A Lost Boy

16

"the world's a little blurry, or maybe, it's my eyes"
- billie eilish

"Sunshine, stop being a good friend and just grab a random book that you think she hasn't read yet."

I glance over at Eliott who was sprawled upon one of the many couches. He had spent the past fifteen minutes lazily watching me let my anxiety take over as I searched for books. Currently, I had a stack of five books that I thought Kaia might like.

But what if she doesn't, says a stupidly, annoying voice in the back of my mind.

Groaning, I sweep over the bookshelf again before stopping on a series that I knew my friend hasn't read yet. The fact that it was written by one of her favorite authors was an added bonus.

I grin and grab all of them, bringing my total count up to nine. "Okay, we can go now."

"Thank you." Eliott sits up with a yawn, his nose scrunching adorably. "That is a lot of books. How fast does she read?"

"Very."

I still have no idea how Kaia could dedicate more than six hours on a book when she could spend those hours going out. Maybe I really was just too extroverted, or maybe, Kaia was too introverted.

Personally, I think it's the latter, although Kaia disagrees.

The two of us make our way up to the cashier, who smiles up at us. "Did you find everything okay?"

I nod, sliding the books onto the counter while looking away awkwardly, but not before I take note that he was unbelievably cute.

On a general basis, I have no problems with social interactions, but with cashiers, I'm never quite sure what to do. I usually just end up standing there and silently hope that they aren't judging my purchases. Although why they would, I have no idea.

"That'll be $186," the cashier says, his smile still in place.

I quickly scoot two one-hundred-dollar bills over the counter. "You can keep the change."

His eyes widen. "But, that's so much, and-"

"It's okay. You deserve it."

"But-"

Eliott sighs from next to me and leans his head on my shoulder. "I'm sleepy. You should just take the money."

The cashier also sighs and mumbles something under his breath. The only words I could catch were, "But why's he so nice?"

I stifle a smile as Eliott grabs the bag and my hand, and practically drags me out of the door.

"That cashier was cute," I say once we get back to my car.

My friend shrugs. "He was too pretty," he grumbles.

"Says you." I look at him to find him already staring at me. "What?"

Eliott bites his lip before focusing back on the road. "Nothing. Don't you want to know where we're going?"

"You're dodging the question," I say, amused. "But yes, I do."

"Well, you don't get to know because I don't know how to describe it without making it seem like I'm going to murder you, but I think you'll like it."

I blink and repress the urge to just jump out of the car and get as far as I could from Eliott. "I don't think anything could be more terrifying than the description you just gave me."

My friend laughs. "I know."

Then why the heck would you tell me that? my mind screams.

"Okay, I'm not telling you because all of my locations are weird. I don't think you would have gone with me that night if I told you that I was going to bring you to an abandoned subway station that was right below the sketchiest alley in the neighborhood in the middle of the night when no one else is around. Right?"

I wince as I hear his description, knowing he was absolutely correct. I definitely would not have.

Eliott seems almost proud of himself at the lack of response. "We're almost there though," he adds as he turns pulls onto a small gravelly pathway.

"I can see why this would be a perfect place to murder me," I say at last.

He had pulled up in front of a large forest.

Eliott only laughs and gets out of the car, pouting when he sees that I didn't move. Opening my door, he pulls me out with a teasing smile. "I promise I'm not going to murder you today."

"Pinky promise?"

He rolls his eyes and takes my pinky in his. "Pinky promise." His hand then slides into mine so that his fingers were intertwined with mine. "Ready?"

"No."

"Welp, too bad. You're coming."

. . .

whoops, sorry. this is utter trash. kill me.

thanks for reading! if you enjoyed, please vote, leave a comment and i'll see ya later!

- Jells ❤️