apartment 23 // mitchel cave

30

mitchel's p.o.v.

angeline sat across from me as she sipped on her green tea. that was something i had come to learn about her; her day wouldn't and couldn't be officially started until she had her cup of hot green tea. she looked out the windows admiring the city while i admired her. i almost forgot that i had to tell her about tour.

"you said you had news last night?" i said, breaking the silence.

"oh yeah," she replied, sudden putting down her cup. she looked at me with wide eyes.

"my art was accepted into a showing at the renwick gallery!" she grinned widely. i immediately stood up and embraced her in a tight hug.

"i'm so proud! when and where is it?" i said happily.

"it's in washington, d.c. they are willing to fly me out on august 17 through the 19th," she said.

shit.

i wanted so desperately to be able to share that monumental moment with her. my girl was finally getting into exhibits and now i was probably going to miss it for tour. maybe i could fly out there. just maybe...

"and you had news too?" she said, snapping me back to reality.

"yeah..." i said, feeling slightly down suddenly. i sat back down on my stool, bracing myself for however she was going to react.

"is everything okay?" she asked, reaching her hand across the table. i grabbed her hand, gently rubbing my thumb across the top of it.

"everything is... great," i said. "i'm going on tour."

"oh my god mitchel! that's fantastic!" she said excitedly. she seemed genuinely happy. i wondered if that would last.

"yeah... the end of june to the end of august," i told her, avoiding eye contact. her shoulders drooped a little. i knew this was coming.

"oh..." she said quietly.

"i'm sorry," i responded, trying to salvage anything positive left in this situation.

"no, don't be sorry. i'm so happy for you. you guys deserve this so much," she said, shaking her head.

"i'll try to make it to the exhibit," i assured her.

"it's not really a big deal, mitchel. you have tour. don't wreck that for me." i knew deep down she wanted me to show up at this exhibit. it would have meant the world to her. i couldn't let her down like that.

"i promise you, it won't wreck a single thing." i told her. she nodded her head silently as her lips curved up into a smile.

this would work out.

_______________________________

angeline's p.o.v.

i sat in the back of the uber with mitchel, his fingers intertwined in mine. after he had told me about the tour, sure i was upset, but i also knew that the boys were working so hard and they deserved every ounce of recognition they were receiving. they deserved to go on that tour. i would have felt guilty if i had wrecked that even though mitchel assured me everything would work out. mitchel suggested we go out to eat after that; he said he "had an extreme hunger for italian food" even though i had made them pasta last night. he really was something else. so, here we are, sitting in he back of an uber waiting to be dropped off in front of mitchel's favorite italian restaurant; drago centro. i remember the first time he took me here; it was a chic little building in downtown la. a bit upscale than what i normally ate at but mitchel assured me that the food was worth the price. the soft fragrance of basil wafted around the room. it was a small place, but definitely one of my favorites.

we managed to get a seat next to the window looking out at the street. a few cars drove past car, their headlights illuminating mitchel's face as they travelled down the road. we ended up ordering the usual; mitchel loved the "farfalle" but i usually stuck with the "insalata di lattughe novelle". a safe bet, but we loved it anyways. i had come to learn that mitchel absolutely loved food despite his skinny appearance. looks can definitely fool people.

"that festival is soon, you know?" he said, looking up from his food.

"i definitely didn't forget," i said, giggling slightly. i forgot.

"mmhmm, whatever you say," he said, smiling as he shook his head. i took a sip from my glass of wine. mitchel had insisted that it wasn't the "full italian experience" if we didn't order a bottle of wine. i didn't even bother to argue against his point. wine was always appreciated.

"the boys want to start getting stuff ready for it," he added.

"okay, fine with me," i replied, taking a bite out of my insalata.

"i hope you enjoy camping," he said smirking at me. "it's gonna be a long weekend if you don't."

"as long as i can share a tent with you, i'm good," i replied in between bites.

"babe, i wouldn't let you in anyone else's tent. only mine."

"i can't wait," i said, smiling over at him.

"me either."

we finished up at the restaurant. mitchel insisted that he pay for our meals; he said it was for me getting into renwick. i called up the uber while he worked out the tip.

mitchel practically held me in his arms in the uber on the way home. i didn't mind, it was quite comforting. he would occasionally play with my hair, making me feel sleepy. i prayed i wouldn't fall asleep in this stranger's car. luckily, i made it back to our loft awake. we pulled up and mitchel helped me out, leading me into the apartment.

we ended up laying in bed, our legs entangled together as mitchel held onto me. we talked about everything and anything; from the stars and planets to foreign countries and our dreams.

"do you ever just look up at the stars and feel so small?" he asked me quietly.

"all the time."

"it's scary," he said, running his finger through the ends of my hair.

"there's really nothing to be scared of," i told him, sitting up a little bit to look at his face clearly.

"and why's that?" he asked me. he seemed intrigued by my answer.

"because you're here right now in this moment. it's crazy that we both get to share these moments with each other in this crazy world. there's no use in spending those moments fearing what's above," i told him honestly. he nodded his head, deep in thought.

"you know angeline... i think i love you."

he loves me.

"i think i love you too."