Darkness

The Mall

Arriving at Payton's house was so weird, yet exciting. I had only been over once before, but it felt like it had been a million times. Her burnt red door greeted us as we knocked on the door. It was only ten, but I knew the entire day would be full of adventure.

"Come inside." I heard Payton yell through the door.

I smiled, but opened the door.

"Hey," I joined her on the couch.

"Hey."

Today was going to be a long day. With stress, happiness, and worrying I just hoped everything would go smoothly and that nobody would die.

As Payton and her mom finished getting ready I sat on the couch while my uncle went off to sit at the breakfast table. The weather was chilly, but nothing that a little jacket couldn't fix. My uncle decided that it was still super cold, and it was funny seeing him bundled up in a winter coat. I guess that's what warmer weather all year around does to someone. Barley any words had been said between the four of us the whole morning until we got into the car. I had sat behind my uncle on the driver side, my side, while Payton sat across from me. No one had eaten yet, so we decided to stop and have a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel before going on with our day.

The wait wasn't too long, but by the time we had been seated we were parched and figured out what we wanted. When the waitress came to our table she looked lost and unfocused, but it was okay. Our food was ordered, and our drinks had arrived along with our biscuits. That's when the conversation started: what would we be doing at the mall, that Payton and I would be leaving the adults be when we arrived at the mall, what time we would be meeting up. All the fun stuff. By the time our food arrived the full schedule of the day was planned out. We dug into our food while continuing our conversation about school and grades.

We had made it back into the car now, and had started on our way for our grand thirty-minute drive. With the music blasting, and Payton using my phone to color, I curled up into a ball on my side of the car to close my eyes for the drive.

The mall wasn't too badly packed, and as we walk to the doors Payton's mom did the final warning and checks. Did we have our phones? Of course, we did; we're teenagers. Make sure to stick together. Well duh. After the checks were complete, we said goodbye and headed to American Eagle. The first stop of many.

The front of the store was packed as people left or entered the door, but it was okay since we headed to the back of the store. On the right was the girl section, and on the left, was the boys. That's where we went. The boys section. How is it that they have the cuter flannels, and hoodies? It's like their asking for their girlfriends to take them. The store was tiny, but had a lot of things inside. How did they manage this? People and clothes all in a tiny space, and still being able to move around?

"Get me this."

It was Payton. Pointing at a shirt on the rack. Blue, of course, since it was her favorite.

"Maybe for Christmas." I answered.

"No, don't get me anything. I'm not going to want it. I never do."

Shots fired at me. So much for trying to get her stuff. We left the store after doing a quick glance walk on the other side of the store before making our way across from the store to Victoria's Secret/ Pink.

Laughing, "Hm, I didn't imagine you to be the one that would want to go here."

"I am a girl you know." She reached her arm out to wrap around and then started to walk around the store.

Between the little laughs and hand motions to things around the store, we headed out and went to H&M. Did anyone really ever find anything here? Although this store was on the larger side, it didn't really seem like there was anything worth my attention. However, when we entered the store I let go of Payton and headed to some cute sweaters I had seen in the back corner. Payton had followed me while laughing. I was definitely the more girly than Payton, which worked out fine. Today, Payton was in black sweats paired with a black hoodie while I was in light washed skinny jeans and a pale pink shirt with lace on the sleeves. We were opposite. Too much. As we walked around the store I kept trying to pick out things. So much for not finding anything. Payton kept pulling my hand away from the clothes, and each time she did it I try to keep her hand. She wouldn't let me. Not surprising. We're not alone.