The first thing I thought when I woke up was shit I fell asleep, the second was there's another one of those fucking ladybugs on my arm, because something was tickling my arm.
It wasn't rare for one of those stupid stinky insects to do that. Our house was always invaded by them when the weather started to cool. It freaked Vanessa every time she came over.
I hated ladybugs with a passion.
They stank. If you touched them and scared them, they freaking pissed on you some yellow disgusting and stinky discharge. It could actually stain. If I was drawing and one of those stinking idiots landed on my paper and I have to carefully snatch it away quickly so it wouldn't pee on my sheet.
I slowly opened my eyes, getting ready to give a good flick and hopefully kill the ladybug, but instead I gasped in surprise.
Why the hell did things like this keep happening lately?
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked Blake, who was standing by my bed, a pen in his hand, my voice flat.
I was almost getting use to his constant stalkiness. This was bad.
"I'm improving your arms," Blake answered smirking, and I raised my hand to look at my forearm.
It was covered with writing like I heart Blake, Blake my hero, Blake rocks my world, Blake's #1 fan or Blake is my God.
"This is getting into a problem," I told him, scowling, while sitting up.
"Hey, it was that or something disgusting like peeing in your face. If I were you, I'd be thankful. And I didn't even write anything in your face. Or maybe I did," Blake smirked.
That rat bastard!
I got out of my bed in a rush and darted to my mirror, desperately hoping in my head that he was joking.
"Good lord, Blake, never scare me like that again," I breathed when I saw that my face was fine and free of any ink.
"It's all your fault Pumpkin. You have only yourself to blame. I told you I'd pick you up at two, it's like fifteen past two now," Blake said, shaking his head. "You brought this on yourself," he smirked.
"You know what? I'm not even going to argue with you, there's no point," I answered shaking my head too.
"Aw, come on Pumpkin, don't be like that," Blake kept smirking.
"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes and then picked up my skinny jeans and a baggy shirt off the floor and headed to my bathroom to change.
I just had to hurry and then we could get this over with and I could go back to sleep.
"You read Tales of the Traveler?" Blake asked on the other side of the door.
"Yeah, why?" I asked, skipping to get in my pants.
"That series sucks," Blake laughed.
"What?" Oh, that bastard. "That series rocks! You have no right to judge something you don't know anything about," I yelled back, frowning and slipped my shirt on.
"Please, Sophia Everingham characters are all wusses! It's a commonly known fact. No need to read that crap to know," Blake snorted when I walked out of my bathroom.
I looked at him, and he had one of the books in his hand, standing in front of my small library.
"Alek is a freaking god, and Kallie kicks ass," I told him scowling.
"Please," Blake laughed.
"I'm serious. They are totally meant to be. It has the most heartbreaking and beautiful love story ever, with a lot of violence and spaceship battles and a girl lead character who can actually fight and kill everyone, plus she has mad ninja skills and makes lightning thingies. It's perfect."
"Their relationship is the definition of toxic," Blake replied, ignoring my rant.
"You don't know what you're talking about. Read the book, then I'll let you have an opinion on it," I told him rolling my eyes and then took the book out of his hand, placing it back in my library. "Now let's just go," I said pushing his back to get out.
"So eager to be done with me?" Blake asked playfully.
"I wouldn't be Lexi if I wasn't," I snorted.
"Oh please, you like me, look at your arm," Blake smirked.
"Oh right. Shit," I frowned, looking down at my arm and all the stupid writing. I started to rub it with my thumb, but the ink was just spreading everywhere. I sighed heavily. "Give me two seconds," I groaned and then rushed downstairs to the kitchen and washed it in the sink.
"Aw, you're making me sad now," Blake said, fake-pouting.
"You want me to cry a bit for you?" I answered, rolling my eyes.
"Yeah that would be nice," he nodded but I just ignored him, dried myself and then walked to the front door, but stopped when I saw Ty in the living room again.
"He's the one who let you in again?" I asked Blake.
"Yope!"
"Ty, care to explain why the hell you like to torture me this much? Do you want me to throw your PS3 out the window?" I threatened to my little brother.
"No, I just like annoying you and he seems to do the trick," Ty said, half smiling evilly.
"When I'll come back, you better hide, or be ready to get your ass majorly kicked," I told him, and got out the door, Blake laughing behind me.
