The Boy From Everywhere

Ch. 20: The Scare

"There's this festival coming in a few days, and they're gonna be having fireworks. Did you hear about it?"

I looked up from the shelf, where I was arranging the crackers displays, and towards Eli who had his head resting on his propped arm at the counter. He smiled as our eyes met, and I quickly looked away to hide my flustered state. Through my peripheral vision, I saw him turn away eventually, looking out through the display window.

"Well, yeah..." I replied soon enough. "I think I heard my aunt mention it a few times. When is it exactly again?"

"Exactly a week from now. That means we still have work to do."

"Oh... I guess we won't be able to go, then. That's too bad," I replied, as I placed the last pack of crackers on the shelf before adjusting the price tag. However, right as I finished my task, Eli spoke.

The words he uttered were one of the last things I'd ever expect him to say. "But what if we didn't come in that day?"

For a moment, I froze. My hand hovered in mid-air while my eyes remained glued on the price tag I just fixed. I took a few seconds to process it, really, and then I leaned my head back to look back at Eli like I really hadn't heard what he said. "Huh?"

Eli looked back at me, still smiling, face still propped on his arm. And then he repeated what he just said, but softer this time in case anyone was watching. "Let's skip out on work that day... The both of us."

My hand fell to my side as the idea finally occurred to me, and yet my expression remained as I blinked a few times. Finally, my eyes widened. "I-I'm sorry, what?"

Eli burst out laughing in the next second. I furrowed my brows as I watched him, and yet, I couldn't help it as a thin smile formed on my lips. Not so much due to annoyance, but rather, just...

"Well, he's always like that, anyway."

"Don't make me hope for something you won't do."

"Oh, but I mean it, though," Eli replied, still smiling, and I playfully scoffed in return.

"Oh, yeah? Will you actually do it, then? Is that a promise?" I raised my brow as I challenged him.

Surprisingly, he took it on. "Yeah! I promise, I'll do it with you."

And just like that, I secured... another date?

"Another date..." The thought of it made me pause for a bit, as I looked away from Eli to turn towards the store's white tiles instead. "Oh... Why am I starting to think like him?" Though it made me happy, I don't think I could really stop myself from exposing myself now if I stayed where I was.

In the end, I decided to move back to the storage room in a hurry. "I'll go check the stocks."

"Hmm? Don't you need a checklist?" Eli asked, but I didn't pay him much attention. My feet moved quickly, though I doubted they could beat the speed at which my heart pounded. I'll just stay in the storage room for as long as it takes for me to calm down. Oh, great. My face was heating up now, too.

I let out a deep breath as soon as I made it into the dark, unlit room, the shape of boxes and shelves tracing the edges of the room. It would probably be believable for me to turn the lights on, too, and so I did, before I proceeded to close the door halfway behind me. Eventually, my feet led me behind the wooden frame until I was no longer in Eli's sight.

I had to calm down one way or another. It was weird, though. As I began slapping myself lightly and as quietly as possible, I wondered how I ended up in a situation like this. I don't even remember the last time I had a crush. What exactly did it feel like again? Was it always this... rush-y?

"Hannah?"

Anyway, I really did fail to notice a single mistake that proved to be fatal: my checklist. I flinched when I suddenly heard Eli's voice just outside the storage room. He had really followed me here, and I'm guessing to bring the checklist I "forgot". The door swung a bit more open, until Eli was visible, and I found myself meeting his eyes again... and the checklist held up just right beside his face.

"Uhm, you forgot your checkl-"

He didn't get to finish, because all of a sudden, the power went out, and the next thing I knew, Eli let out a shout before dropping the checklist and running to me. His arms wrapped around me in search of comfort, and before I even found any time to actually react to everything that had happened, the lights went back on, and I found myself in yet another awkward situation!

... Awkward for me, anyway.

I had frozen when I realized what Eli had done, and yet he seemed more concerned with the brief lack of light as his eyes went up to the bulbs, looking doubtful. And scared. And so, so innocent.

"Woah, what was that?? The lights went out all of a sudden!" He exclaimed, without moving much. I wondered if he was even aware that he had me trapped in his embrace. Until he turned to me, smiling again. "Were you scared, too? You look pretty shocked."

Right. Shocked. Not because of his sudden intimate act, but rather because of the lights going out.

"I'm-"

And again, the lights turned off abruptly.

Eli shouted again, jumping even, and making the both of us lose balance in his sudden movement. A shout escaped me as we fell, and then I felt the impact as I hit the ground and a loud thud echoed through the room. This time, though, the light didn't come back, and neither did Eli seem to want to let go of me, as he tightened his arms around me, quietly whimpering under his breath.

"Was he... really that scared of the dark? But he didn't seem so scared of it last time..." I pondered, and then I remembered the circumstances when that happened. "Oh... right..."

Eventually, he would speak through his fear. "Uh, Hannah?... Do you have your phone with you?"

I glanced towards Eli, and then I began fumbling for my phone in my pocket, slightly struggling because of his arms still wrapped around me. "Uh, yeah," I replied as soon as I found it. "Just give me a sec. I'll light it up in a bit."

I fished it out, turned on the flashlight, and as the light washed over the area surrounding us, Eli let go of me, giving me space to breathe. Less from his lightened grasp, moreso from him finally moving away.

My heart really couldn't take that anymore. I don't know what could have happened if I didn't have my phone and he never let go. Pretty sure I'd be fainting before he ever did.

"So, uh... What now?" I asked, unable to think at the moment.

Eli, on the other hand, looked to the back of the stock room, searching but still hesitant. Perhaps afraid he might see something he shouldn't. "Uhm, uh..." His hand slowly went to mine, instinctively grabbing it. My breath hitched again, but I just let him do that. He probably needed comfort more than I needed air. "We should probably take out the generator again. Mind giving me some light?" He paused, and then he grinned nervously as he looked towards me. "And some company?"

"S-sure... I mean, why not?" I replied, slightly squeezing his hand back to reassure him.

He smiled briefly in return. "Alright. Let's go."

His hand felt warm. I don't think I wanted to ever let go.