I DO NOT OWN ANYONE OR ANYTHING IN THIS STORY BESIDES THE OC'S.
Lola's Point of View-
Mike grabbed a knife leading me out to the table where I stood aside watching as he cut the tops off every pumpkin letting me begin pull the seeds and the slimy orange things that was inside the pumpkin. After Mike cut the top off the last pumpkin, he put the knife down and begun pulling the contents out of the pumpkins with me trying to pull the sticky gunk off our hands with each scoop laughing like little kids that were playing with something they weren't supposed to.
"Kids, you need to help me separate these seeds so I can roast them." Claire said.
"Yeah…" I said nodding as I chuckled as I watched as Mike tried to pull a strand of the orange gunk from his hands but it kept sticking to him as she handed us each paper towels to wipe off as much as we could before we dug into the big pile of both the slimy orange gunk and the seeds we had made.
"I'll get a pan for you guys to put the seeds in." Claire said as she walked back to where she came from coming back out with a pan setting it aside as Mike and I dove into the pile separating it into the two piles letting Claire take the seeds to the kitchen bringing a trash bag out letting us toss rest of it away before Mike led me to the guest bathroom washing our hands in the sink. We were flicking our fingers at each other when we got enough water on them getting the water to splash onto the other person before we dried our hands on the towels that were hung on the racks before walking back out to the table as I sat in a seat as I watched Mike go to a drawer grabbing a couple of sharpies bringing them back to the table handing me one.
"Go crazy with it." Mike said as I smirked as I grasped the sharpie he handed over to me as I uncapped it trying to think of how to draw a face on this pumpkin as Mike pulled up the seat beside me as he turned the pumpkin in front of him to the better side of the pumpkin as he uncapped the sharpie with his mouth as I looked to my pumpkin trying to envision what I wanted to put on it glancing to Mike as he was drawing away at the pumpkin chuckling at how eager he was into drawing on that pumpkin. I drew a face onto the pumpkin capping my sharpie staring at it as I looked to Mike as he put his sharpie down about the same time. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." He said smirking.
"Deal." I said as I turned mine to show him and he did the same seeing a face drawn on his with triangular eyes, a circular nose and a mouth that had like two teeth, one on the bottom and one on the top chuckling at the wacky face but yet I knew it'll be adorable. My face wasn't that far off from his but I used circular eyes and a triangular nose.
"I'll get you a knife." Mike said as he stood up going into the kitchen coming out with another knife handing it to me properly as I begun to cut out the shapes I had drawn onto the pumpkin. I was muttering curse words under my breath with every time the knife got stuck or won't work the way I wanted it to do so only hearing Mike doing the same with his knowing that we were too much alike.
"We are already cutting?" Claire asked as she walked out to the table from the living room that was somewhat connected to where we sat.
"Yeah…" Mike said.
"I'll go get the candles, but I think your dad and I are going to call it a night…Lola, you are welcome to stay the night if you feel too tired to drive home." Claire said.
"Thanks Claire, but I think I will just drive home, I don't want to overstay my welcome." I said as she nodded.
"But the invitation is always open, our house is your house." Claire said as she patted me on the shoulder as she stepped past the table to where she was heading to grab some candles as I glanced to Mike smirking lazily as I turned my attention back to my pumpkin trying to finish this dang nose. I got the nose finished when Claire set a handful of candles onto the table for us to put into the pumpkins, we probably won't light them tonight per say but to put in the pumpkins for later use. I finished cutting out the face pulling out the pumpkin pieces I pushed into the pumpkin when Mr. Mizanin and Claire said their good-nights walking past the table to go to the master bedroom.
"They go to bed early." I said.
"Yeah, they are like clockwork…they are always in bed between 9 and 10 PM…" Mike said.
"That must be nice, you will have the whole house pretty much to yourself for hours…"
"It's quite nice…but it sucks because I can't be too loud without waking them so I usually head back to my room as well so there is some distance between what I do and their room."
"I bet it gets boring back there…" I said pushing a strand of hair behind my ear as I pulled another pumpkin in front of me to draw on it.
