The air was heavy with the stench of burnt marijuana and jasmine incense. The room was dim, and the blinds were drawn. Loud bass from a cheap Bluetooth speaker rattled the bedroom windows as a nu-metal track played obnoxiously loud. Luckily for the two occupants, they were the only ones at home. In a flurry of passionate tongue-kissing and groping, the two rolled across the bedsheets, pulling each other closer and closer as the sensuality in the room became thick and hot. The two stopped on their sides, and the girl tugged at her male companion's white undershirt, biting his lip sultrily. She pulled away and grinned lustfully into his blue eyes. Her partner's lips curled into a look of hunger and, taking the hint, rolled aside, grabbed the hem of the shirt and pulled it up and over his shoulders. He moved back into her arms and kissed her again, harder, with his tongue exploring her mouth.
Fiona threw her body weight onto her lover, rolling them so that she was lying atop him. Scourge traced his hands down the back of Fiona's body, causing her to shiver in pleasure. As his hands rounded across the small of her back, she ran her fingers across his scalp, tightly clenching his quills as she reached the back of his skull, with a toothy grin on her face.
"God, you're hot," Scourge remarked, eyeing Fiona up and down. Fiona giggled.
"Funny, I was gonna say the same thing about you," Fiona remarked, tracing a finger down Scourge's bare chest.
The two of them made eye contact once more, and Fiona leaned into Scourge's neck to kiss him when the sensation of a phone vibrating underneath them interrupted her. Puzzled and annoyed, Scourge reached into his back pocket to see who it was and snorted upon seeing the caller.
"Kitten, you're never gonna guess who's calling me right now," he said in amused disbelief.
"Who, baby?" Fiona asked, leaning her head against his chest seductively.
"Alysha," he laughed, showing her the caller ID screen. Fiona laughed loudly.
"No fucking way," she scoffed, looking up at Scourge. "You gonna answer her or what?"
Scourge thought for a moment, looking at the still vibrating phone in his hand. He looked down at Fiona, who was wiggling her eyebrows at him. After making one last glance at his phone, Scourge glanced down again at Fiona and slowly smiled. He pushed the volume down key on his phone, muting the vibration, placed it down on an end table, and lifted Fiona's head off his chest. She grinned and crawled up to eye-level with Scourge. The two locked lips again, and the music continued to blast over the pair. Scourge, ignoring another call from his girlfriend, proceeded to apply kisses all over Fiona's neck. She giggled in response to his lips and chin whiskers gently tickling her neck. She, in response, began rubbing the subtle curve between Scourge's ribcage and pelvis, her fingers skimming across the waistband of his jeans. More calls came in, but the couple ignored the angry-sounding vibrations as they continued to foreplay. The two eventually made their way to a kneeling position, with Fiona leaning against the wall and Scourge in front of her.
"What're you waiting for, sexy? Take it off!" Fiona demanded, breathing heavily from the excitement. Scourge immediately kissed her again, pushing her up against the wall with his body. With his right hand cradling her head and neck, he slowly removed the black tank top Fiona had been wearing with his left.
There was a loud ringing sound from Fiona's backpack on the floor.
The couple broke apart from each other, Fiona sighing very loudly.
"God fucking dammit."
Fiona flopped down onto her bed, reached into her bag, and produced her phone.
"It's Aly. Should probably answer it; it might be something important," she huffed. Leaning against her pillows, Fiona paused her music and answered the call, turning on speakerphone. "'Sup, bitch?"
"Hey girl, how's it going?"
Fiona replied, "It's going pretty alright over here." She winked at Scourge, who laid down next to her, wrapping his right arm around Fiona's waist. "What's up?"
"Hey, do you know where Scourge is? I've been calling and texting him nonstop for like five minutes, and he hasn't answered. He's usually so prompt about it too, I don't understand. Do you know where he might be?" Alysha questioned, sounding mildly irritated.
Fiona quickly clapped her free hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, eyes flicking over to Scourge, and a split second later muted herself to let the creeping giggles out. She quickly cleared her throat and unmuted. "No idea girl, haven't seen him since this afternoon."
"Shit, what the hell could he be doing right now?"
Fiona tried to contain her laughter by coughing. "Agh, sorry. Girl, I doubt it's that serious. Maybe he's just showering or something."
"Ugh. Yeah, you're probably right. I can't help but worry a little, though, ya know?"
