sweet surrender | pulisic ✓

eleventh

Whenever she needed somewhere to go to clear her head, she would always find herself seated on the bakery floor; leaning against the wall beneath the giant window overlooking the street.

It was no different that night. She rested her head against the wall, staring blankly at the ceiling. She would never understand why her mother refused to accept her love for the simple things, like baking.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, startling her. "Alex?" To her surprise, Christian's head popped into view, and she couldn't resist the relieved smile that embraced her lips.

"I was just taking a walk and –" he left the sentence hanging as Alex began chuckling. "You must be wondering what I'm doing here at this time right?" She probed.

Christian watched her for a second before smiling, "yes, actually."

"Well, I actually like to come here when I feel upset," she said coolly, prompting Christian to furrow his eyebrows in response. Slowly, he edged closer to her, eventually joining her beneath the window. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Alex sighed. "It's my mom. She just won't accept that I prefer spending my time before an oven than being seated behind a desk all day," she explained simply, not wanting to bombard him like she usually did with Lea.

"I'm guessing she hasn't seen you working here. You always look so happy behind that counter," he pointed out. At that, Alex suddenly felt the unfamiliar feeling of the heat rising to her cheeks.

She directed her gaze to the ground, thanking the darkness for concealing the flush of her cheeks. "She doesn't come here," she mumbled, toying with her fingers.

Before he could reply, she continued. "I just want her to be proud of me. I mean, I would do anything for her to tell me she's proud of me," she said, dejection written all over her face.

In the few seconds that their eyes interlocked before she looked away, he saw for the first time that she had the most beautiful eyes. They were mesmerizing, much like Erik's, but more captivating.

He had to force himself not to stare, pursing his lips together in restrain himself. When she sighed, Christian turned to her, "you know what?"

Slowly, Alex gazed up at him. "I believe that one day, once she sees you behind that counter, doing what you love, putting smiles on people's faces," he said, "she'll be more than proud."

Despite knowing that her mother was harder to convince than just that, hearing those words from him was enough to make her feel contented. It was reassuring, to say the least.

"I hope so," she exhaled. Looking down, she caught sight of his hand, resting on the floor beside hers. The sudden urged to intertwine her fingers between his caught her completely off guard, and she had to tear her eyes away to rid herself of the thought.

"You know, my grandma left a few recipes of her with me," he mentioned, bringing her attention back to him. "If it makes you feel any better, do you maybe want to come over and bake with me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, chuckling, "I mean, if you –"

"I'd love to," she said before he could finish. She watched as his expression changed from an anxious one to that of a genuinely pleased one. "Okay," he nodded, and even as he looked away, he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

For a long while, the pair simply sat there. They remained silent, lost in their own thoughts and surrounded by nearly complete darkness. The only light came from the moon, and the dimly lit streets outside.

Sitting there, they didn't realise that what was running through their minds, was actually the thought of each other. While one was thinking about his feelings for her, the other was trying to comprehend those feelings.

It was unexpected, and she couldn't quite grasp her head around it. But the longer they remained there, just enjoying each other's company, the more it began to sink it.

She glanced at him, his face softly illuminated by the moonlight. And very suddenly, the thought simply appeared in her head. It was a very blatant thought; a thought she couldn't deny.

I think I'm falling for him.

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yay double update! (since this one is slightly short) ☺