Navy Blue Eyes.

Her Stumble and His Fall. | .26

Rowan waited until the van had stopped and was idling at the corner where the local movie theater sat, her nerves fraying more by the second. Jenna rubbed a comforting hand on her back, pointing to the back of a boy who was watching the opposite corner.

"Is that him?" she asked, and Rowan shrugged.

"I guess so," the younger girl replied, her voice unsteady and betraying her false sense of calm. "See you guys at ten-thirty, right?"

"See you then," Lights promised. They'd all piled in the van with her, promising to stop out of sight so he wouldn't get suspicious of who might be in the van. Rowan really didn't want to explain how she knew almost every female on the tour like old friends.

Rowan stepped slowly from the van, closing the door comparatively fast in her wake, waving one last time before ushering them to drive off and making her way as if crossing a land-mine toward Tanner. She knew the boy Jenna had gestured toward was Tanner but she didn't want the girls to know for some reason. She finally reached him and took a moment to swallow, feeling butterflies erupt in her stomach, and tapped his shoulder softly, her voice nearly a whisper, "Tanner?"

The boy turned, his blond hair had been gelled to stay out of his mossy eyes, his tan skin shone under the low glow of the theater's outside lights, and his smile was dazzling. "Wow," he breathed, and Rowan felt vaguely like the female heroine of a teen romance novel again, as only he seemed to be able to make her feel. She flushed and looked down, taking in his outfit of black skinny jeans and grey short-sleeved button down, a casual leather jacket over top and matte grey Doc Martens on his feet. The darkness of the outfit made his skin seem more golden, his smile more white, his eyes more stunning than before. His eyes drank in Rowan's appearance as well but she was too preoccupied with taking in his look to be embarrassed.

"Hi," she finally mumbled, an unavoidable smile twisting her words, as he didn't seem inclined to speak yet.

"Hey," he said, blinking a few times before wrapping her up in a hug. She froze, unable to move, and wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't want to seem weird or rude, but she also didn't feel comfortable enough yet to let this boy wrap his arms around her. He seemed to sense her distress and released her quickly, taking a step back and looking frantic. "Sorry, that was too fast, huh? I just, you look so, and I– Well, I mean... Sorry."

Rowan felt instant regret at making him feel like she was upset with him, she was more upset with herself than anything else. "No, no! It's not like that. It's not... you. I just... uh, I don't do too well with, like, contact, uh, sometimes..."

She realized too late how idiotic her words sounded but she couldn't take them back, she just hoped against hope he wouldn't excuse himself from the night and run. To her relief, he looked calmed, "Oh, okay. No contact, sometimes. Okay. That's fine."

Rowan wasn't sure where to look or what to say and so she settled for gazing at the screen with movie times, not even knowing what they were planning to see. "So, um, what's on that's good?"

Tanner looked up at the screen as well, shook his head, and shrugged. "Nothing up there is– Fuck, that was about to sound so cheesy."

Rowan arched one brow and looked up at him curiously, "Well, now you have to say it. It won't do to keep a lady waiting..."

"Well, when you put it like that... I was gonna say..." he said, with a sigh and a breathy chuckle, "God this sounds like a pick up line but, I'm being honest, I was gonna say nothing up there seems interesting enough to stare at when I've got you here."

Rowan blushed ferociously, dropping her eyes quickly to her glittery clutch as she pressed her thumb against the sparkles in an attempt to make indents in the pad of her finger. "You're right," she finally replied with a giggle, looking back up at him with a smile, "it sounded like a super cheesy line." Now it was his turn to blush, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck, so she went on to quiet his nerves. "But it was cute. So, thanks."