Sheltered

Chapter 18

"Excited?" Oli asks, nudging Savanna with her elbow.

"I guess." She responds, her heart racing.

"Olivia!" A boy with pale blonde hair and green eyes waves her over.

"Oh, coming! Have fun, Sav, I'll join you in a bit." Olivia runs off to meet her friend.

Savanna bites her lip, her eyes darting around the room, unsure of what to do. 

"Hey, Savanna." A familiar voice says from behind her.

"Ian! You came." Sav exclaims, turning on her heel.

He smiles.
"Oh c'mon, I'm too popular to miss a party." Ian jokes.

"Sure, Ian." Savanna laughs, walking toward nothing in particular.

Ian stays by her side and says,
"So, I wanted to talk to you. Get to know you a little better."

Sav gives him a look.

"I like to get to know all of my members well, ok?" He explains defensively.

Ian leads her to a slightly more secluded area.

"Tell me about yourself." He says seriously.

"Well, my name is Savanna Peterson, and my favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip. My favorite thing to do is-"

"Savanna. I'm serious." Ian chuckles, but his face quickly turns stern again.

"Well, my parents were pretty strict. I couldn't go out on weekends, or wear shorts that went above my knees." Ian raises an eyebrow. "Seriously! But... they were still good to have around, y'know?" Sav sighs before continuing. "I've pretty much been sheltered from the 'real world' for my whole life. When my parents died..." she takes a deep breath, fighting back tears, "everything changed."

Ian looks directly into her eyes, a gentle look in them.
"I understand. And hey... this is your shelter now." He says, resting his hand on her shoulder as he gestures to the structure around them.

"Thanks, Ian..." Savanna says gently.

"For what?" He asks, his voice still low and quiet.

"For... for letting me in. For helping me when I had nowhere to go. You don't know how much it means to me. I had nothing, but now... I feel like I belong here. Thank you."

Ian steps forward to embrace her in a tight hug, her head resting on his chest.

"You're welcome, Sav." He mutters.
"I'm really glad you're here with me- I mean- us now."

Savanna smiles, her face still pressed against Ian.

As they step back, Ian says,
"Sav, I'm not kidding... I'm really glad you're here." He smiles.

Savanna grins again, her eyes finding the ground.
She looks up, right into Ian's eyes. She can't help but notice how blue they look, even in the dim light.

Before she can say another word, he steps closer to her.
Savanna tries to take a breath, but she is frozen in place.
She wonders if she should step back, but she couldn't if she tried, it feels like her feet are glued to the floor.
Her heart racing, she tries to clear her mind, but she can't think; there are too many emotions and thoughts swimming in her head.

"Got it." Ian says, snapping Sav out of her thoughts.

She looks at his raised hand to see a piece of lint pinched between his fingers.

Ian smirks, letting the fuzz fall to the floor.
"No offense, but lint isn't the best hair accessory."

"Thanks for the advice." Savanna says, finally taking a breath.

"Well, I'm glad I got to know you a little better, but I think we should go now, your friends are probably looking for you."
Ian suggests, starting to walk away.

"W-" Savanna stops abruptly.

Ian didn't hear her, he keeps walking until he is out of sight.

"Wait..." Sav whispers.

She squeezes her eyes shut, and opens them again.

"Stop being stupid." She tells herself firmly, and walks back toward the crowd.