in his mind. He could help her, in a way. “Penny?”
She turned to him, eyes wide like a deer. “Yeah?”
“Do you think you’d feel safer if you knew what to do?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I believe so. I just… don’t want to seem like an easy target, that’s all.” Oh, but she was one. Small town girl, innocent and pure, living alone in the city for the first time? There wasn’t much he could do to change that part. “Seb, why are you looking at me like that?”
He didn’t realize he was staring, his mind wandering without meaning to. “Sorry, I…” He tilted his head, and smiled. “Can I kiss you?”
If he thought her eyes were wide before, it didn’t compare to now. Her cheeks turned a deep shade of red, all her freckles gone. She started panicking, shaking her head. “Wha– I mean, I don’t–” She sighed, trying to calm down. “I don’t really, uh… like you that way, Seb.”
He only watched, still smiling. “I don’t like you that way either. No offense.” She frowned. “I was thinking I could show you what to do. Then you wouldn’t be so nervous when you have to do it for real.” He stood, and she did too. He couldn’t tell if she was going to bolt or not.
Penny nodded, though the blush was still on her face. “Oh! Oh, okay, that makes more sense, I guess.” She bit her lip, crossing her arms. “I mean, are you sure about this? Won’t it be… I don’t know, weird?”
“Is that a yes?” Taking into account everything he already knew about Penny, this wouldn’t be even a little weird. Maybe it would even help Sebastian to not feel so guilty every time he looked at her. She was still hesitant. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, it’s just an idea.”
She was silent for a moment, and Sebastian was ready to drop the subject. “I like that idea,” she said, her voice low. She was flexing her feet like a ballerina, nervous in an almost infantile way. He found it a little endearing. “Yeah, sure, we can… do that.”
He took a step closer to her, and she didn’t stop him. Penny was still with her arms crossed, and Sebastian put one of his hands on her hips, bringing her closer to him. She let her arms drop to the side. He put his free hand on her cheeks, feeling how warm they were, caressing her. Just because they didn’t like each other that way, it didn’t mean he had to half-ass it.
“Follow my lead,” he said, and she nodded.
He leaned in, closing the gap between them. She kept her hands close to her chest, lips stiff, not really responding yet. He moved his lips, slowly, easing her into it. She tried to match him, being mildly successful. He pulled away for a moment. “Good?”
She nodded, unsure what to do next. He leaned in again, startling her for a moment. She recouped, and got a little bolder with her movements. It wasn’t bad for a first time, but Seb would always rank Sam first. He didn’t like to think too much about that, though.
He licked her lips, trying to get her to let his tongue in. She opened her mouth, and he eased her into it, moving slowly against her tongue. She mimicked him as best as she could, hands now moving to hold his neck. Kissing really was mostly instinct.
She pulled away, her breathing ragged and her face flushed, probably mostly from sheer nerves. He took a step back, moving his hand to hold hers for a moment. “That’s pretty much it,” he said, shrugging. “Now you won’t be helpless.”
Penny smiled, but she wouldn’t look at his face. “That was nice. Thank you.”
“No problem.” Sebastian looked at her for a moment, but she still wouldn’t turn to him. It was understandable, she was shy, and had he really just done that? He felt like he’d blacked out there for a second, but he couldn’t take it back now.
Maybe he had been inspired by his own first kiss experience, Sam’s so-called practice. He wished they would have turned that into a regular thing, but Sam had freaked out after the first time.
Sebastian fought the urge to shake his head, trying to banish those thoughts from his head. Penny dropped his hand. “I’m going home now,” she said. “It’s getting a bit late.”
The sun was almost set by now, and he knew from Maru she had quite a strict curfew, even in a town as tranquil as theirs. “Okay, yeah.” She waved him goodbye, and started to walk away. He watched her, putting his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.
He felt something in them, and suddenly had an idea. “Penny, wait,” he called out.
She turned, eyes wide as always. Sebastian didn’t bother trying to disprove anything she might have thought. He took out the little cardboard from his pocket and handed it to her. “If you ever get into a situation you wanna get out of, call me.”
She stared at his business card for a moment, as if trying to see if it was real. He had no issues with sharing his number with her, despite his usual reservations about that. They would live in the same city, and he thought it would be nice for her to know there would be at least one familiar face around, if she needed.
He saw her eyes watering. “Thank you, Sebastian.”
He shrugged. “Again, it’s no problem. Don’t be shy, okay? If you need help, just call. I’ll show up wherever you are.”
Penny nodded, saying goodbye to him and walking away. Sebastian watched her leave, a little relieved. He had felt somewhat protective of her ever since that night. He didn’t usually give out his contact unless it was in a professional setting, as he didn’t want anyone calling him, if he were being honest.
But he wanted to make her feel a little safer. If she was worried about being alone in a big, scary city, this was the least he could do.
It’s what a friend would do, even though Sebastian wasn’t sure if they were actually friends or not.