Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
After finishing his tutoring for the day, Laurie wasted no time in inviting you over to spend the rest of the day with him, at least until he was called for supper. The day brightened up as soon as he was blessed with your company. He found learning tedious, though he knew it was wrong to feel that way so he tried his hardest to be attentive and listen, but the best part of his day would always be when you arrived.
But as much as he enjoyed your company, he invited you over to have fun, not watch you curled up on his grandfather's sofa reading a boring novel. While he didn't mind the sight of you relaxed and smiling at whatever the characters in your book were doing, he wished you were smiling at him. From across the room he watched you, the small smile lines that appeared beside your lips and eyes, the way your fingers turned the pages and how your eyes moved across the paper.
"You're such a bore!" moaned Laurie after a moment, standing up from the chair he'd started to sink into.
He couldn't stand just staring at you anymore, it was driving him mad. And, ironically, the only thing that could distract him from it was you.
"And you're irritating," you replied, turning the page.
"Let's do something," he said, sitting beside you and ignoring the insult, but received no reply, "Do not ignore me, Y/N, that's bad taste!" He cried, shuffling closer to you.
But your resolve was strong, and you fought every urge to give into his demands. Even now, as he watched you intently and expectantly, you did not give into his efforts. Eventually, you had no doubt that Laurie would convince you to put down your intriguing novel, but as of yet, he'd not said the right words.
Laurie's knee began bobbing up and down while his fingers drummed on his thighs as he thought of what he could do to have your full attention. His intention was not to annoy you with this particular act, but rather only to think of something to pry you away.
"You're distracting me."
"With what?" he smirked, realising what he was doing and feeling hopeful he might have broken some of your focus, and that it would not take long to persuade you now.
But again, you left him with no reply, and tried your hardest to keep your concentration intact. The more you ignored him, the more vexed he became. He tried taking the book from your grasp, but you were too quick for his movements, and your grip was tight. He tried kicking your feet with his, but you only tucked your legs beneath you. So instead, he rested his head on your shoulder and began reading aloud from the top of the page. Still this did not break you.
He huffed like a child throwing a tantrum when he did not get his way. But it was then, as he stared at you from the corner of his eye, watching your lips part slightly as you became lost in your book, that the idea came to him. Surely this would break your focus, surely this would win him the game you were playing, for he was about to change the rules.
He smirked mischievously, but as he inched closer to you, he became nervous. Like a magician preparing for his biggest trick, there was doubt sitting in his stomach in the event that it went wrong. But he pushed through the cloud of uncertainty and swiftly pressed his lips to yours in a quick kiss.
"Theodore Laurence!" you cried, your voice almost lost in your shock.
Laurie laughed heartily and stole the book from your hands while you stared at him in surprise. Tossing it over to the chair, he stood and took a triumphant bow, the smile stretching across his lips like no other.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe we have a winner!" he announced to the empty room, but for the two of you.
Your face was unchanged, your features still a slave to the shock Laurie had impressed upon you.
"You must forgive one stolen kiss," pouted Laurie, "It was a necessary evil."
Looking at Laurie standing before you, his shirt slightly untucked and his waistcoat unbuttoned, you began to smile faintly. His eyebrows furrowed, though he remained smiling at you. It was only fair that Laurie tasted the bittersweet flavour of his own medicine.
"I admit defeat," you surrendered, putting your hands up in the air, "But I wouldn't say it was an evil, would you?" You asked coquettishly.
Laurie tried to suppress his surprise, but smirked as you adjusted to the new rules he had laid out before you so suddenly. He slid a hand into his pocket and leaned his weight on one foot, looking down at you amusedly.
"It was simply an expression, not how I felt about it," he confessed.
"Oh, that is good to hear. I was beginning to become worried you might never do it again in that case," you said, stepping up from the sofa and walking out of the room and into the garden.
Laurie stood dumbfounded for a moment, before hastily following you into the summer's day with a delighted smile gracing his lips.
