I spent my time hugging my new stuffed fox while listening to New Kids on the Block, lying on my bed. It was pouring rain outside as it ran down my window pane, me wondering what Leo was doing at the moment. It was a Sunday morning, but I couldn't bring myself to sleep in after the excitement of the night before. I blushed when I saw Leo through the haze, him running past his car in the driveway, which confused me. I jumped when I faintly heard the doorbell downstairs, my parents answering it.
"Alyssa! Leo's here to see you," my mom called. "I'm going to send him on up, okay?!"
I instantly sat up, running my fingers through my naturally wavy hair and putting my glasses on, so I would be able to see Leo better once he arrived. He knocked on my door lightly before I put on my best smile.
"Come in," I called, crossing my ankles as I attempted at looking casual.
"Hey," Leo grinned, stealing my breath away as he stuck his head inside.
"Hey. What are you doing here?" I scooted over for him as he got situated on the edge of my mattress.
"Tobey and I were going into Chicago, and we wondered if you wanted to come with us."
"Really? Could Clementine come too?"
"Yeah, we're not leaving for another hour anyway. We just thought it was something to do with it being so rainy out."
"Okay, I'll call her right now, and I'll have to get ready too..."
"I'll pick you up later, okay?" He stood as I nodded with a light smile.
"Okay," I agreed, finding out Clementine was just as stoked about this idea.
All four of us traveled there in Leo's car, him behind the wheel with me, while Tobey and Clementine were in the back seat. We were jamming out to pop songs on the radio, Leo continuously glancing over at me with a smile he couldn't contain as I danced in my seat a little.
"So, where are you planning on stopping in Chicago," I asked, once we turned the tunes down.
"We were going to go to one of the malls and a nice restaurant. It's easier to go to a place where everything's together. You know, with all the traffic."
"Yeah, I haven't been here in a long time, but it can get crazy. It's also called the windy city though. I hope it's not raining worse there."
"It's hard telling," he shrugged as the windshield wipers squeaked whenever they moved.
"Most people hate this shirt I'm wearing. They call me colorblind when they see it," Tobey shared as he talked with my best friend.
"I like it. I mean, the colors are a weird combination, but I think it works," Clementine shrugged.
"Really? Or are you just saying that to be nice?"
"Why would I be saying it just to be nice? Are you saying like I'm trying to impress you?"
"I'm just saying you're always giving me compliments like this out of nowhere."
"You don't like it," she asked, them almost sounding as though they were arguing.
"No, I like it! It's just..."
"It's just what?"
His face turned red as she got close to it, their conversation interrupted when Leo had to slam on the breaks.
"Sorry, someone was trying to cut into our lane last minute," Leo apologized, us nearing the big city.
"I always get nervous in busy traffic, and all of these lanes..." I was gazing at the multiple cars as Leo inched forward, since they were getting backed up now.
"Don't worry. I've been to places that are worse than this. I know how to drive through it."
It took longer than expected, but we found a parking garage and headed for the door that led to the mall. Once inside I was in awe by how huge it was, Leo and I splitting up from Clementine and Tobey.
"So... what now," I wondered. I found myself laughing a short time later as Leo and I went through one of the stores, us trying on sunglasses and acting goofy. "I don't think they'll appreciate us doing this and not buying anything."
"Who said we're not buying anything? I'm getting this pair." He proudly put on the ones with thin, square frames, the lenses appearing rose gold.
"You look so different with those on," I giggled. "But I mean, like still super cu-" I stopped mid-sentence as I felt the blush dusting my cheeks. I was just looking down at my purple sneakers before something caught my eye. "I want to look at the hair stuff over there. They have like cute ribbons and stuff," I murmured, still feeling a bit embarrassed by my previous words.
Leo followed me after a few seconds as I checked out the wide headbands.
"What do you think," he teased, putting on a beige headband with teeth. I was about to laugh like we usually did, but I couldn't. All I could do was stare at how gorgeous he was in that style. I had never seen a guy pull of that look so effortlessly, and I could feel my cheeks flush as desire welled up inside of me. I wrung my hands together to stop myself from thinking that way, but it was impossible. "You okay? You look a bit flushed," he noticed, taking off the hair piece.
"I'm okay... It's just kind of hot in here."
"We are close to the heat. It's pretty chilly out today," he lowly chuckled.
"I think you should get that headband by the way. I mean, we're not supposed to try them on and then not buy them, you know, clean hair and all that, not like yours isn't! But... I just... You should get it, yeah," I finished, grabbing a brown, wide headband without thinking before we headed for the counter.
"You should wear your headband now," Leo stated once we entered the main area of the mall.
"Why," I slightly laughed.
"Because you haven't tried it on yet." He managed to adjust it on my head, my skin heating up once again. "It looks really good..." He was chewing on his lower lip before licking it repeatedly. I swear I could see him getting turned on, but I didn't want to intentionally look there.
"You should wear yours too. We can be like... matching," I finished.
