𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝘤𝘮𝘣

thirteen

"corbyn, wake up," maisie said as she shook the boy.

corbyn stirred in his sleep and proceeded to face away from maisie. maisie kept shaking him and even tried tickling him where she found out he is indeed not ticklish.

"come on, dummy. get uppp," maisie pleaded.

"nooo," corbyn whined, covering himself with the duvet.

maisie sighed at her failed attempts to wake him up. corbyn smiled as he heard maisie's footsteps retreat. just as corbynnwas about to fall asleep again, he heard maisie running in the room.

before he could actually get up to see what was happening, maisie jumped on top of corbyn. corbyn groaned and rubbed his eyes to see maisie smiling down at him.

"good, you're up. let's go," she said as she climbed off corbyn.

corbyn sat up in bed to stretch while maisie was chucking clothes at the blonde boy. "here, go get changed."

he chuckled and shook his head. "yes ma'am."

once corbyn got dressed, the two walked out of the hotel and headed for a small restaurant to have breakfast in. after the two ate, they decided to explore more of the city before coming across a merchandise shop.

"let's go in here," maisie said.

"why? there's literally an h&m right there," corbyn pointed to the large building.

maisie looked up at corbyn. "i promised daniel i'd get him something and this merchandise shop is the perfect place."

corbyn followed maisie inside and around the shop as she looked for something for daniel. she kept looking at shirts then deciding against them at almost every shirt in the whole store.

"how about this shirt?" corbyn laughed as he picked it up.

it said the classic 'i ♥️ ny' and maisie rolled her eyes. "that's so plain."

she walked over to the accessories and debated getting a magnet. but she wanted to get daniel something that he could wear and it would remind him of her. she looked in the little shelves and saw bracelets. they were made from different colored beads and had a bead with the new york city skyline engraved in it.

"that's cool," corbyn complimented.

she picked up one of the beaded bracelets. the on that caught her eye had an assortment of black, blue, and yellow beads. she knew daniel would like it right when she saw it and turned to corbyn.

"i found one," she smiled. "i'm gonna go find a hoodie for myself."

maisie walked away and corbyn still stood at the accessory shelves. he looked over all the jewelery and came across a silver necklace. it was simple, a silver chain with the new york city skyline hanging from either side of the chain. he walked over to the register to pay for it.

"would you like me to box it or keep it on the tag?" the clerk asked.

corbyn thought about it for a moment. "a box, please."

the clerk placed the necklace in a box and secured a quick ribbon tie around it. she placed it inside the bag and handed it to corbyn.

he thanked her and stepped out of the line. maisie had just paid for her things a couple minutes after corbyn. as she approached him, corbyn placed the bag inside the pocket on the inside of his jacket.

"you hungry? we can go have lunch now," corbyn told maisie.

maisie nodded. "yeah, i'm craving thai. any thai restaurants around?"

corbyn got out his phone and looked for the nearest thai place. "there's one four blocks from here. we can walk."

corbyn and maise left the store and headed to go get lunch. once they ordered, the two went on their phones. however, corbyn was not occupied. he pretended he was reading the tweets that he scrolled through but really he was talking to himself in his mind.

should i tell her i like her?

how do you even know you like her? you're just feeling things.

i know i like her, i can't hold it in anymore.

do you need me to remind you who you are, sweet caroline killer?

i don't want to be him anymore, i want to change.

how could anyone as sweet as her fall for a monster like you? what happens when she finds out who you really are?

she won't, i will not let that happen.

but it's bound to happen one day. she'll find out, turn you in, she'll lose all her trust for you. she'll hate you. for someone as kind and forgiving as her, you wouldn't even be made as an exception.

corbyn fought with himself. the voice in his head was whispering all the negatives while his heart told him he should tell her his true feelings. he shook off both the angel and devil off his shoulder and placed his phone down.

"maisie? i need to tell you something," corbyn said.

maisie put her phone down and looked up at corbyn. "what is it?"

corbyn hesitated. he was trying to get the words out of his mouth. the speech he'd mentally prepared disappeared and he was left with a blank slate.

"corbyn? you okay? do you need-" maisie asked.

"i like you!" corbyn exclaimed.

he didn't dare to closely observe maisie's face for her reaction but continued talking. "that kiss, it wasn't just a kiss. it meant something to me. i haven't felt that way in so long and you opened that up for me. i tried getting over it like what you said but i couldn't. i've been fighting with myself everyday because of it whether to confess or keep it in this whole time. i can't anymore. i like you, maisie."

corbyn sighed as he finished rambling. he finally got a good look at maisie whose cheeks were red and her mouth agape. corbyn figured it was a mistake and tried to open his kouth again but maisie interrupted.

"i like you too, corbyn. i'm so sorry for making you think that way. truth is, i only said that because i was embarrassed you didn't like me back. in all honestly, i kissed you out of grief but then i realized i had feelings for you, corbyn. what i said before, it's not true. i don't want to leave it in the past, i want something to happen out of it,"
maisie explained.

the two looked up at each other to finally get a good glimpse at one another. the two were both red and on the brim of tears. corbyn grabbed maisie's hand from across the table and rubbed it.

"thank god, i was so scared," he breathed out. "i have something for you."

maisie nodded and corbyn took his hand from hers. he reached into his jacket and got out the small box he'd purchased from the merchandise store. he handed it to maisie who opened it and gazed in awe at the gift.

"i know it's not something expensive but i bought it for you because it reminded me of you."

maisie smiled at the necklace and put it on her, the skyline resting against her chest. "corbyn i don't care that it's not expensive, i love it. and i love that it especially came from you."

corbyn scooted his chair closer to maisie and brought her in closer to him. she happily kissed the boy and pulled back to see a wide grin on his face.

at that moment, corbyn knew what he wanted. he wanted to become a good man for maisie. he wanted a future with maisie. he wanted to live normally and happily with maisie for the rest of his life. he concluded that she wasn't worth falling victim to him. she was the reason he was going to change for her.