Not Today | ✔️

Chapter Twenty Two.

The lady's thin eyebrows raised slightly. "It's Rose."

"I'm sorry I never asked before. Thank you, again, Rose," he said with another smile, before he took the items and left to his car.

As soon as he got in his car, he stared at the novel, to realize it was not a novel at all, but a play, Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde. The play had a note placed neatly between the pages. He first examined the highlighted words on the marked page, which read:

'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'

He then read the contents of the note, wishing Evelyn used more neat letters, rather than the curvy ones she used.

'Go where we first counted the stars,

you'll find the next destination in my heart,

where we touched the sky,

before the clouds began to cry.'

Tristan furrowed his eyebrows at her vague words, but began to head to the park he'd taken her as he nibbled on the top part of the muffin, before eating the bottom half. As he drove, he thought about Evelyn. Her effect on him, specifically. Ever since the time he snapped at her in the library, he tended to think twice before saying something snarky, and instead of glaring at a passing stranger, he did his best to smile.

It wasn't until Evelyn had sat down, clad in her oversized cardigan, effortlessly beautiful and indescribably persistent, declaring to keep him company that he realized strangers have more of an effect on someone's day, or maybe even someone's life, than we'd like to admit.

With his head full of thoughts about the girl with the hazel eyes and kind heart, time passed quickly and he was pulling into the small park in no time at all.

Tristan glanced around the park, deciding to walk to the swing-set, guessing he'd find his next clue there. He was right. Gently sat upon the wood chips, under the swing Evelyn had been swinging on the night they were there was a heart-shaped box. Tristan smiled as he realized her play on words, with her note.

As he opened the box, he furrowed his eyebrows. It was filled with... tickets? Yes, it was filled to the brim with arcade tickets. Tristan pulled out the note and read it.

'When we first met,

you compared me to a bullet,

if I recall.

So go to the mall,

that's where you'll find me.

Let's test that theory.'

Tristan furrowed his eyes at the last line. Test the theory?

"The fuck, Evelyn?" he mumbled to himself, but followed her direction, nonetheless.

The mall wasn't a far drive, so he arrived in a speedy manner. He usually hated malls, it was always a bitch to find the stores you wanted to find, but the lucky thing was that the arcade was at the entrance of the mall

As soon as Tristan entered the arcade, his eyes were met with the dim lighting that emphasized the neon glow coming from the gaming machines, which were sounding with loud, dramatic noises, signaling the wins and losses of the younger children playing the machines.

The odd smell of the arcade, mixed with the sight of it and the carefree laughter of strangers was enough to make Tristan smile and his eyes light up in child-like excitement. He hadn't been to an arcade in years and he felt like he was transported back to his childhood.

Tristan looked around the arcade until he found the game he was sure Evelyn had been talking about. He stepped up to the lit up machine with two sides, a red and blue side, with a plastic gun tucked into a plastic holster, waiting to be played.

Tristan was still staring at the machine when a pair of small, soft hands reached up, covering his eyes.

"Guess who?" a familiar, soft voice asked, brushing her soft lips against his ear, ever-so-slightly, which made Tristan believe she was on her tip-toes, as he felt her body brush against his back softly. Everything about her was soft. It was no question who it was.

"Abraham Lincoln?" he joked.

"Wrong," she whispered against his ear. "Try again."

"Michael Jackson?" he said.

"Wrong again. One last guess."

"Evelyn?" he asked, feeling a sense of warmth at her name simply falling from his lips.

"Ding, ding, ding," she said softly and pulled her hands away from his eyes. He felt her body shift back away from him, almost feeling disappointed at the loss of warmth.

Tristan turned around and couldn't help the way his heart seemed to stop for just a moment. All day, he'd been so close to her, with her notes and sweet gestures in their familiar spots, but he hadn't been close enough. And he couldn't describe the feeling coursing through his veins when he saw her.

Her face was lit up with a smile, her dimples showing, driving him crazy enough to warrant a straight jacket. Her eyes were lit up just as brightly, a mixture of green, honey, and brown.

The thing he noticed the most, though, was that she wasn't wearing the glasses. He couldn't help but smile at that.

"I guess you found me," Evelyn said with a smile.

"Guess so," he replied softly.

"First things first," Evelyn started with a grin.

"We are going to play air hockey and I am going to crush you,"

✧✧✧

Two hours later, after playing nearly every game available, including the game to 'test the theory' (which ended with Evelyn claiming she was like getting shot, because that game was fun, and so was she), they headed towards the food court.

"That game was so rigged," Evelyn muttered as they began eating.

"It wasn't rigged, Evelyn. You just sucked at it," Tristan said matter-of-factly, but he felt a certain fondness at the immature proclamation coming from her.

"I do not! I was using the joystick perfectly. The Pac-Man just wouldn't move, so the ghosts ate me. It was rigged!"

"No, I'm pretty sure you just suck at arcade games," Tristan said with a teasing grin.

"Well, if I suck, what does that say about you? I beat you in air hockey," Evelyn said, playfully.

Tristan scoffed. "That was a fluke."

"Tris, I beat you three times," Evelyn said, letting out a quiet laugh, which made him want to smile.

"Whatever."

Their playful banter kept up until they finished their pizza, and began to head towards the exit of the mall. As the two of them stood outside the exit, Tristan grabbed Evelyn's hand, stopping her from walking forward.

"Thank you," Tristan said.

"For what?" Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows.

"For today. For the scavenger hunt. It was fun... special," he admitted, mumbling the last word, feeling embarrassed.

Evelyn didn't share in his embarrassment. Instead, she sent him a small smile and interlocked their fingers, beginning to pull him behind her as she spoke her next words.

"It's not over just yet."