"Alright, to the library," Blake said, in the same tone Batman used to say, to the Batmobile, smirking.
Oh god. What had I gotten myself into? Why had I even agreed to help that idiot?
Vinyls! I was doing this for an infinite collection of vinyls to pick from.
I just had to remember that. I was going to get a nice reward if I survived this. I just had to keep that in mind.
But for one second, I thought about the fact that vinyls weren't that good of a reason to endure an ass like him. Sure, I was obsessed with music, and vinyls, well there was just something about those. But Blake, Blake was really annoying.
"Aw, come on Pumpkin, don't give me that face," Blake smirked more, walking around his car.
"What face?" I rolled my eyes, waiting for him to unlock the doors.
"Your Blake is an ass and I'd like to see him dead in a gutter and then spit on his corpse and kick it a little while waiting for the crows to feed on his eye balls face."
"Wow, that was really specific."
"It's open," Blake said getting into the car.
"Don't be a baby," I told him, while buckling my seat belt.
"You're being a baby," Blake smirked and started to drive.
"No, you're being a baby, and you have to go downtown, so I suggest you turn left at the stop sign."
"Me, the baby? Please. How am I the baby here? And if we're going downtown it's faster if I go straight."
"Oh you're the baby because you're all boohoo Lexi doesn't want to get in my pants and that never happens so it's kicking my ego in the crutch. And you're an idiot because if you go straight then you'll get all the street lights so you'll just be slowed down."
"I can get any girl I want, why would I make a scene because one resists my charm? It just shows you're not normal. Oh, and please, I sooo don't follow street lights."
"No, you know what it shows? It shows that I don't fancy getting a genital disease. Oh, and if you cross a red light, I'm jumping out of the car so if you are ready to have a death on your conscience be my guest," I answered, actually impressed for keeping this confusing conversation up, crossing my arms over my chest waiting for his response.
"Fine, I won't cross any lights," Blake complied, rolling his eyes and then muttered, "crying baby."
"Hey! I heard that," I said, slapping his arm.
Blake just laughed. "Don't hit the driver Pumpkin."
"Well. if the driver wasn't a big meanie, I wouldn't hit him," I said rolling my eyes.
"I should file a complaint about your beating me up all the time habit," Blake smirked.
"You do that. And I'll sign you up at the I ignore my inner pain by being a complete jerk all the time anonyms."
"Are you admitting I have feelings? And problems?" Blake smirked wider.
"No. I'd just like to have you stand up in a group and say Hi, my name is Blake and I'm a jerk!"
"Hi Blake," Blake answered the way they'd do it at the AA's, smiling al little.
I shook my head a slightly, with a faint smile, but then I frowned when the corner of my eyes fell on a black bag, like a really big black bag, lying on the back seat of the car.
"What's in the bag? A dead body?" I asked Blake.
"No, no. She's still well alive. It's my whore. I'm keeping her sedated that way I can wake her up and take her for a ride anytime I want," Blake answered smirking.
I rolled my eyes "You're a jackass."
"Well, you ask stupid questions. Do you really want to know everything about me?"
"No, not really," I admitted frowning.
"Then, there's no need to know what's in the bag."
"Come on," I whined.
"Pumpkin, please, try to focus here, you're suppose to tell me where I have to drive," Blake said, shaking his head.
"You're so trying to change the subject."
"Yes, I am!" Blake smirked.
"You're boring. Next light, turn right," I told him.
A few minutes and a lot of directions and more arguments later, we finally reached the library and parked in front of it.
When I looked to my left, I could see the courthouse on the other side of the street, facing the library. I closed my eyes for one second, trying to push back all the memories of my mother, another mother, the happy one, the one that brought us here so many times, showing us rooms that we weren't allowed to go in, laughing all the while, the one that tickled us to wake us up, the one baking pancake every morning for Ty, the one smiling when she saw my dad walk through the threshold, the one that raced us in the ocean, the one who showed me how to dive...
The mother I had grew up with.
The mother that I loved.
I shook my head, clearing it of all those memories.
"I can't believe I'm going to go in that library," Blake muttered, while getting out of the car.
"Yeah, must be a shocker going of your own freewill to a place filled with books and knowledge, for another reason than a quickie," I snorted
"There's a reason why I don't come to this library," Blake said, his eyes narrowing, not looking at me, but at the building while he opened the door, waiting for me to walk in first.
