04

Asʜᴇʀ Mɪʟʟᴇʀ

There are just times when life doesn't feel real. Like, dude, how the fuck is this 'old frowning woman' Gwen Evans coming to have lunch with me right now?

"How are we going?" She asked. Wait a second—

"What do you mean 'how'?" I inquired. She looked at me with her eyebrows raised and let out a scoff in disbelief.

"Don't tell me you were gonna take me to the school cafeteria for lunch."

That was the plan?

I just looked at her which gave her the answer. "It's okay, but we're going out." She said as she walks away. I've never seen this side of her. I'm kinda impressed.

"What about school, though?" I asked.

"Fuck school!" She called out as she walked out into the school parking lot.

"You're filled with surprises, Munchkin." I whispered under my breath before following her out.

"Which one is your car here?" She asked as we came out.

"Do I really look like someone who drives a car?" I scoffed looking at her.

"Yes—"

"No is the right answer, you're right."

She rolled her eyes and followed me as I went forward for our ride. There's my baby.

"This is our ride." I said, pointing to my Indian motorcycle parked like a king.

She stared at it with wide eyes and looked back at me. "This is cool." she said.

"I know." I said proudly. I fucking love my motorcycle. I really don't know what I would do without it. A guy once tried to steal it at a gas station, I remember head butting him so hard that it backfired and I got a bump on my head, my dad scolded me for that. But I saved my bike so it's a win-win.

I sat on my bike, wearing my helmet, taking it out of the parking. "Sit." I instructed her. She didn't really argue about my ordering tone this time. Just yesterday, she full-on yelled at me when I told her to stop glaring at everyone. She said something along the lines of 'don't fucking tell me what to do' and 'fucking asshole'. But it's okay because she's cute when she's angry, which means she's cute all the time.

She sat behind me on the seat.

"You should hold onto me, unless you want to fall off." I said. I can't see her face but she definitely rolled her eyes before putting her hands on my shoulders. Success.

I started the bike, the engine coming to life as the motorcycle started moving, causing her to grip my shoulders harder and jerk forward a bit so her breath was on the back of my neck. Her soft exhales teasing my bare skin.

"Fucking hell." I breathed, as my eyes focused on the road ahead of me. She didn't move back so she kept breathing down my neck. Was she purposefully trying to kill me or something?

The road was rather empty due to the moist weather so I increased the speed suddenly. Her hands left my shoulders and hugged my waist in panic. She rested her head in the back of my neck, clutching my shirt and holding onto me for dear life.

Now we're talking.

"Are you totally out of your mind?!" She shouted over the heavy air.

"I kind of am! Now where do you want to go?!" I asked.

"I don't fucking know, just lower the damn speed!" She shouted, holding me more tight than before, if that's possible. And I was enjoying every second of it.

"I know a diner, It's always quiet! You'd like it there!" I told her before increasing the speed more to give her a heart attack and— "ow" She hit me. Okay I deserve it. At least she's still sticking onto me.

"My hair's all over my face!"

"Tie it up then, I guess, or I can do it for you!"

Another smack to the head.

A car catches up to us and I looked at my side to see a guy in the passenger seat eyeing Munchkin who was clinging onto me with her eyes clenched shut. He looks at me and smirks knowingly, raising his eyebrows. I nodded, smiling, to confirm his assumption. He chuckles before I pass him. This oblivious girl behind me doesn't even know what happened.

We eventually reach our destination and the motorcycle came to a halt. I removed my helmet and looked down, only to see Wendy's hands still tightly wrapped around my torso from behind.

"We're here, Munchkin." I informed her. She suddenly unlatches her hands from me, coming back to her senses.

"I know." She growls like a cute little lion cub and gets off the bike.

We started making our way inside the diner. It was quiet as usual, no one was sitting there except for a middle-aged man. We picked the seat by the window since she loves sitting there for god knows what. A waitress who I see here all the time walks towards us.

"Hey guys, what would you like to have?" She asked politely. We gave her our orders and she went back.

"You know, there was once a guy I knew who let people slap him for 2 dollars." I told Munchkin.

"Really?" She scoffed.

"Yeah, but he stopped when a very frustrated divorced man punched him so hard in the face that a tooth came out of his mouth."

I looked up when I got no response, she stared at me for a good few seconds before she bursted out laughing.

Oh my god, it can laugh.

"Looks like she can laugh after all." I commented.

