Elastic Heart:

20:

Savannah:

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Colton asks. I look up at him from the movie that I'm watching. "Aren't you?" I counter. He nods his head in agreement. "Touché." He replies. He walks across the living room, slumping down on the couch beside me. My shoulder brushed against him. "So, why are you home?" I ask. "Why are you?" He asks. I roll my eyes at him. I wasn't in the mood for his aggressive behavior. "I asked first." I remind him. I glance at him from the corner of my eye, then return to watching the movie. "I didn't feel like dealing with school today." He mumbles. I pause the film and look at him. "Why?" I ask, giving him my full attention. "How was your date?" He counters. I grimace at the thought. Mason was the reason I stayed home. He was the very reason my phone was off. "It was fine," I mumble. 

Colton chuckles dryly. "Oh, just fine. Reed didn't wow you with his charm?" He jokes crudely. I tried not to let it get to me, but Mason was a touchy subject for me right now. "What exactly is your problem?" I ask defensively. "Nothing. So why exactly are you here?" He asked, changing the subject. I shrug my shoulders. I turn my attention back to the tv and play the movie. "Same reason as you," I mumble. I could see him shake his head from the corner of my eye. "I highly doubt that." He states. "Why?" I ask in a monotone voice. I wasn't interested in this conversation anymore. I was slightly annoyed with him. "I came to see if you were okay. Admittedly, I was worried about you." He whispers.

 I feel my breath catch in my throat. I didn't expect him to say something like that. I look over at him, and at the exact moment, he looks at me. His eyes search mine. "Are you okay?" He asks. I consider his question for a moment, then nod. "I'm okay," I reply. He moves his hand, grabbing mine. He gives it a slight squeeze. I force myself to look away from him. I tried to focus on the movie, but I couldn't. I'm surprised when he doesn't move his hand from mine.

 A good twenty minutes pass when Colton speaks up. "I'm hungry." He announces. "So go make something to eat," I reply. "I don't wanna." He says. I shake my head at him. "Do you wanna get a bite to eat?" He asks after a few moments. I ponder on it, then nod. He doesn't let go of my hand as he climbs to his feet. He pulls me along with him. "Go change." He said. I grumble but nod. I retract my hand from his hold, walking around him. I run up to my bedroom and close the door behind me. 

After rummaging through my closet for ten minutes, I settle on a pair of holy skinny jeans and a black Adidas tee shirt. I spray some perfume on and leave my room. I jog down the stairs to find Colton putting on his shoes. He glances up at me. "I was thinking, now bare with me, that we should go to the mall." He said. I groan. "For what?" I ask. He shrugs his shoulders. "Just to walk around." He replies. "I don't wanna walk," I complain. He rolls his eyes, grabbing my hand. "I'll carry you then." He offers. He opens the front door and leads the way out. I climb into the passenger seat of his car and smile. I could still see bits of confetti still laying on the dashboard. Colton starts the car, turning on the AC. "We're gonna get food first, right?" I ask. Colton chuckles at my question but agrees. 

I faintly listen to the radio as he drives to the mall. It seems like we arrive there in no time. When the car is parked, we both climb out. We start walking towards the entrance, but Colton suddenly stops before me before we can make it in. "What are you doing?" I asked, lightly smacking his back. I tried to push him forward, but he wouldn't budge. "I told you I'd carry you." He reminds me. I roll my eyes at the thought but jump onto his back, unable to stop the smile creeping on my face. Effortlessly, he holds me up by hooking his arms under my knees. I loosely wrap my arms around his neck.

 "I don't have money," I announce. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't grab any money from the house. "It's okay, I've got us covered," Colton explains. "Colton," I plead. "Savannah," He mocks me. "Besides, I invited you. So it's my treat. I'm happy to pay," He adds. I roll my eyes but don't say anything else about the matter. We continue to go through the mall until we pass Bath and Body Works. "Oh, can we stop here?" I ask. Colton shrugs his shoulders and walks in. I tried to get down, but he held me against him. "I want down," I plead. He groans but lets me slide off his back. I walk around the store, smelling the different perfumes and lotions. I walk to the far wall when I see a lotion that catches my attention. It was called Sleep. Colton kept his word and happily bought me the cream and a candle. 

Shortly after, we left the store. He continues to carry me throughout the mall. We buy nothing else, even when we stop through a few stores. Eventually, we make it down to the food court. "What do you want?" Colton asks. "Ohh, Chinese," I exclaim. Colton chuckles at me but walks forward to order. We earned a few strange looks from people since Colton wouldn't let me climb off of his back. When our food was finished, he returned to one of the tables. I sit down in the chair across from him. Colton slides over the box of noodles. I grab a pair of chop sticks and start to eat. I chuckle in amusement when Colton tries to do the same with the chicken. "How can you use chop sticks?" He complains. I roll my eyes at him. "Like this," I grab his hand, trying to position his hands correctly. He tried once more but failed. "Fuck it." He mumbles, stabbing the chicken with the chopstick. I laugh at him and roll my eyes.

 I continue to eat my noodles. "May is probably hating me for not being in math with her right now," I announce. Colton cocks his head to the left. "I'm surprised she didn't skip with you," Colton admits. I shrug my shoulders grabbing a few bites for Colton's chicken. He smacks my hand away. "Get your own." He mumbles. I smile at him and grab another piece when he isn't looking. I give him a questioning look when I notice him watching me. "What?" I ask laughing. He shakes his head. "Nothing." He smirks. I wanted to question him but I know I wouldn't get anything out of him. 

"Savannah," the sudden serious tone in his voice catches my attention. The intensity of his stare causes heat to start to creep onto my cheeks. I just want you to know that no matter what, I will always be here for you. You can always count on me to be in your corner," he promises. I feel myself nod. "Thank you," I say with a smile. 

Once we finish our food we head back to the stores. Thankfully Colton didn't carry me. We walked into the Nike store. I follow closely behind him as we gaze at clothes. I stop when a grey sweater catches my attention. "Wanna get matching sweatshirts?" I joke. Only Colton takes me seriously. "Yeah, why not?" He asks. I wanted to protest but I could see he was excited. So we got matching sweatshirts. "I can't believe I agreed to this." I mumble. "It was your idea." Colton reminds me. I shush him and place a finger of my lips. "You're something else, kid." He jokes, throwing his arm around my shoulder.