"Aly, Scourge is a grown man. He can handle himself." Fiona turned to face Scourge, glancing down towards his crotch and winking upon saying, "grown man." Scourge grinned and started to play with Fiona's bra straps.
"You're right, you're right," replied Alysha. "I'll call him in like 30 minutes then."
"Sounds good to me," Fiona said nonchalantly as Scourge began kissing her right ear. She smiled and playfully stuck out her tongue at him.
"Oh hey, by the way, can I come over tomorrow? I want some more weed. My stash is dry," asked Alysha. Fiona rolled her eyes.
"I thought you said you were done smoking cause it was 'making you gain weight,'" Fiona remarked, making air quotes with her free hand. Scourge chuckled, and Fiona slapped his knee gently to quiet him.
"Yeah, I know what I said, and I wanna get high again," Alysha replied tersely.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you can pinch from my stash whenever you come over. Just shoot me a text before you get here," Fiona offered.
"Sweet, thanks."
"Anytime," Fiona said, rolling her eyes again. She was getting impatient, and it was hard to wait with a shirtless Scourge directly behind her, continuing to flirt with her.
"That's all I wanted. Talk to ya later, bitch," Alysha concluded cheerfully.
"Yeah, later," Fiona said, promptly hanging up.
She broke out into laughter again and rolled onto her back, looking up at Scourge. Scourge laughed as well.
"God, that was amazing timing," laughed Fiona, restarting the music and reaching over to the end table to deposit her phone next to Scourge's. She grabbed a glass pipe lying next to a lamp. "Give me your lighter baby," she said to Scourge sweetly. Scourge smiled and kissed her neck seductively while pulling a lighter out of his jeans pocket. He tossed it to her. "Well, kitten, I want some of it if you're having some."
Fiona smiled back sweetly and flicked the lighter on, bringing it to the bowl, pre-packed with ground weed. The lighter ignited the bowl's contents, and Fiona brought the pipe to her lips. She inhaled deeply for a full ten seconds, applying her thumb to the pipe's choke for the last five. She held the gray smoke in her lungs for a few moments before letting it all out in one large exhale.
"Aah," she said, lying back on her bed, grinning from ear to ear. "Good. Fucking. Shit." She passed the pipe to Scourge, who did the same as her. "Almost as good as you," she continued, rubbing Scourge's upper thigh. "Almost."
Scourge paused, letting the vapor fill his lungs, and let it all out. He placed the pipe down on the other end table and, still smelling of marijuana, grabbed Fiona's hands, pulled her up to his chest, and kissed her deeply. Fiona, mildly surprised, quickly kissed back, wrapping her arms around his neck. They held the kiss for what felt like forever, the hard rock track that had been playing fading into a loud, thumping rap track.
Fiona suddenly broke away from Scourge. She held his face in her hands and rested her nose on top of his.
"God, I fucking love you," she whispered. Scourge let out a small chuckle and placed his hands on her hips.
"I love you too, kitten," he whispered back. He quickly threw himself on top of Fiona, once again looking hungry. "Want me to prove it to you?"
Fiona suddenly found herself filled with passion once again. "Hell. Yes."
Scourge grinned and leaned down on top of Fiona, the rap track taking over as the two fell into each other's arms once again.
Blaze thumbed through the pages of the book they were reading for English, seeing the words without reading them. English as the last class of the day was always rough. Today, for whatever reason, she had even more difficulty focusing. She sighed quietly and stared up at the ceiling, her eyes flicking instinctively behind her to the unmistakable blonde hair seated to her left and down a few rows back. She quietly exhaled again and sat back in her seat, grabbing a pencil. She slowly tapped the eraser end on her notebook, trying to think of notes to write about the last three pages she read but failing to produce anything of substance.
Feeling her phone vibrate ever so slightly in her hoodie, she slowly produced it, placed it on her desk, muted it, and unlocked it with her PIN.
1 new message, from Shadow
Blaze instinctively looked behind her at Selena, who paid her no mind. Selena seemed fidgety and anxious, tapping her foot and repeatedly checking her phone. Blaze turned back to her own phone and tapped on the notification.
Shadow Ultima: Hey Blaze, what's up?
Blaze felt her heart skip a beat. She quickly tapped out a one-handed reply.
Blaze Katba: English, it's boring.
Typing . . .
Shadow Ultima: I bet
Shadow Ultima: I have to admit I am missing classes now. It's boring being at home all by myself
Blaze Katba: No surprise there
Blaze glanced behind her and noticed Selena biting her lip and glancing at her phone. In her head, she laughed at the satisfaction of knowing that she was talking to Shadow and Selena wasn't. A wave of paranoia quickly washed over her as she then thought about what Selena and her friends would do to her if she found out about the conversations she had had with Shadow . . .
