Everything is Green

Chapter 12

The two of you make your way up the stairs of your apartment complex. You mindlessly fiddle with the keys in your hand, feeling a bit of nerves building in your stomach. Your apartment is extremely small, nothing fancy, and probably way beneath Lizzies standards. You internally hope you at least cleaned up a little bit before you left earlier. You don't want to deal with the embarrassment of your shoe box apartment and the half eaten Chinese takeout sitting on the coffee table.

You both make it to your door and you hesitate opening it. Lizzie notices this and grabs your arm giving you a concerned look.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"Nothing it's just— I uh— I don't know, I just got really insecure all of a sudden. This place is probably a dump compared to what you're used to" you respond, looking anywhere but her eyes.

"Y/N, seriously? You really think I would judge you for where you live?" She says, moving her hand from your arm up to your face, forcing you to meet her eyes.

"Well no— I don't know. I would hope not, but I just don't want you to be disappointed" you say, melting under her touch.

"Disappointed? In this very moment, disappointment is the last emotion that's going to run through my head. You're safe with me too you know. Now, let me in I have to pee" she responds, moving her hand away from your face to pat you on the butt a few times, signaling you to move towards the door to open it.

Her words eased the tension in your shoulders, relieving some of the nerves you felt about her seeing where you lived for the first time. You move to unlock the door, turn the handle and push it open. You flick the lights on, set all of your belongings on the table next to the door and turn to make room for Lizzie to enter behind you. You both stand in the entry way of your apartment for a moment, just looking at each other innocently.

"Oh right, bathroom. It's right here, you can use whatever you want in there" you say, snapping out of your daze and leading her through your small studio.

After Lizzie closes the door to the bathroom, you frantically look around your apartment for any potential mess you could clean up before she comes back out. You rush around, grabbing a few pieces of clothing that are laying on the back of the couch, a few pairs of shoes randomly scattered around, and that damn Chinese takeout box that you failed to pick up earlier. You make your way to the trash can to dispose of the box. After throwing it away you shove the cigarettes you've been hiding in your back pocket into a random drawer in the kitchen.

You shuffle quickly to your room with the clothes and shoes you have bundled up in your arms, throwing them in the laundry hamper. You'll sort that out later. When you're finally satisfied with the messes you've cleaned, you make your way back out to the living room to wait for Lizzie to come out, releasing a loud breath and putting your hands on your hips. Little did you know, she was already sitting on the couch, watching you.

"You know, shoes don't normally go in laundry hampers" she says teasingly.

"It's a new thing I'm trying out— you're nosy and sneaky, you know that?" You say, walking towards her with a smile on your face.

"Nope, first time I'm hearing of it" she responds sarcastically, scooting over to make room for you to sit down.

"So, what do you think?" You ask, finally taking a seat next to her.

"Everything is green" she says referring to the plants you have scattered around wherever they would fit. She looks around with a soft smile on her face, her eyes searching every inch of the small space.

"Yeah, I love plants. When I take a deep breath in here I always get such a satisfying feeling in my chest. They give life to what otherwise would just be four concrete walls you know? Where I'm from, trees line every street, you can walk barefoot in the grass for miles without seeing another person. Sometimes I would just lay in the grass in my parents backyard and just simply exist for a second. So I guess I've subconsciously tried to recreate my favorite part of home" you ramble, not being able to help getting excited to talk about your plants.