combustion

◄◄ four

        I'd been at the new school for around two months, perhaps, when she asked me out. It didn't seem like two months. Lily made the time go faster, and I slowly forgot that I was a stranger there, that I would never really belong. She was comfort.

        We were in the study hall near the end of the day, and she looked at me strange.

        "Keaton," she'd said, voice grim and lips tight. "Are you free after school today?

        "Um, yes," I replied with a frown. "What's wrong? Do you need help with your English homework or something like that?" In a very short time I'd learnt that all the students there were very work-oriented - rightly so, or they'd never be able to finish the huge amount of work they received daily.

        She scoffed, offended. "I don't need your help with English homework, you idiot." She shook her head, pinching her eyebrows together. "No, I want you to come and have cake with me."

        "Oh," I said. "Are we going to study luxuriously today, then?"

        "No studying," she said, almost at a growl. "We're going to have cake and it's going to be a date, you stupid British boy. Come on."

        My cheeks heated up at the words date and stupid British boy and I wondered if she was blushing too, but she only grabbed my hand tightly and pulled me behind her as we ran down the street to a small bakery.

        It smelt like a sugary paradise, and her eyes lit up at the sight of the gargantuan calorie slabs. It took a while, but she finally settled on a chocolate cake topped with swirled icing and fresh strawberries.

        And as sweet as the swirly chocolate cake was, her lips were much sweeter.