| 08 |

~ Banks Woods ~

"Okay, I'm gonna have you to be honest with me." I sigh, twirling a strand of my hair around my finger.

"Mhm." Caleb hums, busy typing on his phone.

"How do I look?" I finally turn around, showing him my face.

He doesn't look up right away, taking his sweet time to text whoever he's texting—which is weird since he has no friends. So who is he texting?

He finally glances up. His mouth drops open as he gazes at my face. I hold my breath, waiting for him to say something as he gapes at me.

Then he bursts out laughing. 

My nervousness dies down at the sound of his shrill laughter.

"What?" I snap.

"You...you look...you look so...stupid." He wheezes, clutching his stomach as he nearly falls off the couch.

"Caleb!" I throw a pillow at him.

It hits his face which causes him to lose balance and he does tumble off the couch. He still doesn't stop laughing though.

"Oh my god..." he wheezes, before clutching his back. "Ouch. Hurts. Bahahaha!" Tears nearly leak out of his eyes.

"Okay fine! So I don't know how to do this stupid makeup!" I throw the old lipstick onto our small dining table. "How do I fix this though?"

I turn back towards the mirror hung on the wall, looking at the light shade of lipstick that doesn't suit my skin at all. I tried using it as a blush but it makes me look like a cartoon character pressed up against a glass pane. I tried applying mascara but it spilled slightly, making my eyelashes look horrendously thick and clumpy.

"Wipe it off before I piss myself." Caleb gasps, still wheezing on the floor.

"Dick," I mutter, rolling my eyes.

I head towards the bathroom to wash it all off.

Lance said he'd pick me up within two hours. I've been nervous and jittery the whole time. Caleb gave him my number without telling me and since then Lance doesn't hesitate to text me anytime he wishes.

He told me to dress casually which I'm thankful for since I don't own anything fancy.

All my clothes are pretty plain so I tried making my face look different with makeup but I suck at it.

After washing my face, I walk back into the living room. Caleb is still on the floor, staring at his screen as he texts someone.

I furrow my eyebrows, wiping my face with a towel. "Who are you texting?"

His head snaps up, and he discreetly tries to move out of the chat, closing his phone. "Uh, no one."

I narrow my eyes. "No one?"

He nods, pushing his phone under his back.

I tilt my head. "Is it a girl?"

His face turns pink. "Uh, no."

I shake my head. "You don't have to lie to me. Since when are you talking to her?"

"It's no one, Banks," Caleb says, forcefully.

I roll my eyes. "Fine. Keep her a secret if you want. I don't want anyone inside my house though, and I better not see you sneaking out in the middle of the night." I warn, pointing a finger at him.

His face turns an even darker shade. "It's nothing like that!"

"Whatever." I look back into the mirror. "What am I supposed to do with this?" I sigh, gesturing towards my face. I look exhausted as fuck. Weariness pulls my face down. There's a shadow on my face, making me look dull.

"Let me see." Caleb hops up, moving towards me. He grabs my chin to look at my face to which I slap his hand away with a glare.

He observes my face before, picking up my only tube of mascara and twisting it open.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna try doing your makeup."

"Oh hell no!"

"Just let me try. I've seen girls at my school doing this a billion times. I think I've got it."

"Caleb, I've seen men pissing at the walls in public a million times. Doesn't mean I've got it."

He scrunches his face in disgust. "How the fuck does that relate to makeup?"

I try snatching the mascara away but he holds it out of my reach.

"Just let me try once! You can wash it off if you don't like it."

After arguing for two minutes, I finally flop down on a chair with a defeated sigh.

"Fine. But if you laugh, I'm kicking your ass." I warn.

He gestures at me to shut up and look at him.

"Okay, so normally whenever the girls are putting mascara on each other they tell them to look at their nose. Look at my nose, I guess."

I look at his nose.

"You have a booger hanging from your nose," I say.

He swipes at his nose but gives me a flat look when he realizes I'm joking.

He grabs my chin to steady my face before bringing the wand closer to my eyes.

"Don't poke my eye."   

"Stop tempting me."

"Caleb, I swear to god—"

"Look at my nose!" He snaps.

I glare.

He brings the wand to my eyes and I force myself to remain still as he brushes it gently across my lashes. His face is so close to me, that I can smell his disgusting breath.

"Stop breathing into my eye," I say.

"Hold still." His eyes are focused intently on mine as if he's trying to find the cure for cancer in them. "Don't blink."

"Well then stop breathing into my eye!"

"Dammnit, Banks. Shut up."

"Don't tell me to shut up."

He moves to another eye after he's done with the first.

I remain still as he glides the wand up my eyelashes, nudging the hairs a little with his finger to probably proper them.

Finally, he moves back, releasing a gush of breath. "There. Done." He observes my face, nodding with his lips pulled together. "Not bad. It looks good."