"Other than your lack of intellect?" I laughed a little, lowering the volume of my voice, while I walked in.
"Oh goodness gracious! Mister Eaton. It's so nice to have you here. How's your mother? Let me tell you, that speech she made the other evening was marvelous. I'm so glad to see the son of a genius here," the old lady with glasses hanging from a chain around her neck, behind the desk at the entry, started to say before Blake could explain, looking at him like he was a freaking apparition or a god or something.
All right. What the hell?
"I'll be sure to tell her. I'm sure she'll be very happy to hear such nice things coming from you," Blake said, with a small smile.
Wow, that was weird.
"Oh you're too kind," the old lady said, and she honestly looked like Blake had just made her freaking day. "And who's the lovely lady with you?" she asked him, a knowing smile rising on her lips
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nah ah. None of that.
But also, what the hell? I came here every Tuesdays in the summer. How could she recognize Blake and not know I came here often?
"A friend of mine, she's helping me with my homework," Blake answered her politely.
"A little lady friend?" she asked, grinning like a freaking kid on Christmas.
"No, no, none of that," I said, my voice a little higher than intended. "Blake, let's just get your books already, okay?"
"Fine," Blake snorted, clearly enjoying my discomfort.
"I would have offered you help, but I guess you know your way around books," the old lady said.
Okay, seriously, what the hell?
"Yes, we'll be fine, thanks," Blake smiled and then followed me towards the aisles.
"Okay, what the hell was that all about?" I asked Blake when we were surrounded by the books, walking towards the History section.
"I told you my mom was a writer, didn't I?" Blake whispered back.
"Yeah, but you didn't tell me some old ladies almost worshipped her," I hissed.
Blake laughed a little. "What can I say, those ladies get emotional over nothing," Blake smirked, his hand running over the back covers of the books while we walked.
"What book has your mother written?" I asked him, my feet stopping without thinking about it, looking at him.
I tried again to think about a woman author with Eaton as her last name. I couldn't think of anyone.
"A lot of things. The woman's got a lot of imagination. You should have heard the bed time stories me and my brother got before going to sleep," Blake said with a faint smile, his hand pulling a book squeezed between two, a little out, and then pushing it back.
"And let me guess? You complained because her characters were wusses?" I snorted.
"Something along those lines," Blake answered faintly, one of the corners of his mouth raising a little higher, his eyes looking at nothing, his mind obviously far from here.
"Alright, let's keep moving," I said, and started to walk again.
When we reached the History section, it was obvious there was a lot of choice, like a lot.
"Okay, no way we're going to go blindly here. I'm going to go to the computers," I told him, waiting for him to come but he just stayed there, looking at the books in front of him, his eyes almost scanning.
"Alright go ahead, I'll wait here," Blake answered, absentmindedly.
Fine with me. At least the old lady wouldn't go crazed fan on him again.
I walked back to the entry where the computers were, the old lady barely noticing me.
Of course, because I was irrelevant compared to Drake Eaton.
I went on the research engine, shaking my head slightly while doing so, and then looked for general books about World War 2, basic things to begin with, and marked two codes on a little piece of papers, and then looked for books about certain countries' part in it, and about Hitler and other things in that line of thought.
With ten codes in my hand, I walked back to where I had left Blake.
My pace slowed when I saw him.
His back was leaning against the shelves, his legs a little forward, the posture of ease, a book in his hands. He looked pretty absorbed in it, one of his hands scratching the hair above his ear, frowning a little.
And then, there was a faint smile appearing on his lips for some reason, but it disappeared when he turned the page and his hand went back to scratch his hair again.
Damn he looked hot. Like, seriously hot. And that light grey shirt of his didn't help. It was long sleeved, with three buttons at in front, under the neck, and kinda tight, but not too tight, the just look at my nice biceps tight.
Alright, snap out of it Lexi.
I quickened my pace again, and reached him.
"What've you got here?" I asked him, startling him, I think.
"Hmm? Oh nothing," Blake answered closing the book and putting it back on the shelf but I saw the name before he could do that: All My Love, Forever: Letters Home from a World War II Citizen Soldier.
I frowned at that.
What was Blake doing reading a book like that? Well, reading a book in the first place?
But I didn't ask.
"Please tell me you know how to look for books with Dewey codes?" I asked him, handing him the piece of paper with the codes.