"Yeah, and I have these cool sunglasses too," he teased, causing me to giggle and the tension to finally get diffused. Eventually we met back up with Clementine and Tobey, them appearing a bit cozy too.
"So, who's hungry," I awkwardly asked.
"I was just telling Tobey we should have gotten one of those huge cookies here. They were gigantic! We all could have shared one," Clementine exclaimed.
"We could still get one for the ride home," Leo suggested.
"Okay, now I know why Alyssa loves you." I gave her a look with widened eyes as she realized how that sounded, but I don't think anyone else caught on.
"Let's get one of the sugar cookies," Tobey piped up.
"I think the snickerdoodles would taste better," Leo interrupted, the boys literally distracted by the topic of food. Clementine and I rolled our eyes together before we headed for the cookie place.
"Let's all get one each, and then we can share if we want," I told them.
"That sounds good," Tobey agreed, us doing just that. I ended up with a chocolate chip cookie, while Clementine settled for an M&M cookie, which I definitely wanted to share with her. We found our car in the parking garage before heading for the restaurant, me surprised suits and dresses weren't required.
"I love this place because they have great pasta," Leo remarked as we looked over the menus.
"I think I'll get the fettuccini alfredo with broccoli and breadsticks," I said.
"Me too." He shot me a special smile before our waiter arrived.
"This really is amazing," I gushed once the food was before us.
"Is anyone getting dessert," Clementine cut in.
"We literally have cookies for the ride home," I reminded her in amusement.
"I know, but we can eat those anytime. We can't get this food anytime. I think I want the apple crumble with ice cream. Do you want to share it with me, Tobey? They really overcharge here."
"Okay," Tobey agreed.
"Do you want to share with me, Leo," I shyly asked.
"Fuck yeah! Were you thinking... Chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream," we finished in perfect sync.
"You two should get married already," Clementine let slip before she could stop herself.
"Well, I don't know about that, but if I had to marry someone, I would marry you, since you're my best friend," Leo told me, causing me to internally freak out. "It's just hypothetical though. You know, like if the world was ending, or something like that."
"So, I'm the last person on earth you would marry," I stated, even though I knew that's not what he meant. I think he was just trying to cover up the awkward conversation.
"No... I mean... You would be the first person if... You know, it was ending. I would come over and we would do it. I mean, not do it! We would... fuck... I mean! Not like together! I was just cursing."
Clementine and Tobey were staring at Leo as he kept tripping over his words. I had noticed he started rambling more since we met. I think he picked the habit up from me.
"Let's just go ahead and order our dessert, okay?" Clementine came to the rescue as Leo puffed up his tomato red cheeks.
"Excuse me, I think I have to use the restroom," he claimed, leaving our table.
"Clementine... Why do you have to embarrass me like that," I complained to her.
"Sorry! I honestly didn't mean to. It's just so obvious you two like each other. And I'm so used to pointing it out to you all the time, and we've never been out with Tobey too, who is sitting right next to me still..." She turned her head as Tobey just stared at us.
"What," he asked.
"You're not going to repeat this conversation to Leo, are you?" She squinted her eyes in uncertainty as she looked at him.
"No, because it's what I'm doing with him all the time. I'm always giving him a hard time about liking Alyssa."
"And you didn't tell me," exclaimed Clementine in exasperation.
"This is the first time we've really hung out together! And Leo didn't want me to say anything either."
"Oh my goodness! You should make the first move and tell Leo how you feel! He feels the same way, so it will be perfect," she exclaimed to me.
"It's more complicated than that," I responded.
"More complicated?! Alyssa you've hopelessly had a crush on your friend for weeks! Isn't it harder to hide that from him?"
"I don't know, but here he comes, so let's pretend we were never talking about this."
Leo gave us a brief smile before we were ordering our dessert. I was sharing a plate with him as Clementine kept glancing at us, sharing her bowl with Tobey.
"This is really good. It's so... sweet," I finished after taking another spoonful of ice cream.
"Yeah, the lava cake just gushes out everywhere though. It's like it's waiting to explode."
I stared at him as I felt myself being attracted to him again. "Yeah... That's definitely what it's like."
Clementine kept shooting us knowing looks before her and Tobey left as we dropped them off at their houses later.
As soon as Leo cut the engine in his driveway we stepped out of the car, slamming our doors behind us.
"I had a really good time," I told him, giving him a weak smile.
"Yeah, me too."
"Well, I better get home. I've been gone all day, so my parents probably want to see me sometime."
"Alyssa!" I stopped walking to turn towards him. "I don't know about the whole marriage thing, but if the world was ending, I would definitely come over. You know, to check and make sure you're okay."
"I would do the same for you," I warmly smiled, for the first time feeling myself beginning to fall for him.
A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I kept thinking of that song, "If the World Was Ending," as I wrote it. Lol. I love it so much, and I'm always listening to Astrid S's version of it. Her vocals are so pretty and angelic. <3 Anyway, please remember to comment, vote, and follow. Thank you so much! <3