𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑 ☾ 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙩

X. stillness

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･''･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

ﾟ･* To say the train trip back to Italy was awkward was an understatement. Both Milia and Timothée didn't talk about the day before and found it hard to talk about anything else. They sat in their seats opposite each other the whole time stealing glances of one another and cowering away from even talking. Milia occupied herself with her writing and Timothée starred aimlessly out the window.

When they eventually got off the train and drove back to the Ricci residence, Milia turned up the volume to fill the awkward silence. Sometimes she would catch Timothée looking at her and she would smile shyly and then fiddle with her rings to avoid any sort of interaction. She didn't know why she was so nervous around him and was frustrated at how she was so focused on his soft lips all the sudden. She was confused and was beginning to take her anger out on him.

Timothée wished he never kissed her. He wanted his friend back and didn't want to loose her a second time. He mentally slapped himself for his drunken impulsiveness. He's liked her since they were eight and last night was a dream come true when she kissed him back slightly but it morphed into a nightmare when she suddenly pushed him away. He regretted drinking that night. He regretted everything.

As the two pulled into the familiar driveway, Milia didn't waste a second in jumping out of the car and running away from the tension. She grabbed her bags and sprinted into the house to greet her parents. Timothée groaned as he watched her avoid him in every way possible. He eventually trudged to the back and pulled out his own bags to join the girl that wanted nothing to do with him.

Timothée was confused. He needed to admit that Milia didn't like him and that it was beginning to be a lost cause. They still had to spend the rest of the summer together and urgently needed to get past this in order to at least not make the most painful summer in existence.

Timothée met up with all the parents and lied to them about the trip, bits of it at least.

The afternoon crept onto the summer villa fast and Timothée hadn't seen Milia all day. She ran up to her room and locked herself away. As timothée crept into the kitchen to get a glass of water he immediately locked eyes with Lily and he plastered on a fake smile.

"Timothée dear, do you think you and Milia could run down to town and pick up some more wine?" Timothée brought his attention to the woman at the mention of Milia's name.

"How did you guys manage to drink it all in the three days that we were away." Lily laughed and playfully slapped Timmy on the shoulder.

"The heat makes you very thirsty dear." Timothée smiled brightly and agreed to go. He made his way to the familiar staircase and looked up at his awaiting doom. He didn't want to go up to her but he knew if he went without her Lily would raise questions. Timothée was surprised Lily hadn't picked up on it sooner. She has always been oddly good at picking up secret meanings and unspoken feelings. Timothée remembers how when he was younger Lily always knew when Milia and him were lying, she said they always had a tell but no one else could pick up on it.

Timothée walked across the floorboards and cringed at their loudness. He took a deep breath in and knocked softly on her dark door. A muffled response invited him in and when he begrudgingly pushed open her door, she didn't seem too impressed to see him.

"You're mom wants us to go out and get some wine." Milia looked between her laptop and his desperate face.

"Can't you just go?" She said in a whispered tone.

"She specifically asked." Milia exhaled loudly and slammed her computer shut making Timothée jump slightly. He feared being with her was probably not the safe thing to do as her mood reminded him of how she acted after her breakup and that made him feel even more guilty. Milia walked up towards him and stepped out in front of him. She didn't wait for him but instead powered down to the front door in a fast pace. Timothée speed walked to try and catch her. As he was about to go out of the door he turned to his right and caught the eye of a knowing Lily. She grinned at him and that made him feel somewhat unsteady. 'These Ricci's' Timothée thought.

The two strolled down towards the local town in complete silence. Milia stared out towards the inviting water while timothée kicked rocks ahead of them.

"Are we good?" Milia cringed at his question.

"yeah" She barely whispered. Timothée kicked a rock in front of her and she didn't hesitate to kick it forward. The two slowly strolled down to the town taking turns kicking the rock ahead of them in silence. The crunch of the rocks beneath their feet was mesmerising and made Timothée forget all about what was happening between them. He just focused on the repetitive sound and let it calm him.

Milia walked into the shop first and held the door open for Timothée. He smiled grateful at her and she reciprocated it. Timothée felt a sense of joy at her gesture and mentally thanked the universe for putting him in its good graces. Milia effortlessly walked up to the counter and stood in front of the store keeper waiting to order.

"posso avere una bottiglia di vino per favore?" Milia pointed at the bottles she wanted and the man happily handed them over. She paid and walked out quicker then the time it look for them to walk in. Timothée loved when Milia spoke in her first language. It made sense to hear he speak Italian because of her beautiful accent mingling with the beautiful words. He listened as she rolled her r's so effortlessly and that only made him look at her with more admiration.

As the two stood out the front of the store, Milia took Timothée's hand in hers and lead them to the wooden fence that overlooked the ocean. The sun was setting and the orange hue reflected onto Milia's face making her look even more beautiful. Timothée stood staring speechless at her face.

"You don't get this in New York." Timothée laughed at her and nodded his head in agreement. Milia gushed over his reaction and acted like his approval didn't make her whole stomach flip. She didn't know why she was feeling this way but she couldn't get last night out of her head and wanted so desperately to go back and stop herself from pushing him off. She wanted him. She always had.

The silence quickly turned into non-stop conversation and the two couldn't shut each other up. Their laughter and smiles mingled together and made them both feel safe together again. By the time they made it back to the house the sun was almost completely consumed by the horizon but they didn't even notice. As they walked into the house and made their way to their parents at the outdoor dinner setting they were still talking and didn't even bother letting up when they sat down with their parents.

As Timothée listened intently at Milia he caught the eyes of Lily and she rose her eyebrows subtly at him. He looked and thanked her with his eyes. She knows . She always knows.゜ﾟ･*

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･''･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

| out of mind. |