"It does, but I'm used to it since I did it all the time in high school…"
"But in high school we all know that we snuck out of our bedrooms…"
"Why do you assume I snuck out?"
"It's you Mike." I said as he smiled.
"I did sneak out a couple of times…how many times did you sneak out?"
"A couple…but it was all for good causes…" I lied.
"Liar, sneaking out was never for good causes…"
"Fine, I snuck out for other plans…"
"Me too…I snuck out to go out with friends…I remember one year on the night before Halloween my friends and I went and toilet papered the principals house."
"That was you?" I asked as he just let out a few chuckles nodding. "I can't believe you guys did that, did he ever find out it was you guys?" I asked curiously as I glanced to him from what I was drawing on the pumpkin.
"No, never one ever told surprisingly…I'm surprised you didn't know…"
"Why do you say that?"
"We walked right by you when you were walking your friend home…" Mike said as I tried to remember that night.
"Oh yeah, you guys were carrying like 5 packs of toilet paper and one of you had eggs…I was wondering why you had so much toilet paper, I didn't know you guys were going to do that…"
"Would you have joined in?" Mike asked.
"Probably…" I said chuckling.
"You never got in trouble that I remember…."
"Neither did you." I rhetoric back to him.
"I did trouble that no one ever found out about, you just never did trouble."
"There may be things you don't know about me."
"Like what?" Mike asked curiously as I tried to think of something that I had done.
"I shoplifted before."
"Really? What'd you steal?" Mike asked curiously as I put the sharpie down picking up my knife to cut out the pieces I had just drawn.
"Earrings…"
"Really? That's it?"
"What do you expect? I'm a girl." I said shrugging as I pushed the knife through the pumpkin and began working at trying to get that eye out.
"True but I was expecting this big stealing spree like you stole money or something…"
"I said shoplifted not steal…"
"They are the same thing."
"How do you shoplift money?" I asked curiously.
"I don't know…" Mike said shrugging.
"Have you ever stolen anything?" I asked curiously.
"Some candy when I was a kid…"
"We are even then…"
"I guess we are, we weren't smart kids…now thinking back to it I can think of millions of things I wish I should have stole…"
"But you won't, after that one time realizing how scary it is you learn you don't want to do that ever again, at least I learned not to."
"You get caught?"
"No…but I was petrified."
"Me too…I got punished for mine, my parents caught me eating it in the back seat of the car…I should have used a little more common sense."
"Yeah just a tad."
"Do you still have the earrings?"
"Yep…I have them in my jewelry box but the funny thing is that I haven't worn them at all, so I stole them for nothing." I said chuckling at my stupidity.
"How come you never wore them?"
"I don't know, just never had a reason to do so." I said.
"It does seem pointless now but at that time you had all reason to do it…a lot of times we do things at one point in our lives for reasons but later on when we get older we look back at those times clueless why we did what we did." Mike said as I couldn't help but to smile and not believe this was the same Mike. He is a whole new Mike but yet the same Mike I loved for those years in high school and loved right now. We finished cutting out the pumpkins, I snapped a photo off all six with my phone saving it so I can upload it later to my laptop and to send to my parents. We chose what three to put on the porch carrying those three out to the porch after making sure they had candles in them and turned the Halloween lights on for the night. "You want some pie?" Mike asked.
"Please." I said as I followed him into the kitchen where we grabbed a slice of pie each along with making some tea to drink with it following him back onto the porch after he grabbed a blanket wrapping it around both of us to keep us warm as we ate our pie and drunk our tea in the peaceful crisp autumn air. "I think I would love having a porch like this too much…"
"Why's that?" Mike asked as he sipped at his tea.
"The way you can sit here enjoying some tea and it outlooks the whole yard…I just keep picturing when I'm older, my kids out there playing on some swing that would be hanging from the tree and playing tag, my husband and I sitting here smiling enjoying the sight and sounds while we sip our tea…" I said just picturing how nice having a porch like this would be.
"I am picturing that now…I think that is one reason why Claire and my dad loved this house…it's nice to have any time honestly, I remember being a child and my grandparents would come and they spent numerous hours just out here on the porch not doing anything, I never understood why but now look at what I'm doing." Mike said as he rocked the swing a little back and forth with his feet.
