• - handle /'hand(ə)l/ [verb]
to take action in order to deal with a difficult situation •
With 18 years the internet- and food-addicted Tara Rayes is kind of forced to leave her home for 3 months. Her dad has a really bad illness which can onl...
"And you're sure that's safe?" I ask worried. I don't desperately want to burn the house and everything around it down.
"Of course, it's not the first time I do it," he replies with a bit of an attitude.
"Hey, I was just asking," I try to defend myself and pick up more sticks, then throw them onto the pile.
"No, you were doubting me," I hear him retort even more bitchy but I could filter out the sarcasm and playfulness.
I just sigh dramatically and rub the dirt off my hands. Ethan throws the last sticks on the pile before kneeling down and trying to make a fire old-school-y by rubbing one stick against the other.
"You're kidding," I mutter under my breath and stare at him like he's mental.
"What was that?" He looks up at me bats his eyelashes a few times.
"Oh, nothing." I sit down on of the chairs besides the fireplace that is on the back porch and lean back, watching him. We decided to make a fire but slowly I'm loosing any faith.
"Ethan -"
"Would you give me my phone from behind you?" He looks at me and I nod in response, turning around to grab his large phone. When I face him again there's suddenly a fire starting out on the sticks.
Amazed I hand him his phone, too shocked to say a thing.
"I told you I got this," he cockily says and flashes me a big grin. I lift my eyebrows and eye the fire, then him suspiciously.
"Okay, I inflamed it with my lighter," he confesses and closes his eyes before taking a seat beside me.
I laugh quietly, visibly amused. "You can't kid me, - hm. I don't even know your last name."
"Oh," he mumbles surprised. "Yeah," nervously he trails off and pretends to be occupied with the fire. I can see him getting warmer and not because of the fire.
"And do you wanna tell me what your last name is or ..." I trail off as well and stare him down. He shifts awkwardly under my gaze and sits back.
"I - uh," he stutters, then runs with his hand through his dark curly hair.
Impatiently I tap my fingers against the wooden armrest and continue to stare at him. If I want to know something I don't give in easily.
He breathes out shakily, "My last name is ... Duncan."
"Duncan," I repeat, "You mean like The Duncans? From Good Luck Charlie?"
"Uh, yeah," he nods slowly. His eyes flicker between the fire and me.
"Were you scared to tell me because of that?"
He quickly nods his head this time, still nervous. I smile, relieved that it is nothing serious.
"It's cute, actually," I utter and look into the fire as well. The sky has become quite dark now.
His face is only enlightened by the fire as he turns now completely to me and asks, "You think so?"
I nod, "Of course. I mean, you didn't choose it and you can't change it anyways. It's no big deal, if you ask me."
He bites his lip and looks down, "I guess you're right."
I can't say why but in this right moment he looks extremely hot. His nervousness is too cute and his face looks painfully beautiful when he looks at me. Only the features of his face are visible and his eyes seem to glow in this dimly lit situation.
I turn away from him to watch the fire again. "You can't kid me, Duncan."
"W-What?" The shaky tone in his voice is back and I can't help but ask myself why he's so damn tense today.
"I meant to say that earlier. I wanted to say 'You can't kid me, Duncan' but needed to know your name first. So, I said it now." I smile at him reassuringly and teasingly.
"Oh, right. I completely forgot," he laughs softly and relaxes instantly.
"You're very jumpy today, you know?" My voice is in no way judging, just stating. I shift in my seat to a more comfortable position and fold my arms over my chest. This way I'm further away from the fire and start to shiver a bit.
"Am I? Usually I try not to be," he responds and stabs into the fire to make it brighter. I watch every movement of his fine proportioned body. He then looks back at me and notices me shivering. "Here, wait a second," he hurriedly takes a blanket he brought with him and hands it to me, "there you go."
"Thanks," I smile as I snuggle into the blanket. Ethan reaches behind him again, this time he has snacks in his hands.
"Hungry?" He shows me all he got and I pick my favourite snack, Oreos. I can't get enough of them.
"Always," I state and he laughs before handing me also a soda.
Loudly crunching on my cookies I point out, "You know what's left missing?"
He shakes his head as he starts eating some snacks himself. The atmosphere is incredible pleasant and I enjoy his company more than ever, I realise.
"Scary stories. My family and I would always tell us some at the fire ..." I stare into the fire as memories start filling my head. Lovely memories, memories of a time without worry and fear.
"Well then, go on. Tell me your favourite one," he says softly and shows me a small smile as he moves his chair closer to mine. "But I might get scared so you better lend me some of your blanket."
"I am more than happy to share," I say truthfully and give him one side of the blanket.
I assume that he isn't afraid in reality, he probably just said it because he is cold or something. Although, with his behaviour today, his nervousness ... I'm not quite sure.
Or maybe he's trying to make a move, a small voice in my head whispers, and I'm actually excited by that thought.
For a few seconds I stare into his eyes that are now way closer and sparkling. They're more green then ever and I loose myself completely in them.
He takes this moment of vulnerability and snatches an Oreo from my lap.
"Hey!" I exclaim, "That's mine!"
"Then take a good look now." He waggles the cookie in front of my eyes, opens his mouth widely and eats the Oreo whole. A sound of satisfaction escapes his lips as he savors it right before my eyes.
"You're a monster!" I gasp and hide my cookies before laughing with him. Eventually I start to tell my favourite scary story after a good laugh while Ethan pretents to be shaking with fear.
***
fmfhnynhrgj my heart, i love this chapter sm lmao
i remember exactly the day i wrote it, i sat beside the fire as well and was inspired and it fit so this came out yay
finally an update on #michellemonday (jk this hashtag still doesn't exist)
i love y'all (and i'm as good as on fall break now so expect some more updates than usually lol)
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