Sequel: Streetlights ›
Stay Close, Don't Go
Chapter 11
The next morning, I had mixed feelings about going over to Tom`s. If we didn`t have to do this project, I probably would have stayed in my bed all day sleeping. At eleven, I got a simple text from Tom, confirming that he was potentially upset at me; 11:45. Nothing else, just a time.
By 11:30, I was rushing out of my bathroom and down the stairs while attempting to put on my shoes at the same time. My mom had left the keys on the counter this morning for me before she went to work. Grabbing them, I headed out the door and towards the car.
My heart raced in my chest as I pulled up into the Sykes` driveway and got out. I was glad there was a doorbell because I don`t think I would have been able to knock. It was only moments after the chime of the doorbell echoed through the house that the door swung open, Tom on the other side.
```ello.`` He said quietly, pulling the door open completely and stepping back to let me inside the house.
``Hey.`` I replied, stepping into the room. Tom shut the door behind me and walked over to the same couch we were on Thursday. Books and stuff for out project were on the coffee table waiting.
Tom grabbed a few papers off the coffee table and handed them to me, explaining a bit, ``It`s the research paper. Read over it and let me know what you think?``
Nodding, I took the papers from him. This time, Tom made sure our hands didn`t touch at all. We sat down on the couch the same way we had before as I scanned over the paper, reading through most of it.
Out of no where, Tom started to talk. ``So yeh like my brother?``
``No.`` I said simply, not looking up from the paper. I was trying not to looked phased by his question, but in reality, my mind was going crazy trying to figure out why he had asked that.
``If yeh do it`s nothin` big. Most girls tend to like him?`` He trailed off, his voice sounded blank.
I looked up, meeting his eyes. They were the same blue as always, but they held little to no emotion right now. I didn`t like him this way, ``No Tom, I really don`t like your brother-`` I told him before changing the subject. ``-this sounds really good. Let`s start the actual thing.``
Tom only nodded and reached over, grabbing a box off the coffee table. He opened it up, revealing a small screen with random wires. ``This is a heart monitor thing. I`m not really sure `ow to work it.``
``Let me see?`` I asked, holding my hands out. He handed it over, again careful not to let our hands touch.
His sudden attempts to keep away from me were making me frustrated. I knew he was a little ticked off I had danced with Oli, but I had danced with him also. Aren`t girls supposed to be the confusing ones, not the guys?
Taking the monitor, I flipped it over and pressed a button causing all the lights to come on. Next, I grabbed the wires which lead to a little plastic clamp. It was like the heart monitors at the hospitals where the little plastic thing goes on your finger.
``Give me your hand,`` I told Tom. He gave me a strange look, his eyebrow raising, before stretching his hand out to reach mine.
I grabbed his hand, his skin soft against mine, and slid the little place piece onto his finger. Within a few seconds, the little machine started to make beeping noises. Now having it working, I spoke, ``Maybe we can switch off on the tests, some on you and some on me?``
&&
It took a good hour and half to get Tom to warm back up to me, and even then we were still as awkward as usual. I was just grateful it was the normal awkward, and not as bad as earlier today.
In the beginning for our tests, we did things like listening to different types of music and sounds to see what effected your heart. Now, we were in Tom`s backyard trying to figure out new ways to make our heart beat increase. Of course, none of my ideas were school appropriate so I kept them to myself.
``Maybe yeh should run from `ere to the fence.`` Tom suggested, sitting down on the grass after I made him do twenty push ups. It had been amusing for me, and not so much him.
``You want me to run with this annoying little box?`` I mused, staring down at the obnoxious heart contraption. Tom nodded, raising his eyebrows at me. I scoffed, ``Yeah, right. I`ll just show you up and do better push ups.``
``Fine. Erm, maybe if yeh got dizzy. Will that `ave an effect?`` He asked, pushing himself off the ground and wiping away the grass that clung to his jeans.
With a sigh I shrugged and gave in, ``We`ll find out, won`t we?``
Nodding, Tom held up and finger before running towards his house. He came out a moment later with a bandana in his hand. Again giving in, I let him tie it around my head to cover my eyes before sticking the monitor piece on my hand.
``I`m just goin` to spin yeh `round.`` Tom said, amusement in his voice. Maybe this was the pay back for last night. I didn`t mind though, because spinning me around required him to touch me.
Tom`s hands spun me in a circle for a good minute before he stepped back. Without his hands supporting me, the full effect of being dizzy took over and my head swam, trying to find all the right directions. I could hear the beeping of the monitor, which didn`t help my confusion any.