Blaze quickly turned off her phone and stared intently at her book, trying to read what was written and take her mind off of Shadow, but found little success, just the same as before.
Just check it. It's not like she's gonna find out . . .
Blaze bit the inside of her bottom lip and unlocked her phone again. A few minutes after her last message to Shadow had passed, and she was greeted with a message that made her pause in disbelief.
Shadow Ultima: Hey, do you think you could come over to my house after school today? I want to talk to you about something important.
Blaze felt her breathing hitch and tried to slow her racing heart, afraid someone might hear it.
Blaze Katba: Like . . . like *right* after?
Blaze Katba: Cause I have dance practice right after school
Typing . . .
Shadow Ultima: Oh cool! No problem, just come over whenever you can! :)
Blaze felt herself flush at the thought of going over to his house.
Oh god . . . Maybe I should just ask him to tell me now . . . ?
Blaze took a deep breath and slowly but deliberately typed out her message.
Blaze Katba: If it's too much trouble for you, feel free to just tell me over text
Wow, I sound like a tryhard . . .
Blaze scowled to herself at her phone screen as she watched Shadow type out a reply.
Shadow Ultima: Oh, no, it's no issue.
Shadow Ultima: If it doesn't work out for you, I can always text you, but I felt like you needed to hear what I want to tell you in person
Shadow Ultima: Besides, it'd be nice to see you again :)
Blaze felt a nervous smile creep onto her face, and her stomach filled with pesky butterflies. Her hands grew damp with sweat as she typed out her response.
Blaze Katba: I'll be there after dance then! :)
The bell snapped Blaze out of the conversation, and she quickly shut her phone off as the students around her started gathering their things and exiting the English classroom, chatting noisily. Blaze looked up as the familiar figure of Selena passed her. Despite her instincts telling her to, she couldn't bring herself to stand up. Selena shot her a puzzled and disgusted look but said nothing and proceeded out of the classroom. Blaze exhaled and stood up, hastily shoving her belongings into her bag. She walked out of the room and noticed her phone screen light up as it did so.
Shadow Ultima: Glad you can make it! :)
Blaze hastily rubbed deodorant onto her underarms as she hurriedly rummaged through her dresser, looking for clothes that wouldn't make her look like a vagrant. Her dance clothes lay discarded on the floor by her bed, and the clothes she'd worn to school (a plain white t-shirt, faded jeans, and black Hitman hoodie) hadn't made the cut.
Shit! Of course, on the one day I'm finally hanging out with Shadow outside of school, my cutest clothes are either missing or dirty! And it had to be after dance! Shit, how come he couldn't have asked yesterday? Or tomorrow?
She sighed and held her temples, looking at what she had arranged on her bed: A pair of black jeggings, a black spaghetti strap tank top, a gray and navy-striped shoulderless top, and a fur-lined denim jacket.
It's good enough . . .
She threw the ensemble on, took the ponytail in her hair out, and hastily placed strands of hair around her face. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her brain immediately went to pick out the flaws, so just as soon as she made eye contact with herself, she glanced down at her floor, took a deep breath, and left her bedroom, grabbing her phone on the way out.
As she made her way downstairs, she noticed her uncle coming out of the family room near the stairwell.
"Well, you're dressed up," her uncle commented. "What's the occasion?"
"O-oh," Blaze started, suddenly feeling very awkward. "Nothing, I'm just going for a walk before dinner."
Her uncle nodded. "Just don't take too long. We're having pasta salad, your favorite."
Blaze returned her uncle's warm and friendly smile. "Right, yeah, I won't be too long!"
"Just a moment, dear, where are you going?" called out her aunt from the family room couch.
"Just on a walk!" Blaze replied, trying to be as lowkey as possible.
"You're not tired?" queried her aunt. "You said yourself that Ms. Gladden said you were having trouble focusing today."
"Uh . . . I just . . . just need some fresh air," Blaze called back, quickly tying the shoelaces on her good pair of red Converses. "You know, to clear my head."
"Sounds reasonable to me," her uncle chimed in. There was a moment of silence from Blaze's aunt.
"It does," agreed Aunt Monica. "Just be back for dinner, okay?"
"Of course, of course," Blaze replied. "I wouldn't miss Uncle's pasta salad for the world!"