"I'm hurt that you think so little of me," Blake said smirking.
"Ow, I'm so sorry," I said, sarcastically.
Blake rolled his eyes, but started to look for the books anyway.
I kept repeating the code I had remembered over and over again in my head, and finally found it, taking the big book out of the shelf, and quickly scanned through it. It looked pretty decent.
I walked to Blake, who was in another aisle.
"Here, this one should do the job?" I said, handing him the book.
Blake took it, placing it under one of the books he had already found.
Wow, he was quick.
"Thanks," Blake answered and then I looked on the piece of paper and went to search for the next one.
We quickly found the books, except for one who wasn't at the spot it should have been, and I knew it hadn't been checked out, and wasn't on the carriage either, so we both looked around the shelves, to see if it wasn't at the wrong place.
I stopped in front of a shelf, looking carefully at every title, but I could feel Blake behind me and turned to ask if he had got the book, and instead found myself much closer to him than I had expected.
"Wh—"
I didn't finish my sentence because for one second my mind went completely blank, like I have no freaking clue who I am, where I am and when I am.
My eyes just fell on Blake's face that had an expression between confusion and concentration, like he was trying to resolve a really hard math equation, slipping from his tousled slightly-almost-curly honey brown hair, that weren't short but not long either, and his grey eyes, that looked a little blue right now, and the skin on his cheek and chin that were shadowed by a hint of stubble and then finally on his lips, his slightly pink and perfect lips...
Again, I found myself thinking about how it would be to kiss them.
Before I knew it, Blake had taken a step closer.
And that's when my sanity came back.
"Hmm. I think that's the book we were looking for," I whispered, pointing behind Blake, truthfully seeing it now.
He frowned for a second, and then it looked like he was waking up from a dream, bad or good, I didn't know, he just looked surprise, and then he turned around towards where I had pointed.
God, you're so stupid Lexi.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
What had I been thinking for those brief two seconds?
Nothing. That was the problem. I hadn't been thinking.
God, I was freaking stupid.
I wanted to punch myself right now. Or kick myself. Or both!
"Alright I think that's all of it," Blake said taking the books we had set on the shelf in his hand, after running his hand absently in his hair.
I took a few books in my hands too and then we walked back to the entry.
"Found everything you needed?" the old lady asked, her face lighting up the second she saw Blake.
I rolled my eyes.
"Yes thanks," Blake smiled.
And then I thought about the fact that my card could only have five books check on it, and that Blake probably didn't have one. He would need to make one. That would take more time. Dang.
"I'll put them all on your mother's account, alright?" the lady said, smiling widely.
"That would be nice," Blake answered.
Oh well, I worried for nothing.
A minute later, we were walking out of the library, the books in our hands.
"Well, that didn't go so bad," Blake smirked.
"Yeah, you only had one groupie," I said rolling my eyes.
"You mean you?" Blake asked mischievously, opening the door of the back seat, putting the books there.
"Get lost," I snorted, putting the books with the other ones.
"As long as you come with me, I've got no problem with that," Blake smirked, walking to the driver's door.
"And the pick-up lines return," I sighed, sitting in the car.
"Come on, admit you missed them," Blake laughed and started to drive away.
"Over my dead body," I answered rolling my eyes.
"I'm not into necrophilia," Blake said in a sorry tone.
"Ew, Blake, gross," I yelled and slapped his arm.
"Hey, what did I say about hitting the driver?"
"Well, the driver is being really gross right now, he deserved it."
"Please Pumpkin, you opened the door, I can't ignore such obvious offers," Blake laughed a deep from his throat laugh.
Vinyls. I was doing this for a ton of vinyls, I kept repeating to myself, as we drove back to my house in the quiet streets of our town. But I couldn't help myself from thinking about the two seconds in the library aisle.
Was I really only doing this for vinyls?
___________
Hey guys! So, this week is going to be a little tricky. I'm busy all weekend long, so I think I'll be doing the livestream on Monday. I'll do a poll to see what you guys would prefer. I might just put it off until next week too.
Hopefully I can upload other stories this week. I've really been letting you guys down with my other stories, I know that. :S
Anyway! If you have any questions, leave them here.
Otherwise, check my instagram at instagram.com/kaygiard to know what time the livestream will be. (probably Monday evening EST)