Innocence

D E L I C A T E

"Two souls don't find each other by simple accident."

~🎀~

F A L C O N  W A S N ' T  in any more of Freya's classes. She wasn't sure whether she was relieved about the fact that she hadn't had to deal with his staring, or if she missed the safety his presence seemed to give her. As intimidating as he was, he worked well as a human shield; something Freya hoped she could take advantage of in the future.

Packing her things back into her locker as she prepared to go home, Freya was startled by a warm breath on her neck. Whipping around, she was faced with the usual grinning face of Penn. She pressed a hand to her chest, taking in a deep breath.

"Hey princess," he greeted.

"You scared me," Freya stated the obvious in a breathless voice.

Penn chuckled in response, resting his shoulder on the locker beside her. Freya pushed away the loose strands of her hair, readjusting the bag on her shoulder before closing her locker. "Did you need something?" she asked, wondering why he wasn't saying anything. Penn looked down at her curiously, still smiling.

"What are you doing this afternoon?" He suddenly asked.

Freya's eyes widened slightly in thought as she puffed out her cheeks, letting the air out slowly. "I don't think I have anything on," she responded kindly. "Why?"

Penn's smile grew as he straightened up. "Great!" he cheered. "Do you wanna grab some ice cream with me? Mövenpick?"

Freya's eyes lit up at the mention of her favourite ice cream store and she immediately nodded her head, a grin spreading across her lips. "I'd love to," she squealed.

Penn slung an arm over Freya's shoulders and began to lead her outside. "I'll drive?" he suggested.

Freya shrugged, not really caring how they got there as long as they did. Penn led her to his velvet red range rover, opening the passenger side door for her before running around the car and hopping into the driver's seat.

They drove in silence for a while, the radio playing softly to fill the silence. Freya was perfectly content to get lost in her own thoughts, which mostly consisted of what kind of ice cream flavours she was going to get.

"So," Penn broke the silence. "What's up with you and Anders?"

Freya scrunched up her brow in confusion. "Who's Anders?" she asked innocently.

Freya swore she saw Penn roll his eyes slightly in irritation, the action making her bristle. It wasn't her fault she didn't know who Anders was. "Falcon," Penn said pointedly. "Falcon Anders. What's going on between you guys?"

Freya was left confused yet again. There was something between them? "What do you mean?" she questioned hesitantly. "Nothing's going on."

She fiddled with her the ends of her cardigan as Penn let out a frustrated breath, his hands clenching the steering wheel tighter. "He was awfully protective for there to be 'nothing,'" Penn gritted out.

Freya felt like crying now. She didn't know why the boy was so angry at her, but she felt like it was her fault he was mad. She sniffled slightly, trying to hide her distress and confusion. Penn didn't seem to take any notice of her situation, continuing to glare at the road in front of him while Freya sat in guilty silence.

"I only met him today," she whispered, not knowing why she felt the need to explain herself. She hadn't done anything wrong, had she?

It seemed to have been the right thing to say as Penn's hands relaxed, the crease in his forehead disappearing as his mood did a complete 180. "What kind of ice cream do you want, princess?" he asked.