Thorne drummed his fingers against his steering wheel as he pulled onto Cress's street. He couldn't believe his luck.
When their study date had ended, Thorne was sad to see Cress go. He had had such a wonderful day with her, and when he dropped her off at the library and was preparing to say goodbye, she had turned to him, smiling.
"Same time tomorrow? We can just meet at the park. I'll bring the coffees."
Speechless, Thorne simply nodded and watched as she got into her car and drove off.
They had spent the next two days together, mostly studying, but they had fallen into an ease of conversation that made Thorne feel like he was floating on a cloud the rest of his evenings. He did not feel the need to take any of Dr. Darnel's prescribed pain killers. They had even finished their work early on Thursday and spent the rest of the day at a matinee showing of The Sound of Music that was playing at the old movie theatre on the main drag. Thorne was reluctant to go, but Cress had persuaded him and he found it highly amusing when she sang along to the songs. When Cress tried to hide the fact that she was brushing a tear away when Maria and the von Trapp children joined their dad in singing "Edelweiss," Thorne pretended to be busy with his Raisinets.
After the movie, they had gotten ice cream and Thorne had shown Cress the hot air balloon book display at the bookstore. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside to get a better look. Her hand had lingered in his and his chest felt like it could have burst into butterflies at any moment.
His heart had dropped to the pit of his stomach when Cress had mentioned that they wouldn't have to meet up on Friday. He knew it was too good to last, but he was expecting to spend another perfect day with her. Perhaps the last perfect day with her, but at least one more. The disappointment must have shown on his face because she reached over and placed a gentle hand on his arm. His fingers twitched.
"You're still going to the game, right?" she asked.
"The game?"
There was Cress's tinkling, amused laugh. "The football game."
"Oh." Thorne rubbed the back of his neck. "Are we even allowed? I mean, aren't we still suspended?"
Cress pondered the question before shrugging. "I don't know, but who's going to stop us? Are they going to have our pictures plastered on flyers saying 'Do Not Admit?'" Her smile turned mischievous. "Besides, if we get turned away we can just hang out in the parking lot and smoke cigarettes like the delinquents we are."
Thorne let out a bark of laughter and conceded.
"It's thirty minutes away at Kamin High. Do you want to ride together?"
Thorne couldn't keep the grin off his face. "Yeah."
Thorne checked his visor mirror one last time before taking a deep breath and getting out of his car. He took the time walking from his car to Cress's front door to calm his nerves and regulate his breathing. He wondered if this counted as a date and if it did, had the movie the afternoon before counted too? Maybe not, since Cress had paid for herself and treated him to the ice cream, but he was enough of a twenty-first century man to acknowledge that it didn't mean that wasn't a date.
He was beginning to think himself into circles and he shook his head to push the thoughts away. It didn't matter. He promised himself that if he ever got the chance to take Cress on a date, a real date, it would be the most romantic one he could muster up and a kiss at the end of the night would confirm that it had, in fact, been one.
He became a ball of nervous energy at the thought of kissing Cress. He climbed the four steps onto the porch in two easy strides and had to bounce on the balls of his feet a couple of times before ringing the doorbell.
Dr. Darnel's piercing blue eyes greeted him when the door opened. Thorne gulped.
"G—good evening, sir."
Dr. Darnel nodded. "Mr. Thorne. Looks like your eye is healing nicely. How about your hand?" His eyes flickered to Thorne's splint.
"Practically painless," Thorne replied, holding up his hand for the doctor to inspect.
Dr. Darnel nodded again, approvingly, and Thorne could tell he was just about to say something important before Cress bounded up.
"Hey Thorne. Ready to go?"
"Don't you want to invite Carswell inside?"
Cress rolled her eyes, but kissed her dad on the cheek nonetheless. "Goodbye, Papa."
"Goodbye, Dr. Darnel." Thorne said as Cress nudged him backwards and closed the door behind her.
"He didn't give you a hard time, did he?" Cress asked pulling on a teal cardigan over her orange East Commons High School t-shirt.
"No. He checked my hand, actually."
Cress nodded, satisfied that the doctor hadn't embarrassed her and smiled as Thorne opened the passenger side door. She picked up her scarf which Thorne had left, folded neatly, in the seat for her.
"Thanks for letting me borrow it. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get it back to you." Thorne instantly felt self-conscious.
Cress shook her head. "You should keep it."
"But I—"
Cress laughed. She pointed to the light blue t-shirt he was wearing. "That's a very nice color on you, and it brings out the blue in your eyes, but trust me." She unfurled the scarf and Thorne instinctively lowered his head so she could drape it over his shoulders. "You need this more than I do."
