adolescents - mo (monroe) harris

15

As Monday approached, Anna's anxiety about starting her job at the record store grew. She'd talked herself in and out of quitting before she even had her first day. By Monday afternoon in history class, she was already exhausted. She took her usual seat next to Mo in the back of the room and dropped her backpack, not bothering to pull out her notebook. She took a deep breath in and released it slowly, closing her eyes and laying her head on her arms for a moment.

"Hey." Mo said softly as he directed his attention from the conversation he was in onto Anna. He'd noticed her looking strung out. Anna opened her eyes and lifted her head, giving him a feeble smile. "Still nervous?"

"Nervous? No. Just very excited." Anna joked as she propped her head on her hand. Mo smiled and nodded.

"You were excited when you got the job, what happened?" Mo asked.

"The owner gave me big weirdo vibes when I was there. I don't know, I'm hoping I read too much into it. I'm just afraid I'll regret it." Anna sighed.

"How are you getting there anyway?"

"Nick let me borrow his old bike until I can buy something. That's not saying much, it's falling apart." Anna leaned back in her chair as the teacher stood up to begin class.

"I could take you. If you want." Mo offered. Anna looked at him. He was eyeing her so she smiled lightly.

"That'd make me feel a lot better." Anna said quietly. Mo smiled and nodded.

"Okay. We'll get coffee after school and I'll drop you off." Anna smiled wide and laughed lightly to alleviate the bubble of happiness rising inside her. She nodded at Mo and turned her attention to class, or at least made it look like she did. Her mind was still stuck processing that moment.

Anna still battled the thought that Mo didn't really like her. Even knowing what Zeke told her she still rationalized to the point that she denied it altogether. Her denial didn't change her own feelings, though. It didn't change how she looked forward to lunch and history with Mo every day. It didn't change her excitement when Mo came over or him and Zeke invited her out. It definitely didn't change when Mo volunteered to take her to work and buy her coffee.

———
"Thank you, Mo. You really didn't have to do this." Anna said holding a full iced coffee as Mo pulled out of the Starbucks drive through. Mo smiled and shrugged.

"I just wanted to make your day a little easier, you've really beat yourself up all weekend over your first day." Mo said, sipping his Frappuccino he made Anna promise not to tell Zeke he got. Anna smiled weakly and looked at her lap with an unintentional sigh. She was trying to formulate a reply out of her racing thoughts when Mo spoke again. "It's only 3 hours. It'll fly by. Besides, you'll probably hardly work today."

"I know, I just feel like something will go wrong. I'm sorry." Anna leaned her head on the window and fought back anxious tears as they neared downtown. She didn't like feeling so suddenly vulnerable as the lump in her throat grew harder to swallow. She especially didn't like that Mo was witnessing it. She tried to mentally rope in her emotions but her anxiety was getting the best of her.

"Don't be sorry." Mo said glancing at her. He wanted to make her feel better so badly but he struggled to find the words. He sighed, glancing at Anna again as she wiped a stray tear from her cheek. She was hiding that she'd let it fall. Mo pulled his car into a parking space in front of the record store and shifted it into park.

"I'll be right outside at 6 on the dot to take you home." He said finally turning towards Anna, who was now shrunk into her seat staring at the front of the store. He almost didn't recognize her. He was so used to the confident and careless Anna. He wished for her sake that she'd come back. "You've got this, Anna."

Anna snapped out of her trance and looked at Mo. He seemed like he was searching her face for reassurance, when the reality was that Anna was the one that needed it. She nodded, taking a big gulp of her coffee and releasing a held breath. She mentally rebuilt her facade of confidence and decided letting the anxiety win would only make today harder.

"Fake it till you make it." Anna mumbled, her eyes closed momentarily. She looked back at Mo again and smiled lightly. "I'll see you at 6?"

Mo nodded, relieved that the Anna he knew was coming back. Anna took another drink of her coffee and grabbed her backpack.

"Go get 'em!" Mo cheered as Anna stepped out of the car. Anna bent over and looked at Mo as he smiled.

"Consider them got." Anna said, shutting the car door and walking into the record store. Mo smiled and shook his head. He knew she was in there somewhere.

———
Mo pulled into the same parking space at 5:50 to pick up Anna. He'd gone just down the road to his sister's apartment to do homework while he waited. She'd grilled him about school and life, asking all kinds of questions that he knew were incriminating. She always knew him best, especially when it came to girls.

"You're so sweet, I taught you so well." Kate had said, squeezing Mo's face. He'd told her about Sophie and his gestures to get her attention and how they'd worked. He didn't mention the advice came from Zeke. "Are you going to ask her out?"

Mo hadn't known how to answer that. He knew that was the next step and that he should want to, but he didn't. He'd hesitated a half second too long and Kate knew. She smiled knowingly and leaned over the kitchen island, meeting Mo's eyes. That was when he'd told her about Anna. Kate listened to him ramble, noting how differently he spoke about Anna than he had about Sophie. As if Sophie was a black and white photograph and Anna was a film in beautiful, vibrant color. Mo wasn't self aware enough about his feelings to notice, but Kate told him what she thought.

"Don't go after someone if you know you're going to hurt them."

That sentence was still ringing in his mind as he waited in front of the record store. He knew how it applied to Sophie. Don't go after her if you're not all in. That was something he had to consider. As Anna pushed through the door of the store and smiled as she saw Mo waiting for her, he felt the weight of his sister's words rest on him. Looking at the bright, complex, beautiful girl bounding towards him, he realized that he wanted to follow her everywhere she went.

————————
A/N

Wow they are so precious I have big heart eyes rn. Thank you all for the reads, votes, comments as always, y'all keep me going <3