I turn to look towards the mirror. My eyebrows rise when I see it actually does look good.

"I can't believe you did this."

"I can't believe it either. Watch out, James Charles! I'm coming for you!"

"Who?"

"James Charles." He repeats.

"Who's he?"

"Banks, I know you're old but please don't be that old."

"Shut up."

"You don't need to put on lipstick." He picks up my lipstick, putting it away. "I think mascara is enough."

"Really?" I look at my face. "I look exhausted as fuck."

He shrugs. "I'm not complimenting you or something, but you look fine."

"Sounds like a compliment to me."

"You're still ugly as fuck so shut up."

I slap his shoulder.

"Kaylee will be here to watch over you." I remind him.

"I can take care of myself, you know?"

"Oh yeah." I roll my eyes. "You so can."

"I really can, Banks." A serious look comes on his face. "I'm big enough now. I can handle being home alone."

"Sure." I pat his head.

"Banks, I'm serious."

"Kaylee is still babysitting you. End of discussion."

He sits on the couch with an angry stubborn look.

"Don't be a child." I coo.

"You don't trust me enough." He scowls.

"Oh come on. I want to make sure nothing happens while I'm gone."

"See, you don't trust me that I'm responsible enough to care after myself." He accuses.

"Because you're not responsible."

"How would you know if you never give me a chance to prove it?"

"Caleb, stop being a baby."

"You stop being so protective."

I pause when I see the pure annoyance on his face.

I furrow my eyebrows. "Is something up?"

He opens his mouth with a determined look but shakes his head, deflating. "Nothing. Are you and Lance going to...er, kiss?"

My cheeks flame. "That's none of your goddamn business." I throw another pillow at him that hits his face.

"I'm just asking. I don't want to become an uncle this young. Even though, I'd be the coolest uncle of all time."

"Caleb, shut the fuck up."

Will Lance want to kiss tonight? That'll be weird. It's been only a few weeks since I've known him. What if he forces me to kiss him? Wait, no. He won't do that. I trust him that much. Right?

A knock sounds on the door and I nearly jump.

"Open up, girlies!" Relief floods through me at Kaylee's voice.

Caleb opens the door and she rushes in, carrying a huge duffel bag.

"Where's my girl? Where is she?" She looks around until her eyes land on me. "There you are! Fuck, what are you wearing?"

Nervousness kicks into me. "Lance said to dress casual." I tug my plain black t-shirt down my hips over my blue jeans.

"Honey, you're going on a date. Not to work. Good thing my female intuition kicked in and I bought you an outfit."

"You bought me an outfit?" My eyes widen.

"Well, it's more like I got curvy as fuck and my fifteen-year-old clothes don't fit me anymore." She walks over to me, grabs my hand and drags me into the only tiny bedroom in the house that belongs to Caleb. "And let's do something about the dark circles too, hmm?"

●・○・●・○・●

Soon, Kaylee has me dressed in one of her dark blue graphic t-shirts. She even got me a pair of black ripped jeans that surprisingly fit over my long-ish legs. I shrug on a leather jacket that feels comfortable and smells nice.

"Now, that's casual and badass." She comments, taking a final look. "Leave your hair open, and let's put some concealer under those eyes."

"You know, this doesn't really matter. Lance has already seen me drenched, looking like a rat." I say as she makes me sit on Caleb's creaky bed, grabbing my chin to inspect my face.

"But it still feels great to dress up, doesn't it?" She replies, uncapping a concealer bottle. "It's a good thing I took precaution and bought your shade a long time back, or else you would've looked like you came from some tribe if you used mine." She laughs, probably picturing my face while she dabs under my eyes.

I roll my eyes.

She then applies a dark shade of red lipstick that suits my skin much better than the previous one.

"There. All done." She backs up to stare at me. Pride shines in her eyes. "Now be good and don't yell at him if he accidentally breathes too loud."

"You and Caleb think I'm some monster," I grumble, standing up.

"Honey, I've seen you lose your temper and chase three guys with Caleb's baseball bat."

"Those pricks deserved it."

"Whatever, just remember to be chill and let go. Be a little less uptight, alright?"

"Banks!" Caleb yells from outside. "Someone is knocking on the door! I would've opened it but apparently, I'm too irresponsible to be opening doors for strangers!" 

Shit. I thought he would text me to come down. I didn't expect him to come to my door! How did he even know my flat number?

"Coming!"

Walking out of the room, I move towards the door. Taking in a deep breath to calm my nerves, I open it. My heart drops to my stomach. Lance's tall figure fills my vision as he smiles down at me. Every word dies on my tongue as I stare up at him with wide eyes.

"I thought you'd text me."

"I did but you didn't reply so I had to ask someone." He replies. Then his smile widens. "You look so pret...I mean you look—you look fine. Yeah, I wasn't going to compliment you, I promise." He holds up his hands in defence.