"I'm flattered," her uncle said. Blaze smiled and turned towards the front door. She opened it, and as she left she heard her aunt call out, "Have a good walk, dearie!"
The front door snapped soundly behind her, and she paused and stared across the cul-de-sac towards Shadow's house. The air was crisp and cool, with the sun just starting to creep down towards the horizon. She took a deep, shaky breath and took one step down her front landing. And then another. And another. Soon, she felt her body controlling itself as she walked across the street towards Shadow's house. Her stomach was turning itself into knots, and her knees felt like jelly, but the momentum was too much to stop, hesitate, or even look back.
She passed his mailbox and entered his driveway, passing his old blue pickup truck. She turned and, feeling like a mere puppet at this point, bounded up the steps of Shadow's front porch. She froze in front of his front door, staring at her feet.
Just do it, Blaze, just do it. Just do it. It's just Shadow, it's okay, just do it. Just do it. Just do it! Do it!
Blaze reached out and rang the doorbell. She heard it echo off into Shadow's house, and she pulled her hand back awkwardly and put it in her jacket's pocket. A chilly late-September wind blew through the neighborhood, making Blaze thankful she had worn her lined jacket.
She saw movement through the small windows next to the front door, but before she could react fully, there he was.
Shadow stood tall in his doorframe, wearing a school spirit shirt, black track pants, and white socks. Blaze felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Shit! I overdressed! And he still manages to look good despite wearing more casual clothes than me!
Shadow gave one of his noteworthy smiles, except that he gave a big grin instead of a small one this time. It sent the butterflies in Blaze's stomach wild.
"He-hey Shadow," Blaze stammered, trying her best to give a relaxed smile. If Shadow noticed she was nervous, he made no indication to suggest otherwise.
"Hey, good to see you again," he said smoothly. "Come inside?" he offered, gesturing inside to his foyer. Blaze nodded mutely and followed Shadow inside, her heart pounding in her chest. Once inside, she noted the neat pile of shoes on the landing, and following suit quickly slipped hers off. She followed Shadow into his living room and shakily sat down on a couch, back facing the living room windows that looked out to the street.
"I was actually just making tea," Shadow explained, gesturing into his kitchen. "Do you want some? Or maybe water or soda or something?"
Even though Blaze's nervousness had completely parched her throat, she found herself shaking her head. "I'm fine. Thanks for the offer."
Shadow nodded and disappeared into his kitchen. She heard him rustling around in there but did her best to block out the sounds of him by staring up at the eggshell-colored ceiling and taking slow breaths to steady herself. She swallowed some saliva to moisten her throat.
It's okay, Blaze, it's gonna be okay. He's just being friendly, and no one knows about it, so they can't do anything to me.
She placed her hands on her knees and leaned back on Shadow's couch, trying her hardest to relax. Her eyes glanced around the living room. It was clean and simple, much like her own. Still, there were just enough furniture differences to make the room feel comfortable and yet unfamiliar. The soft couch Blaze was sitting on felt more like a rock to her at that moment. Her eyes fell on a framed portrait of Shadow's family on a coffee table. Shadow was dressed in a sharp-looking dress shirt and tie and was standing between two people Blaze assumed to be his mother and father. She couldn't help but smile at the sight. Suddenly feeling very warm, Blaze quickly took off her jacket and hugged it up to her chest in an attempt to comfort her.
"Hey, sorry about that. I'm back. Just had to finish steeping the tea."
Blaze jumped slightly upon hearing Shadow reenter the room. In his hands, he bore a steaming mug of tea and a glass of water with a couple of ice cubes. He gave her a small, sympathetic smile, noticing that she seemed to be a bit uncomfortable.
"I know you said you weren't thirsty, but I brought you some water anyway, just in case," he explained, gesturing to her with the glass. He placed it down on the glass tabletop with a quiet tink.
"Thanks," Blaze said gratefully, reaching forward and taking a small sip; she resisted the urge to gulp the entire thing down and placed the glass back down on the table. Shadow sat down on her left, about a couch cushion's length apart.
"So . . ." Blaze started awkwardly as Shadow took a sip from his mug of tea. "How's it going?"
Shadow placed the mug of tea down next to Blaze's glass. "Well, it's a mixed bag," he started. "On the one hand, I'm back home. I am feeling a lot better, and I'm ready to go back to school."
"That's good," Blaze remarked lamely.