Thorne felt his pulse thumping in his head and he was sure his ears had turned bright red, but he wasn't sure if it was from her complimenting his eyes or from embarrassment of his second football fashion misstep. When Cress was situated in the passenger seat, Thorne closed the door for her and walked around to climb into his car. He absentmindedly rubbed his fingers against the orange and teal fringe of the scarf and wished it still smelled like Cress.
The thirty minute car ride flew by too quickly for Thorne and before he knew it, he was pulling into the stadium's parking lot and getting out of the car. He and Cress joined the crowd that was making their way towards the ticketing booths and he wondered if they really would get turned away. He bit his lip nervously and almost didn't register the fact that people were giving him odd looks as they said hi to Cress.
It turned out that Thorne was justified in his nervousness. As they were approaching the ticketing booths, they saw Julian at the front of one of lines. Even through the crowd, his voice was clear.
"What do you mean, there's a list? My suspension should be over!"
Cress pulled Thorne behind a group of band moms sorting through hat boxes and they watched as Julian angrily stalked away. Cress shook her head as she watched him get into his car and peel out of the parking lot. She snorted.
Thorne groaned. "I guess that's it. Do you—um—want to go to the movies? Or something?"
"No."
"Oh."
"We're getting inside."
"Oh?"
Cress's face was full of determination as she searched the crowd and the lines getting into the stadium. Thorne wasn't sure how she was going to pull this off, but he was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to convince her to leave. He thought he should say something, try to persuade her it wasn't a big deal, but then a smile broke across her face, the most mischievous smile he'd ever seen on someone and if it had been on anyone else's face, Thorne would have been terrified. In all honesty, he was still a little terrified.
"Follow me and act natural."
Thorne would have laughed at her comment if he wasn't trying to keep up with her and act as natural as he could at the same time. He wasn't even sure what that meant. Was he suppose to act like how he normally acted? He was positive that wasn't what Cress meant, because his natural state was to feel skittish, especially when following a head-strong elf who was determined to break some rules.
He followed Cress as she got in line at one of the ticketing booths at the far end of the stadium. It was a bit shorter than the ones closer to the main gate and Thorne tried to work out her plan. Surely it made more sense to hide in the middle of the crowd? No, Cress was right, they should try to avoid detection.
"Get ready," she said to him and he had to wipe his sweaty palms onto the pant leg of his jeans.
As they stepped up to the ticketing clerk, Thorne peered through the window and found that sitting on the counter was, in fact, a list of students that were not permitted to enter the stadium for that night's game. He gulped.
Cress's sweet voice filled the air when she addressed the sandy-haired boy behind the window. He was wearing a royal blue Kamin High School t-shirt. "Oh hi Roland, how are you?"
The boy stared at Cress for a brief second before regaining his composure and smiling at her. "Hey, Cress. Doing well, I guess. You?"
Cress dipped her lashes and fluttered them twice before smiling her dimpled smile and Thorne knew if she had directed it at him, he would have done anything she asked. "I'm great, but listen. Thorne and I—" she gestured towards Thorne who held up a hand in greeting. "—Are in a bit of a hurry. I have something that I have to get to Scarlet right away. You know Scarlet, don't you?"
The way Cress emphasized Scarlet's name and the way Roland's eyes turned almost dreamy made Thorne think that Roland did, indeed, know Scarlet. Roland nodded as confirmation.
"Then you know she's head cheerleader now and had to rush over here with the squad after school. She forgot something really important at home and we're here to bring it to her."
Roland nodded slowly, turning towards the stack of tickets sitting on top of the "Do Not Admit" list.
"I mean, it's pretty urgent." Cress hesitated before leaning in like she was sharing a secret. "It's—um—a girl thing. Unless, you want to make the delivery yourself—"
"Uh. N-no. It's fine." Roland's eyes were wide when Cress made a show of reaching into the purse slung across her body.
Even though Thorne knew she was making it up, he couldn't help but blush along with Roland who hastily grabbed two tickets without checking the sheet and handed them over to Cress, waving them through. Cress smirked as they walked through the gate and she tucked a ticket into Thorne's uninjured hand. Her smirk deepened as they eased into the crowd making their way to the bleachers, revealing the dimple that drove Thorne crazy. He couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of him.