I stare at him in confusion, then it hits me.

'You are not allowed to call me pretty or beautiful again. I don't want to hear those words from your mouth ever again. Got it?'

Oh.

"Lance!" Caleb yells behind me, holding up his hand in a 'wassup' manner.

"Hey. Oh hey Kaylee, you're here too." He grins at them.

"Don't kiss my sister. I'm not in the mood to carry babies."

"Shut up, Caleb." I grit.

Lance chuckles. "Don't worry about that."

Don't worry about that? What does he mean?

"Ew, are you both going to hold hands?" Caleb makes a disgusted face. "Wait, are you both going to dance or some shit? Super Ew. Banks can't dance, by the way. She tripped and fell into a bucket of grapes—"

I slam the door shut behind me, cutting off his voice.

"Bucket of grapes?" Lance laughs.

"There was a festival and I wasn't dancing, I was—" My words evaporate when I realize how close I'm standing to him. While closing the door, I pushed myself into Lance's space and he didn't bother to move back, looking down at me with those lively blue eyes.

"You were?" He nods at me to continue.

I shake my head, trying my hardest not to pay attention to his scent. It's a damn good scent. Something woodsy and strong.

Before I can reply, the door opens behind me, almost making me lose my balance.

Kaylee and Caleb pop up on the threshold. "Have fun!" They chorus together.

"Remember to behave both of you. And Kaylee?"

"Yes?"

"My brother is still too young so shut the fuck up about your fantasies."

She scowls at me. "What do you take me for? I know what to filter out in front of kids."

"Didn't seem that way at the Carnival."

"It's called early education."

I sigh.

"Don't worry. I already know everything about sex and kinks." Caleb grins.

"Caleb!" I gasp.

"Oops." His face drops.

I glare at him and he quickly urges Kaylee to shut the door.

"Idiot," I mutter under my breath, staring at the closed door.

Lance's chuckle pulls my attention. "I like him. He's funny."

"You can take him if you want." I deadpan.

"I heard that!" Caleb's muffled voice comes through the door. "Also, I like you too, dude!"

Lance laughs.

"Let's go." Shaking my head, we walk towards the elevator and go down.  

I don't know what to expect when Lance holds his car door open for me. It's been a long time since I've been out with a man. His car smells like cologne and spices and something sweet. He keeps it tidy because it's shining.

"Where are we going?" I ask when he enters the car, filling up the space so much that I can feel his heat seep through my jacket and send tingles down my spine.

"It's a surprise."

I move to put on my seatbelt and notice the slight tremor in my hands as I click it in. I rub my palms over my thighs, blowing out a gentle breath.

It's fine. It's just one harmless date with a man. After three years. After being extensively abused by my ex. After giving up on everything—

I shut off all negative thoughts, willing myself to focus on the present. The past doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't. It really doesn't. I'm not going to let the dam on my bad memories explode anytime soon.

I focus on the road, trying to figure out where we're going.

"Are we going to an arcade or something?" I ask.

"We're going to a place I can't tell you about right now because it's a surprise."

I glance at him to see an amused smile on his lips.

He has one hand on the steering wheel. The other one on the gear. His posture is relaxed, the epitome of cool and laid back as if he has no worries or anxieties. He's wearing a simple white t-shirt and dark jeans that look fitting and tone his defined muscles.

"Is it one of those secret gardens where you set up fairy lights and a picnic?"

His smile drops. He shoots a glance at me. "You wanted that?"

"Is that where we're going?"

"Uh, no."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Good."

I don't think I can handle something that romantic. A secret picnic in the middle of nowhere would be too...overwhelming.

"Thank God," Lance whispers. "I would've messed up big time if that's what you wanted."

"So where are we—"

"It's a surpriseee." He sings, drawling out his voice.

I roll my eyes. "Fine."

He glances at me. "You look really pret—I mean—don't you think I look really pretty?"

"What...?"

He squeezes his eyes shut. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" He mutters to himself before shaking his head. "Ignore that."

I blink.

"So it's just you and Caleb at home?"

I nod. "Yup."

"And your parents were shitty?"

I nod again. "Yup. They weren't abusive or anything. They were just...overbearing."

He raises an eyebrow. "Like?"

I open my mouth but pause, not sure how much to say and how much to keep inside. I can't reply with a 'Nothing. Nevermind' and go back to being silent. After all Lance did, he doesn't deserve a silent half-dead date.

"They focused a lot on what others thought. If I got mud on my clothes, they'd go 'What will other parents think? They're going to say we raised unhygienic kids'. If I ate too much, my mom would make me run because she didn't want others to point out that she was neglecting her kid's nutrition. It was always stuff like that growing up."

He exhales through his mouth. "Must've been exhausting."

