It Consumes

Chapter 8

"Keith, for the thousandth time, where are we going?"

"I told you, it's a surprise."

"...can't you just tell me?"

"What, and ruin it? ...Nah."

Kate just rolled her eyes as Keith continued to guide her somewhere with his hands covering her eyes, blindly following his lead. He had been pushing her around for the past five minutes, and she was starting to get impatient.

"Are we there yet?" Kate whined, worn out from her exhausting day at school and just wanting to go back to her room and sleep.

"Yep!" Keith chuckled at her impatience, finally pulling his hands from her eyes. "You can look around now."

Kate blinked her eyes to adjust to the light, and she was surprised to find herself standing next to Keith on the pier of Ascension Square. The sun was just beginning to set, illuminating the golden sky one last time for the day. The glittering star-kissed light danced along the waves, creating a truly breathtaking sight.

"Wow..." Kate was blown away by the beauty, completely at a loss for words. "Keith, why did you bring me here...?"

"Because." Keith jammed his fists into his jacket pockets, kicking at the ground. "It's my favorite spot. Plus, I had to get you away from Rhythmi long enough to give you this." He held out a small wrapped package of rectangular shape to Kate, ushering her to take it. "If I gave it to you in front of her, she'd probably make up some bullshit that it's a declaration of undying love or something..." The red-head rolled his eyes, successfully getting Kate to laugh.

She quieted her irresistibly cute laugh long enough to take the package from Keith and eye it curiously. "What is it?"

"A peace offering." Keith carelessly shrugged his shoulders. "Mostly for being a jerk to you this past month."

Kate shot him a sly look. "You're really not that bad, you know." She nudged him with her elbow, smiling at him all-knowingly.

Keith just blinked at her owlishly before shaking his head at her, narrowing his eyes at nothing in particular. "Would you just open it already?"

"Okay!" Kate giggled, immediately tearing into the packing paper. She paid no mind to Keith's anxious foot-tapping when she got to the bottom of the paper, and her sky-kissed blue eyes widened at the sight. "Oh my gosh..."

Keith was a nervous wreck. "Do you...like it?" He started to ask, immediately regretting it after hearing how shaky he sounded. "I just wasn't sure what to get you, since I don't know you very well and all, so..."

"I loveit!" Kate enveloped Keith into a tight hug, making the red-head's cheeks involuntarily flush the color of his hair. "Thank you so much, Keith! I will treasure this forever!"

Keith awkwardly stood there and patted her on the back as she hugged him. "You're welcome...? It's just a book, you know."

"Just a book?" Kate scoffed, practically shoving the book in Keith's face. "This isn't just any ordinary book, Keith! This is a book of Almia's folklore and legends! I love this kind of stuff!" She excitedly bounced up and down, hugging the book to her chest.

Keith just rolled his eyes before cracking a small grin. "How is it you've been here a whole month and I barely know anything about you?"

Kate just shrugged her shoulders with a wry smile written across her lips. "Because you've never asked."

Keith just laughed and shook his head at the floor, lifting his gaze back up to look at her through his spiky red hair. "Alright then, tell me about yourself."