Crush4Two

Chapter 3

"Bobby! Bobby the Elder!" A three-pigtailed girl came running up at a serene looking boy raking his sand garden.
Bobby's face remained passive as he opened an eye. "Yes, Audrey? I see you need something."
"Yes, mr elder, but can we talk about this away from everyharvey?" Audrey pointed at the slew of Harvey kids strewn around the block.
Bobby rolled his eyes and sighed, but he grabbed his stick and very carefully stepped out of his garden. He cleared his throat. "Well? Lead the way."
Audrey took him to the trash heap, her favorite secluded spot on the block. Bobby recoiled in disgust as his foot caught on something.
"Woah! You just tripped over a box of ancient 1980s Pokémon cards!" Audrey dove for them. "What a find, Mr.Elder!" Audrey tore open the pack with her teeth and began sifting through the cards.
"...yes. Now, what was it that you dragged me to this...treasure heap for?" Bobby asked lightly, looking quite nervous. "I have meditation to get back to."
"Oh...yeah. Promise not to tell anyone what I'm gonna ask you?"
"What an Elder hears is known only by the elder, the teller, and the planes of the universe," Bobby replied. "Ask away."
"So...um...how does someone fall out of crush?" Audrey's cheeks brightened.
Bobby's eyes grew wide. "Audrey? You? In crush?"
"I never said it was me!" She exclaimed. "But...yeah. It is me."
Bobby chuckled, and started flipping through the Harvstory of Harvey Street. "Let me guess. Melvin?"
Audrey gasped. "How in heckity pleckity did you know?"
"He came by asking the same question this morning. I'm assuming he meant you." Bobby's smile was one of those knowing-older kid smiles. He found the page. "As I've probably mentioned before, the Crush section of the databases don't have much data, but to fall out of crush, you might want to either avoid the subject or be rude to them."
"But...I don't want to be mean." Audrey looked down at her blue converse. "And maybe I don't want to fall out of crush after all."
Bobby snapped the book closed. "Wise choice, Audrey." With a quick smile and a pay on her head, the platinum-haired boy daintily walked away.
Audrey looked down at her hands. What was she thinking? Admitting her crush on Melvin? She thought of Gerald and Lotta's mushiness. She did not want that. But she couldn't keep it pent up anymore. She had to let it go and they would carry on from there. Heart beating loudly, she set off to find Melvin.
He was in his treehouse, having a competition with the Bloogie Boys.
"Melvin!" Audrey called from the base of the trunk.
"Huh?" Melvin stuck his head out of the window. "Oh. Audrey. He glanced back at his boys. "Give me a sec?"
She nodded nervously while the boy ducked inside to talk to his friends. Her hands were all sweaty, her pulse was racing...she was ashamed that her body was betraying her this way.
"Coming!" Melvin swung down the ladder and stood in front of Audrey. "Sup?"
"Uh...I think I need to tell you something." Audrey played with her hair. "I..."
"I think I'm in crush with you." They both said it at the same time. For a second they were confused, but then their gazes locked and the electricity spiked through them again.
Audrey blushed like a tomato. "Y-you too?"
Melvin blinked rapidly. "I-I..."
they stared at each other.
"Well, this is awkward." Audrey laughed nervously. "Um..."
"I'm sorry," Melvin said suddenly. "I just..,don't know what happened. This isn't supposed to be real. We're not supposed to..." his voice caught. "Like each other."
"I didn't want it to be true either," Audrey admitted. "But it is."
"So...what do we do now?" Asked the boy shyly. "Now that it's out?"
Audrey looked into his eyes, a deep hazel. He stared back at her.
They were two kids, both at the tender age of ten. A spunky and daring girl, a witty and bad boy. There, at that moment, they were too young to realize that what they had was something rare, something special. At that moment, to them, this was unexplored territory, a patch of land mines and sharp rocks. Melvin took the first step into that terrain.
His sweaty fingers found Audrey's. Somehow, it felt right, a feeling deep in her heart that felt fulfilled, and almost happy. The weight of his fingers. His tawny skin meeting her's.
"I kind of like this." Audrey tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "It makes me feel...good."
Melvin gulped. "Really? I could stop, if you want—"
"Nah." Audrey grinned. "It's good."
"Melvin!" Called Fredo. "Hurry up!"
"Oop. Gotta go." Melvin's hand left her's. He rubbed the back of his neck. "So...see you around?"
"Yeah." Audrey replied. "Bye, Mel-man."
He crawled back up the treehouse. Before he disappeared into the fort, he spared Audrey a wink. She smiled widely and waved dazedly.
Little did the two know, this was just the bud of a lifelong union between two opposites.