The Treehouse Society

Chapter Five- Sophie Sanctuary

I caught the door as it swung closed in my face. Finn was already in the kitchen, making himself comfortable, pawing through the cabinets. 

  "Finn! My mom's not home, you can't be in my house!" I hissed at him, hurrying into our spacious kitchen. The boy before me only smiled- a legitimate smile, not a smirk. 

  Let me tell you what, when that boy smiles, the world kinda stops. He got this little dimple on the side of his face, above the left corner of his mouth. He was absolutely adorable. I'm sure you can imagine the look on my face as I stared at him. 

"Problem?" He asked, pulling a cookie from a bag. I opened my mouth to reply, but no sound would come out. I'm sure I looked like a fish out of water.

  "I.. You, but... GET OUT OF MY COOKIES, FINN!" I dashed towards him, my boots squeaking on the hard floor beneath my feet. I jumped for the cookies, but he just held them above his head. All of my complaining and jumping around was done in vain.

  "I told you you were small."

  I scowled. "Maybe you're just abnormally tall. Gimme my cookies."

  He grinned wider. "You're gonna have to work for them." He got this wicked gleam in his eyes. I immediately picked up on his inuendo. Fine. If he wants to play games, we can play games.

   I leaned on him as I reached. My whole body was streached across his. His muscles rippled against me as I pressed against him. He was so solid beneath me, and I kind of craved more. When I looked up into his eyes, he was staring back. His eyes were so soft, which was such a difference from the eyes I'd seen all day. It was like he was actually seeing me now. "Sophie.."

   I didn't reply. I didn't want to ruin this, what ever it was, by speaking and saying something stupid. My mouth slightly opened involuntarily, and from this close, I could smell him... Fabric softener and something else, something stronger, something... addictive. I breathed in... My hands fell onto Finns chest...

   "Sophie, I um.. " he looked like he was having trouble speaking his thoughts. He leaned in, and I didn't dare move. His lips tickled my ear, his breath warm. "Sophie... I really.. Really...Like...

These cookies..." He finished dramatically, and that naughty glint returned to his eyes. My own eyes widened in response. I.. Did he really just? 

  Finn started laughing. Maniacally. "You should see the look on your face, shit that's hilarious."

  I, on the other hand, didn't think it was very funny. I turned to walk away. He caught me by my hand, pulling me to him, imprisoning me against his warm body. "I'm sorry." He sounded sincere.

  "Don't be a jerk, Finn." I grumbled, pulling away and heading out back to my sanctuary. He followed me. "Sophie, I'm serious. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

  I opened the door and hurried up the steps to my tree house. He stopped short, staring. 

  "Holy crap."

  I grinned smugly. That was most peoples reaction to my little castle. "I know, it's great isn't -- "

 "I know you." He said, staring in a new wonder. 

  Confused, I stepped back onto the ground. "Um. What?"

   He looked at me, a small smile pulling at the ends of his lips. "Sophie, I'm Alex."

  Alex, Alex... The name didn't really stand out...

  "Does, "We can be losers together" ring a bell?" He asked, his voice like that of an excited toddlers on Christmas. 

  Everything fell into place. I could see him again, that little pudgy dark haired kid from sixth grade. The one who taught me how to rig a locker. I'd only seen him once, then he vanished.

  "Alex.. Finn.. What happened? You just.."

  "Disappeared?" He offered, and I nodded. "I know. That was when my... anger problem started. Eighth grade for me.

  "How did you not know you were at my house? You left that note."

  He shook his head. "I climbed the back fence. All my focus was on the treehouse. I never knew what your house looked like- never cared to look. I had no idea who you were. I never knew your name."

   This boy.. was my little childhood savior. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. I backed up a bit. "What?"

  "Where are your glasses? I distinctly remember your glasses."

  I had to laugh. In the seriousness of that moment, he had to bring up something trivial. I tossed my hair over my shoulder, pointed towards my face and replied, "Contacts?" 

   The look on his face was a kind of 'duh' face. "I liked your glasses though."

  I found myself blushing, though I didn't really know why. A lot of people- relatives mostly- said I looked adorable with my glasses on. I didn't see it, but clearly Finn did.

  "Why did you start going by Finn?" I asked, managing to avoid his previous comment. From the look on his face, he noticed, but didn't mention it as he replied, "When I moved, I decided to start completely over. I started going by my middle name."

 Alex Finn Blake? It sounded wrong. I shook my head. He laughed. "It's Alexander Finnigan Blake. Don't judge, my parents were crazy." The laugh and the smile was short lived, and his eyes had turned cold again.

   He was about to have a 'moment', I realized. I decided to go on normally, hoping that his spell would pass quickly.

  "Wanna see the Sophie Sanctuary?" I asked, keeping my voice cheerful as was possible. He grumbled something that sounded like a 'sure', and I headed up the stairs.

  Suddenly, I was feeling a little apprehensive. I'd never had a boy inside of my treehouse before. Scratch that, I'd never even really talked to a guy, more than a few exchanges as necessary for class and such, up until now. That explained why I was acting so awkwardly. Inviting him into my treehouse, my world...

  He stepped inside after me, and the look on his face turned from bitter to awestruck. I had been prepared for him to laugh in my face, but he didn't. He only gazed around the spacious room, his eyes taking in every detail. I couldn't think about the fact that I'd left this place a disaster; loose pages scattered across my desk, Xbox titles scattered on the floor, clothes scattered around my loft. No, I couldn't be bothered to worry about that when there was a boy in here, standing mere inches away from me. I stepped away to avoid the dizzying warmth.

  Calm down, you idiot. Don't you start hyperventilating, or you really will look like an idiot. I walked inside, sitting down and getting comfortable on my futon, in front of my flat screen. It wasn't a huge tv, but it was large enough to game on comfortably.

 I turned to see him studying me. Blush grew on my cheeks. "What?"

 "What do you play?" He moved towards me, slowly, agonizingly so. Well, at least he wasn't making fun of me. There was a plus.

  "Skyrim, Elderscrolls Online, a little bit of Call of Duty."

  "Halo?" He asked hopefully, sitting down beside me. His episode had clearly passed, and he was his calm collected self again, with an edge of excitement.  I nodded. "I'm not very good at it though."

  Finn scoffed at me. "Well, looks like I'm gonna have to teach you, huh?" His scoff turned to a smirk. I could only roll my eyes, and grin. "I'm game."