The Hopeful, The Hardheaded and the Homework

Chapter Twenty-Three: Did Anyone Order a Mess? : Enoch

"I didn't hurt you tonight did I?"

"No. Ice kinda did but...no." Enoch sighed and reached up to touch the back of his head gingerly with his right hand, shrugging one shoulder as they walked up the pavement down the block towards Olive's house. He couldn't quite remember how he'd somehow agreed to seeing her home. Maybe it had just been the promise of not having five other people in such close proximity to make fun.

People had been falling over and tripping up the entire evening, he and Olive falling over each other had gone completely unnoticed amongst everyone but their friends. That had in turn led to not so witty comments about "falling for each other" in what wouldn't have bothered him too much were it not for the embarrassment.

He felt Olive's hand on his arm and looked down as she slipped her hand towards his. She was already looking when he cut his eyes up to her face, asking without speaking if it was alright. Enoch just scoffed a little but slowly folded his fingers over her hand in return. It still felt weird, and very unfamiliarly...couply...to him but he couldn't deny the warmth of the gesture.

"I'm really sorry."

"For what? Slippin' on ice? That's pretty easy ta do...although I still don' see what was so damn funny 'bout it." Olive laughed again and Enoch raised an eyebrow and stared at her. "Seriously?"

"I know...it was just your face..."

"Oh mah face is hilarious now is it? Didn' realise I was so funny ta you." He said dryly.

"No! Not like that. The situation was just...oh you can't tell me it wasn't a bit funny."

"It wasn't a bit funny."

Olive just giggled and squeezed his fingers as they lapsed into silence for a few moments.
It was...nice. He liked the way Olive's hand fit into his and dare he say he was still thinking about the way it had felt when he caught her. They hadn't been that close before. She was just the right height to fit perfectly to him.

They stopped a few minutes later outside Olive's home at the foot of the stairs and he dropped her hand when she turned around to face him. Her face was half bathed in the warm light that shone down from the light about the front door and down the steps.
"I'm glad you decided to come."

"Yeah well..." Enoch only muttered, looking off to the side before glancing back at her smiling face. She'd had a good time at least, that much was clear. His lips twitched slightly. Olive was really the only person who'd brought him close to actually smiling since he could remember, but he still didn't. If anything it was half a smirk.

She lifted up on her toes and kissed his cheek, shrouding them both in shadow for a second.
Oh what the heck. Acting on impulse, Enoch turned his head the moment she started to pull away and kissed her before she could go far. It was possessive and warm and for the first time Enoch felt the irrepressible urge to pull her closer to him. He couldn't have picked a worse moment to let his arm slip around her back and no sooner had he done so the door at the top of the stairs behind them opened. Theo Elephanta stood there in his fireman's bracers and boots and swinging his coat over his shoulders and now glaring at the two teenagers as Enoch let his arm drop back to his side.

"...I can't remember the last time I opened a door and you weren't doing that."

"Ya gotta be kiddin'..."

"I thought you said he wasn't gonna be there?"

"I'm right 'ere, I ain't invisible." Enoch snapped and rolled his eyes as Olive's father brushed past them in a rush.