||Nineteen||

"Do you have everything with you?" Ian asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes," Devin whined impatiently.

"Are you sure? Did you forget your toilet bag? Because I remember-"

Devin sighed."Ian, stop."

Ian sucked in a deep breath. "Are you sure you want to do this alone?"

"I need to do it alone. I'm doing this for me."

Ian nodded stiffly. "All right."

Devin smiled a little and stood on the tip of his toes before pressing a small kiss on Ian's lips. "I'll be okay, don't worry."

"I'm not worrying."

Devin's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, and the sky is purple."

Ian grumbled under his breath.

"Will you be okay?" Devin asked him.

Ian nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Devin eyed him worriedly."I'm just asking."

Then he turned to me. "If he needs anything..."

"I'll help. I promise. Just...how long are you staying, again?"

"A week maximum. I need to catch up with a lot of people. If the plan changes you'll be the first to know," he said.

I smiled. "Good."

"Wait, what about me?" Ian asked.

"You'll be the second to know."

"I'm your boyfriend."

"You say that like I don't know it already." But Devin was smiling and pulling Ian closer to him so they were almost hugging.

I looked away once they started kissing and whispering to one another, my attention wandering towards other people in the airport.

Then a woman's voice rung out, echoing along the walls.

"That's my flight," Devin said, picking up his bags. "I guess I'll see you guys in a week."

He hugged Ian again, swiftly pecking him on the lips, before he flung his arms around me too.

I chuckled. "This reminds me of the first time you left."

Devin laughed too. "That was a long time ago."

I nodded. "Good luck with your parents. I hope everything goes well."

He suddenly looked a bit nervous. "That makes two of us."

"I'm sure things will be just fine," Ian said.

"You don't know my parents," Devin said.

"I know you. And that's enough for me."

Devin grinned, pulling Ian in one last hug before he walked away, leaving the two of us to stare after him.

I turned to him. "What now?"

Ian hummed thoughtfully."Are you in the mood for a burger or pizza? I can't make up my mind."

"I'm craving a burger."

"Burger it is."

~

The waiter left as soon as he took down our oder and Ian faced me almost instantly.

"Do you have any plans for the week?"

I eyed him skeptically. "No?"

"Was that an answer?"

"Yes?"

He chuckled, the corners of his his eyes wrinkling humorously. "Well, with Devin leaving the city, I think I'd like to hang out with you. Maybe we can get to know each other better."

"Don't you have friends?" I blurted out without thinking.

He raised his eyebrows, but smiled otherwise. "No. I've been too busy with school work to make any friends so far."

"Oh," I said for lack of better words.

"Do you mind showing me around the city this week?"

I frowned, until I remembered that he didn't live here his entire life like almost everyone else I knew. "Devin didn't do that already?"

"He tried to, but we got too distracted at one place and we ended up staying there longer than we should have."

"Okay," I said. "I have nothing better to do anyway."

He scoffed, but didn't object otherwise. "Are you ever going back to school?"

"Why would I?"

Ian lifted a shoulder and let it drop. "It just seems weird."

"In what way is it weird? I'm being homeschooled, that's normal."

"Yeah," he said. "But you're missing out on a lot of opportunities, don't you think?"

I pretended to think about it. "No, not really."

He smirked. "I tried."

"And you failed."

"Well, you don't have to rub it in like that."

I scrunched my nose in disgust, which caused Ian to burst out laughing.

He grinned. "You've got a dirty mind."

"So they say."

The waiter came by with our food and I practically shoved the burger in my mouth as soon as the plate hit the table top.

The waiter chuckled and I felt my face warm up before he left.

"He likes you," Ian said, amused.

I swallowed the food in my mouth before I asked, "Who?"

He chuckled. "The waiter."

I frowned, turning my head to glance back at the waiter, who was indeed glancing at me repeatedly with a smirk on his lips.

"Oh."

"You get that a lot, then?"

I shook my head. "No."

"You're kidding, right?" Ian genuinely sounded surprised.

I tore my gaze off the waiter to meet Ian's bemused expression. "No, I'm serious."

"I think you do, you just don't pay attention. Or maybe you're that oblivious."

I scoffed at his speculations. "I'm not oblivious."

Ian raised his hands in surrender, but the smirk on his lips said that he wasn't changing his mind anytime soon.

"Whatever," I muttered under my breath. "See, now you distracted me from my food."

Ian grinned mischievously. "What are you gonna do about it?"

I didn't offer any response but a glare in his direction.

"If looks could kill..."

