Knox's Little Annie

7

The final bell was the most relieving noise I had heard all day. 

Watching as everyone quickly shuffled out of our last class felt like a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was quite honestly surprised I had managed to make it through the entire day - even if we had gotten out earlier than a normal school day. I was certain Serena would be even more surprised than I was and most certainly relieved too.

I was slow in gathering my things together. I willed my hands not to shake as Knox waited, his eyes watchful as he stood at the desk next to me.

Walking through the hallway at the end of the day was undoubtably the best time. Everyone was in such a rush to leave that if you just meandered enough in the back, you were among very few stragglers. So few, I didn't even feel a need to hold onto Knox in anyway. Apparently I was wiling to make leaps and bounds today. Now they just had to stick.

The gentle breeze of the fresh outside air tickled my nose and I was more than happy to breath it in. Even most of the traffic had already cleared out. I hadn't realized I was being so slow but it seemed to be paying off for me.

Stopping at the bottom of the steps, I turned to face Knox. I was planning to walk home since Serena would still be working for a few more hours. Before I could say a word of goodbye, Knox was already speaking.

"Come get Ice Cream with me." He said in more of a demand than a question.

"Ice Cream?" I asked, quirking my head to the side. 

We stared at each other for several silent moments, nothing but the breeze passing between us. 

"C'mon." He turned and started walking again before I could truly answer one way or the other.

I supposed it didn't really matter. I wanted to go regardless. Why would anyway ever say no to the opportunity of ice cream anyways? I certainly couldn't do that.

Knox led me to his car, opening the door so I could clamber in. As we rode, only the low rumble of his music filled the air around us. After being surrounded by never ending loud noise all day, I had to say that this change was welcomed.

We pulled up to a parlor I had yet to see before. It was super cute in a classic mom-and-pop type of way. Their logo was a little pink cow sitting and eating a giant cone of ice cream. For a mascot, it was utterly adorable.

Cool air washed over us the second we stepped inside making me shiver slightly. My eyes darted all around. While and pink checkered tiles filled the floor and matched the check-out counter. There were several booths littered around the perimeter of the space, each seat as bubble gum pink as the next. 

A little pink bobble head of their mascot sat atop the cash register. My lips quirked at the sight. 

"Any idea what you want?" Knox's voice brought me out of my trance.

I looked up at the menu above the counter. Growing up, I'd only gone to an ice cream shop maybe once and I certainly never lived in a house that had any waiting for me in the freezer. I couldn't even remember any flavor of ice cream I've tried before.

"What do you normally get?" I asked softly.

Hopefully my question came off as if I was more of an adventurous foodie than a girl who hadn't really experienced something as simple as ice cream before. Knox didn't seem to think twice about it thankfully.

"Vanilla." Knox shrugged, looking back down at me.

Vanilla was always a safe option. I'd had enough sweets to know that much. It was just as safe as getting chocolate but glancing a the menu one more time, I still felt completely unsure. I was seconds away from just saying I'd get the same thing as him when he spoke again.