Norway x Reader: Beside You Ch 2

( A/N: Well, here is the second chapter!! And just like I promised, Norway makes his debut appearance here. This chapter will be waaaayyyyy longer than the first one. Oh, and by the way, prepare for a little bit of fluff and angst here.)
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Norway x Reader: Beside You Ch 2

And if your heart wears thin, I will hold you up
And I will hide you when it gets too much
I'll be right beside you,
I'll be right beside you


You woke up to the sound of the alarm clock going off. Groggily, you shifted your position and opened your puffy eyes that are still red from crying yourself to sleep. Sighing, you turned your head to face the ceiling and stare at it blankly for a moment. Sadness threatened to overwhelm you yet again but the tears never came- as if you already cried all the tears you could. The only thing you could feel right now was the picture frame that you held to sleep.

Almost subconsciously, you gripped the hardwood edges of the picture frame. You then turned around and pressed the button on the alarm clock that was ringing all along. Brushing stray strands of your ( h/c ) away from your face, you saw the time and realized it was already late.

Deciding that you should get up and make yourself at least presentable, you got out of bed and placed the picture frame back on your night-table.

Without even bothering to straighten out your comforter, you proceeded to walk into the bathroom. You flipped on the light switch and you were greeted by the sight of your tired face reflecting on the surface of the mirror. Your ( h/l ) ( h/c ) hair was a mess and your ( e/c ) eyes were exhausted from crying yourself to sleep. Since when did your face started to look hollow and tired, you'll never know. It's not like you were counting the days since Matthias died.

When you were with other people, you tried your best to put on a brave face but deep down inside, you were hurting so much. Behind the facade of smiles and faked laughter was a sorrowful and grieving mask. Only your close friends and family members were able to look beyond that mask but not even them can come close to understanding the grief that you were feeling.

Realizing that you've just been standing in front of the sink and doing nothing the whole time, you turned on the tap and washed your face. You brushed your teeth and then combed your hair and tied it into a messy ponytail. After drying your face and applying a little bit of mascara to your eyelashes, you walked back to your bedroom to get changed.

After a moment of rummaging and searching through your closet for clothes, you decided to wear a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans and a simple, gray, V-neck shirt. When you were finally changed out of your pajamas, you went downstairs to your little kitchenette to eat a late breakfast.

You rinsed the bowl you used after eating cereal and then you put them in the dishwasher. You then went to your living-room and sat down on the sofa. Today was your day-off and you have absolutely nothing to do. Usually ever since the car accident happened, either your mother or your best friend, Tina, will come over to visit and provide you company.  But days ago, both of them called and told you that they wouldn't be able to come over this week.

Aside from the continuous ticking of the clock and the sound of your own breathing, the house was completely silent- a deafening silence. You then remembered the days when Matthias would visit you. Smiling wistfully, your mind started reminiscing one of your most precious moments with him.

--FLASHBACK--

Ding-dong, ding-dong

"Wait a moment, I'm coming!" you shouted from the kitchen as you hurriedly washed your hands and wiped them on your jeans and then proceeding to run and open the front door.

Ding-dong, ding-dong

"He really is an impatient one", you thought. You were currently fumbling with the locks of your door but after a brief struggle with the unforgiving lock, you were finally able to open it and you were greeted by the sight of a playfully pouting Dane.

"Well, that was long," he said childishly as he continued to pout.

You laughed at your boyfriend's remark. He's so cute when he acts like that and if it was even possible to fall in-love with him more, then that's what is currently happening to you right now.

"Hey what was so funny about that?" he said as he pouted more.

"Nothing," you said while giggling. "You're so cute, that's why. It's cold out there, come in," you motioned for him to come in.

He took off his coat and hung it on the coat hanger then all of a sudden, he took you by surprise by wrapping his arms around you from behind. You acknowledged his presence by placing one of your hands on top of his and your other free hand went up to caress his cheek. He proceeded to nuzzle the top of your head.

"Hm, am I not going to get a kiss?" he asked. You turned around and smiled at him. Then you gave him a peck on the cheek. He pouted yet again.

"__________, not there," Matthias said as he made a duck-face at you. Smiling again from your boyfriend's childishness and sweetness, you wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips. It was a short but sweet kiss.

"Matthias, I think I love you," you said after you pulled away.

"I know," he said, "And I love you too."

