𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬

18| Lavender Haze.

18 | Lavender Haze.

| Jess's POV |

≻───── ⋆✩⋆ ─────≺

"Othello?" Sage tilted her head, her eyes boring into mine.

I shook my head, "I don't like poetry."

A shocked expression took over her face, as she pressed her back against a bookcase. I walked forward, moving closer to her. "Really?" She asked. I nodded, "really."

"Hm," she thought, tugging on the sleeves of my jacket, which was now wrapped around her shoulders. "Sense and Sensibility?"

"I'm telling you, Sage, I don't have a favorite. This is pointless." I told her, watching as she sighed, leaning her head back.

"You're crazy, Jess." Her eyes lazily met mine, a comfortable smile on her lips.

There was something about the way my name left her lips, the way they formed each letter and pronounced each syllable. Something tempting. Addicting, almost. The more time I spent with Sage, the more I felt myself falling into her. I constantly caught myself looking at her, memorizing her. She reminded me of a puzzle. A mystery. Whatever you want to call it. She was fascinating. Frustratingly so.

I felt my eyes dart down to her lips, it was quick, innocent enough to where she wouldn't notice. But they certainly fought to linger there.

"Well," she began, "if you don't have a favorite, then pick out one you really like." I met her eyes, narrowing mine. "Why?" I asked. She rolled her eyes, a teasing smile on her face. "Because, idiot, I said so."

"Someones bossy," I followed behind her as she walked around.

"And someones stubborn," she replied, turning around. "Now, go find a book." She pushed me backwards, softly.

Reluctantly, I did as she asked, simply wandering over to a section she had spent the most time in, and grabbing a book I had watched her look at for extra long.

I found my way back to her, watching as she grabbed a book. Scattered Poems by Jack Kerouac.

She looked up, meeting my eyes. "Oh! Oliver Twist," she smiled, looking at the book in my hand. "Indeed."

"Alright," she sighed, "are you ready to go?" She asked.

No.
"Yeah."

I went to walk out, but she stopped me. "Hey, nuh uh, bad." She grabbed my arm, tugging my backwards. "We do still have to pay." I groaned, "does it really matter?"

She stared at me. "Yes."

She went to pull out money, but I stopped her. "Stop it." I reached iinto my pocket, tossing a twenty into the tip jar.

"Happy now?" I grumbled.

"Very," she smiled.

We both walked out of the store, she waited patiently as I relocked the door, carefully shutting it.

"At least those stupid bobby pins are good for something other than making me want to die." She mumbled, pulling my jacket tighter against her.

I snickered, she nudged my shoulder. "It's so not funny!"

"Oh, it kind of is." I grinned. She groaned, "whatever."

I thought for a second. I didn't exactly want her to go home yet, bit I also didn't want to seem annoying—wait, what the fuck was I doing?

"Wanna go to the diner? Just for a bit." The words left my mouth before my mind could form them. She looked up at me for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah, sure."

As we walked down the sidewalk, close enough to occasionally brush each other's arm, I felt her eyes on me. I turned my head to her, "what is it?"

She shrugged, looking back at the ground, a small smile on her lips. "Your eyes are pretty."

"What?" I asked her, nearly stopping completely.

She looked back up at me, "you have pretty eyes." At my utter confusion on how to respond, she quickly said, "Should I not have said that? I'm sorry."

"No," I said, immediately, "no, it's fine. I just—"

"Careful," I nodded ahead.

This time, she actually looked, stopping herself from running into a sign.

"Thank you, times two. I don't think it said it earlier." She smiled, the awkwardness from before slowly slipping away. If she was offended by my lack of reply, she didn't show it, simply going back to her own little world.

I noticed she zoned out a lot, and when she did she'd fall into the same rhythm each time. She'd begin to softly skip, and start humming some Lana Del Rey song. It was kind of cute.

God—what am I saying?