"Are you always this annoying?" I snapped.

His eye brows shot up. "Are you always so defensive?"

"Only when you're around, apparently."

He chuckled.

"This isn't funny!"

He didn't stop laughing.

"Ian!"

"Okay. " He grinned. "I'm sorry. You may eat your burger in peace now."

I glared at him for a few more seconds before going back to devour my burger.

"Do you always eat so much?" he asked.

I shrugged, still chewing.

"Then how are you so skinny?"

I swallowed. "Fast metabolism?"

"Oh, you're that type."

I frowned. "What type?"

"The lucky type."

Before I could say anything, Ian picked up his burger and started eating it. By the time he swallowed his first bite, it was too late to say anything.

"I have work to do," I said, finishing the rest of my food.

"Work?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I have a job."

He seemed genuinely surprised. He even sat up straight and everything. "You do?"

"Yes," I said slowly like I was speaking to a child.

"Why? Aren't your parents rich or something?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So shouldn't you not have job? Actually, shouldn't you be in some private school somewhere, like a boarding school?"

"That's a stereotype."

He shrugged. "Well?"

"Are you always this nosy?"

"I don't know. Don't you think it could be because of you that I'm asking all those questions?"

"No, because that wouldn't make sense."

He scoffed. "Really? So the fact that you're rich-"

"My parents are rich. There's a difference."

He brushed me off. "So the fact that your parents are rich yet you don't go to school, you have a job, and you're not that stuck up doesn't sound interesting to you?"

"No, it doesn't."

"You're stubborn."

"I get that a lot."

"It is interesting to me anyway," he said, popping a fry in his mouth.

"Why?"

He shrugged. "It's not something you hear everyday. You didn't answer my question, by the way."

I frowned.

"Why do you have a job?"

I sighed. "Because one day I got bored, surfed through the internet, and found a job offer that sounded fun. So I applied and got the job."

"Oh," he sounded a bit disappointed like he was expecting something more. "What is it?"

"My job?"

He nodded.

"I design graphics for companies."

His eyebrows rose up again. "Doesn't that job require experience?"

"Yeah, the kind that I have. I always liked using the computer so naturally I stumbled on a lot of design softwares and slowly learned on my own. With the help of a few Youtube videos. It's kind of a hobby."

He smiled. "That's cool."

I shrugged.

"I asked you once what you wanted to study later on and you said you didn't know. Why didn't you just say graphic design?"

I wiggled in my seat as I played with the hem on my shirt. "I'm not that good."

"But you said companies hire you."

"Yeah, I guess."

He blinked at me and regarded me like I was a whole different person. "I'm pretty sure you have enough talent to turn that into a career."

"You haven't even seen my work."

"Can I?"

I blinked. "What?"

He smirked. "Can I see your work?"

I flushed.

I've never shown anyone my work before.

"Um, okay. But only if you stop calling me Mr. Lone Boy."

He frowned for a second before a smile spread across his face. "I can't promise that."

"Why not?" I glared.

"Because you're fun to tease. But okay, I really want to see your work so how about I stop calling you Mr. Lone Boy for a week?"

Devin would be back in a week, and after that it'd be pretty easy to avoid Ian, I thought.

"Deal," I said.

"Great. Let's go," he said, wiping his fingers against a napkin.

"Right now?"

"Yeah, you're done with your burger, right?"

I glanced down at my burger. Only crumbs remained on my plate.

I nodded and drew out some money as Ian did the same. We left the cash on the table and headed towards the exit.

"We'll drive separately, I'll follow behind you incase I get lost," Ian said.

I nodded in agreement. Ian and Devin drive to the airport together whereas I had to meet them there earlier on that day.

We got into our separate cars, backing out of the driveway and out the unnecessarily large parking space.

I could see a sliver of Ian's form through my car's rear-view mirror. His car was just a small distance away from mine as we zoomed past other cars and rounded the streets in unison.

At some point we simultaneously began a car race when we got to an empty street, and I found my self laughing in the car on my own as I pressed my foot harder against the gas pedal.

Soon enough, we got to the apartment building and climbed out of our cars.

Ian grinned, his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he walked over to me.

Somehow I found enough joy inside of me to smile back.

"Maybe this time you can give me a tour?" Ian suggested as we stepped into the building's enveloping warmth.

I flushed, running my fingers through my hair. "Yeah, sorry about that."

He smiled. "It's okay. We had more important subjects to discuss."

I nodded. "Right."

