Operation: M.I.A

VI // Music Guru

He asks me if I like country music as if it is a crime. I stare into his eyes for a second and take in their colour while he looks back. I always wished I the kind of eyes that boys in bands wrote songs about, or the kind that someone would fall in love with you because of. Zander's eyes were green and full of secrets that were blocked off and forever out of reach. But it wasn't even the colour that made me love them - it was the shade and the designs. They were light and had darker green starbursts. As I admire his eyes I wonder if he has any complimentary thoughts toward my eyes. Ha. No.

"Country music?" I question. "Nah, I'm more into alternative rock. I definitely like rocker vibes."

He smirked mischieviously at me. "I thought you might say that. That's a good girl." He resumed his grip on my hand and tugged me into the music store. I felt deeply engrained callouses touch the soft skin on my palm. He must work hard in his department. We passed the country section swiftly. "Don't look at it!" Zander joked and hid his eyes with his free hand.

Before we were through the section, I slid my hand across the tops of the CDs. "Zander, look! I'm touching them," I bug him.

He gasps and snatches my hand away from the rack. He looks me dead in the eye and shakes his head slowly.

We're in the rock section when I spot the Russian lady from the restaurant in the opposite back corner of the store. I tap Zander's shoulder and when he turns his attention to me, I nod my head in the direction of the little old lady. His eyes go wide and he ducks and pulls me down with him, but I resist. I look down at the boy crouched on the floor of the record store. I swear he resembles a child more by every minute. He is trying to give me a dirty look, telling me to duck out of sight as well. "Why?" I ask.

"They could be following us." I roll my eyes.

"People are staring at us, Zander. Get up." I'm actually quite embarrassed myself. . . and remotely disappointed in his lack of professionalism. This is ridiculous.

A look of defeat washes over his face. "Fine, then do something so they'll stop," he whispers so that the people next to us can't hear our conversation.

"You're the one that is crouching down on the floor, just get up!" I don't know what his problem is. This would so not be an issue if he would react normally when you see a stranger twice in one day. The normal response: do nothing. It's not a big deal, at all. But apparently he thought something of it. He was still pulling down on the sleeve of my winter coat.

I grab his jacket and pull him up quickly. I shoots me a glare after he looks frantically around and sees that even more people are staring. Usually you don't find teenage boys sitting on the floor, I suppose. I notice our predicament as well. This was a problem. We needed to be undercover. We were crapping it, so far. One of us had to fix this. I look back into his eyes.

"This is an experiment," I state quietly, but clearly so he would hear me. I saw confusion in his eyes and couldn't tell if it was replaced with recognition because I pulled him into me and kissed him hard. I still had a good hold on his jacket. At first I felt his shock, but then the recognition finally washed over him as I felt him relax and play along. He wraps his arms around me and kisses me back. I open my eyes while my lips are still attached to his to see if Zander's theory could be expanded to kissing and not only hand holding... and it did work. A few people rolled their eyes, but the majority were done staring at us. They were turning away and diverting their attention back to the music on the shelves. I guess kids making out was also a common sight.

I let go of and push him away with one hand. I can't look at him out of embarrassment of my methods. I let him take in the scene before us. The music store is back to its regular hubbub and we are no longer the main attraction. "Well!" he exlaims.