Thorne was just about to compliment her on a job well done, when she suddenly squeaked and grabbed his shirt, pulling him behind a bank of vending machines. Cress held onto the front of Thorne's shirt as he spun with her, pressing her back against the wall. When he opened his mouth to ask what was going on, she pressed her fingers against his lips and looked out at something past his shoulder. He tried to turn his head to see what was behind him, but she moved her hand to his cheek so that he would keep his head facing forward, staring at her.
Thorne counted his heartbeats. Twelve. Twelve agonizing heartbeats as Cress clutched his shirt, her hand pressed against his face, him standing mere inches in front of her. He was so close he could smell a whole garden full of roses and dragged his gaze across her face, connecting the dots of her freckles with his eyes. Twelve. Twelve seconds before Cress dipped her eyelashes and swept her gaze up to him.
Smiling, she let go of him. "Coast is clear."
Thorne turned to see the back of Principal Vargas's head shuffling into the crowd. He let out a slow breath. "That was close. How did you see him so quickly?"
Cress grinned. "I'm a criminal mastermind." She slipped out from her spot against the wall, unfazed by the fact that Thorne's whole body was practically pressed up against her, and started her search for Kai and Cinder.
Thorne had to give himself a moment to breathe and collect his thoughts. He was convinced all of this was a dream and wasn't actually happening. A tug on the back of his shirt brought him out of his reverie and he spun around to see Cress looking at him.
"You okay?"
He nodded and followed her as they joined the crowd making their way to the bleachers. This time, Thorne made sure to scan the crowd for any signs of Principal Vargas. Luckily, they didn't see him again and Thorne was able to spot Kai and Cinder quickly. They were seated on the 45 yard line a third of the way up the bleachers and were obviously saving seats for them. He pointed them out to Cress and followed her up the steps, watching as her hair bounced in the ponytail it was pulled into.
Kai hugged Cress and clasped his hand onto Thorne's shoulder as greetings when the pair reached him. Cinder gave Cress a high-five and was about to give Thorne one as well when she saw the splint. She settled for patting him on the shoulder and he couldn't help but blush. A few people around them said hi to Cress and Thorne was surprised when they extended their greetings to him. He hadn't even thought they knew his name.
When half-time came, Thorne offered to go with Kai to get the snacks, but Kai brushed him off, insisting that Thorne wouldn't be much help with a broken hand. He started feeling self-conscious about it until Cinder turned to him and asked about The Rampion.
"So when are you going to show me this boat of yours?"
Thorne looked at her incredulously. "You want to see my boat?"
"Sure. Cress says it's impressive."
"It is." Cress insisted as she leaned over Thorne to tell Cinder. "I haven't seen it since it's been finished, but I bet it's amazing." She beamed at Thorne.
Thorne ducked his head in embarrassment.
"Hi Thorne."
The three of them looked up to see Kate standing on the stairs, waving at him.
"Oh. Hi Kate." Thorne replied. "Um—do you know Cress and Cinder?"
Kate smiled, trying to hide a laugh. "Yeah. Hi," she said to the girls.
"Hey," Cress and Cinder replied back in unison.
There was a second of silence before Kate spoke up. "Well, I'll see you around."
Thorne nodded and waved bye to her.
"Who's that?" Cinder asked as she watched Kate walk away.
"Kate. She works at the bookshop in the square." Thorne turned to Cress. "She's the one the that built the book hot hair balloon."
Cress smiled. "That's impressive. I think she's in my calculus class." There was a distant look in Cress's eyes, but Thorne figured he was just imagining it because she jumped up when Kai returned with their snacks and held out her hands, eager for her Skittles.
Thorne spent the rest of the game cheering for Wolf along with Cress, Cinder, and Kai. He even took turns with Kai holding up a poster that read Killer Kesley #62 and groaned with the rest of East Commons's fans as the clock dwindled to sixteen seconds and Kamin High's quarterback took a knee after the snap. They had lost by three points and Kai's disappointment was evident.
Cinder brushed his hair away from his face and kissed Kai once on each cheek and then on the lips. Thorne looked away, but Kai's mood seemed to have improved after that. Cress smirked and tugged on Thorne's shirt to indicate that they were moving. She kept a hand on his shoulder as he led the way down the steps and maneuvered around the empty popcorn boxes and soda bottles strewn on the ground.
"Pizza?" Cinder asked.
Kai nodded solemnly and Cress turned to Thorne.
"Yes, of course."
Cress beamed. "We'll meet you guys there."
Cinder nodded and led Kai away by the arm. Cress couldn't help but laugh as she and Thorne made their way back to Thorne's Jeep. Thorne couldn't help but laugh too.
AN: Thanks again to lettered for beta'ing and thanks for reading. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.
