It Was Always You

Chapter Twenty Five

His bedroom door was completely white, and it stood out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the walls. But it wasn't how clean it looked that got her so surprised. It was the four different kind of padlocks that was attached to it.

"Yeah, I have to keep this many locks because my mom brings all kinds of strangers and thieves in this place." He says with a sneer and a look of distaste on his face.

He takes out his keys and starts to unlock them all one by one. When he opens the door, she was caught off guard yet again. His room was spotless. Everything in here was clean and neat. Nothing was out of place. Once he shut the door behind them the smell became fresher and easier to breathe in.

"Better?" he asks, watching her reaction.

"Much." She laughs a bit with a sigh of relief.

Smiling at her he waves around the room as he says, "Yeah, living with Jared and his family kind of spoiled me in keeping things clean. I find it I like it a whole lot better. So, I tend to keep my room at least decent than the rest of the place. I don't...stay here much."

"Has Jared been here then?"

"Yeah, he can't stand it here though. I don't blame him honestly, most times I can't stand it myself. He hates it when I come home because he can't stand the thought of me living in these conditions. He refuses to have me stay here more than a few days though." He then smiles warmly. "I think three days has been the max."

"You have a really good friend who cares about you."

"Yeah, he's like a brother to me."

Her smile slowly fades away a bit. She looks away before he could see her sudden change of mood. She felt like this whole situation was wrong. Like she was betraying them both for some reason. Hearing him say that caused her heart to sink and fill with uneasiness and she hated it. Mentally shaking herself of it she does her best to stop thinking about such negative thoughts. There wasn't anything that she wasn't supposed to do or feel.

Looking around she sees that his twin bed, even though there was no frame, and the mattress and spring box was on the ground, it was neatly made with a single pillow. The sheets, pillowcases and blanket were all mismatched but at least it was clean. His floor was actually in a really good condition compared to the rest of the apartment and she could see now what it's true color is. Beige.

He had a computer desk that only had a few nick knacks, nothing really special. His walls had a few posters and pictures of mostly him and the member's of Jared's and Selena's family but none of his. There was a thin sheet covering the only window in the room. There was a beat up dresser next to the bed and that was all that consisted of his bedroom. Nothing fancy.

He watches her survey his room and tries to see it through her eyes. He frowns as he looks at all the things that he has. He wasn't very proud of it but everything he owned in this room was either given to him as hand-me-downs or scraped from operation cleanup. He vowed right then and there that he was going to make something of himself. He was tired of used goods, of barely getting by with his mother's welfare checks which only went to booze, drugs and her stupid scratchers from the liquor stores that never really make her win any money.

He had to make sure rent was paid before she spent all the money and sometimes she spends it before he was able to pay the electricity bill which was constantly overdue and there will be times it was shut off. He doesn't want to know how she manages to get it turned back on, but she does. She never really thought of him or thought to put food in the house. Most of all he was tired of taking charity from the Cooper's. He always felt he was beneath them. He wasn't smart like Jared is or had allowances like Selena. Jared refused to take money from his parents, so he did on the side jobs from around town.

He was sure he did so he wouldn't feel bad that he had to take those jobs as well just so he had money to sustain himself since his mother didn't think of him at all. He was grateful to him, to his family but it didn't stop the heavy weight of shame every single time. He needed to step up, especially if Mila agreed to become his girlfriend. How was he supposed to buy her nice things or take her out if he didn't have any money?

"So, yeah this is home, I guess." He states getting his head back to the present.

"It's a lot better in here, I'll admit." She smiles at him that he returns.

She sits on the bed as she continues to look around before looking back at him. "Evan, I wanted to talk to you."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you too. That's why I invited you here instead of Jared's. I wanted privacy." He goes to sit down next to her.

She frowns just a bit as she asks, "What is it?"

He couldn't help staring into her big luminous eyes that shined brightly with innocence.

"When I asked you to be my girlfriend, I wanted you to know that I'm really serious about this. About us. I like you a lot. You're not like any other girl that I know. You're special to me."

Grabbing her hand, he gently squeezes as he continues. "I don't want to pressure you Mila. I can wait however long it makes you feel comfortable to see the idea of me being your boyfriend."

She stares at him with surprise at his speech. Her heart hammers in her chest with joy. He was really serious. She could see it there in his eyes and his manners, that he wasn't taking this lightly as she was afraid he would.

When she just sat there not saying a word trying to process everything that was happening between them he becomes uncomfortable thinking the opposite.

"Mila I..." He didn't know what to say, never being in this dilemma before with anyone.

Before he knew it, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. He was momentarily surprised that she made the first move. But then he kissed her back feeling a bit relieved that she wasn't thinking of rejecting him instead. He gently slips his hand through her hair, titling her head slightly for better advantage. Slowly opening her lips he slips his tongue to meet hers tenderly.

After moments of kissing they finally break apart. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?" He whispers, gently massaging the back of her neck where his hand was still placed.

"I wanted to tell you that I've decided to become your girlfriend." Her voice sounded slightly out of breath as she stares at him with a dreamy look.

Grinning so boyishly that she couldn't help but smile back at him. He leans back in and gives her another kiss, this one chaste and sweet.

"Well, then to make it official we should let everyone know that you're my girl and is off limits." He stands up from the bed pulling her along with him.

Heading to the door, not letting her hand go he rushes out of the room making her laugh with the eagerness he displayed just to make that very point to the outside world.