Steal my Heart.

31

Given is a picture of Vanessa and Gracie, ie. Ariana Grande and Bella Thorne. I repeat, this is how I picture them, you are free to use your own imagination.

•••

During the fest preparations, I stood with a notebook near the stage, rapidly making lists about the budget. Vanessa was very happy about her date yesterday. She was literally bouncing with happiness.

I put the cap on my pen and I look around. Very few days are left and the ground is decorated beautifully. My gaze stops on Alastair. In a place full of beautiful things, my eyes will still be on him.

He's talking to some girls, pretty and confident ones. I wring my fingers as I watch them laugh and hit his arm in a mocking way. That's something I do the most.

"Why are you watching him from the sides Grace?" I hear a masculine voice from behind me.
Jeez, I'm so stupid. Stuart York was watching me the whole time and I didn't even notice.

"Eh. I wasn't watching him." I deny as I turn the pages of my book.
"I don't see anyone else over there." He says as he eats a bar of chocolate, or more like licks it because it has completely melted on his fingers.

"I was looking at the girls."
"I didn't know you batted on the other side."
"Stuart!" I gasp and he laughs.

"Come on Grace, I'm your friend. And I also happen to be Ivy's best friend, who is quite close to you." He says and I sigh.
This is embarrassing, what if he tells Alastair? He practically saw me staring at his best friend.

"Don't worry I'm not telling him. What did you see in the asshole anyways?" He asks and we both look at Alastair, who is laughing, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Something no one else did." I reply and Stuart nods his head, giving me an impressed look.
"Y'know what? Go and get what you want. Don't like it? Change it." He says and moves away, not before winking at me and waving chocolaty fingers.

I comprehend what he said. Maybe I should give it a go. I walk confidently over to them.
"Alastair."
All three of them turn to look at me. The girls actually give me the head-to-toe look.

"Yes Grace?" His focus is completely on me now. I want to grin.
"Umm can I speak to you?" I mumble.
"Sure." He says and walks a bit away from the girls.
Wow. I feel so special.

But now that he's here, I don't know what to say to him. I place my finger between my teeth and bite it.
"Uh, you are coming home today right?"
His face breaks into a grin. "I sure am."
I smile. "Okay. Bye." I say and walk off. Way to be awkward.

•••

In the evening, I've woken up from my nap when I hear knocking on the door. Vanessa will open it for mom is not home even today. I hear voices and I check myself in the mirror.

I look like the mess I am but I decide not to groom myself. If by any chance Alastair is fond of me, he has to like me like this as well.

So I walk out, my hair like a nest and my pj's crumpled. Vanessa gives me a disapproving look and I simply pout at her. Alastair watches me with amusement.

"Come to my room?" I say and he tries to hide a smile as he walks behind me.
Vanessa winks at him and I roll my eyes.

He looks around when he enters my room. He almost seems conscious, like he might spoil something he touches. For the first time, he looks awkward and all I want to do is pull him towards the bed. He doesn't know, he adds beauty to my room.

He walks towards the bookshelf and I watch him. Running his fingers over the titles, he brushes the dust off some of the books.

"You read?" I ask him, my voice disrupting the pleasant silence between us.
"It may seem like I don't, but sometimes I do read." He says and I pat the empty space next to me. He gingerly sits over there and leans back.

"Why have books always be your best friends?" He asks. He is so unlike others. Normally, teenagers our age talk about partying and drinking, but he has so much of substance.

"Right from the start, I've loved books. From fairytales to heavy novels, I've read it all. I have so many and I used to have many more. I gave a good quantity of them away, due to lack of space. I used to get so attached to them y'know? I even opened them with care, so that the edges or the binding did not get spoilt. Words have always been close to my heart, my best friends and my confidants. It's wonderful to get lost in them for hours. They give me hope and inspiration, I love reading." I say and he has a small smile on his face.

"You think I'm boring right?" I pout and he grins.
"Gracie, not everyone who reads books is reader. Being a reader is something that you're born with. Living through a hundred people's lives everyday, feeling what they do, really tends to fuck up a person's real feelings after a while. It's like they can't decide whether what they feel is their own or someone else's pain. Those people have the best outlook on life, and even though they tend to get confused, they find their path back. You're one of those. How can you be boring?" He says and my heart flutters.

At that moment, all I could think of was, he was so amazing, so smart, so kind, could anyone be more perfect? It was like God had blessed me, picked a wonderful guy from a beautiful fairytale and handed him to me.