Dream with Me ✔️

08: That was Rude of Me

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Aurora ☪︎
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Chapter 08: That was Rude of Me [Edited]

"So why are you doing this?" A familiar voice asks me, I jump back slightly, dropping the coke can in surprise. I finally found it but there was only one left. It pops open from impact, spraying me all over my face with the sugary liquid. I let out a loud gasp, immediately grabbing it to toss in the sink. I let out a few curses while trying to wipe my face off. I don't need eyes on the back of my head to know people are staring at me.

I slowly turn back around to face Theo, my heart thrumming out of my chest and my face heating up. He stares at me in surprise, but there are no signs of amusement. He reaches out to grab the roll of paper towels and hands me a couple of pieces. I turn back to the sink, getting the napkins, and using it to wipe the disgusting stickiness off my face.

"I got it," I mutter when I see Theo crouching down wiping the floor. I hastily get some more napkins to help clean up, accidentally bumping my hand into his.  I jerk my hand away, recoiling back from the electric shock. My face is practically going up in flames. This is not how I expected our third encounter to look like.

"I made you spill it, don't worry I got it," he says gently, putting a hand on my own to stop my movements. I shut my eyes, trying to calm down my racing heart and heated face before giving in.

"Okay." I sigh before allowing myself to take a few steps back, throwing away the coke soaked paper towel. I overhear some people laughing making me feel self-conscious. I cross my arms like some kind of security mechanism, suddenly just aware of everything.

Theo quickly finishes though and looks at me, taking in my distressed state.

"Hey, let's go outside for a quick minute yeah?" he asks softly, holding out his hand for me to take. I don't hesitate to agree with that option and take his hand as he leads us both outside.

"Let's take some deep breaths, three is usually my lucky number. I'm sure we can find yours too," he says, looking at me intently with a calm look on his face. I simply nod and follow his actions of taking a deep breath and then breathing out.

At first, my mind still races about my embarrassing incident and my heart continues to pound at an unhealthy pace. My breathing does not even out and continues to be labored and it starts to get me dizzy. I can feel a dull pounding in the back of my mind.

Then all of a sudden my breathing starts returning back to normal and my heart slows down significantly. It's almost as if someone had shot me with calming drugs.

Theo looks surprised at how fast I went from borderline hyperventilating to calm. He asks me if I'm okay and I say yes. For the most part, I am, but another small part of me still feels anxious. My mind is still thinking of the coke can and I'm also now self-aware of how long it's going to take me to fully calm down.

We don't say anything for a while and I'm thankful that Theo isn't bringing it up. The scent of Coca Cola starts to fill up in the air. I look down at my jacket, remembering it's stained. Oh and our conjoined hands, which I hesitantly pull away.

I have no choice to take my jacket off, not realizing Theo is copying my actions with his olive green hoodie. I immediately shake my head, refusing when he tries to give it to me.

"It's cold," I say as if it's enough reason for him to put it back on, which he should.

"It's colder in Michigan," he repeats what he said to me a couple of weeks back with a knowing smile. "Come on it's rude to keep a guy waiting," he jokes.