Heart of Gold | B. Gold ✓

19 | Bonnie The Bear

Fawnie found her cousin when he was injured to be far more annoying than he normally was. Despite their usually good relationship, the pair just kept arguing. "Little deer, I don't need your help-" Michael complained loudly due to Fawn insisting that she let him lean on her while walking up a hill for a picnic.

"Oh knock it off, Mickey. It's not that serious, your cane won't do you any good on this soft ground."

"Who told you that, Bonnie?" There was unneeded venom lacing Michael's tone as he quickly sat down on the blanket Fawn spread on the ground early.

Her nostrils flared as she felt the anger inside her boiling, being away from Small Heath (or really, anything familiar) made it easier for Fawnie to disassociate from her emotions, but Michael was making it difficult for her to control her anger. "Actually it was Mr. Gold, thank you very much, and why does it matter if Bonnie told me?" The Shelby sass sitting under the surface begged to boil over but Fawn tried to rein it in.

Michael gave her a blank look, she could tell he knew more than he was letting on. Perhaps he'd seen how she watched Bonnie interact with his younger family member with the ghost of a smile on her lips. Or how often Fawn and Bonnie would be talking to one another, or appearing out of the woods together. Fawnie knew her cousin wasn't a complete idiot... she just hoped he wouldn't bring it up.

"You bloody know why, I've seen how he looks at you... like you're pretty or something."

"Rude and not true."

Her cousin rolled his eyes as Fawnie set down the picnic basket, "Promise ya, it's true. And fuckin' weird. If I wasn't injured, I'd set him straight with a good arse-kicking."

"Michael, the only arse you'll be kicking is your bloody own when I tell your mum to put a spell on you for being a prick." He flicked her arm but Fawnie just sighed, "Alright, shut up so we can eat. You'd think we wouldn't be arguing but alas, you manage to push all of my buttons." Fawnie set out to get their lunch placed on the picnic blanket.

"What have you got for us, eh?" Michael asked while working on getting his cigarette lit, leaning forward a bit to peek inside the basket. "Fuckin' lighter won't work-" Fawnie took it from his grasp before holding down the flint wheel, there was a steady flame and Michael quickly lit the cigarette, "Thank you."

"Cucumber sandwiches and kind of warm tea. I tried to find something more interesting but it's either this or rabbit..."

━━━━
Later
━━━━

Playing hide and seek with a bunch of kids was not at all how Fawnie saw her night going but it was fun so far. She ran as quietly as possible, trying to be as careful while trying to distance herself from the 'Seeker'. By the time she finally pressed up against the back of a tree, she knew she would be saved from getting caught first.

There was silence all around her, give or take the crickets chirping or owls hooting. That is before Fawnie felt warmth on her left side. She knew well enough that there shouldn't have been anything there and terror rushed through her body immediately. Fawnie turned her head just enough so she could possibly see what was beside her.

The sight of Bonnie Gold sheepishly smiling made her sigh softly. "Jesus, I thought you were a bear..." Fawnie made sure to speak lowly as the children were strangely agile and good at keeping quiet.

"Bears sleep at night," Bonnie replied and Fawnie could hear the grin in his voice. He always was wearing a smile and it filled Fawn with warmth. She's grown to find comfort in Bon's presence despite hardly knowing him. "You okay?"

"Yea, why?"

"You're not breathing." How Bonnie had noticed Fawnie holding in her breath was beyond her, she hadn't even noticed. After a moment of silence, Bonnie's voice picked up once more, "Sorry, that was weird..."

Fawnie shrugged, "S'okay... it's sort of nice that you notice things about me." That was both a true statement and a blatant lie. Fawnie hated how Bonnie seemed to pick up on her unintentional tells. How she likes her tea warm — not hot, the fact that she tends to bite her nails a lot — typically without even thinking, the way Fawnie sometimes forgets to breathe, or how her shoulders sag a bit when she's tired...

It was sweet, Fawn wouldn't lie, a boy noticing things about her... but it bothered Fawn how obvious she was about things she thought no one would ever care to see. "I find you easy to watch..." Bonnie stopped speaking before rushing his next words, "But not in a creepy way... in more of a... fuck — what's the word?"

"Interesting?" Fawnie tried, "Intriguing... uh, maybe like a science experiment?"

Bonnie chuckled as he shook his head, his brown eyes finding Fawnie's eyes in the dark. The moon was shining brightly, but only a ray shined on Bonnie's pale face. "No, you're not a science experiment. I dunno how to explain it, you move... strangely. Like you're walking on nails but tryin' not to hurt yourself."

She gulped loudly, Bon was quite literally spot on. She wanted to ask him how he knew her so well, without even having a long conversation, how he managed to pick up on so many things but Fawnie couldn't find the words. "At least I'm not Bonnie the Bear, eh?"

"Oh, that would be horrible..." A leaf crunched and their eyes met once more, only this time, they were far wider. "Shh..." Fawnie nodded in agreement as they lowered themselves into a crouching position to hide easily.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" The sound of Florence's voice made Fawnie cough. She cringed into Bonnie's side and somehow his arm wound up around her shoulder. They waited in the dark for the youngster to find them, after what felt like an hour... everything fell silent.

Fawn leaned away from Bon's warm embrace, "I think Flo's gone," He nodded his head, "Maybe we should head back? Michael's going to think I've run off to shag someone."

A bright blush covered Bonnie's cheeks and Fawnie found herself smiling at the sight, "I think you're right, I wouldn't want to give him another reason to kill me in my sleep."

"You're quite the dramatic, Mr. Gold." She held back a laugh but allowed herself to smile as the pair made their way back to the camp. For some reason, Fawn trusted that Bonnie knew the way back and just allowed him to lead the way.

"I try my best, Ms. Shelby."

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

Um,,, I love y'all?? LIKE HOW IN T H E WORLD DID THIS BOOK GET TO 13,000+ SO FAST? That literally means the world, like no joke. It helps motivate me and keep me writing. So, thank you sm <333 Also,,, uh,,, my babies flirted some more and I?? LOVE?? IT??