The Old Tuck Shop

TWENTY-TWO

She led me through a small alley, surrounded by trees and unkempt shrubs full of berries. At the end of the alley, there was a small wooden door (which I had to duck down to reach) hidden away by bushes and vibrant flowers. Poppy lifted stones around the door and searched for something. A key?

"Great. Now we're trespassing," I muttered under my breath.

She turned around and puffed. "Jeez. Live a little, would you? Besides, it's technically not trespassing if you've got a key...well I thought I had a key..."

"And technically it's not kidnapping if the girl is really cute," I whispered to myself.

"Did you say something?" she asked.

I chuckled. "First you think you're hearing things, and now you're going mad!"

"Ha-ha-ha very funny," she replied. "I'm sure I left it here."

"I'm not even going to ask why you've got a creepy, old key that opens a creepy old door Poppy Starr," I replied.

"You know, you don't need to call me by both my first name and surname." She kept scouring, muttering shit to herself.

"Also, I didn't get your name," she added.

My name? I hadn't thought of that. Of course, I decided to go under Cae Jacobs, but what should I tell her? If we did get together, and eventually get married, and have kids...okay, maybe I'm thinking too far ahead. I can't be known as Cae Jacobs for the rest of my pitiful life. Can I?

"Um...it's...Cae?" I stuttered.

"Now I'm scared. Are you sure you're not a serial killer? You can't even remember your name," she giggled.

"Well, what if it isn't my name?" I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Oh, really now? Then tell me 'um it's Cae' - if that is your real name!" She turned around slowly and looked at me suspiciously.

I gulped. "It's Finley Green - I changed it so people don't know who I am - pretty smart, am I right?" I smirked.

"Oh, yeah. Super smart." She rolled her eyes.

"Finn. I like that," she added with a faint smile.

"But if anyone asks, it's Cae, okay?"

She rolled her eyes again.

"Also it's Finley. Not Finn," I said. Looking back now, it was rude of me to say, but I just wanted to get rid of my past and have a fresh start.

"What?" she asked, still searching for the key.

"My name - it's Finley. Not Finn," I answered, bluntly.

"I'm going to call you Finn just to piss you off," she smiled. "Is that okay, Finn?"

As much as I wanted to roll my eyes, that damn smile stopped me.

She grabbed a bobby pin from her hair and started picking the lock.

"You don't have the key, do you?" I puffed.

"I swear I put it under one of these stones. But hey, you have to adjust to the situation," she said, grabbing a bobby pin from her hair.

I crawled towards her. "Do you want help with that?" I asked. She nodded, passing me the clip.

Our hands touched. Although it only lasted for a second, it felt like time had slowed down. Her hands - soft as silk rubbed against mine. I felt sweat starting to appear on the palm of my hands, and I pulled away.

"So...um...how do you even know how to pick a lock?" she asked, intrigued.

"Oh...me and my friend Ton did it all the time. He's a cool dude." I cringed at the fact I said 'Cool dude.'

"He sounds interesting."

I nodded my head and smiled.

After a few tries and a lot of force, the lock finally opened.

"Ta-da!" I exclaimed, pretending to bow. "Thank you, thank you."

She pushed me to the side, rolled her eyes and practically pulled me through the doorway, and of course, being the biggest klutz in the world, I hit my head, which she laughed at.

"Close your eyes," she said, and I obeyed.

She pulled me into (what I'm assuming) the middle of a forest or something. "Okay. After three, you're going to open your eyes," she said.

"You're making this way too dramatic," I scoffed.

"One. Two. Three," she said.

I smiled. And then stopped. I kept my eyes shut. I remembered my first day at Agatha's and how excited she was for me to see my room, and roommate - Ton. It had barely been a week since I last saw him, and I know he said he was fine with me leaving and everything, but was he? I mean, do you think he wanted me to go? Did I do a selfish thing? Not only to Agatha but to him?

"Hello?..." she called out, laughing.

I adjusted my eyes to the light and looked at her.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just tired," I joked, trying to shrug it off.

"Well?..." she asked, spinning around in circles.

"Oh, yeah. It's cool," I said, brushing the dirt off my jeans.

"Jeez, you could've shown a bit more enthusiasm," she crossed her arms.

"Yeah, it's cool and everything, but nothing too special like you described. On the way here, you described it as 'Heaven on Earth'-"

"Oh, I'm sorry if my favourite place isn't up to your standards Finn."

I chuckled. "That bench over there is pretty cute though." I pointed towards an ancient bench.

"Oh, yeah. I call it my depression seat. It's where I come to cry," she gestured me to sit down with her, and I did.

I placed my hands in my hoodie pocket and cracked my knuckles.

"That's a horrible habit, you know? It'll give you arthritis," she said.

"That's just a bunch of lies. That myth was made by parents who hated the noise of their kids cracking their knuckles," I replied.

A moment of silence crept upon us, and all we could hear was the birds singing and the wind blowing.

"So...what did you want to do?" I asked, awkwardly.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"You're the one who dragged me out here, and you're asking me? Don't go all shy on me now," I joked.

She didn't say a word. She just stared back at me with those emerald eyes, and that same glistening smile. The breeze blew back her long, hazel hair, and I sat there, captivated by her beauty, wanting this moment to last forever.