"Now you learn how to cherish the tiny things…" I said smirking as I looked over at him making eye contact with him which made my smile grow wider.
"I truly do." He said as he smiled just as wide, it seemed like we sat out there for hours just enjoying it snuggling close to his embrace and his arm slumped around me holding me close feeling him press his lips to the top of my head. "We should go inside, you feel like Mr. Freeze." Mike said as I chuckled.
"Yeah, and I should get heading home." I said as I sat up and got to my feet as Mike did the same after I did so.
"Why don't you just stay the night? It's well past midnight by now probably…" Mike said.
"I don't know Mike, I think I will feel better just driving home…" I said as he stepped in front of me holding my waist pulling me close to his embrace feeling his body warmth.
"I will feel better if you stayed here instead of worrying about you and Claire has already invited you so you know it's okay if you stay."
"Where am I to sleep Mike? I don't have anything…"
"You can borrow some of my clothes and I got spare tooth brushes and such for you…" Mike said.
"Where am I to sleep?"
"You can take my bed…." Mike said.
"Where are you to sleep?"
"I'll find a place, don't worry about me…please?" Mike asked in a beg as I broke eye contact looking over at the pumpkins then back at my car trying to think of if I wanted to stay, I knew I wanted to stay but I didn't just want to fold automatically, I wanted to make it seem like I was actually thinking about it.
"I'll stay…." I said as I ran a hand through my hair.
"Good, I thought I was going to have to resort to trying to hide your keys and I don't know how I would have done that." Mike said as I chuckled as he let out a chuckle himself before he leant down pressing his lips to mine for a small kiss. We grabbed our plates and cups going inside rinsing them out before he led me to his room to get ready to call it a night. "You can wear these…they are freshly washed…" Mike said handing me a pair of basketball shorts and a black tank top to wear.
"Thanks…" I said as I grabbed the outfit going to their guest bathroom changing and using it because I haven't been able to use it all day before I washed my hands and went back to his room with my dirty clothes from the day in hand.
"I made my bed, I found an old phone charger that should match your phone to charge it and I didn't set an alarm and figured you can do that…there is a tooth brush set aside right there for you." He said pointing to it as I nodded as I looked around the room as I put my clothes next to the bed until morning. "Good night, and I love you." Mike said as he pressed his lips against mine for a passionate kiss before he smiled turning heading out of the room.
"Mike." I said as he stopped at the doorframe turning around.
"Yeah?"
"Stay with me." I said.
"Huh?" Mike asked as I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Will you stay with me and lay with me tonight? I feel uncomfortable laying back here by myself and would feel more comfortable if you lay with me." I said honestly as he smiled as he stepped back into the room.
"Of course…let me get changed real quick." He said as I nodded yes as I wrapped my arms around my waist as he grabbed his new outfit going to the bathroom to change as I looked around the room uncomfortable about staying in here since it wasn't my room nor house. Mike came back into the room putting his dirty outfit into his clothes basket I assumed that was for his dirty clothes as he walked over grasping my hand, "Let's go to bed…" He said dragging me towards his bed watching him climb onto the big bed that was pressed up against two of the walls. I stood at the edge watching as he got comfortable laying on his side as he outstretched his arm as he propped himself up with his other arm grasping my hand tugging at me to climb onto the bed with him as I did, I laid down beside him snuggling close to him just a little not sure what his limit was when I felt his arm snake around me pulling me closer to him feeling his chin rest against the top of my head and my head rested against the curve of his neck hearing him slightly breathe and his arm held me close to him and his other arm propped my neck up, it was like a mini-pillow for my neck. I felt his arm leave my body only to feel him run his fingers through my hair fixing whatever wasn't perfect feeling him fidget a little feeling him press his lips to the top of my head before he re-wrapped his arm around me pulling me closer and to be honest it felt good being wrapped in his arms, I felt safe and protected. I eventually fell asleep to the soft sound of him breathing and in the tightness of his arms, it was the best night sleep I've had in a while.