"Yeah, it is," Shadow replied, scratching the back of his head. "But uh, yeah, I've been emailing my coach about the whole thing, and . . . well, the not-so-good part of this whole thing is that I'm benched for the rest of the season."
Blaze blinked. "Really?"
Shadow nodded, his face contorting into one of disappointment. "Yeah. Since football is a major contact sport, it isn't really safe for me to play with stitches in general, let alone stitches from an abdominal surgery."
He took a sip from his mug. "I've been told to wait four to six weeks before doing any major physical activity. That includes football. So, I'm done for the season."
Blaze sighed sympathetically. "Damn, I'm sorry." She turned to look at Shadow. "You . . . Are you doing okay? Er, like, how are you handling it, I guess?"
Shadow looked back at her and smiled slightly. "Well, I'm disappointed, obviously, but I think it's gonna be okay. Like, I'm gonna talk with my coach and doctor about setting up an exercise routine that won't strain my abs until the incision site is more fully healed. Ya know, so my . . . I don't atrophy," he finished. Blaze nodded, and Shadow gave a small chuckle.
"Me not being on the team isn't that big of a loss for them. I wasn't that crucial of a member anyway."
"Seriously? You really think that?" Blaze asked, sitting up straight suddenly. "You really think you're not a core member on the team?"
Shadow looked surprised at Blaze's sudden outburst. He glanced away from her, a bit embarrassed. "Well, uh . . ." he took a drink from his mug. "Okay, so like, I mean . . ."
He laughed awkwardly. "Okay, maybe I exaggerated slightly. But I mean, I'm not exactly on the A-List for the team. Not like Sonic or the other guys. That's all I meant."
"Oh, okay," said Blaze, suddenly feeling awkward at her outburst.
There was a moment of silence between the two. Blaze, suddenly feeling a bit more confident, felt her voice speaking for her.
"So . . . What . . . What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Oh, right," Shadow said, sitting up straight. Blaze felt her heart rate pick up.
"So, firstly, I want to say this again: I . . . I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not telling you about Selena sooner. It was a shitty thing to do, and I know I probably hurt your feelings a lot. And I'm really, really sorry. I . . . I value what we have, and I made a mistake jeopardizing that."
Blaze felt her face flush. "It's okay, it really is. You did it for me after all, and I . . . I can't thank you enough for doing that."
"It failed in the end, though," Shadow countered. "I shouldn't have trusted Selena in any capacity, even for you. And I—"
"Please don't blame yourself," Blaze interjected. "You didn't know that I saw the two of you before you even had a chance to tell me."
Shadow turned to look at her, his eyes widening. "You . . . you saw that?"
Blaze, suddenly feeling bad for mentioning it, nodded. She didn't even need him to say it; she already knew what he was talking about. The color drained from his face.
"Oh my God . . . I had no idea . . . Fuck, I am so, so, sorry . . ."
"Oh no, please don't apologize! You had no idea!"
Shadow rested his head in his left hand, laughing in shame at his own perceived foolishness. He looked at Blaze, and suddenly, before she could react, he reached forward and grabbed her hands. He looked her in the eyes, and Blaze felt her breath hitch from the shock.
"Look, I . . ." Shadow looked away in shame, realizing what he was doing, but looked back a moment later, filled with determination. "I didn't know how to express it earlier, and I don't know why I didn't sooner, but . . . I value what we have a lot. Like, I didn't realize it until I was hospitalized, but I like what we have going on between us. And, as cheesy as this sounds, I wanted to ask . . ."
The heat rose from Blaze's cheeks to her forehead and ears. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears, and time seemed to slow around her as she waited with bated breath.
"I don't want us to be in this weird half-friend state anymore. I want to get to know you more and be friends with you, for real. Like, no more of this off-hand conversation in between classes. I want to be friends with you." Shadow suddenly let go of her hands and grabbed his mug of tea again, looking away.
Blaze didn't know what to think. She had never seen Shadow so . . . vulnerable and nervous before. He suddenly seemed a lot less like the monolith her crush made him out to be. And as for what he said . . . It wasn't at all what she thought he was going to say. But at the same time, she was ecstatic. Cautiously so, but ecstatic nonetheless. But there was still the issue of her image and his.
"I . . . I . . ."
Blaze thought for a moment about how she wanted to phrase her concerns.
"But . . . Selena and . . . and her friends. They'll come after me if they see us together. And uh, that's . . ."
Dammit, why didn't I just tell him this sooner?