"Shut up." She says, still laughing lightly. She has no idea how much beautiful she looks when she's laughing like that. I wish I could just listen to her laugh on repeat.

Why am I talking like Kaz Brekker?

I made small conversation as the waitress arrived at our table with our food. It wasn't long when we finished our lunch since we both were hungry, and paid.

"Okay, Munchkin, I have an idea." I said as I eyed the middle-aged man still sitting alone in his seat.

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"When I start screaming, you have to point at that man, playing along, and then we run."

"I'm not doing that."

"Oh shut up, Munchkin, live a little."

I turn my head to the man as we both stood up. "Oh lord! What is that?!" I started shouting, pointing at the man. I heard a shriek beside me and saw her pointing her finger at him in panic, playing along.

"Dear lord! What?!" The man jumped in fright. Gwen and I didn't stop screaming as I took her hand and bolted out of the diner. We both ran to my motorcycle as I sat on it with her behind me, not caring to put on the helmet before starting the engine and turning the bike to get out of there.

From the corner of my eye, I saw our victim running out of the diner, who looked extremely pissed. "We're extremely sorry!" She shouted because of the distance as we were now out on the road.

We were both a laughing mess as we switched to the road. "That was awesome!" She shrieked.

"I know, right?" I said.

"So, where are we going now? Home?" I asked her.

"No, not home. I'm having fun." She answered, a glint of happiness in her voice, holding onto my waist not too tightly this time.

"I know a place." She said and started giving me directions on where to go and I obliged. I just hope she isn't taking me somewhere to kill me. Maybe she kills people when she's happy. Maybe she's a psychopath. But she's cute so whatever I guess.

We were in a comfortable silence the whole way, until she told me to stop somewhere. I stopped the motorcycle at the side of the road as she basically jumped up and got off. I also got off and followed her as she ran off to the empty fields there.I followed her and she stopped at a certain field.

A field of sunflowers.

"I come here when I want to get away with everything, and that's like most of the time." She chuckles, but I was just too busy admiring her. Her smile, her choices, her everything. "This is my favourite place."

She brought me to her favourite place.

"It's beautiful." I said, "so you like sunflowers?" I ask her.

"Like is an understatement. I love sunflowers. There are just so many beautiful things about them, and they look pretty." She explains as she finds a vacant spot between the flowers and sits down there.

"What flowers do you like?" She asks.

"Roses. Red roses." I tell her as I sit down beside her. "They're just so pretty." She hums in agreement.

This scenario around me makes me think about the Sunflower song by Harry Styles. "You know what I'm thinking about?" I say.

She looks at me and then asks. "What?"

"That one Harry Styles song. The sunflower one."

Her face lit up from the statement.

"You listen to Harry Styles?" She asks, excited.

"Who doesn't?"

"I love Taylor Swift though." I confess, "I have these cool posters on my wall of her. I'm like, obsessed with her."

"Same with me and One Direction." she says.

"We both have such good music taste." I say, impressed.

"I know, right?" She muses.

It was already 5 in the evening and the sky was pink, covering the yellow sunflowers with a shade of magenta. The scenery looked like it came straight out of a movie. I looked at Munchkin who threw her head back with her eyes shut and inhaled the fresh air as her arms were resting on the ground behind her.

I pulled out my phone from my back pocket and captured a picture of her resting between the sunflowers in a pinkish sky light that covered her clear skin.

"Delete that right now." She orders, her eyes still shut.

"I will, don't worry." I lie.

"You're fun to be around." I confess to her.

"You're alright, I guess." She shrugged, opening her eyelids so her brown honey eyes were on display.

She looked at me, I looked at her, we just smiled at each other. This was peaceful.

The sound of a phone ringing broke our comfortable silence. She searched for her phone in her jacket and pulls it out before answering the call.

"Yes mom?" She says, "mhm.. yes I'm coming home right now." She ends the call. "Can you please drop me home?"

"No." I answer.

"How am I gonna go home then?" She says, panicked.

"I'm just kidding, Munchkin. Of course I'll drop you home." I say.

"Thank you." She says.

•°•°•°•°•

20 minutes later, we were at her house.

"You wanna come inside?" She asks.

"Not right now, maybe some other day." I said.

"Bye, Asher."

"Bye, Munchkin."

"What's with the nickname?"

"Nothing, it just suits you."

She scoffs under her breath before turning around to go inside her house.

Hermoso.