"Woah, what is this place? It's huge!" Delilah exclaimed from the passenger seat of Knight's car. They had just parked in the parking lot of the biggest building Delilah had ever seen, and there were cars everywhere.
"This is a mall. It's just a collection of different stores." Knight responded. "Know before we go in, there are a few things I need to go over. There will be a lot of people in here, so make sure you hold my hand the whole time. It is a really big place, and I don't want you to get lost. We need to get you some new clothes, and I also need to get you a phone and maybe a laptop for school. Hopefully, we won't be too long but make sure you tell me if you get too tired or uncomfortable, okay?" Knight waited for Delilah to nod in understanding before getting out of the car and going around to help Delilah out.
"Let's start with some clothes. What kind of things do you like to wear?" Knight asked as they entered the mall.
"U-Um, I don't really know," Delilah replied, slightly overwhelmed with all of the people.
"That's okay. Why don't we start here? A lot of girls at our school shop here," Knight said, leading Delilah towards a store called Garage. "You can pick out anything you like."
Delilah looked at a few things that looked interesting, but when she looked at one of the sweaters' price tags, she realized she had a problem. She didn't have any money left; she couldn't afford to buy anything.
"Knight," Delilah called, catching his attention. "I'm s-sorry for wasting your t-time. I should have said something e-earlier, but I d-don't have any m-money. I can't get anything h-here," Delilah mumbled, feeling bad for making him drive her all the way here for nothing. She had been looking at her shoes, too ashamed to look up until she heard Knight start chuckling.
"Silly baby, you, my love, are not paying for anything today, so don't worry about it. Just pick out anything you want, don't worry about the money." Knight said, kissing her head.
"Knight! I can't ask you to do that. It's too much." Delilah argued.
"Well, good thing you didn't ask. I am volunteering. Now pick something out, or I will buy the whole store." Knight countered, nudging her towards a rack of clothes.
Delilah quickly scanned the store and saw a big sign that said clearance 50% off in the back. Thinking this is the best way not to waste too much of Knight's money, she picked out one t-shirt and a pair of shorts, both on sale for $10.
"Okay, I think this is good. Do we j-just go and b-buy them now?" Delilah asked, not totally sure how this whole shopping thing worked.
"That's really all you want?" Knight questioned, hoping she would pick out a few more things, but when he only received a nod from her, he sighed. "Okay then, why don't you go to the change room over here and try them on to make sure they fit?" Leading her over to the dressing rooms, Delilah went inside while Knight assured her he would wait for her outside.
Knight knew that Delilah purposely picked the cheapest things in the store, so while she was trying them on, he went back and picked up the sweater she was looking at before and then walked over to one of the employees who was folding clothes.
"Hey, can I ask for your help for a minute? Can you help me pick out a few things for my girlfriend quickly?" Knight asked the girl.
"Yes, of course, my name is Leah, and I would be happy to help. What kind of things are you looking for? Does she like sweaters, crop tops, jeans, dresses?" Lea asked, leading him to the front of the store where their more popular stuff was on display.
"I'm not really sure, maybe one of everything? What do most 18-year-olds wear?" Knight asked, a little out of his element.
"Well, these micro camis are really popular right now, as well as these floral dresses," Lea said, holding up one of the smallest pieces of fabric he has ever seen as well as a pink dress with white daisies all over it. The dress seemed perfect for his angel, but he would die before he let his girl go out in a shirt like that. He didn't care how popular they were; he was not letting anyone see that much of his angel exposed.
"I don't think micro is the right word for that shirt; it's practically non-existent, but the dress looks perfect. I'll take one in every colour you have. Can you also maybe pick out a couple of pairs of jeans and some sweaters and quietly ring them up at the cash for me? I want to surprise my girlfriend with them." Knight asked.
"Yes, of course, I'll pick out a few things and meet you at the cash when you are ready. May I ask what kind of budget you are looking at?" Lea questioned.
"Don't worry about the money. Just get enough that she could wear something new every day for at least two weeks," Knight responded, then walked back to the dressing rooms to wait for Delilah. After a few more minutes, she came out holding the shirt and shorts and walked quickly to Knight's side.
"Did you like them, baby?" Knight asked, retaking her hand.
"Yeah, they look c-cute, I think," Delilah said as they walked towards the cash.
"Well, if they were on you, I'm sure they looked beautiful," Knight said as Delilah blushed at his words.
After paying for their stuff, Delilah was a little confused about why there were so many bags, but when she questioned it, Knight didn't really give her an answer just led her into a new store. The pattern continued for the next five stores. Delilah would pick out one or two of the cheapest things she could find to try on, but the people at the cash would hand Knight multiple bags when they left. Delilah decided not to question it. Maybe he was buying something for his mom or another friend.
"Okay, baby, are there any other clothes that you want?" Knight asked as they left another store.
"N-no, I think this is more than enough." Delilah said. "n-not that I'm not grateful, though! I r-really r-really appreciate it. Seriously thank you, Knight!" Delilah added on in a rush to not sound ungrateful.
"No need to thank me, baby. I would do anything for you. Now let's go get you a phone and computer, and then we can get some lunch, okay?" Knight asked as he led her toward the electronics store.
"Okay." Delilah agreed and followed along.
