N♂RMAL

13 | First

My phone alarm went off, and I instantly smacked it, effectively hitting the snooze button. I patted around and brought Mister closer to my chest once I had found him. I curled around him and shut my eyes tighter. As I fell back asleep, I felt a soft sigh escape my lips.

Almost as soon as I was comfortably set in my unconscious state, my alarm was blaring again. I groaned and smacked it once more. It was Saturday, for Pete's sake. Why was it even going off? With bleary eyes, I picked up the stupid device and opened up the alarm app.

Get ready for you date!

I moaned in reluctance. Burrowing my face into my pillow and nearly crushing Mister in the process, I wondered if it was really worth waking up at this ungodly hour. Well, I guess it wasn't that late. It was eight-forty, but it was Saturday. Isn't it a college right to be able to sleep in until two in the afternoon with no judgement?

I sighed and pushed myself up. Pushing my hair out of my face, I noticed that Hunter was already awake and out of bed. I didn't know where he could have possibly gone, but he always managed to surprise me somehow.

I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste and set out for the bathrooms. I made sure that the door was unlocked, so I didn't have to carry my key around with me just to go down the hall. I quickly peed and washed my hands before brushing my teeth. I saw one other guy come in to take a shower while I was brushing my teeth.

Why are you awake so terribly early? I wanted to scream at him. On a mother-fluffing Saturday!

He smiled politely at me and waved, which I returned with a nod of acknowledgement. I spit once the guy was locked in one of the shower stalls and rinsed my mouth. After a quick face wash, I returned to my room. I got dressed in something warm but casual since I didn't know what we were doing today. It was late October, and the days were getting colder, something I would forever hate.

Hunter came in right as I was tugging on a beanie. He smiled at me, and I flushed before timidly smiling back.

"Ready?"

He held out his hand for me. After I grabbed my wallet and keys, I placed my hand in his. "Yeah."

He wrapped his fingers around mine and locked the room behind us. He led us outside and to a small nondescript car. I eyed it warily as he opened the passenger side for me.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, Carson. You said I could surprise you."

"I didn't sign for my murder, did I?" I asked. He rolled his eyes at me.

"You didn't sigh for anything. Besides, if I was going to murder you, I wouldn't tell you."

"First date of my life," I mumbled as I climb into the car, "and it's with a crazy murder who likes playing weird ass mind games." I spoke a little louder so that he could hear me. "If I go missing, my mom knows who I was with last."

"You're not going to go missing, Carson. Calm down."

I sighed and took his outstretched hand. It was a habit that I had with my mom, and apparently, my body didn't know the difference between Mom and Hunter. I blushed profusely when he looked at me and promptly dropped his hand.

"You can hold my hand if you want to."

I bit my lip and looked at him. His eyes looked warmer than ever, ask if he was silently telling me that he wanted to hold my hand too. My own eyes flashed down to his open hand. It was resting on the center console, palm facing upwards. The absurd comparison of a Venus flytrap entered my mind—ready to ensnare my fingers if given the slightest provocation.