Suddenly, I wasn`t feeling well at all. My head was aching and my insides felt like they were being knotted together. My hand reached up with my monitor-free hand and I pulled the bandana off my eyes and let it hang around my neck.
``Madison?`` Tom asked, concerned. He stepped forward again, placing his hands on my hips, steadying me. Eyes still blurry, I brought one hand up and to his shoulder for extra support. ``Yeh alright? What`s wrong?``
``I`m not sure.`` I said weakly. I was staring at the grass, wishing it would just stay in one place and stop moving around. After blinking a few times and having Tom holing me in one spot, I felt better. ``I`m good now. Don`t know what that was.``
``Maybe a little hung over from last night.`` Tom said, his voice a mix of accusing and concern. I shrugged, realizing that his hands were still on my waist and one of my hands was placed on his shoulder.
I let myself look up at him, seeing him looking down at me. The emotion on his face was worried, making his eyes swim with concern. The light blue color, in a way, was comforting. Slowly, as if thinking I might fall over, Tom began to move his hands from my waist.
Still looking at him, I held tighter on to his shoulder, signaling I wasn`t ready to be let go. Honestly, I could probably gain my balance back if I wanted. Key words; if I wanted. Tom just kept his gaze on mine and placed his hands back on my waist, squeezing my sides lightly.
Until now, the monitor had gone back to my normal heart beat, but once his hands gently squeezed my sides it jumped back into action, relaying the fact that my heart was jumping around behind its ribcage cell.
Though he tried to hide it, a small smirk appeared on Tom`s lips as he detached his eyes from mine to momentarily look down at the monitor sitting on the grass. He looked back at me and took a step closer, obviously getting amusement out of the fact that the monitor began to beep just a little bit faster.
A look of confidence washed over his face and body language as he took yet another step closer to me, our bodies only a few inches apart now. Again, the beeping increased ever so slightly. Tom began to lean forward, his face inching towards mine.
I didn`t know what to expect; was he going to kiss me or something else? Either way, the monitor was beeping vigorously now and the closer he got, the louder it seemed to become. Tom kept his eyes locked on mine and I could now feel his breath on my lips. Inside my mind, I was anticipating a kiss, but obviously Tom wasn`t.
With the satisfaction of the increased heart rate, Tom pulled away from me, a smirk still playing at his lips. I knew my face was burning red with embarrassment. Quickly, I flicked the plastic off my finger and was glad when the noise came to a stop. This is probably the worst thing that would have happened, and he did it on purpose.
Maybe he had more of Oliver`s personality in him than most people thought.�
By 11:30, I was rushing out of my bathroom and down the stairs while attempting to put on my shoes at the same time. My mom had left the keys on the counter this morning for me before she went to work. Grabbing them, I headed out the door and towards the car.
My heart raced in my chest as I pulled up into the Sykes` driveway and got out. I was glad there was a doorbell because I don`t think I would have been able to knock. It was only moments after the chime of the doorbell echoed through the house that the door swung open, Tom on the other side.
```ello.`` He said quietly, pulling the door open completely and stepping back to let me inside the house.
``Hey.`` I replied, stepping into the room. Tom shut the door behind me and walked over to the same couch we were on Thursday. Books and stuff for out project were on the coffee table waiting.
Tom grabbed a few papers off the coffee table and handed them to me, explaining a bit, ``It`s the research paper. Read over it and let me know what you think?``
Nodding, I took the papers from him. This time, Tom made sure our hands didn`t touch at all. We sat down on the couch the same way we had before as I scanned over the paper, reading through most of it.
Out of no where, Tom started to talk. ``So yeh like my brother?``
``No.`` I said simply, not looking up from the paper. I was trying not to looked phased by his question, but in reality, my mind was going crazy trying to figure out why he had asked that.
``If yeh do it`s nothin` big. Most girls tend to like him?`` He trailed off, his voice sounded blank.
I looked up, meeting his eyes. They were the same blue as always, but they held little to no emotion right now. I didn`t like him this way, ``No Tom, I really don`t like your brother-`` I told him before changing the subject. ``-this sounds really good. Let`s start the actual thing.``
Tom only nodded and reached over, grabbing a box off the coffee table. He opened it up, revealing a small screen with random wires. ``This is a heart monitor thing. I`m not really sure `ow to work it.``
``Let me see?`` I asked, holding my hands out. He handed it over, again careful not to let our hands touch.
His sudden attempts to keep away from me were making me frustrated. I knew he was a little ticked off I had danced with Oli, but I had danced with him also. Aren`t girls supposed to be the confusing ones, not the guys?
