Anything (Van McCann | CATB Fan Fiction)

25. Santa Ana, CA

"Here you go. All five of them developed. That'll be $125.55," the guy from behind the counter smiled, handing me the negatives and the developed photos. I handed him the money and looked at some of the photos. I was subconsciously smiling to myself when I saw a photo of Van, looking up at my camera, tongue out, while I was taking candids of the band from at the upper deck of our venue at Toronto.

"Did you take these shots? There are really rad," he grinned, putting an abrupt stop to my silly daydream.

"I did. Thank you," I flushed.

"These guys are going to play a gig here tonight, aren't they?" He asked.

"Yeah. At the Constellation Room. You know the band?" I glanced at him.

"Saw them on Letterman. Thought they were cool," he murmured.

"They really are. You should come check them out tonight. It's going to be class... Thanks for this by the way," I gestured at him while chuckling to myself, shaking my head at the word "class". I was beginning to talk like Van and it was not even funny.

My body was shivering as soon as I stepped out of the store. It was so damn cold. I rubbed my palms together and exited the store.

"So are you just going to ignore me all day?" I heard his accent out of nowhere, which startled me.

"Jesus Christ!" I hissed, my body turning as a reaction.

"No, just me, Van McCann," he chuckled. There he was. That blue eyed boy, standing in front of me, making my heart raced a thousand miles per hour.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, feeling slightly annoyed that he was there.

"I followed you here. Can't allow a lady to roam the street on her own," he playfully smiled.

"I don't need a babysitter," I rolled my eyes at him, continued my tracks. He ran up a little so he could join me, and I let out a deep sigh.

"Why are you so mad at me?" He laughed, shaking his head.

"No, I am not," I slyly answered.

"Yes you are. You didn't reply my direct messages on Instagram. I created the account so I could specifically text you. I don't have your number. I remembered you telling Benji your username," he told me, nudging my arm.

I was becoming impatient. I could feel my blood boiling that he didn't want to leave me alone. Had he not remembered what happened last night?

"Leave me alone, Van," I groaned, abruptly stopping my tracks, turning away to the opposite direction and began walking again.

"What's wrong, Vienna? What did I do? Come on, tell me," he pleaded, trying to grab my arm. I shivered immediately at his touch, but I thought it was the weather.

"You're cold," he said, taking off his leather jacket and placed it over my shoulder blades.

"What are you doing, Van?" I deeply exhaled.

"I am lending you my jacket?" He quizzically said.

"No. I mean, why are you always so nice to me?" I finally asked.

"It is wrong to be nice?"

Shaking my head, I wished the ground would just open up and swallow me so I did not have to face his gorgeous face. His eyes were glistening, his lips formed into playful smiles. He was enjoying the fact that I was tormented by him.

"As your colleague, I think you are being too nice," I sternly answered.

"So, do you only see me as a colleague?" He asked, with a frown starting to form on his forehead.

I nodded and continued walking.

"Colleagues don't kiss colleagues," he chuckled.

I was extremely shocked that he had the nerve to say that to me.

"You kissed me first!" I pointed at him, anger washing over me.

"Not last night," he laughed, raising an eyebrow at me. "Colleagues don't touch each other like that, too..."

I stopped walking. I couldn't believe Van had the nerve to embarrassed me like that.

"What do you want, Van?" I asked, feeling washed up by multiple emotions. I was angry, sad, disappointed, embarrassed.

"I want you to tell me that last night meant nothing to you, that's why you acted all weird around me," he murmured.

Blinking, I glanced over at him. He was looking at me warmly, his playful expressions were gone, only the look of admiration and hopefulness in his eyes.

"Why does it matter? You clearly said you couldn't do it last night," I choked up, looking down at my feet.

"Hey, is that what bothering you?" He inched closer towards me, bending down his tall frame a little, lifting my chin up with his finger. Our eyes leveled and I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, my stomach doing hundreds of somersaults.

I nodded, barely looking at him because I was just too shy. My cheeks were heating up and my breath felt strained.

"Vienna, I only said it because you were drunk, love. I didn't want you to wake up with regrets, if we decide to take things too far," he lightly brushed my cheek.

"Colleagues don't look at each other like this," I swallowed. His touches were making me flustered.

"Maybe... we are not colleagues. Maybe we are something else," he smiled, stroking my the back of my head.

Shaking my head, I pulled away from him. "This does not make sense," I pointed at the both of us.

"Maybe we do not need to make sense. I don't understand this either, but, I oddly want to be around you all the time, it's weird and I know you feel the same," He swallowed, raking his fingers through his hair, his eyebrows furrowed.

Pursing my lips, I looked at him again. His bright blue eyes bore deep into mine and my heart was thumping louder than ever.

"Maybe," I shrugged. "So, what now?"

"To be honest, I am up for anything," he smiled, putting both his hands in his pockets, suggestively glancing at me.

"I want chinese food," I muttered.

He cocked his head slightly to the side, amused by my answer. "Okay. If it means that we are okay, I am up for it," he laughed.