wings ↣ w. worthington iii

4. yelling @ someone before you know why they're upset is a Bad Idea ✓

"Life wasn't some incredible movie. Life was all the movies, ever, happening at once." (Bed by Tao Lin)

Word count: 2724

LILLI FROWNED UNHAPPILY.

As soon as she and the X-Men had walked into the mall, everyone broke off into groups of two or three to happily march through the mall. Lilli, not yet friends with any of the mutants, had ended up in the dust. There were three reasons why that wasn't good.

1.) It was a new mall and Lilli could easily get lost.

2.) Lilli was feeling awkward all alone. Who walks through a mall alone?

3.) Lilli was already getting looks from some of the guys around the mall that she wasn't liking. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she kept meandering through the mall alone.

Why had she even agreed to go in the first place? She didn't have any money with her and couldn't buy anything. She had just met these people and wasn't even sure if they were going to kill her or not. And, most importantly, Lilli didn't even like going to the mall. It always got boring, and quick. She didn't see the appeal in walking around spending money on useless things.

Lilli made her way over to a bench, deciding to sit down as she figured out what to do. She looked over the glass partition and at the escalators that carried valley girl-wannabes up from the ground floors all the way to the fourth floor. The glass partition— the only thing separating Lilli from a three story fall— was smudged with fingerprints and dirt. Lilli wrinkled her nose at it in disdain. Did no one ever clean this place?

"Where's your smile, sweetheart?" A voice asked from behind Lilli. She turned away from the atrium and looked up at the man who'd spoken to her.

He was a short, middle aged Italian wearing a pressed red and blue Adidas tracksuit. His white Reebok sneakers were shiny and clean, making them look brand new. His dark hair was slicked back, showing off his small, shiny forehead. His face was clean-shaven and his cologne was overpowering.

Lilli choked back a gag as she smiled up at the man. "Right here," she replied in a sickly sweet tone. This was exactly what she'd been afraid of: creepy men seeing her all alone and preying on her like a little lamb.

"That's much better," the man replied, smiling. His pearly white teeth were perfectly straight; obviously he'd paid a lot of money for them. "Say— what's a pretty girl like you doing here alone?"

Lilli flipped her hair behind her shoulder, quickly glancing around them. She spotted a large group of Chinese tourists heading their way and mentally sighed in relief. She had an idea of how to get away from this man, but had to keep him occupied until the Chinese tourists came.

"I'm very independent," Lilli said to the man, tilting her head to the side as she looked up at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the tourists coming closer.

"Oh, is that so?" The man purred, looking down at Lilli with a look that made her queasy. She was seriously regretting coming to the mall.

"Yes, it is," Lilli replied, standing up from the bench and stepping to the side. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She stepped forward, walking straight into the mass of tourists. She quickly turned herself invisible and scampered away, straight into a kitchen supplies store. Lilli turned back visible, poking her head out of the entranceway and at the Italian man. He was running to keep up with the Chinese tourists, rushing through their pack looking for her. Lilli snickered as she stepped out of the kitchen supplies store and headed in the opposite direction of the man.