We got in the elevator and I tapped my hand against my thigh impatiently. Other than me and Ian, the elevator was unoccupied, which made the awkward elevator music even more awkward.

Or at least it did to me, Ian still had that relaxed smile on his face.

I watched as he stood with his hands still in his pockets, his green eyes scanning a few formal documents stuck on the elevator's walls.

"Did it hurt?" I blurted out without notice.

He turned to me. "Did what hurt?"

Playing with the sleeves of my jacket I gestured at the piercing on his ear, which seemed to glitter under the elevator's fluorescent lighting.

"Oh." Ian smiled. "No, not really. The other one I have hurt a lot more."

I frowned. "Which other one?"

He smirked. "You can't see it now since I have my clothes on."

I felt all the heat of my body rush to my neck and face. "Gross."

He chuckled. "Just messing with you."

I let out a breath of relief. "Good. That was too...too..."

"Too much information?"

I nodded my head.

The elevator slid open and we stepped out together. I led us both to my apartment door which I unlocked and welcomed Ian through.

As soon as the door swung back closed, the dog came pouncing over towards the two of us.

Ian bent down with a smile on his face and gently approached the dog with a stretched out hand, he pet the dog gently, and the dog didn't seem to resist.

"He likes you," I announced, going the two of them on the floor.

"I love dogs," Ian said, scratching the dog's belly after he rolled over.

I smiled before I caught myself and instantly stood up.

Ian glanced at me curiously but I ignored him and rushed to the kitchen.

"Tea?" I called to Ian.

"Sure," he said, "I don't mind whatever type."

I scourged through the shelves and picked a box at random before pulling out the needed ingredients and started making the tea.

I brought out the trey with the two tea cups as I walked towards the living room area. Ian was already seated on the couch when I placed the trey on the coffee table.

He instantly stretched out a hand to grab a cup.

"Careful," I said. "It's hot."

Ian smiled with a nod of his head. "Thanks."

I sat at the other end of the couch and watched as he gently picked up the cup and blew at the steam.

Then I pulled out my phone to check the time.

"I should start on my work," I said.

"Oh, do you want me to wait or how do you want to do this?"

I was a little taken back with his question but brushed the feeling off.

"You can watch me work, then I can show you all my other stuff."

He nodded. "Alright. Sounds like a plan."

I moved the trey over to my desk and pulled another chair over so Ian could sit beside me.

He continued to cradle his teacup, occasionally blowing at the steam before finally taking a careful sip.

"This is good," he said as I logged in and typed my password out.

I glanced at him quickly to see if he was serious before turning back to the screen. "Thanks. I've had a lot of practice."

Ian appeared amused at my statement, but didn't comment otherwise.

Eventually, I navigated through my computer and found the emails I needed to start my work.

"What are you doing now?" Ian asked.

I looked up, forgetting he was there for a second.

"Oh, I'm checking the requirements," I said.

I pointed at the list the company attached to the email.

"Oh," Ian said. "Then what?"

"Then I pull out the software," I said. "And start cracking at those graphics."

Ian leaned back in his chair and watched as I started editing photos, placing them together, designing them to look original.

Soon, I picked up my own cup of tea and drank a few sips as I forgot everything else.

My fingers clicked away at the keyboard and mouse, enlarging photos, making them looks smaller, using filters on those that needed them. I lost track of time once again. I lost myself in my work and went through email after email until my eyes ached and my fingers crammed up.

Finally, I managed to pull myself away from my computer screen and I yawned, stretching my arms out.

My hand hit something hard and I jumped in my seat.

"Oh, I forgot you were here," I blurted out.

He smiled. "That's okay."

I yawned again. It wasn't that late, but I spent so many hours staring at the computer screen that it might as well have been midnight. "Do you still want to see my other work?"

He chuckled. "I got the gist of it. Nate, you're beyond talented."

I flushed at his praise, not used to it. "Oh."

He stood from his seat, still smiling. "You should get some rest. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, okay."

I walked him to the door and we said goodbye, and I finally shut the door behind him.

I rubbed at my eyes sleepily and was about to drag myself to bed when the doorbell rang again.

Pulling the door open I thought it had to be Ian, maybe he left something behind.

But the door revealed a familiar face that wasn't Ian's.

One I hadn't seen in along time.

I pulled a fake smile. "Hello, Mom."

Hiii!

I'm sleepy all the time now, I have no idea why but yeah. I'm sleepy right now actually, so if I start saying crazy stuff...oops.

Question (seriously running out of those, wth): what's your favorite food?

What? I'm hungry xp

Bye!