Sweetened Facade

Chapter Ten

"No no no no..yes yes... noooo!"
The claw machine dropped the Pikachu right beside the box. It was his fifth attempt and he still hadn't succeeded.

"Let me try!" I playfully bumped into him and stepped in front of the machine. My last few coins would be wasted on trying to get that damn Pikachu. They slid in smoothly and I was off. A few click clicks later the claw went down and picked up the Pikachu. Our eyes lit up in unison as it approached the box.

"Yes, yes, cmon," Dylan was murmuring frustratedly. The claw dropped Mr. Pikachu into the box and we both exclaimed excitedly.

I collected the Pikachu and clutched him happily. I had my own teddy bears in my room but I didn't know what to do with them, but this one was more special.

The night was young and the arcade was closing down. Dylan and I had spent the last two and half hours just playing games. We were both very competitive, which only encouraged our bonding.

I didn't want to get too attached seen as he'd probably only be temporary. A part of me wanted this connection we shared to be real. All this time I was expecting him to twist it into something weird, ask me to do him a favour or something, but he didn't.

"You said we were getting ice cream," I pouted.

"Let's go now." He smiled respectfully and led the way, making sure not to grab my hand this time. We chatted on the way to the little ice cream parlour in the corner, talking about little things like what was his favourite subject or my favourite colour. He liked Physics, and my favourite colour was orange.

The shopping centre had cleared out by now, all the shops were closing down and the only people wandering about were tired workers, making their way home. Luckily the ice cream parlour was a small place at the front of the shopping centre which only closed at 1 am.
We walked into the parlour, the cold wrapping itself around my bare arms. Dylan noticed the goosebumps on my arms and pulled off his longsleeved hoodie. He put it on my shoulders, patting my back gently in circles to warm up, not looking at me even once. His eyes were fixed on the dimly lit menu, scanning the different types of waffles and crepes available to go with the ice cream. He seemed unaffected by the chilliness of the ice cold walls, his white tee blended in with the cool setting perfectly.

He turned around to face me with expectant eyes. "What would you like?"

I couldn't remember the last time I was in an ice cream parlour since Mum and Dad left.

"Raspberry ripple." Dylan's green eyes widened.

"You can't honestly want to have such a boring ice cream!" He acted shocked. "It's my treat anyway, you should try something nicer. Try the Rafaello."
I couldn't even debate the other options available because he was already ordering. I scanned the rest of the parlour, noticing a young couple sitting in the window, too captivated by each other's presence to care about anything else. The walls were icy white tiles, reflecting the coldness of the freezers throughout the room. I decided to sit at an empty steel table, the countertop was still a little dirty, but I couldn't really complain. The boy at the counter seemed tired, his eyes were drowsy and his movements lame.

Within minutes Dylan appeared with two large sundaes, one Rafaello and the other Toblerone.

"Dig in, princess." He licked his lips before eating a massive spoonful of the refreshing dessert.

We sat together silently enjoying the luxury of a good ice cream. My heart started to ache as I remembered the last time I thought I could trust a boy. I couldn't let myself fall into his trap. He was probably just using me to get over an ex-girlfriend or something.

I wasn't looking for a relationship but something about him attracted me. He was sweet, but I couldn't tell if he was genuine.

***
After our ice cream, we walked back through the deserted parking lot and got into the car. The ending of this night would be awkward if he tried to kiss me like they did in the movies.

The music on the ride home was soothing and sweet, almost like a lullaby. I never really listened to softer music anymore, it made me feel vulnerable. Something about being in his presence made that okay, reminding me of my humanity.

When he asked me for my address, I hesitated. No one at school knew that I lived under the same roof as the Bosticks and I didn't want to spark up drama with them right now either.

I told him the address to my real home.

He pulled up in front of the locked gates, surprised to see no lights were on in the house.

"Do your parents not wait up for you?" He asked curiously. If only he knew.

I shook my head quietly, trying to avoid talking about them at all. I slowly started to pull his sweet scented hoodie off when he stopped me.

"Keep it." He smiled through the darkness. His eyes fell on my lips again. Was he going to kiss me?

He broke the intensifying moment by turning around to pick up my longgboard and hand it to me. My heart sank a little, until the realisation hit me- I wanted him to.

Instead, we settled for an awkward wave as I exited the car. He watched me closely as I hopped over the gate and made my way up to the house, pulling out the key. I waved at him again before he left. Phew.

I contemplated on whether it was worth it to go all the way home now. Besides, I could just sleep at home for the night. My real home.