Don't Go Crankin' My Heart

Chapter 2.5

While we enjoyed our meal, the thunder began to grow louder and louder outside. The storm is getting closer. Close to being done with dinner, a lightning strike flashes nearby, followed by a roar of thunder. The storm has officially begun. The wind howls as we finish our meal. "That was great Mav! You've gotta send me that recipe," Ethan says enthusiastically. I smile and nod, "Of course, I'm glad you enjoyed it!" We pick up our mess and put our dishes in the dishwasher. Ethan begins to clean up my kitchen, that was so sweet of him. I start to help when he waves a finger at me, "Don't worry, I got it." He affirms. "Really? Are you sure Eef?" I push. "Yes, now go get comfy somewhere. This won't take me long!" I smile and step towards him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him into a hug. I set my head against his chest, feeling his heart beat faster. Ethan puts his arms around me and embraces me back. I pull away and look up at him smiling, "thank you Ethan" I say, then turn away and head to my sofa to sit.

I pull out my phone to check the time, 9:26, and see that I received a flood warning, Is it storming that bad? I check the weather radar once more and realize that it is storming that bad. It will be storming like this all night. Then, my lights flicker. I look around, and so does Ethan. They flicker again, shutting off and on before finally going off completely. We lost power. "Oh no!" Ethan shouts, he runs over to me, pulling me into his embrace. "Don't worry Mavis! I'll protect you!" He says in his little nerdy voice. I giggle and hug him back, "you're such a dweeb!" I joke with him. We both laugh and look at each other. Our faces were lit only by the single candle on the coffee table in front of us. I smile as we both get lost in each other's eyes. Another lightning strike hits, this time closer. The thunder caused the windows to rattle. We both jump, being taken out of our trances. After sharing a giggle I stand, "Help me light some candles?" I ask Ethan. "Why of course my dear," He says suavely. I grab a couple of lighters from my coffee table, handing one to Ethan. We separate and begin lighting all the candles I have out, giving us much more light than before.

After lighting all the candles, I check my phone again. "Damn, Wi-Fi's out," I say, "Good thing I have data though, you're welcome to use my hotspot, Ethan!" I shout from my bedroom as he's in the living room. "Oh thank you!" he shouts back. I get him connected to my hotspot. We sit back down on the sofa, listening to the heavy storm over us. "I think I'll wait for the storm to pass before leaving," Ethan said to me. "Ethan, the storms gonna last all night! And I don't want you driving out in this weather! It's too dangerous." I tell him. I look at him, his eyes glistening in the candlelight. His hair is nearly dry now, it's fluffed over his forehead once again. He looked so cute. He looked down in thought, before lifting his head to me. "Well, do you mind if I stay the night then?" he nervously asked. My first reaction was to yell "YES!" to his suggestion. But I had to play it cool, "Of course, you can Eef, I don't mind." I smiled at him, and he smiled back and said, "Cool, I do have my backpack in my car still, I should go grab it and bring it in." I stood up immediately, "Hey! I don't want you getting all soaked again!" He laughed and stood as well, "Mav, I'll be careful." I stood with my arms crossed, before giving in and answering. "Alright...well, you better put on a poncho and use an umbrella or something, I don't want to dry even more clothes!" He laughed and I showed him to my living room closet where I kept such items. He threw it all on and quickly went to retrieve his bag.

Ethan got back inside and shook himself off in my entryway, removing the wet poncho and setting the umbrella down before coming back up the stairs with his bag to meet me. "See, I told you I'd be careful" he poked at me. I smirked and poked at him back, he was right. Only his hands and face were wet. He set his bag down by the sofa and returned to standing next to me. Ethan shrugged, "Now what...movie?" He asked. I nodded and started walking to my bedroom. "Where are you going?" Ethan asked me. Usually, I watch movies in bed, but I forgot that Ethan's here with me. "Oh, sorry, I usually always watch movies in my bedroom, just a natural habit to walk back there I guess," I say with a small chuckle, "We can watch something here-" I gesture to the sofa, and start walking back towards it. "I don't mind watching something in bed if you don't mind me joining you there?" Ethan asks, his face set in a questioning expression. I look down with a slight blush, before looking back at Ethan with a small smile, "No, I don't mind. It'll be comfy" I say back. Ethan smiles his cute small smile and follows me back to my bedroom. Finally, the power turns back on, and we both look at each other with a slight smile. "I liked it while it was dark," Ethan said. "Me too," I agreed, "let's turn the lights back off," I say, and we both travel around the apartment, turning all the lights off once again. "Good timing," I say to Ethan, "Now we can watch something on my T.V. instead of my laptop."