Paperboy | Fillie

e i g h t

Sadie went home as soon as we got to my house.

I laid in bed staring up at the ceiling and letting my thoughts run wild. Surprise (not really), they were all about Millie. I couldn't get the short haired Brit out of my mind. We had been friends for almost a month now, and I couldn't shake the fact that I had already messed up. Was it me? Was it Sadie? Who knew.

I had never been good at making friends, hence the fact that Sadie and Iris were my only two really. I had never had the problem of hurting a friend either though. Sure, I had been in little spats with Iris and Sadie, but they never lasted long. I always-

"I always apologized first."

I spoke out loud to myself and sat up quickly. That's it! I have to apologize. I don't know what I did but I definitely didn't mean it, so I should apologize and just talk to Millie. I rolled off my bed and slid into my green bomber jacket again. I got to the garage fast, luckily not seeing my mom along the way. As I walked my bike out, I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was starting to set. I had to make this fast. I didn't realize I had been in bed that long.

I smiled a bit as I passed the tree with stars. It still intrigued me how Millie had folded the newspaper so tiny and precise, each star perfectly crafted.

Soon enough her house was in front of me. I stared up at it and swallowed, the realization of what I was doing overtook me and my head was filled with questions. Do I just walk up to the door and ask for her? What if Noah answers? What if her parents answer? What if she doesn't even forgive me?

I took a deep breath in and dropped my bike in the gutter in front of her house. I walked up the walkway to the front door before I had the chance to second guess myself and lifted my hand to knock on the peeling white door. Here goes nothing.

The door opening before I could knock had my eyes widening and my closed fist hanging in mid air awkwardly. Millie walked out of the door, a bag of trash in her hand. She didn't look up, causing her to bump into me and gasp. She looked up at my face and then to the fist that I was still holding in the air stupidly before closing the door behind her quickly.

"Why are you here? Noah might see you!"

She was whisper-yelling, and her voice was urgent as she grabbed my wrist and dragged me after her. She seemed to be struggling with the big trash bag so I grabbed it out of her hand, just trying to be helpful. She gave me a weird look and thanked me quietly as I put it in the trash can on the side of her house.

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to apologize."

She narrowed her eyes.

"For what?"

"For whatever I did earlier. I shouldn't have introduced Sadie like that to you. I know you said you didn't do good around people so I should have remembered that."

My words were rushed and I couldn't keep up with what I was saying so hopefully it made sense. Millie was quiet too, chipping away at her almost completely gone black nail polish.

"I'm not going to forgive you, but I accept your apology."

I took her words in, not satisfied with her answer. What did that even mean?

"How can I get you to forgive me then?"

"Paperboy I really can't do this right now, Noah or my parents are going to get suspicious of why I'm out so long."

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. Millie's hands gripped my wrists gently and pulled them to my sides.

"Stop it. You're ruining your curls."

I shivered at her cold hands on my wrists and nodded quickly.

"I have to go."

"Wait!"

I shouted a little too loudly, making Millie shush me.

"Can I show you something tonight?"

I spoke fast, knowing what I was saying but at the same time not knowing at all. Was I really doing this?

"I can't be out after dark."

"Sneak out then. Please?"

Millie shook her head no and crossed her arms.

"I-I can't. My parents they'll, Noah isn't going to-if they find out-"

She couldn't finish a sentence. Was it really such a big deal for her? I used to sneak out all the time, so did Iris and Sadie. It wasn't too big of a deal.

"You don't have to. I shouldn't have asked in the first place, I'm sorry."

I didn't want her to feel like she had to.

"I'm sorry, it's just not safe."

I froze at those words. Not safe? For who? For her?

"Why? Is someone going to hurt you if they find out you snuck out? Look Millie if your parents or Noah are physically harming you then you can tell me-"

"No! No one is hurting me. I mean safe as in it's not safe to be out at night like that."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Right. I worried too much.

"Okay well, maybe another time then."

It was hard to hide my disappointment. I knew she could see it, and I didn't want her to pity me.

"Well maybe-"

"Millie!?"

We both jumped at the sound of a deep voice calling out Millie's name.

"Coming!"

She looked at me with urgency and then whispered.

"I'll meet you at the tree at ten pm sharp. Okay?"

I nodded fast. Didn't she just say she didn't think it was safe? She did, but I wasn't about to argue.

"Okay."

She ran around the house then, leaving me standing there. Ten pm. I looked at my phone, seeing that it was only around seven thirty pm. I heard the front door close and I waited a few seconds before running to my bike and riding towards my house. Once inside, I ran up to my room and looked around.

What should I do to pass time? Take a nap? No, I'm way too excited for that. I'd never be able to fall asleep. I had finished my homework for the weekend already. Maybe I should shower again. I don't want to stink when I go see her.

I got up and made my way to the restroom, stripping down and jumping into the steamy shower. The water was hot, just hot enough to make my skin tingle. I cursed myself for not caring enough about my hair, using the cheap shampoo that I would get. I cleaned my body quickly and then got out, wrapping a towel around my body and making my way back to my room.

I couldn't wear the same clothes again, that would defeat the whole purpose of showering. I looked through my clothes, none of them satisfying me. Why did I even care this much? She had seen me in my regular clothes before, I don't need anything too fancy. I settled on some black jeans and a grey hoodie before sitting on my bed impatiently. My foot tapped nervously as I checked the time over and over.

What if she didn't like where I was planning on taking her? What if she thought it was weird? Did I even want to take her there? I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at first but now I'm not too sure. I'll decide when I meet her. If I decided not to, I'll just take her to the park we went to before or something. My thoughts were jumbled, and I laid down so I could try to sort them out. Within no time, I could feel my eyes start to close though. I tried to fight it, but it was so hard.

The next thing I knew, I was out like a light.

☆☆

Heyo