--END OF FLASHBACK--

You didn't realize you were crying again until you brought your hands to your face and felt something warm trickling down your cheeks. It was as if you never ran out of tears. But then, even though you were crying again this time, the feeling was different.

Were you feeling happy? To be quite honest, you can't decipher your current emotion right now. But whatever it is that you're feeling, it certainly wasn't sadness, grief, or sorrow. The memory was far too precious for you to feel something sad about.

That was one of the times when you felt truly happy. As if it was only you and Matthias living in this world. You could care less about what other people think about you two. You wouldn't give a damn as long as you had him with you. Who could've thought that your relationship would've tragically end up this way?

Your train of thought was interrupted when the phone started ringing. You waited for a moment for the caller ID to show up and when you saw that it was Lukas calling, you picked up the phone.

"Hi, Lukas," you said to him. You've known Lukas since you were in high-school and was technically the closest guy friend you've ever had.

"Oh hi, __________. How are you feeling right now?" he asked. You knew that he was greatly concerned for you as a close friend. He was mutual friends with you and Matthias after all. Matthias' death affected him as much as it affected you.

The question had you thinking for a moment. Should you or should you not decide to tell him? You decided on the former.

"Honestly Lukas, I haven't been feeling better since he died. You know, I can't help but blame myself for what happened. I mean, I shouldn't have been mad at him. I shouldn't have made a big deal out of a small thing," you confessed to him. You felt your voice wavering and tears were now falling down your face, but still, you continued talking.

"Lukas, h-he, he died trying to protecting me! He died because of me! And what was I doing to him? I was blaming him for my fault! I blamed him for something that I did!" you finally said. You let out a whimper and tried hard to hold back your sobs.

The Norwegian on the other line felt a pang of guilt in his heart. All he ever wanted was to comfort you, to be there for you. But after everything you said, it seems to be doing the opposite. And when he heard you crying, it almost broke his heart. It pained him to hear you like this- to hear you crying. He never wanted to hurt you. If only he could wipe your tears and make your sorrows go away.

"__-_________, please don't cry. It's not your fault. Please don't blame yourself. I'm here for you. We're all here for you," he finally said. It was all he know that he can say to comfort you.

Since the first time Lukas met you, he knew you were different. He was never a believer in love at first sight, but all of that changed when he met you. There was something about your whole personality that had him entranced. You were different than all the other girls he met before. From the way you smiled to the way your ( h/l ) ( h/c )hair would flutter when the wind blows, he loved you.

He loved you. That was the reason why decided not to pursue you when he saw you happy with Matthias. The glow in your ( e/c ) eyes seemed to sparkle more when you were around him. He only wanted you to be happy. He never wanted to see or hear your heart-breaking cries.  If only he can bring the dead back to life. He'd do anything to bring back the smile to your lovely face because to see you smiling was more than enough for him.

You wiped the tears away from your eyes and started to talk on the phone again.

"So-sorry, Lukas. I shouldn't have said all of that," you said to him.

"No, don't be, ___________. There's nothing to apologize for. I'm here to listen. You can cry on me," he said.

Then there was a brief silence between the two lines. It wasn't an awkward silence. It was more like a silence of knowing that on the other line was someone who was willing to listen to you. Someone who is there for you. Someone you can cry on.

You started to say something, but since your voice was so soft, Lukas didn't understand what you were saying.

"What were you saying again?" he asked.

"I miss him, Lukas. I miss him so much ," you said with your voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, __________. I- I miss him too," Lukas said. And it was true. Matthias was his friend too. Even though they always bicker with each other, even though he never got to claim your heart because of him, he was his friend. A close friend, in fact.

"Lukas? Are you still there?" you asked.

"Yeah. What is it?" he replied.

"Thanks. I mean, thanks for listening. I-it feels good to let that out you know," you said to him.

"It's alright, __________. I'm always here for you. If you need someone to talk to, just call me," Lukas said.

"Thanks again, Lukas. Thanks for being a good friend," and then you hung up.

--

You put the phone back in place and let out a sigh. Somehow, it felt good to talk to someone. The guilt was still there, but it felt like a huge weight was lifted off your shoulders.

You turned around to look at the clock to your left. You realized that it was still early. Since you have nothing to do, you decided to go out for a walk and have some fresh air. You walked to the front door and put on a pair of flats and you grabbed a ( f/c ) coat from the coat hanger.

It is going to be a long day.