iridescent ↠ grayson dolan ✓

↠ t e n

{ c h a p t e r t e n }
lauren's pov ;

The first pie came barreling toward Grayson at what seemed to be the speed of light, after which an endless amount of cream puff pastries were flung in all directions. Grayson seemed to be getting the worst of it; his entire face was masked by a thick paste of cream. Each time he was hit he would yelp a little and try to shield himself with his arms.

Eventually he was completely covered from head to toe in cream. He stumbled around blindly, fumbling to hold things to keep him from falling. Lauren laughed, grabbing Grayson's hand and pulling him underneath a nearby table.

"Lauren?" He asked, his eyes still blinded. "Is that you?"

"Yes, you mindless idiot." She replied with a scoff. "It's me."

"You know, I'm beginning to hate cream puff pies." He quipped with a lopsided grin.

"I can't imagine why," Lauren laughed. She wiped off the cream from his eyes with the pad of her thumb. The table was much to small to fit the both of them as they crouched, their noses touching slightly.

Grayson's eyes explored every inch of her face. He was looking at her strangely, with a funny sort of smile and a gleam in his eyes.

Lauren blushed. "What?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"Why are you staring at me like that."

Grayson paused for a moment, looking at her closely. He didn't take his eyes off her, not even for a second. Through the chaos around them, all he seemed to think about was her.

"Because you're beautiful."

Heat rose to Lauren's cheeks as she tried to think of something witty to detract from her embarrassment. Before she even had time to respond, he grabbed her hand and shot her a boyish grin.

"C'mon, Laur." He said. "Let's get outta here."

* * *

According to google maps, Malibu was supposed to be a forty five minute drive. However, in their broken down mint beetle, it took nothing short of an hour and a half. Regardless of their snail like speed, Malibu was incredibly beautiful. The shorelines were crystal clear and could almost pass for untouched. Lauren's hands reached out of the window to caress the lingering lilac sky as it faded into a royal blue. As if it were routine, nightfall began and the shimmering stars brilliantly silhouetted the darkness.

Lauren switched off the crackling radio and peered over the dashboard to make sure they were in the right place.

"Pull over here." Lauren instructed.

"Pull over?" Grayson asked, shooting her a hesitant look.

Lauren nodded and he did as she told him to. He wasn't sure where exactly he pulled over, and why they had drove nearly an hour just to pull over on a square piece of grass on the side of a sandy road. They seemed to be on the far side of Malibu, where only a glimpse of grand mansions could be seen from from the cracks between the trees. The only civilization close enough to see completely was the bright neon lights of a diner about a half mile away.

"We drove an hour... to see trees in Malibu?"

"No." Lauren deadpanned. "We drove an hour so that I could take you to this isolated forest and murder you."