Pest//phan au

Seven

The ice cream shop was barely visible in the darkness, as it was hidden slightly. Cat pulled her car in to the spot sitting next to the curb, and pulled the keys out of the ignition happily.

She hopped out, seemingly untouched by the cold breeze blowing. I followed slowly, dragging my feet against the pavement.

The minute the door opened, we were greeted with several "hey!"s and warm smiles. I peeled my coat of and hung it by the door, letting the heater warm me instead.

I observed the group of them curiously, and found the face I was looking for, grinning up at me happily.

He jumped up from his seat, knocking against the table slightly, and approached me cautiously.

"I hope you like vanilla," he mumbled warily.

"Yeah, I think everyone likes vanilla," I joked. "Thanks for buying it."

"I told you I would," he responded with a shrug.

"That's okay, Dan and Phil can sit at the table next to us," Cat's voice brought us out of our conversation as we peered over at the group. They all had apologetic expressions on their face, but Cat looked enthralled. She reached out and patted a hand on the neighboring table, which so happened to only have two seats facing each other, as if meant for dates.

I huffed and threw myself down in one of the seats. Phil sat down with a smirk and took a sip of his own milkshake.

"I see that Cat found a new soul mate," Phil observed as I enjoyed my own milkshake, pointing at Cat, who was practically sitting on a tall, muscular boy's lap. I assumed, by Cat's description, that it was Marcus, who also seemed to be enjoying Cat's company.

I snorted loudly, and some of the milkshake started to dribble down my chin. I quickly grabbed a napkin and placed it to my mouth, blushing furiously at the embarrassment. This is what I get when I go out.

"Gross," Phil giggled. I glared at him as I dabbled at the sticky substance drying to my face.

Zoe came over to our table with a chair and sat down in it gingerly. "Hey boys."

"Hey," we both greeted, Phil with a smile, me with a small nod of the head.

Zoe turned to me, her cheeks slightly pink. "Do you have anywhere you wanna go tonight?" I could tell she was attempting to flirt with me.

I looked up at Phil, who was staring at me with a smirk. "Um, not really. Anywhere is good."

"We could go see a movie, just you and me," she whispered. Before I could react, she placed her hand on my arm.

I only felt it for a second, because as soon as she touched me, my entire body went numb. My eyes shot open and I stood up quickly, my knees wobbling.

"Restroom," I mumbled. I took off to the back corner of the little shop and stepped into the single-toilet bathroom.

I fumbled around with the lock, but when I couldn't find it I gave up. Instead, I headed over to the sink and turned it on, so I could splash my face.

My heart was beating so fast and so hard that I could feel it in every part of my body. I gripped the corners of the sink, trying to steady myself.

My legs gave out underneath me, and I collapsed to the floor. I could barely register the pain in my knees over the sound of my heart thumping in my ears. I couldn't breath, I couldn't think.

My brain felt fuzzy, and my vision started to go black. Or was I closing my eyes?

I felt a soft pressure on my arms and let out a soft sob at the touch. The hands that were holding me felt warm, and almost welcoming. I my brain started to work enough so that I could open my eyes to know who was touching me.