_________________________________________________________________________
"...with 128GB of storage she won't have any problem with having too little space, and the new cameras are better than any other on the market."
"Okay,, and what about safety features? Will I be able to track the phone from mine?"
"Yes of course, there is a new system many people are opting to use that allows you to link your phone to your loved ones and track it in emergencies."
Knight and the worker at the store have been talking for almost twenty minutes now and Delilah had been lost for most of the conversation. She had never had a cellphone so most of what Knight and the man were talking about sounded like gibberish. She had zoned out again when she felt Knight nudging her.
"What do you think baby do you like this one?" He asked.
"U-um yeah, h-how much is it?" she asked turning towards the man behind the counter, she wanted to make sure that Knight wasn't spending too much money on her. Before the man could respond though Knight cut in.
"Don't answer that." He told the man then turned to Delilah. "I told you not to worry about money. Now he said you can get it in silver, gold or rose gold, which one do you like the best?" Knight asked pointing out the different colour options.
Knowing Knight would just threaten to buy them all if she didn't pick she pointed at the rose gold one, pink was her favourite colour after all. "C-can I get this one?"
"Of course baby." He kissed the side of Delilah's head then turned back toward the man. "We will take this one in rose gold and can I get this laptop in the same colour as well?" Knight asked.
"Of course I will ring those up for you right now." He said and started packing up the phone and computer.
Once Knight paid he added the bag to the ever growing pile in his hands and led her out of the store. Delilah had tried to help carry some of the bags earlier but everytime she asked he said the only thing she needed to hold was his hand and when there was too many bags for him to carry with one hand he made her hold on to his sleeve.
They continued walking down the mall until they got to an area that was filled with tables and people eating, all around the edges of the eating area were a bunch of what looked like little restaurants. Knight led them to an empty table and placed down all of the bags.
"Okay baby, you sit here and save this table while I go get us some food, is there anything specific you want?" Knight asked
"I'm good with a-anything. I- I don't e-even need to e-eat if it's too much." Delilah told Knight feeling terrible for all the money he has spent on her today.
"Delilah do not argue with me on this, I will let you do a lot of things but not eating is not one of them. I'll just get you a burger and some fries does that sound okay?" He asked in a stern voice.
"Yes, thank you" She responded shyly.
"You are very welcome, now stay here and don't move I'll be back in two minutes." He said then walked toward one of the food lines.
Delilah watched him for a minute admiring him. She didn't know why but her tummy always felt funny when she was near him and she loved all of the attention he gave her. She was so distracted watching Knight that she completely missed the person approaching her table until someone spoke from the seat beside her.
"Well hello there sweetheart, why don't you come join me and my friends over at our table?" the sudden voice made her jump and when she turned around she noticed a boy around her age sitting very close to her. He looked tall but not as tall as Knight and had dark brown hair.
"O-oh no t-thank y-you I'm just w-waiting for m-my friend to c-come back." Delilah responded trying not to let the anxiety she was feeling show. She knows that not everyone is bad but she still felt still felt a little uncomfortable around new people, especially men. She wonders how she was able to trust Knight so easily when everyone else still seemed to frighten her.
"why so nervous sweetheart, I'm just trying to get to know you. Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends. I bet I can show you a good time." The boy replied he was now sitting extremely close to her and was trying to touch her arm. Delilah tried to lean away and avoid his touch. Just as she was about to say no again she felt familiar arms wrap around her.
"You will not be showing her anything. Now get away from my girl before I rip you arm off and feed it to you!" Knights angry voice came from behind her and despite the threatening words she instantly felt better. The boy instantly stood up and backed away.
"Woah, sorry man. Didn't know she was spoken for. I'll go now." He said then ran back to his friends. Knight picked Delilah up and then sat down in her seat with her in his lap.
"You okay baby? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Knight asked looking her over.
"No h-he didn't do anything, I-I think h-he just wanted t-to be friends." Delilah said wanting to give the benefit of the doubt.
"Baby that boy wanted to be a lot more than friends, but either way he should of left you alone the minute you said no. I could see how uncomfortable you were from across the food court. Next time someone comes up to you like that tell them you have a boyfriend and they need to leave you alone okay?" Knight told her.
"I did tell him I had a friend, but I didn't say you were a boy. Does that matter?" Delilah asked curiously.
"you my love are adorable, but that's not what I meant a boyfriends is different than a regular friend. A boyfriend is someone you have a special connection, someone you want to spend all your time with and who will protect you and keep you safe." Knight explained as he began to unwrap their food.
"Oh. Does that make you my boyfriend? Cause I want to spend time with you and you make me feel safe." Delilah said liking the idea of having a special connection with Knight.
"Yeah baby, I'm your boyfriend but only if you'll be my girlfriend." Knight answered.
"Okay, I'll be your girlfriend." Delilah said wit ha smile excited that she had a boyfriend.
"Good. Now eat your food baby." Knight said pushing her food towards her.
She happily grabbed her fries and began eating enjoying the feeling of Knights arms around her.
Soooooooooo, what do you guys think? Be completely honest I feel like this chapter was a little boring but I wanted to try and get another chapter posted soon and this is what I came up with. Hope it isn't too terrible. Anyways, hope you have a wonderful day/night and thanks for reading!!