Off Limits

09 | He looks like a fucking Abercrombie model

❝i could be anything
in the world
but i wanted to be his❞

- the sun and her flowers

Mackenzie Thompson

"We're stuck, will you give it a rest?"

"Well at least I'm doing something, instead of sitting on my ass like you have," Aaron argues as he tries to open the door again; however, it remains closed.

No shocker there.

It's been a little over an hour since we realized we were stuck in the library, and me coming to the conclusion that we would have to stay the night and wait until the morning for the library to reopen. My phone is dead and Aaron left his in the car; all the doors and windows are locked as well, even the vents— although we didn't try them, we were really considering it. We had searched the whole place for an extra phone, only finding one in the office (that was also locked). It seems like we've done everything we can. What else is there?

Aaron drags his fingers through his hair, looking flustered. He too, finally gives up and  sits down next to me on the sofa.

"My parents are going to go crazy, you know," I tell him for no reason, my mind drifting off. He nods but doesn't respond, pursing his lips. "Since we're here, we might as well finish the entire project," I offer, already knowing what Aaron's response will be.

"Thats's boring," he whines.

"Fine, genius, do you have any ideas on what to do?" I ask, closing my own book.

"I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," he says, hopping up the stairs.

"There's nowhere to go, smartass," I call up after him.

He appears back in a second, skipping half the steps, a box hidden behind his back.

"There's a children's room upstairs. I figured there would be some board games or something," he says, a smile spreading across his face as he dramatically reveals Monopoly.

"I call the dog!" I yell energetically, but before I can grab it, Aaron rolls it between his fingers, smirking. I pout.

"I've noticed you've been calling me genius and smartass a lot, but you sound sarcastic..." he starts. I roll my eyes at his attempt for validation.

"Fine. You're smart. Albert Einstein level. Now give me the goddamn dog," I sigh, holding my hand out. He obliges, dropping the little character into my palm.

After he chooses his own character (the car), I kick his ass at the game. I've always been quite good at it, although he seems to think that since I'm the banker as well, I've been stealing money (which I haven't). I'm just amazing, plus he buys all the bad properties and wastes his money. Within two hours, we've played three rounds, me forcing him into bankruptcy each time.

"Are you cheating?" he asks again, shifting towards me. I roll my eyes, bumping my shoulder into his.

"Nah, you just suck."

"And to think I let you have the dog," he says with mock hurt, clutching his heart. I lay my head on his shoulder, stifling a yawn.

We sit there on the freezing floor for a while, trying to fall asleep. I shiver slightly, which does not go unnoticed by Aaron. He slings his sweatshirt off quickly and easily and passes it to me. I slip into the sweatshirt, feeling the ironed-on letters through it and liking the feeling of "Everett" scrawled across my back.

"Thanks," I whisper as he looks down at me groggily, blinking his eyes to stay awake.

"Honestly, being stuck in here isn't too bad. Except for the lack of food, phones, and heat," he mumbles, closing his eyes and leaning his back against the wall.

"Even if we don't get out tomorrow, Ethan or my parents or your mom will eventually find us," I add.

"Most likely," Aaron replies, braiding the tips of my hair, his fingers weaving in and out. I lay my head across his lap as he works, and soon he's holding out his hand. I hand him a scrunchie, which he takes but then holds his hand out again. Confused, I grab a normal hair tie and hand it to him, and he wraps it around the end of the braid. I sit up, noticing my scrunchie around his wrist. I roll my eyes.

"Nice scrunchie," I remark, keeping a straight face.

"I know, right? I stole it from this pretty amazing girl," he says with a wink, and I can feel my cheeks heat up against my will.

"Just don't lose it. It's my favorite," I add, getting lost in his shining, forest green eyes that made me fall in the first place.

His milk chocolate brown hair lays floppily on his head per usual and his long eyelashes cast a shadow over his cheekbones. In other words, he looks like a fucking Abercrombie model.

I meet his eyes, but he doesn't lower his gaze. He stares at me intensely until I'm forced to stop him, or else I'll give myself away.

"Well, I'm never going to enter a staring contest against you," I joke to lighten the mood. It has no effect on him whatsoever, and I wonder if he even heard me.

"You're beautiful," he says as I search for the slighted hint of laughter in his eyes. However, I can't detect any, which brings flashbacks from the night of the bonfire replaying through my head. I feel butterflies in my stomach, but I'm not sure if they're nervous or overjoyed.

"What?" I reply.

Nice reply, Kenz.

"I said you're beautiful."

I take a deep breath, slowly letting air fill my lungs. I turn my head away to hide the embarrassing expression that's probably scrawled on my face.

"So, uh..." I turn around to see something very rare: a nervous Aaron Everett. I stare at him expectantly, wanting to know the cause of this unfamiliar situation.

I was definitely not prepared for what came next.

"Let's go out next week, just the two of us."

Author's Note

please vote, comment, and follow

sorry for the long wait; i've been caught up in school work.

anyways, hope you like this short chapter!

- alicia marie