"It was. I'm not really sad that they died—wait, that came out wrong." My eyes widen in horror.

He shrugs though. "It's alright. I get you."

"I'm just glad that me and Caleb don't have to go through the verbal abuse anymore." I clear my throat. "Any parental pressure from your side?"

"Nah, not really. The only pressure my parents put on me was to keep my mouth shut. I had the habit of spilling everyone's secrets to everyone when I was young. Once I told my sister's friends that I caught my dad sneaking in a box of balloons into his room—they were condoms."

A smile comes on my face. "I can imagine you doing that."

"My sister used to snap at me all the time to shut the hell up. Kinda like how you are with Caleb."

"So you're the youngest child?"

"Yup."

"Explains so much about you."

"Hey, we younger ones rock. You elders are the ones who take everything too seriously."

"Sometimes we have no choice but to take everything seriously." I trace a pattern on my thigh. "Sometimes life doesn't give us the chance to take things easy."

He grows silent at that.

After a while, he speaks again. "My sister regretted not living her life how she wanted. She was the shy one. Always nervous and jittery even though she so badly wanted to talk to new people. She's more like a shy extrovert."

The way Lance talks about her...'was'? Is she not present anymore?

"I was the one who always did the talking for her. If we went out, I would order, or ask for directions. She even made me talk to this guy that she liked but was too anxious to talk to. What I'm saying is, life is hard, for every single person, but the main thing is to die without any regrets."

"This is an...unexpected therapy session. How much am I supposed to pay you?"

"First session is always free." He winks. "I'm serious though." He taps the steering wheel with his index finger. "Life is too short. Way too short. Do everything you want to do before your time runs out."

"Is that why you were so eager to get this date?"

"Yup." He nods, shooting me a boyish smile. "I don't want my chances to go down the drain just because I didn't give it my best." 

"What if sometimes you don't have the resources or the money to do everything that you want?" I ask, bitterly.

"What do you want to do?"

Draw.

The word immediately comes to mind. Since I was young, I loved drawing imaginary scenarios to escape the ones in reality. I tried painting but figured I was horrible at that. Sketching and drawing came easily to me. The way my mind carries my hand to draw the unrealistic pictures, the ones I could never live, always interested me.

Drawing is something personal to me. I don't know why I don't want anyone else to know—not even Caleb. He saw my drawings when we were younger but always thought they were school projects.

Don't every one of us have a personal comfort that we don't want to share with anyone else?

For some people, it's reading because they love travelling to another world to escape the real one. For some people, it's dancing because they love forgetting about their worries and living different moments all in a single tune.

"Studying," I tell Lance. It's not exactly a lie. I do want to study too. The experience of being a student is something I crave.

"You can study online without having to join a university. Castle is doing that."

It's so easy for him to say it like that. I can do that but then when will I have the time to work? To earn money for rent and groceries and raise a growing boy?

Explaining that to Lance is useless, because he'll not get it. Life is easy for people like him who have great parents. I'm not blaming anyone here. I'm only saying that some people are born lucky and some are not.

"Okay, yeah, you didn't ask for a therapy session," Lance says when I remain quiet for too long. "Let's change the subject. How could you ever hate cats?"

"How can you love them?" I narrow my eyes. "They're sneaky and hold grudges and are always scheming evil things."

He takes his eyes off the road to blink at me. "What fucking cat did you interact with?"

"My aunt's."

"Wait until you meet my cat."

I scoff. "I'm not meeting any cat."

"Oh come on. Just because one cat did you wrong, doesn't mean all cats are the same."

"I'm not meeting your cat."

"My cat is the sweetest, the gentlest creature you'll ever see."

"No cats," I say, stubbornly.

He blows out a breath, "Let's keep this discussion for later, otherwise I'll change my mind and drive us to my house to meet my cat."

I shrug, unapologetically.

The rest of the ride is surprisingly comfortable. Lance is a big talker and doesn't let a single moment go by in awkwardness. Even if I don't say much, he fills in the silence without making himself sound annoying.

The buzzing city and tall buildings reduce to old houses and closed-down shops. I check the time to see it's been thirty minutes. Where is he taking me this far?

As a precaution, I open my phone and share my location with Kaylee.

A few minutes later, we're parking on a gravelly road with several other cars around us. I peer outside but can't make out where we are. There's a huge sign ahead held by two poles. It looks like an entrance where people are walking underneath it into an even open space.

I scrunch my eyebrows. "Where are we?"

"Come along and find out." Saying that, Lance flashes me a mischievous grin, clicking open his seatbelt.

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Heyyy, how are you guys doing? Hope everything is well and alright!

I hope the pace of the story is to your liking and nothing seems too slow or too fast <3 Feel free to correct any typos and grammar mistakes, because I seem to be making a lot of those and don't even realize it!

Words: 3,800

Date of publishing: 29th May 2024