Lutteoficweek

With a taste of your lips

Lutteoficweek Day 6: „You're offering to give me a kiss if I buy your shitty fundraiser popcorn. Well, in that case..."

Matteo had no idea why he allowed Gastón to drag him to this movie night in the first place. A regular movie night would have been just fine, but what person in their right mind went to their university on the weekend, movie night or not? Shouldn't he be spared from this place at least on the last two days of the week?

"Gastón, this better be fun as you promised or else I'll get you a dictionary for your birthday", he announced as they entered the campus.

"A dictionary? Why?"

"So you can look up the meaning of the word fun, of course."

A grin slipped on the other boy's face. "I wonder if you are seriously mad for seeing this place on a weekend day... or are you actually just bummed because your little moon declined to come with you?" Matteo sent him a grim look, hoping it'd be enough to shut him up. "She didn't decline."

Gastón only laughed more. "Really? Then I guess she shrunk in size over the past week – hey, is that her in your pocket or your phone?"

For a second, Matteo considered to leave him standing there and just go home. With Gastón in this kind of mood, this evening could only get worse.

"Haha, very funny. She told me she had plans for the weekend, so I didn't ask." At that, his best friend stopped, hands theatrically clasped over his mouth in shock. Or at least, pretended shock. "No way! Hand me my calendar", he demanded, "I need to mark the day Matteo Balsano is too scared to ask a girl out!"

"I'm not scared", Matteo argued right away. Him, too scared to ask Luna out, what a ridiculous concept. (Except maybe there was some tiny, tiny truth to it, since this little girl messed with his body and soul. Never had he felt anything like this before.)

They walked into the hallway, where Matteo's attempts to defend himself turned out to be pointless. As soon as Gastón discovered Nina, he didn't listen but walked off, his best friend completely forgotten. "I guess I see you there, then?", Matteo shouted. Then he looked around, hoping to find someone he knew, someone to pass the time with. And when he did, he suddenly didn't mind being in this place on a Saturday anymore.

She barely had turned her back around to check on the popcorn machine when a voice she recognized too well appeared behind her.

"If this isn't my chica delivery trying to save the world again. What is it about this time?"

She whirled around to face him, only to find a grin on his lips. Of course he was grinning, that's what Matteo Balsano was constantly doing around her, along with throwing around teasing comments like they were waiting desperately to get out of his mouth.

"Climate change", she replied, "You know, saving the polar bears."

Matteo's eyes discovered the baby bear on her t-shirt, right below her chest and relief washed over her since those fundraiser t-shirts were always too big for her. Thinking how it'd look on her if the shirt fitted just a little bit tighter and how he'd look at her... it was too much.

"So, this is what you were planning to do this weekend?" The question surprised her. "You seem oddly interested in my weekend plans lately." Maybe she imagined the way his face fell before he answered.

"Well, how am I supposed to save or help you if I don't know what you're up to?" She shrugged. "Fair point, chico fresa." However, she was unable to shake the feeling – and the hope – there was more to it than he wanted to admit.