Escaping Lights - A Greyson Chance Fan Fiction

Chapter 22: What We Are

I could barely take in air. My stomach did a somersault and my chest made quite a racket inside me. I was so sure I heard him say that he liked me.

    "Wh-what did you say?" I whispered.

     "Phoebe, I like you," he replied. His arms tightened around me. "I like you, I like you. I really do. I can't explain why, but all I know is that I feel this way about you. You never leave my thoughts. I see you in everything I do. I like it when you're with me. And I don't care if your brother is in love with you, or if Jared likes you too. I just gotta tell you that I like you."

     Suddenly, I trembled. My shoulders shook in his arms and I raised my fists. I grabbed the front of his shirt. I buried my face in his chest. That's when I realized that I had started crying. Hot tears fell on my cheeks and I was clutching his clothes way too tight.

     "What's the matter?" he asked anxiously, wrapping his fingers around my wrists and taking my hands off him. He tossed his smoothie cup towards a nearby garbage bin. It didn't shoot. He sighed, went towards the bin, picked up the cup, disposed of it, and went back to me. If it were any other moment, I would've made fun of him for that.

      I shook my head at him. I wanted to wipe my tears, but he held both my hands now so that was impossible. I looked like an eight-year-old who suddenly just decided that her snots could probably take the place of facial cream.

     He produced a blue handkerchief from his pocket and gently dabbed it on my cheeks. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked, brows knitted together.

     I hiccuped. I couldn't afford to look in his eyes. Not yet. But he tilted my chin upwards using his fingers. His warm eyes stabbed me hard. "I'm sorry," he started. "I shouldn't have said that. I made you upset, I—"

     "No," I interrupted, the pace of my breathing twice like normal.

     "No what? If you don't want me to, you can just tell me," he said, his voice slightly hurt, I could tell.

     "You have no idea," I whispered, choking a bit on my words. "How much I want to tell you straightly."

     "Tell me what?"

     "You really didn't get what I said to you down in 7-Eleven, did you? While we were talking that night on the bench outside?" I sucked in the liquid that clogged my nose.

     "Wait, are you telling me that you...," he trailed off.

     "I'm sorry, I can't help it. I just—" My palms covered my face, and more tears streamed out. I just couldn't believe this. It's too good to be true. I couldn't explain how I felt. The thrill of infatuation was so indescribable that I just expressed everything out through tears.

     Greyson grabbed my shoulders. "I'm sorry," he told me.

     "You have nothing to be sorry for," came my muffled voice from inside my hands. I removed them and looked at him then I let out a breath. "Look at me, crying. I'm acting so stupidly again, am I?"

     "You don't look so stupid to me at all. Crying actually shows the beauty of how you are so genuine, Phoebe. I hate to see you cry, but sometimes, it compels me so much that I just want to take you in my arms until you stop."

     And so he did.

***

"Watch this," Greyson told me from across the table. We were having lunch at McDonald's, Greyson's favorite. He was goofing around with his fries which was sending me in laughter.

     This time, he placed lots of fries above his burger patty. He then opened two packets of ketchup and spread it all over the top. He closed the bun and lifted the burger so that it was in level with his mouth.