Head Over Sneakers | on hold

[ 7 ]

   "GET UP, MIKAELA." I sat up, holding my pounding chest at the sudden calling of my name. Eyes wide, frantically shifting in my bed as I looked for the cause of my fright.
   Smirking with amused eyes and a grin I'd recognise anywhere, Devon crossed his arms over his chest, his shoulder leaning against the frame of the door of my bedroom.
   "What the hell are you doing here? At this time?" I snapped at him through gritted teeth, pulling my bedsheets around me to avoid the cold bitting at my bare arms.
   "Taking you out on our first date." He mused
    "Besides, it's not early. It's the afternoon." He scoffed and threw my phone at me, to which I rubbed my eyes and peered down at the bright screen with a bored look.
   "Right." I mumbled and threw myself back into bed, throwing the covers over me.
   "You fully clothed under there?" My brows furrowed in confusion.
   "Yeah, why would you—..." I yelped as the covers were ripped off my body, the bitter cold attacking my skin, suddenly.
    At this point, being around him for years, I was used to him doing stupid things like that. If anything, I was more bothered by the fact that it was freezing.
   "Give me 5 minutes." Groaning in frustration, I hugged my legs against my chest and sighed.
    Devon was waiting by my door, his arm resting against the frame with an amused look. He waited with patience and I wondered how long he'd last before progressing to the next level to attempt to get me out of bed.
    "If you're not up and out of your bed in the next 5 minutes, I'm going to dump a bucket of water over you. A cold bucket of water."
    To be honest, I was far too tired to see how that would play out. "Okay, I get it, I'm coming, now...—" Flapping my hand in the air, signalling at him to go away, I murmured incoherent words, my face stuffed into my pillow.
   He was probably rolling his eyes at this point. But the sounds of the floorboard creaking and the clicking sound of my door shutting was all I needed as a reply from him.

—

   Bustling down the stairs and almost tripping like the klutz I was, I cursed at the sight of my sight untied shoe laces.
   Flicking through a book, Devon's eyes peered over at me, his grin widening and his brows rising in an amused manner.
   'Typical Mikaela' I could practically hear him utter the words. I huffed in response.
   Adjusting my denim jacket, I pulled my trapped brown locks and allowed them to sit freely just mid-way down my back.
   Devon placed the book back from where he got it and smiled, moving towards the front door in three effortless strides.
   "Question." He spoke, his hand hovering over the door knob.
   Quirking a brow, I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, nodding at him to ask what he wanted to ask. "What's the limit of cliché-ness before you pass out from cringing?"
   I laughed in reply to his joke and shook my head, shoving past him, I opened the door and walked in front of him, making my way towards his car.
   He followed and stopped at the white steps of my porch.
   "Opening the door for a lady..." I pondered for a moment. "Yeah, that's okay. It's not cliché, really, but gentlemanly and polite, start with that."
   I nodded and Devon chuckled, moving towards me and reaching out to open the car door for me.
   His brown eyes met my hazel eyes and I felt my chest begin to shake with laughter. I wasn't feeling awkward or anything, but I was beginning to enjoy how our first date was starting off.
   Settling into the seat, I waited for him to enter the car and then we set off.
   I didn't bother asking Devon where we were going again, I had already tried it and he told me to be patient.   
   Devon wasn't going to tell me and I had known it, so I simply stopped asking and instead thought about how weird this all was.
   Voicing my thoughts, I turned to him. "This is weird, right?"
   Devon rolled his eyes.
   "You've been on dates before, right?" He retorted and I scoffed in reply.
   "Of course I have. But..." Eyeing him for a second, I sighed. "It's you."
   "Me?" His tone was laced with amusement, he was mocking me in a joking manner and if he weren't driving, I'd have punched him in the shoulder for teasing me.
   "You know what I mean!" I exclaimed and Devon shook his head.
   "It's not weird for me. I like you, remember." He grinned.
   I rolled my eyes. "It's weird for me." I told him but Devon merely grinned.
   For a split second, I could have sworn I saw his grin falter. I didn't question him about it.
   Silence engulfed the two of us, until a few moments later when Devon pulled over and switched the engine off.
    Looking around at our surroundings, confusion consumed me. He parked up at the side of the road and ahead was a pathway that lead into a forest
   "Hey...you're going to murder me just because I don't like you back?" I joked.
   "You don't like me back, yet."
   "So...you are going to murder me?"
   Devon laughed and I quirked a smile. Teasing back and forwards was something the two of us were used to. I enjoyed it, even though he could really get under my nerves, sometimes.
   I followed Devon as he rounded the front of the jet black car, my eyes darting around at the sights around me.
   A chilly breeze carried leaves for a moment and then they fell, drifting onto the forest floor.
   The ground crunched underneath my feet: a satisfying and pleasant sound filling the silence between Devon and I.
   "Where are we—...?"
   "Now this is cliché." I laughed, glancing at Devon as he shoved his hands in the pocket of his dark wash blue jeans.
   Before me stood a treehouse. One that we all built together when were kids. We hadn't visited it for ages and I couldn't remember why.
   Maybe that was because much like our adolescence slowly fleeting away into mere distance memories, the treehouse went with it. 
   "Bringing me back to one of our childhood hangouts." I kind of liked the gesture...but I was going to keep that to myself. I'd never hear the end of it from Devon.
   Devon held out a hand for me, eyeing it, I bit my lip and took it.
   His hand engulfed my own as he pulled, the force caused me to stumble forwards, Devon was quick to catch me.
   My cheeks reddened in embarrassment and I was quick to compose myself once again.
   "It felt higher when we were kids." I spoke out, peering out of the makeshift shutters and taking in the view of the lake situated in the near distance.
   The sounds of clattering caused me to turn.
   I forced my smile down as I watched Devon lay out a blanket and slide a basket out from under a table.
   "Cute." I grinned and Devon shrugged, leaning back on his palms, he seemed satisfied with his gesture.
   "How am I doing?"
   "Mmm...still don't like you yet."
   We both burst out into laughter and it suddenly felt foreign.
   "I'll give you that though..." I began, my laughter coming to a gradual stop.
   "....this is the most you've ever made me laugh." I broke our gaze and began to fiddle with the laces of my boots.
   Did that really just come out of my mouth? I was dying on the inside, kicking myself for uttering such cheesy words.
   Devon didn't say anything and I was glad. I wasn't sure I would be able to play along with his teasing jabs.
   It was then that he had turned to me and asked a question I wasn't expecting, nor understood it at first listen, to be honest.
   "Why do you find it weird?"
   I turned to face him too, my lips forming into a straight line.
   This wasn't like Devon and I was rendered speechless for a moment. Our constant teasing never ended like this: him asking me such a question and sounding genuine whilst doing it. 
   "I guess because—...well, we never grew up as friends..." I began and Devon nodded, agreeing with what I had said.
   We weren't friends. We aren't enemies either. We just tolerated each other for the sake of my brother, Jay, Byron and Cam.
   I sucked in a breath and thought. "...we always fought like cat and mouse."
   Devon's features morphed into sheer amusement. "We did."
   The two of us basked in the silence as we reminisced the times we fought, especially being in the treehouse where we were at each other's throats the most.
   "I think it's also because I still find it hard to believe." I laughed and Devon only looked at me.
   "Why is it so hard to believe?"   
   Devon's question made me feel odd. I tried to find how to put it into words but a part of me wanted to keep the answer to myself.
   "Because you're Devon and I'm Mikaela." It sounded stupid. I know that it did. I felt embarrassed saying it aloud, but it was the best way I could possibly word how I felt.
   "What's that supposed to mean?"
   Again, I wasn't sure how to answer him.

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