"LIZZIE, CAN you come help me with something really quickly? I promise it won't take long." Aiden asks, and I give him a do I really have to? look, to which he responds by staring straight at me until I listen and follow him outside.
I sigh as I follow my older brother out to the main camp grounds, and he still decides not to explain what he needs, instead asking me to sit down at a picnic table, despite literally almost the entire camp being in the dining hall right now.
"Aiden, get on with it or I'm going inside." I deadpan, and he panics.
"No no no just wait a second, damn Lizzie! anyways, I need you to just trust me for a second." He says hurriedly.
What could be so important I need to be out here? Anything he needed to say he could've said in the dining hall with everyone else.
He looks to his left and then springs up from his seat, motioning for me to follow him. I get up and do so. I guess he doesn't plan to actually use words to inform me of his intentions or reasons for this.
"Aiden, if this is pointless I'm going to drown you in the lake." I mutter, and he just keeps walking.
I turn to see a setup of a bunch of my favorite things, and my eyebrows furrow. I turn back to where Aiden was standing, but he's gone.
"Ranger, hey." I hear from behind me, causing me to spin around. I see Malachi, and I smile.
All this turning is gonna give me whiplash, damn.
"Hi Malachi... why are we out here? And where did Aiden go?" I question, and he laughs.
"Aiden went back to the cabin, and we're here because I wanted to hang out alone." Malachi replies. "You ask too many questions, Ranger."
I narrow my eyes at him, but I don't argue any more. He takes my hand and we sit down sort of in the middle of all the shenanigans he brought out here.
"Mal, this is a lot of my favorite stuff, and I love you for that... but we're in the woods. How did you even get all this stuffed out here?" I raise an eyebrow, and he laughs softly.
"That... is not important." He jokes. "But i had a little help. Aiden and Aurora helped me set it all up."
My eyebrows raise in shock. Aiden helped him? Aurora isn't surprising, but Aiden?
"Oh, alright." I nod at his explanation.
We talk for a while, laughing and discussing anything we can think of. His red hair has slowly faded back to its natural brown as it's grown out, and it looks really good in this lighting.
I take a moment to appreciate his features, letting my eyes roam his face. The sun is at the perfect angle that he basically looks like a god with how it's hitting him.
It seems to me that he's also checking me out right now, which I don't exactly mind. I watch as his eyes scan over my hair, nose, and lips, which he pauses on for a few moments before looking back up at my eyes.
"You look stunning right now, Ranger." Malachi whispers, causing my cheeks to go slightly pink at his words.
I look down at the ground to try and hide my flushed state, racking my mind for an adequate response to his compliment.
"Thank you... you look really good too, Mal." I whisper, and he smiles.
His smile is so genuine and happy, I can't help but also smile. I've never enjoyed anyone's company as much as I enjoy Malachi's. I loved getting to know him and I could genuinely see myself with him in the future.
"Lizzie," Malachi says softly, drawing my attention back to him instead of my thoughts of a not-guaranteed future with him.
"Yeah?" I raise an eyebrow, curious as to what he has to ask me.
He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly whilst looking at the ground, then he messes with his hair for a second before finally locking eyes with me again.
"I have something I've been wanting to ask you, and I hope it's not too forward because I've tried to wait until you've gotten more comfortable with us and I've waited until Aiden wasn't as likely to murder me for this—" Malachi rambles on, and I laugh softly as I place a hand over his.
"Slow down, Mal. Don't be nervous to ask me a question. You know you can ask me anything." I remind, and he smiles gratefully before nodding.
"Right, sorry. It's just— this is nerve wracking." He laughs nervously, taking my hands in his. "I've really enjoyed hanging out with you, and I would consider us pretty close."
His words begin to worry me. Is he gonna tell me he doesn't have feelings for me? I might actually leave camp forever if that's what he says. I don't think I could deal with the embarrassment of falling so hard for him if he doesn't reciprocate and I've been delusional this whole time...
"I enjoy being around you too... Mal, you're scaring me. Is this gonna hurt my feelings?" I ask skeptically, and his eyebrows raise in surprise.
"Wh... What? No! This— This is a good thing... I think. If you feel how I do it should be a good thing." He reassures me quickly. "Lizzie, every minute I spend with you is amazing. I genuinely could not think of a better girl to spend my time with, and you're so sweet to absolutely everyone... except Ariana, but that's deserved."
We both laugh, and he takes a deep breath before he speaks again.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asks suddenly, almost as if he blurted it out without a second thought.
His eyes are anxious, and I almost feel bad. I pretend to think about it, and he shoves me playfully as his nervousness rises.
"Answer me, Elizabeth! You're not funny." He says quickly, motioning his hands in a circle as if telling me to hurry up.
"Of course I'll be your girlfriend, Malachi!" I squeal, wrapping my arms around him.
Although we're sitting and the position is sort of odd, he manages to hug me back. We stand up and his hands immediately slide down to my hips. His lips crash onto mine, and I don't hesitate to reciprocate.
I smile as we pull back, and we spend the rest of the afternoon just appreciating the other person's presence.
✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩
JENNA YAPS!
I can't believe it took me this long to get this chapter out bro 😓. I've got two chapters left of this and then I'm done!! crazy to think abt. I'll be posting the Dylan Hoffman fic a little after this one is finished.
