Ellery & The Enigma

Anakin

She got off of work at five and walked home. All day she had toyed with the idea of hanging out with Luca in the evening but couldn't figure out what to ask him to do. The beach could be fun but it was an hour-long drive. She could ask him to get food but that seemed almost too dateish. A movie in her room was the most simple but he might take that as Netflix and Chill when really, that wasn't her intention.

So she went home and made scrambled eggs for herself and curled up on the couch with her father's cat. Abalone had hidden and run away from her for the entire first month that she was home, she wasn't sure if that was punishment for being gone so long or if he had forgotten who she was. He'd only recently warmed up to her again and sat not on her lap but the back of the couch beside her as she rewatched her favorite Netflix shows. Granted, Abalone had only arrived at the house the summer before her final year of high school and only really liked her father. They even went on walks sometimes with his jingly purple cat harness. She hadn't ever considered herself a cat person but even such, it was lonely watching television without even a pet.

She had just finished another season of How to Get Away With Murder when Luca texted her: do you watch HTGAWM?

She was suddenly alarmed; this felt very similar to the time that a guy on Tinder has texted her roommate that she looked cute while she was shopping. She deliberated before answering: yes?

Are you caught up? He returned.

Of COURSE. Ellery was oddly offended by that question because it was undoubtedly her favorite show. She liked it so much that she had been on the HTGAWM Wikia countless times.

New season is out today, want to come over and watch it? He asked. She had forgotten, mostly because she usually just streamed it on her computer once there were enough episodes to do a decent binge-session.

okay. 11?

yes! apartment right above yours. also what kind of candy do you like? He sounded excited which made her excited.

chocolate, She answered simply.

perfect see you then!

She looked at Abalone who met her gaze with his freaky yellow eyes. "I have a date," She told him, and he blinked like, good for you.

Abalone followed her to her bedroom and perched on the windowsill as she tried on different outfits. She had no idea whether he would in sweatpants or dressing cute, though boys still looked cute in sweatpants it was never fair. She settled on a nice but casual cotton dress and thigh-high socks. She was worried that the thigh highs were too much but she hadn't shaved her legs in a week and cared more about hiding that than being fractionally more overdressed than without. She left too early and ended up pacing in the stairwell at his floor for seven minutes before actually knocking on his door. He answered it wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt that matched his eyes and no hat. It was nice actually seeing his hair again like this morning, even if he looked really cute in the dad hats.

"Hello, Ellery!" He said and a dog started yapping at them. "Sorry about that, she'll get used to you in a few minutes. Come in, come in."

Their parent's apartments were similar, but this one had fewer plants and more Buddhas than her parent's one. There was a waterfall decoration in a lot of corners and one giant stone Buddha that felt like it was watching her even though its eyes were closed.

"So... you're Buddhist?"

"No, oh my God. That's all my mom. Its kind of overwhelming, I didn't even know she'd gotten into this before I moved back in. Also, meet my dog, this is Anakin, I named her when I was twelve and obsessed with Star Wars."

His dog was one of those Chinese Crested ones with an odd white fluff of hair on her head like a wig. "Wait, Anakin? I thought it was a girl?"

"Ah, I was very determined to name my dog Anakin no matter the sex." He didn't even look bashful and scooped up the tiny dog in his arms. "Before you ask, I'm still obsessed with Star Wars just less obviously."

Anakin glared at her over his forearm and bared tiny sharp teeth without making a sound.

"So who's your favourite How to Get Away With Murder character?" She asked, and they migrated to the living room where the television was muted showing a MacDonald's advertisement.

"Um, that would be Asher, obviously." She made a face. "Come on! He's obviously the best character, he starts off as an asshole then he grows on everyone. And him and Michaela, best couple ever."

"What about Conner and Oliver? They're adorable."

"Conner is a hoe, though, I feel like he's just going to cheat again. Not really relationship goals."

Luca had a giant bag of Maltesers, Pringles, and sliced up peaches on the coffee table. They discussed their theories for the new season and spoke nostalgically of the first season when everyone was still alive.

"You look very cute by the way," he said, casually and she felt a little-satisfied glow in her chest.

"Thanks," she said, dipping her head at the compliment even though she thought it made her look shy.

She was sitting with her legs pulled up on the couch, slightly sideways facing him but not completely. It allowed her to easily watch him watch the show inconspicuously.

She tried not to think about the fact that she didn't know if this was a date or not or if he just wanted to be friends or if maybe she wanted to just be friends... even though she didn't think she did. (She rolled her eyes at herself for the last thought and tried to concentrate on the show.

Luca was a very engaged television viewer. He smiled very easily, nodded his head, laughed softly. She liked that, his emotions were just out there. She'd been told that she was very somber when watching anything, only laughing if it was very funny.

He met her eyes for a second then laughed. "Oh my God, don't watch me."

She laughed, "Why?"

"I watch TV like a little kid, its embarrassing." He covered his face with his hands then peeked at her through his fingers.

"It's cute, you're so reactive."

"It's silly," he corrected her and threw a pillow at her. She caught it and held it in her lap.

"I like silly," she said but looked away because it suddenly felt a little excessive. Then he side-tackled her, pinning her to the couch. She looked up at him, alarmed but amused. She giggled, "Are you trying to appear strong and masculine instead of silly?"

"If you like silly, I'm good with silly," he said, then dropped a quick kiss on her cheek. It was soft and cute and she melted a little bit inside.

He sat back up but she was still sprawled and it was comfortable down there so she stretched out her legs over his lap and they resumed watching the show. He circled his fingers around her ankle and glanced at her socks. Then he looked again, "Are those cats?"

They were cats. Just above her knees, the socks ended with pointed cat ears and on the shin, there were cutouts filled with sheer material for eyes and whiskers. He traced the ears and the barely-there touch made her skin tingle.

He went back to watching the show like nothing happened but she kind of wanted to climb onto his lap and kiss him. But she didn't.

**

a/n: it's being updated on radish again ! there are 8 more chapters available there :)