Too Close

Chapter 8

Olivia's P.O.V

October

"Awe, he looks just like you," I pointed at the caged monkeys with a large grin on my face. I looked over my shoulder at Tyler. He rolled his eyes but walked over to me with his hands in his pockets.

"You're twins," I said to him.

"Oh really?"

"Uh-huh," I nodded.

"Huh, well I hope you're enjoying your head in my ass," he said. I frowned at him and looked back at the monkeys where he returned his attention to. The monkey I pointed out as Tyler was standing with a monkey with a pink bow on its head behind him, sniffing his butt.

"Let's find the penguins," As we walked toward the penguin exhibit, a couple of moms pushing strollers stopped to watch us. A group of girls openly gawked at Tyler and whispered to each other behind their hands. I tried to focus on the sign in front of the penguins explaining in detail where others like them lived and facts about their diet.

"Excuse me," a young girl behind me said. I turned and saw her staring at him. "You look just like someone from this TV show. Can I take a picture with you to show my friends?"

"Sure," he shrugged. The girl squealed and waved down her friends, some tweens who were dressed in neon mix-matched clothes just like her. They took out their cameras and each took turns having their picture taken with him. At that point, I overheard people nearby asking each other who he was and if we were famous.

"I'll be by the hippos," I started walking away.

"Okay ladies I think that's enough pictures to last a lifetime," Tyler said as he flashed the girls a smile. He pulled away and followed me to the swamp, but the last few clicks of a camera caused me to turn my head and see that a girl was capturing us walking away with her phone. When we were out of sight of everybody I stopped and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Does that sort of thing happen all the time?" I asked with my eyebrows raised. It seemed like being in the spotlight was something that came naturally to him and it wasn't just when his boys were around to flank him. Sometimes at school he did and said cocky things, but I knew it was just to please the crowd around him.

He shrugged but the bright glow of his eyes never left me.

"It's cool that you look like some celeb, I guess. But, well I'd like it better if people I didn't know weren't taking pictures of me."

"I didn't know they got any of you. But, I wouldn't blame them if they did."

"What is that supposed to mean?" He opened his mouth to talk but his eyes flickered past me. Suddenly, he turned his body and tried to pull me toward him but I lost my footing at the sudden movement and we both fell to the ground. As we were falling I looked at the hippo who had snuck up to the fence behind me, watching as it opened its mouth and spewed water over the fence. I closed my eyes as the dirty, brown water reached me and Tyler's bodies and soaked our clothes. Tyler had fallen on top of me and covered me so that most of the murky water landed on him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, squinting with one eye closed when the hippo stopped spitting. I coughed and wiped my face with my sleeve.

"Yeah," I said and he rolled off me. "Ugh, gross." I looked down at my wet clothes as I got to my feet. They didn't get as wet as Tyler's. His clothes were completely covered in a muddy soak and so was his face. He stood there uncomfortably with his arms slightly lifted at his sides and his shoulders hunched, causing his tall frame to look goofy. It was so comical that I burst out laughing and he looked at me in confusion.