". . . That's why I've been kinda distant with you around school. Like, I . . . I want to be friends with you too, but I've been scared that people will say or do things to me. Like, I know people like you a lot, and I'm basically the number one source for the rumor mill right now, so I don't want anything to happen to you or me."
Blaze looked up at Shadow, who looked surprised but also relieved and assuaged. "Is that why you always seemed so nervous whenever we talked?"
Not entirely . . .
Blaze nodded in affirmation.
Shadow sighed in relief. "Thank God . . . I thought it was cause you didn't actually like me or something." He laughed, shaking his head.
"Oh no, never!" Blaze said. "I . . . I think you're a really cool person too . . ." Blaze couldn't believe what she was saying. A tiny part of her brain was screaming at her to stop, another to spill her feelings, and both wrestled with each other intensely. Feeling very parched again, she reached forward and took a big drink from her glass.
"Well, if it's just Selena and everyone else . . ." Shadow continued. "I . . . I do think that I can help as much as I can if we're publicly friends."
His eyes seemed to flash with determination. "I'll protect you. As corny as that sounds. And I'm breaking up with Selena tomorrow."
"You . . . you are?"
"Of course. After what she did to you?"
"But that was Alysha and Fiona mainly . . ."
"Doesn't matter. She had an agreement with me, and that agreement was to leave you alone."
Blaze felt ashamed suddenly. God, he must think I'm weak. Why does he want to be friends with someone like me at all?
"You don't have to do that, you know . . . Be friends with me just to protect me . . ."
Shadow shook his head. "I think you've misunderstood. I like you as a person, as a friend. And because of that, I want to make sure nothing happens to you. I want to be your friend, though, first and foremost."
I like you . . . I LIKE you . . .
Blaze looked at Shadow. "I . . . Want to be friends too."
Shadow blinked for a moment and then smiled wide. Agh, that fucking smile . . .
"Awesome," he said. "So, it's official then?"
". . . Yeah, I'd say so."
With all of the baggage out of the way, the two of them went silent. Blaze finished the last of her water, and Shadow continued sipping from his mug. She suddenly remembered dinner.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I told my aunt and uncle that I'd be back in time for dinner, and I think it's about that time, so I've gotta get going," she hurriedly explained, standing up. Shadow followed suit.
"Right, sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting," he apologized.
"No, no, it's fine," Blaze quickly clarified, throwing on her jacket.
The two of them stood facing each other, once again going silent. Shadow broke the silence a moment later.
"Thank you for coming to see me and hearing me out, Blaze. I really appreciate it," he told her genuinely. Blaze nodded in reply.
"No problem. And thanks for . . . well, for . . . everything . . ."
The weight of what had just happened, and everything Shadow had done for her, suddenly struck her like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly overwhelmed with gratefulness, relief, happiness, and a bit of limerence, she couldn't stop herself. She lunged forward and hugged Shadow.
"Thank you, Shadow . . ."
Shadow was just as stunned as she was. Blaze could tell from the way he hesitated before hugging her back. Suddenly horrified at what she did, she broke away, her hands flying to her mouth.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Shadow, I should've asked . . ." Blaze backed away, mortified.
Shadow, whose cheeks had an ever-so-slight blush to them, quickly waved his hands in negation. "No, it's okay. It really is."
Blaze could hardly make eye contact with Shadow, so instead stared at her socked feet. "I . . . gotta get going," she said, turning away towards the foyer.
"I'll lead you out . . ." Shadow offered. Blaze didn't say anything, silently accepting his offer. She quickly slipped her Converses back on, tying the laces. She stood up to go, facing away from Shadow, but turned back around when he tapped her on the shoulder. Blaze slowly turned around and forced herself to look up, despite the embarrassment flowing in her veins still. She almost turned away again when her eyes rested on his face. Shadow was practically glowing.
"See you tomorrow, as friends?"
Blaze felt herself smile in spite of her shame. "Yeah."
"Have a good night then, Blaze. I'll text you!"
Blaze waved and headed out the door, with Shadow closing it behind her. She didn't leave right away, though. Reeling from the past ten minutes, she stared down at her shoes and couldn't help but laugh quietly in shock, grinning widely.
Oh my God . . . He's so fucking cute . . . And nice, and kind . . .
Shadow closed the door behind Blaze but didn't leave his foyer right away, though. Reeling from the past ten minutes, he stared up at the ceiling and felt his face stretch wide from his smile.
God . . . She's cute . . . And understanding, and sweet . . .
And I can't believe that just happened to us!
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ END ⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