Phoenix: The Risen ✔️

K i s s e s

Phoenix walked alongside Penelope with his hands in his pockets, just watching the shorter girl.

She was telling him about her dog and had been for the last 20 minutes, but he didn't mind. He was going to be on his best behaviour around her from now on. It was starting to scare him how much he liked this girl.

"So why were you in the neighbourhood?" She inquired, curious about what he was doing in the area.

He was thrown off by the topic change, not expecting her to actually ask him a question. Trying to grasp an answer quickly, something simple and vague came to mind.

"Just to walk, I needed to clear my head." He replied lowly, hoping that she wouldn't press further. He was all for being more approachable but that didn't mean he wanted to discuss his feelings.

Penelope's smile dampened into a small frown, gathering from his tone of voice that something had upset him.

She placed her small hand on his arm and softened her eyes as she spoke.

"You can always come to me if you need to talk Nix."

Phoenix's eyes dropped to where she was touching him. He was uncomfortably aware of her soft palm on his skin and although the sensation was something he was unaccustomed to— he had to admit that he liked it. Genuity was foreign to him; he was used to selfishness and lies but here he was, only seeing the purest intentions in those big, bright eyes.

He wanted to smile, grateful for her caring character, but he couldn't find it in himself to do so. The negative emotions triggered by his father were still swirling and running amuck in his head.

Instead, he showed in actions what he couldn't in words, and caressed the side of her face with a gentleness that he hoped portrayed how he was feeling. His heart was racing as he did so; he was not used to being this...soft.

Penelope blushed at the affectionate touch and looked into his eyes, only to blush harder at the look that he was giving her. The same one he had been giving for the past week.

"Du er så vakker" He murmured softly.

You're so beautiful

At this point, Penelope was as red as roses, her frame made even smaller as she shrunk into herself. Despite being oblivious to the meaning of the foreign words, there was something about Phoenix's gaze that had her stomach in knots.

The two stared at each other for a moment before the shorter girl cleared her throat.

"I-I um, we should go."

Phoenix was looking at her so intensely, she had to quickly flicker her eyes down her body to make sure that she was fully clothed. Ridiculous, she knew, but he made her feel naked—exposed. It took a lot of strength for her to tear her eyes away from his penetrating blues.

He nodded and dropped his hand, although she could feel his eyes roaming her body as she started to walk again. She glanced at him in slight paranoia; her body feeling like it was on fire even though he wasn't even touching her. Her friends would laugh if she described how she was feeling; the virgin in her was really starting to show.

"So, do you have any hobbies?" She asked in an attempt to stir conversation again. All the while her heart was beating heavily, and she felt weighed down by an indescribable tension in the air.

It was silent for a moment and Penelope looked back up at him, wondering if he didn't hear her.

"I draw."

The smaller girl smiled widely and stopped walking to look up at him.

"Really? That's amazing! Even though I take art, I'm not really the best, you know? I kind of like the history more than the actual creative part."