𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Chapter 8

She can't stop massaging the little puppy, loving the softness of her short curls she can't wait to watch grow when she gets bigger. Deena scrunches her nose when the bundle of fluff licks her. 

"What should I name you, little lady? Mm? Cutie patootie." She boops her snout. She snorts at the adorable bark in response. She gets up from the carpet, deciding to throw herself on top of her bed to stare up the ceiling for a solid moment.

There's so much tension in her body as she's feeling overwhelmed. What an evening, a twist of her night. She's struggling to wrap her head around Leon's words and his actions. The idea that not only he knew she liked him, but he also noticed her, couldn't stop thinking about her and still manages to lay it across to her that she's nowhere near his level is baffling. It only drives her to confusion and extreme annoyance. She feels like she's been disrespected. 

She sighs and grabs her laptop which had been laying on the pillows. She opens up the lid and quickly types in her password. As the screen loads, she slips her cellphone out from her pants' pocket to play some music. Any kind of noise will suffice. When she shuffles her playlist, there's a release of tension in her chest. Even the sight of the puppy coming into view from the corner of the bed has her breathing more clearly. The puppy is barking and jumping, as if trying to reach her, wanting to be close to her again. Deena's heart melts, and she crawls over to pick her up, grabbing her and pecking her head repeatedly. "You clingy little thing." She still holds her close before the laptop. 

'Girl dog names' is what she types in on the Google search engine. She clicks the first website she sees and scrolls through it thoughtlessly. She isn't seeing the names; she isn't reading anything on her screen as her mind is clouded with her dinner spent with Leon. Her body is warming up and the tension pools in her chest once again. She doesn't know why, but she feels embarrassment. And just thinking back on thirty minutes ago, spilling her drink all over him and running away on the spot was the most insane thing she's ever done. She screws her eyes shut and lets her face fall into her palms, feeling absolutely mortified.

The music begins to irritate the hell out of her, stimulating her more than she needs. She turns off her phone as fast as she can and lets out one prolonged sigh. She raises her eyebrows when the dog escapes from the crook of her chest to walk all over her keyboard. Deena doesn't even mind, allowing her to sit there and crush her paw to the screen as if she's trying to catch some of the objects on the website's ad. 

She frowns when her eyes catch the little notification on the corner of the screen. A discord notification. "Move over, dumbass." She gently nudges the pup out of the way. 

Her breath quickly catches in her throat, and she feels the heat spreading from her neck to face.

L€O77Ru$her accepted your friend request!

Flashback to a memory from five months ago where she took his discord link account and wished upon a star that she'd get some little breadcrumbs back by sending a friend request. This moment would've had her ecstatic months ago, and the date would've had her hyperventilating. 

She opens up the chat box and can't help the blush heating her entire body up just from seeing him be the first to type something. 

She quickly gets a hold of the dog when she sees her wandering off to the edge. She gently pets her while waiting the full minute he takes to type whatever he's preparing for her, only to wind up sending a 'Hi,' to her.

She lets out a scoff, feeling undeniably disappointed. She immediately responds, 'Took you long enough.' She wonders what he initially wanted to say, adding another message, 'What are you thinking?'

She sighs, seeing him typing for a while again, before he sends, 'I was thinking about you.'

She can't help but cringe a little. She pauses, taking interest in assessing her inward reaction to this. Luckily, she isn't feeling any butterflies in her tummy. She's calm, somewhat. She hums to herself. Her fingers move fast across the keyboard, and she confidently responds, 'Am I supposed to be flattered?'

'No.'

She cocks her head. 

'You threw your drink at me,' he adds.

She feels her face flushing in embarrassment. "Oh yeahh I did thaat," she nervously sings under breath. She lightly bites down on her bottom lip, both her hands balled to fists. 

'You took me by surprise,' he messages.

She covers her face before she has to read his follow up message. "Ugh!" She nervously giggles. 

She forces herself to read his sent follow-up without cringing, 'Hence, my mind obsessively wondering about you.'

"Ew," she fails. She quickly types her responses, 'You deserved it,' and sends with no hesitation. 

Now he's typing and she waits in anticipation. Her heart is starting to beat faster and she's holding her breath.

'I think I want you to do whatever you want to me.'

Her eyes genuinely widen reading his response. The bubble of nervousness inside of her bursts into intense feelings she's never felt before. Overtaken by such explosion, she shuts the laptop immediately on impulse. A sudden cackle leaving her lips surprises her. She feels odd bursts of energy bouncing around inside of her desperately.