"Stop doing that."
"Stop doing what?"
He was leaned against the wall of her house, hands shoved deep into his pockets, watching her with a quirk in his lip and a glint in his eye.
She sighed, wringing her fingers in the fabric of her dress. She wasn't sure how to articulate what she wanted him to stop – because really, she wasn't sure if she wanted him to stop at all.
He'd slipped into her life without warning, and sometimes it still startled her. With easy, lazy smiles, and eyes the color of a sky she'd never seen, only imagined, he'd started breaking down all the walls she'd put up to protect herself.
No, that wasn't quite true, either. The walls were still there, unyielding as ever, but he'd slipped past them, disregarding them completely.
He wasn't fazed when she ignored him, or when she acted stand-offish toward him. He pursued relentlessly, and she wasn't even sure what it was he was after, because he didn't demand anything more than her company, and it confounded her.
It made her so curious about him, and without meaning to, she started to tell him little things about her, like maybe if she shared something about herself, he'd reveal more about himself. He never talked about himself much, though, so she just kept telling him things until secrets she'd never imagined revealing spilled from her mouth, pouring over her tongue and lips, and he just watched her with crystal eyes, drinking it all in.
She always felt mildly embarrassed after she let so many words slip, like she'd laid bare too many things. She knew she had. But he'd just smile, and sometimes take her hand and squeeze it warmly, and she got the feeling he was glad she'd shared so much.
It was terrifying, though. She was scared that when she'd finally spent all of her secrets, he'd move on, sated, and she'd be left feeling wrung out and empty. She dreaded the day so much, that she tried her best not to say anything to him some days. She tried to pretend to be mysterious, to put those walls up again, but every single time, he'd find a way in, and she'd be saying more than she meant to again.
"Stop what?" he asked again, flashing her a crooked grin, a look on his face like he knew exactly what she meant.
She chewed on her lip, trying to find the right words to say so she didn't scare him off. Stop making me love you, she thought. Stop making me this person who wants to tell you everything.
"Stop making me talk all the time," she finally says. It's not quite what she means, but it's a half-truth. "You never tell me anything about what you think," she adds, trying to scowl at him, but it comes out more of a goofy smile.
"You want to know what I think?" he asked, and he seems genuinely surprised.
"Well, yeah," she shrugs, smoothing down her dress now that she'd wrinkled it in her fingers.
He pushes himself off the wall and steps over to her, staring down at her until she wants to blush and look away. She glances down and sees his hand twitch, like he's going to reach out and touch her, but then he just smiles shyly, more reserved than she'd ever seen him, and he breathes a little unevenly.
"I think you're the most interesting person I've ever met."
His statement said more than the words themselves, and she felt her cheeks grow warm even as they stretch to accommodate the smile her mouth was making.
"Oh...thanks," she whispers, because for once, no other words are spilling out.
A/N: I don't even know what this is. It's just...something I felt like writing. I apologize for my lack of updating. I seem to be stuck. I'm surprised I even wrote this. This piece doesn't really belong anywhere, it just sort of is. Maybe in an alternate universe or something, where Aerith's a little more guarded and jaded because of growing up in the slums, and Zack is there, being his charming self. Aslkdjf. I don't know. Really it's about that feeling when you like somebody without knowing why and you start telling them things you don't actually want to or didn't expect to, and it's just word vomit, and then you're worried you've said way too much...yeah. Anyway. Leave a review if you like, or...don't. Haha.