Church Boy (Kellic)

Five

"And this up here is just a storage area of some sort. That's the original old bell but we wouldn't be using it during regular masses. The only time that we'll go up here is during special holidays like Christmas, Holy Week, and the like." Vic instructed as I tiredly caught up to him. The stairs is a short one but they seem steeper than those we have in our house so before I could even catch up to him on the balcony thingy at the other side of the church, I am already slightly disgustingly sweaty and a panting mess. "Understood?"

"Uh- yeah, I just. Can I, like, rest for a sec?" I said in-between short breaths, plopping myself down on a box on one corner, grabbing my backpack from behind me and pulling out my water bottle and drinking a hefty amount from it. I probably look like a tired dog on a hot summer day but I kind of don't care.

"We're not even half-way through with the introduction." Vic commented, sounding so annoyed but when I looked at him, he seems amused by my tired state, which obviously made me blush again. Or is it just because of the heat up here? I don't know.

"That's just the introduction?" I asked in surprise after gulping so much of my water. I was about to keep it back in my bag but decided not to be rude to him so I raised it up to his direction. "D'you want some, um, Vic?" i asked and just like how I felt when he said my name, I felt about ready to faint when his rolled out of my tongue.

He laughed. "Yeah, kid." He said simply but declined my water offer with a shake of his head and a very, very, very teeny tiny small smile. Or maybe I just want to convince myself that he smiled. Anyways, this is the first time that I see him letting out an emotion other than one of annoyance and boredom so it made me foolishly giggle, my teeth tucking my bottom lip just so that I could prevent myself from further embarrassing myself in front of him.

Silence went between us in such a harsh and sharp breeze. I feel so weird and awkward just sitting here as my breath starts going back to normal, sweat no longer visible on my forehead. I badly want to talk to him but I don't know what to say! I should've asked Jenna for help before going in here, ugh!

"How's um- uh, how old are you?" I asked, cringing a little because what? Why did I have to ask that? It's the first real question that I brought up this day and it just has to be how old are you? I'm a wreck. But to be honest, it's a question that I've been itching to figure out since we started walking around. I think I've been half-listening to him the entire time because I've been too busy figuring it out in my head. He looks maybe about my age? I think? He doesn't look a day older than Jenna and I so I'm putting my bet on 16, too. I am crossing my fingers on it.

Vic looked at me with a raised eyebrow, eyes scanning my face, somewhat checking if I'm being serious or not. After intimidating me with his hard stare, he shrugged his shoulders, hand motioning in front of him, as if telling me to scoot over and hesitantly, I did, blood rushing up to my cheeks. "I'm 18, turning 19 on February." He said as he sat down beside me, arm slightly brushing with mine when he sat down cooly. Is that even possible? How can a person look so cool by just sitting down? I don't know but that's exactly how he looked to me. "Yourself?"

I gulped, biting my lip, still and breathing out deeply before speaking, "I'm, um, I'm 16." I said, suddenly feeling like an actual child now that I know we're at least 2 years apart. The way the very tip of his shoulder would brush against my sweater-clad one whenever he breathes in also almost pushes me to the verge of having a mental breakdown.

He hummed, nodding a little. "Yeah, you look like you're 16." He commented and I looked at him, neck almost snapping as my head turned to him instantly.

"I do?"

"Yeah."

"What does 16 look like?" I just had to ask. I don't know if I should be offended or not so I just asked. Am I over-thinking this? Probably, yes, but I don't care. I just feel the need to know his point of view, as weird as it may sound.