“Mhm,” Piper nodded vigorously in agreement. Ben glanced at the both of them, then shrugged.
“Some other time I guess,” he sighed. He turned and walked away.
“Thanks, dude,” Piper breathed once Ben was out of earshot. She couldn’t help but notice the slight smile that Kelton was wearing, the one that made her heart beat a bit faster. She also couldn’t help but notice how incredibly messy his hair was.
Kelton glanced at her and nodded, wondering if his hair was messy or not. "No problem, by the way, how messy is my hair?"
"Same as usual," she said with a huge smile. Then she got an idea. "Well, I guess we really do have to do something tomorrow afternoon so Ben won't get suspicious. Unless you already have plans?"
Kelton shrugged. "Depends on the time," He answered, taking out his phone to see just how messy his hair was.
"Ok, so I'm gonna need more information than that," she huffed, then let the smile return to her face.. Sometimes Kelton was frustrating. "What time are you free? Because clearly I need to know that in order to make plans. By the way, I'm free the whole afternoon."
Kelton rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm also free the whole afternoon," He replied. "What are we even going to do, anyway?"
“Idk, what do you want to do?”
Kelton shrugged again. "I don't know, what do you want to do?"
“Um, maybe we could go to the arcade? It’s just like three blocks from here,” she replied. Suddenly she felt a bit self conscious; she tucked a curl back behind her hair and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Sure!" Kelton replied, glancing at her when she looked like she was a bit self-conscious. "Something wrong?"
She realized the mistake she had made, but it was too late. However, just as quick as she let her feelings slip out, she hid them. Her face lit up as soon as he asked the question. "No, why?"
That feeling that had hit her. . . it was strange. It came so fast that she expected her hair to swoosh over. All of a sudden, she realized how amazing Kelton was, and she was left there wondering how he felt about her. He didn't seem all that anxious to hang out with her, which made sense; he had his own life to live. That feeling was strange. She had lived her whole life assured of her worth (for the most part), and she never really needed to be liked by people. She didn't want that many friends anyway; she was fine by herself. But now, facing Kelton, she wasn't so sure about any of that anymore.
(Sorry about that!)
"Just wondering," Kelton answered, wondering what had made him want to punch Ben so badly. He didn't do anything to Piper or him, yet he just wanted to knock the living daylights out of the guy. Is something wrong with him? Was he turning into his mother? So many questions floated around his in his head, making him feel like his head was going to burst open or something. The realization dawned on him after a few moments. This, this was the feeling all those countless books he read had described. Love. That's what it was called. Everything made sense now. All those countless nights he had spent crying, waiting and hoping that Piper would appear, or he would wake up and it was all just a bad dream.
(Also, sorry it's bad)
(OMG WYM ITS BAD THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL)
“Alright, then meet me at the arcade at 4.” She tugged at the curls on the sides of her face, putting her other arm behind her back.
(Lol thank you!)
Kelton nodded. "Okay then," He replied, feeling like his heart was going to beat out of his chest.
Piper waved at him, then turned and walked back to her table. She rejoined the group mostly because she couldn’t bear to talk to Kelton anymore; it was too much at the moment. She just sat at her table after a while though, not speaking. She was thinking about tomorrow.
Timeskip: the next afternoon
Piper picked up her skateboard from the corner of her room, opened the door, and walked out. Once she got out of the building, she put the skateboard on the ground and sped off in the direction of the arcade. The breeze felt good on her skin.
Okay, Piper, she told herself. Don't be weird. Or overly passive aggressive. Or pushy. Or rude.
Then she huffed. That was too much to remember.
Kelton looked at himself in the mirror, constantly adjusting his hair, his beanie, or his shirt. "Why am I so nervous?" He mumbled to himself. He was wearing a simple black shirt, black ripped jeans, and a traditional flannel jacket that wasn't buttoned up, along with a grey beanie. He glanced at the clock to see what time it was, cursing himself before sprinting out the door as he grabbed his charm bracelet and headed to the arcade.
Piper was leaning against the inside wall at the front of the arcade, waiting for Kelton. Every time she heard the little bells jingle on the door, her heart began to beat a bit faster.
Kelton walked over to the arcade, wondering if Piper was already at the arcade or not. He adjusted his beanie one last time before walking into the arcade, looking around for Piper.
Eventually, Piper saw Kelton come through the door and look around for her. She snuck up behind him and tapped his shoulder.
“Hey, you,” she said with a smile. God, he was great, wasn't he?
(bump)
(Sorry about that, I'm on a trip and won't be able to answer until Tuesday)
(ok nbd but please be sure to answer as soon as you can!)
(Thanks for understanding!)
Kelton glanced in the direction he had heard a familiar voice and almost instantly brightened, a small, rare smile appearing on his face. "Hey."
She lightly punched his arms, then pursed her lips into a tight smile.
“You ready for me to kick you butt?”
Kelton scoffed, rolling his eyes as he looked at her, crossing his arms. "As if that's going to happen."
Piper smirked. “I guess we’ll have to see then,” she replied. Though her voice was a smooth as butter, her mind was going crazy. Why did she feel like she was gonna melt into a puddle on the floor when she looked at him? Like a ripple was going down her spine?
"I guess we will," Kelton said, a small smile on his lips. His mind was going around a million miles a second, thinking of every single possibility that would happen if he did something.
Piper turned and walked to one of the closest video games. It was a racing game; she was good at those.
“What about this one?”