Sweeter | BWWM One-Shots and Imagines

Be Mine | Ross Lynch

It happened on one of the their mall "dates" that weren't really dates. They had ended up in Pac Sun, one of the many stores Kayla never visited so that he could show her some shoes. Ross hadn't worked himself up to holding her hand yet, but their hands had brushed several times as they walked and she was honestly tempted to just grab his to get past the awkwardness.

But after they entered the store, he grabbed her hand to pull her over to the vans display, and then didn't let it go. "We should get matching Vans," he said with a cheeky smile. "Do people do that?" Kayla asked with her eyebrow raised. "Best friends do. I know what I'm getting you for your birthday," he joked, he wiggles his eyebrows. She rolled her eyes. "No thanks."

"Ross!" Kayla heard a male voice call his name from behind them. They turned to see a few guys ambling towards them. Ross dropped her hand as he started to talk to his friends. Kayla recognized them, even though she didn't know their names. All his friends sort of blended together in their swoopy hair, basketball shorts, lacrosse jersey fashion. Kayla watched their interaction for a few seconds, but neither Ross nor his friends ever looked back at her so she slipped away.

As Kayla pretended to be interested in a graphic tee display, she tried to resist her darkening mood. Her face had been hot from the moment Ross let go of her hand. It had grown hotter as he spoke to his friends without acknowledging or introducing her. Maybe it was a white people thing, but if it was, it definitely wasn't working in Ross' favor, because it absolutely just felt like he was ashamed of her. 

She hadn't felt ignored in this way since high school, when she was the only black girl in most of her classes and everything about her made her both hyper visible and invisible. She had fled that experience when she entered college, immersing herself in all Black spaces. 

And then Ross popped up. In their chemistry class, they were assigned as partners. Kayla gradually softened towards his humor and they became friends. Furthermore, he'd revealed that he was attracted to her. Kayla had been shocked at his admission, although he'd always been one to compliment her. He seemed to notice everything about her, from her ever changing protective styles to her subtle mood changes. 

Eventually, Kayla had decided she kind of liked Ross. He was sweet but confident, and he seemed to have a genuinely good heart. However, moments like this made her hesitant. She walked over to a random display and pulled down her size in a pair of Toms.

"Hey why'd you disappear?" Ross said, jovial as ever as he popped up beside her. She cut her eyes at him, fitting the shoe on her foot. He frowned.

"Whoa what did I do to deserve that?" He rested his hand on her back and she looked up at hi to see his eyes were hella sincere. It seemed like he really didn't know. Was he just dumb or was she overthinking things? Instead of revealing her frustration, she decided to let the matter rest for a moment.

"Do you like these shoes?" She questioned instead of answering him.

Ross looked down at the white TOMS she wore. It was almost comical that she was asking his opinion on a shoe so plain. "I mean...yes?" He said unsurely. He was clearly still confused by her behavior. "I'm not getting them," she said, just to be petty. Her mind was working against her desire to lay aside her irritation.

"What the fuck?" He held up his hands in exasperation.

"Sorry," she said, taking off the shoes.

"I don't give a crap about your shoes. I'm trying to figure out what's happened within the last 10 minutes since I was talking with Jake and Dirk. Did someone say something to you?" he looked around as if he was ready to handle whoever had disrespected her.

Kayla wanted to laugh, but she was too irritated.

"I'm fine. I'm gonna go look for a dress for Daysha's party."