"Why is it so cold in here?" Troy pretended to shiver. It was a languid Saturday, and he and Evelyn were laid in her bed, him on his back and Evelyn on her stomach. Evelyn was occupying her time by sketching in her super-secret-notebook. She wasn't even that good at drawing, she just needed a way to not have to deal with the boy laying beside her.

"Ev," he whined, "why are you ignoring me?"

"I'm not ignoring you," she responded quietly, not sparing him a glance.

"Then why aren't you talking to me?" he turned onto his side to face her.

Evelyn sighed as she fought the urge to scoot all the way to edge of the bed. She was very aware of the way Troy had been getting so physically close to her recently. "I don't know, just tired."

"You're always tired, Ev. You need to get more sleep," Evelyn looked over at him to see that he was even closer than she thought he was.

"I'll be okay," she dismissed, turning her attention back to her messy drawing to try and calm herself down.

"Just looking out for you," he reached over to brush his fingers through her hair. It felt endearing.

Evelyn's heart began to race. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like i'm doing?" Troy chuckled. Evelyn didn't respond. It wasn't the touch itself that bothered her, she was actually pretty pleased, it was who was touching her that made her feel uneasy. She had so many doubts about Troy, despite all the scoldings she'd received from her sister. She felt the sudden urge to throw up as her "companion" continued to gently brush through her dark hair.

'I should stop this,' she thought to herself. As if Troy could read her mind, his hand untangled from her hair. Evelyn sighed in relief, happy that he was finally away from her. This didn't last long though. Just a few moments later, she felt his arms wrap around her frame, flip her over, and pull her in.

All of Evelyn's muscles tensed up as Troy buried his face into her shoulder. "This is better," he grumbled into her skin, "much better."

     "I can get you another blanket if you're this cold," Evelyn laid stiff in his arms.

"Nah, I'm good like this."

"Okay then."

They were like that for a little while. They sat quietly, neither really knowing what to say next. It was awkward and the two were both pretty inexperienced. Unsurprisingly, it was Troy who ultimately broke the silence. "Where's the necklace?" he asked, lifting his head to get a better look at her neck.

"It's on my nightstand," she told him. Her brain was way too scrambled from all the different thoughts running around her head. Her eyes stayed fixed on the wall and she felt Troy reach for the gift he'd given her. She was very disappointed when his arms wrapped back around her waist after he put the necklace back on her, though she expected it.

"Keep it on. It's special— to us. And it looks nice on you," he complimented, slightly pinching the skin on her waist.

Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut. "Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"What is this?" her eyes began to sting. She couldn't take it anymore. "Why are you doing this?"

Troy stayed quiet for a moment. "What do you mean?" he asked, playing dumb. Evelyn knew that he knew exactly what she was implying.

"The sleepovers, the necklace, this," she gestured toward his arms. "Why? you don't really mean it, so why are you doing this to me?"

"Because it's fun," Troy shrugged and answered. he was quick to elaborate when he heard the girl huff. "I mean I have fun with you. You're my best friend after all."

Evelyn shut her eyes to avoid the tears that threatened to spill. "Stop it!" Troy listened to her voice break. His grip tightened around her and Evelyn couldn't really tell why. She noticed his breathing get harder and louder but again, she didn't know why.

"No," Troy chuckled. Evelyn's vision became blurred by the several tears that she couldn't hold in anymore. Troy moved them to where Evelyn was laying on her back and he laid on his side, still hovering above her. He used his left hand to wipe away the wetness on her cheeks. The act only made her want to cry more. "It's gonna take a lot to get you to trust me, isn't it?" he watched as she nodded with hooded eyes. "That's okay," he grinned, "this is your last week of school isn't it? We're gonna have the whole summer to ourselves!"

Evelyn opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it. "Whatever."

"Nap?" Troy suggested, trying his best to change the uncomfortable subject. Evelyn only nodded again and turned away. Troy wrapped his arms around her again and she didn't fight it.

a/n
another short chapter lol i'm
sorry. i just want to build
everything up correctly hahah.
hope you enjoyed :)
sorry for any mistakes i wrote
the first half while i was like
falling asleep
wc: 862
03.10.22