Taking the monitor, I flipped it over and pressed a button causing all the lights to come on. Next, I grabbed the wires which lead to a little plastic clamp. It was like the heart monitors at the hospitals where the little plastic thing goes on your finger.
``Give me your hand,`` I told Tom. He gave me a strange look, his eyebrow raising, before stretching his hand out to reach mine.
I grabbed his hand, his skin soft against mine, and slid the little place piece onto his finger. Within a few seconds, the little machine started to make beeping noises. Now having it working, I spoke, ``Maybe we can switch off on the tests, some on you and some on me?``
&&
It took a good hour and half to get Tom to warm back up to me, and even then we were still as awkward as usual. I was just grateful it was the normal awkward, and not as bad as earlier today.
In the beginning for our tests, we did things like listening to different types of music and sounds to see what effected your heart. Now, we were in Tom`s backyard trying to figure out new ways to make our heart beat increase. Of course, none of my ideas were school appropriate so I kept them to myself.
``Maybe yeh should run from `ere to the fence.`` Tom suggested, sitting down on the grass after I made him do twenty push ups. It had been amusing for me, and not so much him.
``You want me to run with this annoying little box?`` I mused, staring down at the obnoxious heart contraption. Tom nodded, raising his eyebrows at me. I scoffed, ``Yeah, right. I`ll just show you up and do better push ups.``
``Fine. Erm, maybe if yeh got dizzy. Will that `ave an effect?`` He asked, pushing himself off the ground and wiping away the grass that clung to his jeans.
With a sigh I shrugged and gave in, ``We`ll find out, won`t we?``
Nodding, Tom held up and finger before running towards his house. He came out a moment later with a bandana in his hand. Again giving in, I let him tie it around my head to cover my eyes before sticking the monitor piece on my hand.
``I`m just goin` to spin yeh `round.`` Tom said, amusement in his voice. Maybe this was the pay back for last night. I didn`t mind though, because spinning me around required him to touch me.
Tom`s hands spun me in a circle for a good minute before he stepped back. Without his hands supporting me, the full effect of being dizzy took over and my head swam, trying to find all the right directions. I could hear the beeping of the monitor, which didn`t help my confusion any.
Suddenly, I wasn`t feeling well at all. My head was aching and my insides felt like they were being knotted together. My hand reached up with my monitor-free hand and I pulled the bandana off my eyes and let it hang around my neck.
``Madison?`` Tom asked, concerned. He stepped forward again, placing his hands on my hips, steadying me. Eyes still blurry, I brought one hand up and to his shoulder for extra support. ``Yeh alright? What`s wrong?``
``I`m not sure.`` I said weakly. I was staring at the grass, wishing it would just stay in one place and stop moving around. After blinking a few times and having Tom holing me in one spot, I felt better. ``I`m good now. Don`t know what that was.``
``Maybe a little hung over from last night.`` Tom said, his voice a mix of accusing and concern. I shrugged, realizing that his hands were still on my waist and one of my hands was placed on his shoulder.
I let myself look up at him, seeing him looking down at me. The emotion on his face was worried, making his eyes swim with concern. The light blue color, in a way, was comforting. Slowly, as if thinking I might fall over, Tom began to move his hands from my waist.
Still looking at him, I held tighter on to his shoulder, signaling I wasn`t ready to be let go. Honestly, I could probably gain my balance back if I wanted. Key words; if I wanted. Tom just kept his gaze on mine and placed his hands back on my waist, squeezing my sides lightly.
Until now, the monitor had gone back to my normal heart beat, but once his hands gently squeezed my sides it jumped back into action, relaying the fact that my heart was jumping around behind its ribcage cell.
Though he tried to hide it, a small smirk appeared on Tom`s lips as he detached his eyes from mine to momentarily look down at the monitor sitting on the grass. He looked back at me and took a step closer, obviously getting amusement out of the fact that the monitor began to beep just a little bit faster.
A look of confidence washed over his face and body language as he took yet another step closer to me, our bodies only a few inches apart now. Again, the beeping increased ever so slightly. Tom began to lean forward, his face inching towards mine.
I didn`t know what to expect; was he going to kiss me or something else? Either way, the monitor was beeping vigorously now and the closer he got, the louder it seemed to become. Tom kept his eyes locked on mine and I could now feel his breath on my lips. Inside my mind, I was anticipating a kiss, but obviously Tom wasn`t.
With the satisfaction of the increased heart rate, Tom pulled away from me, a smirk still playing at his lips. I knew my face was burning red with embarrassment. Quickly, I flicked the plastic off my finger and was glad when the noise came to a stop. This is probably the worst thing that would have happened, and he did it on purpose.
Maybe he had more of Oliver`s personality in him than most people thought.