My Bear - Andrew Siwicki

Chapter XXIII

The next morning I woke up at about 9 am and showered, getting ready for the day. I changed into a pair of Adidas leggings and a baggy grey pocket tee. I slung a denim jacket over my shoulders and then walked out to my kitchen, making myself a coffee. Andrew and I decided that it would be easier if we went to the place together and met Garrett and Zoe there. As I was sitting on my couch, scrolling through Twitter there came a knock at my door.

"Come in!" I called, mainly because I didn't feel like getting up. A moment later, the door opens and Andrew walks in.

"Hey Bear," I smile at him, patting the spot beside me. He closes the door behind him and then takes a seat on the couch next to me. His arm slings around me and pulls me into a side hug, which I lean into. The two of us chat together for a little while before it's time to head to the escape room place. We climb into the Jeep, me in the driver's seat as Andrew pulls up the directions to where we were meeting Zoe and Garrett. This was for Garrett's video and Andrew was tasked with filming, so had his backpack with him. About half an hour later we pulled into the parking and the two of us hopped out of the car and headed towards where Garrett and Zoe were chatting with each other, standing in front of their cars.

"Hey love birds," the two of them called basically in unison, grins spread over their faces. I giggled a bit and looked over at Andrew.

"I told Zoe, I'm guessing you told Garrett?" I smile and he laughs, shaking his head.

"I couldn't have him feeling left out," he replies, making eye contact with me. "Plus I tell him everything anyway"

"I know," I smile, gently leaning into him, pushing him to the side. The two of us make it over to Garrett and Zoe.

"Cuties," Zoe snickers and I giggle, looking down with a blush.

"Awh Look!" Garrett cries. "They're both blushing," I look over at Andrew and see the familiar dark pink spread across his cheeks.

"Garrett I will leave you in that escape room if you don't shush your mouth," I jokingly threaten, and he raises his hands in defense with a cute smile on his face.

"Okay okay enough goofing around," he smiles. "We have an escape room to escape from," The four of us head into the building and Andrew pulls out the camera to begin filming. We sat down for the briefing before heading into the room.

"Oh I did not sign up for spooky shit today," I say, causing Andrew to laugh. The four of us head into the dark room and start trying to solve the puzzles. As we were walking through the creepy hallways I usually clung to Garrett's arm. I was terrified, anything scary is not my cup of tea. A jumpscare came from beside us, a spooky clown mask, and I jumped, clinging onto Garrett for dear life. Andrew laughed at my action and I looked over at him to see him holding the camera, filming me.

"Meanie," I pout at him and he walks beside me, slinging an arm across my shoulders and hugging me into his side, keeping the camera filming ahead, on Garrett and Zoe figuring out the next puzzle. After collectively putting our knowledge together we managed to escape the escape room with time to spare, and Garrett had enough great footage to make a video out of it. We then head off to the restaurant Garrett suggested and the four of us enjoy a nice lunch together. Zoe soon had to leave for a business meeting, so the four of us say our goodbyes and then Andrew and I head back to my car. The two of us climb in and then head back to our apartments. I had some filming to do so the two of us went our separate ways, giving each other a gentle kiss goodbye. With a blush on my face I head back up to my apartment and shut the door behind me. After enjoying a nice cool drink I head into my office to begin recording. Mark, Ethan and I were filming our first 'podcast' together (it was basically just a Twitch stream) and I hopped onto the call.

We ended up streaming the podcast for a few hours and it was a very intellectual call. The viewers loved it and I was glad. As I turned off my computer for the day my phone vibrated beside me. I flipped it over, checked it and smiled. It was a text from Andrew.

'Great podcast! Was really interesting to listen to' My heart fluttered at the thought of him being one of the viewers on the stream. It was a really thoughtful gesture to me and I couldn't help but melt over it.

'Thank you for listening in! That means a lot to me. You don't think I got a little sidetracked at times and spoke too quickly?' I reply. I got up from my desk and headed back into the lounge, taking a seat on the couch, just as my phone buzzed again.

'No it was perfect! You did incredible,' It read. Oh gosh damn Andrew, if I couldn't fall for you any harder. I typed out a quick reply before placing my phone to the side and then starting up my Switch. The rest of the day was spent lazily and I went for a small walk before cooking dinner and then heading to bed early. My heart was still mushy as I climbed under the covers in bed, falling asleep quickly into a blissful sleep.

The next week flew by, I saw very little of Andrew due to the filming, but I was okay with that. We texted each other through the day and would usually have nightly calls to catch up on our days. I spent this time seeing Amy and Zoe and hanging out with them after work. It was now Saturday and Ryland had invited me over, so after I uploaded my video I got changed into a cherry-patterned button up blouse and a pair of black high waisted jeans. In the morning I baked some cookies and then climbed into my Jeep and headed off to Ryland's home. A little after half an hour later I pulled into the driveway of their house, climbed out of my car and then walked up to the door, knocking on it. Ryland opens it with a smile and we greet each other with a hug before heading into the kitchen.

"So how's things been with filming here?" I ask Ryland as the two of us take a seat outside in the courtyard.

"Oh, late nights for Shane as usual. He always tends to dive in head first with any series" Ryland explains and I nod.

"As long as he's doing something he loves," I say and Ryland smiles in agreement. The two of us chat for a few hours and soak up the bright morning sun of LA. Mid-afternoon Shane and Andrew arrive back at the house from filming and join us outside, Andrew sitting next to me. Only Garrett and Zoe knew about us at the moment and although both of us felt kind of guilty keeping it from our friends, we thought it would be the best for now. The four of us then head back inside as the sun starts to set and head into the lounge, taking a seat on the couch. Shane and Ryland disappear briefly leaving Andrew and I alone for a moment. With a little grin on his cute face he shuffles closer to me and plants a light kiss on my cheek, causing me to blush. The two of us chat about our days and Ryland and Shane soon join us again. At about 9 pm I decided to head home and said goodbye to Ryland and Shane. Andrew offers to see me out and together the two of us head to my Jeep.

"If you keep acting all weird they're gonna get suspicious," I smile at Andrew as we make it out of the front door.

"I can't help it," Andrew chuckles and I gently bump into him. "It's felt weird not seeing you all week honestly. I'd gotten so used to it,"

"I know," I reply. "I'm sure filming is keeping you busy though,"

"Oh yeah," Andrew smiles as we reach my car. "But still,"

"You tryna tell me that you miss me Bear?" I tease and he smiles, looking down at his feet with a blush appearing over his face. "Cause maybe I miss you too" He looks up with a raised eyebrow and I awkwardly smile, fiddling with my fingers. Andrew chuckles slightly at my reaction before pulling me into a hug, and I wrap my arms around his waist and lean my head into his chest. His chin rests on the top of my head and once we pull away he plants a kiss on my forehead.

"So I'll catch you around?" I say, my cheeks still painted red.

"Of course" he smiles and I nod.

"Coool..." I reply. Andrew laughs. "Oh this is so awkward,"

"Text me when you get home," Andrew says before turning around and heading back to the house. He turns back to look at me, walking backwards. "See you later Abby," I smile and watch him as he turns back around before jumping into my car and starting the car ride home.