Fall Away

“I’m out of here, Tash,” I called.

The other girl nodded at me. For once, she was the one working the second half of the shift. I was going home and… studying, I guess.

Lame, a voice in my head spoke up.

Yeah, I know. But what else do I have to do?

“Hey. Ellie.”

I spun around to see Soren walking towards me. “Yeah?”

“You done?”

“Yeah,” I repeated, trying to hide the ‘duh’ note in my voice.

“Cool.” He walked in front of me, grabbing the door and holding it open for me to walk through.

I stepped outside, enjoying the last of the fading sunlight. The sky was tinted with pinks and reds, and I knew that within an hour I’d be able to see all the stars blanketing the sky.

“So, got any big plans for the night?”

I glanced over at Soren, who had stopped next to me. “Of course,” I replied. I didn’t really want to disclose my grand plans for the evening.

A small smile played across his face. “Yeah? Watcha doing?”

I looked away, trying to find a way to save face. Why do I care? I finally decided. “I’m studying.” I got a glimpse of his face and hastened to defend myself. “Don’t say anything. I have finals in less than a month. I need to study.”

I paused for a moment, daring him to speak, when something new dawned on me. “And who are you, anyways, to laugh at me? You don’t-”

“Ellie,” he interrupted.

“-don’t even know me,” I continued. “For all you know-”

“Ellie.” Soren grabbed my shoulders, and the sudden contact startled me into silence. “Chill.”

I blinked, suddenly slightly embarrassed. I didn’t normally have outbursts, especially not with people I didn’t know. I could quite believe all those words had slipped out of my mouth.

“It’s fine. You’re busy. I get it.”

I nodded stupidly, out of words.

“It was just a question,” he shrugged, releasing my shoulders.

“Why’d you ask?” I regretted the words the moment they left my mouth. He was just being polite, obviously – it had been a simple question, and I had jumped all over him.

“Well, I thought that if you didn’t have anything planned, I’d see if you wanted to grab a drink or something.”

I froze, and blurted out the first thing that came to my head. “You’ve been drinking for the past hour.”

A smile spread across Soren’s face, one I was starting to recognize. It was almost a smirk, as if he knew something I didn’t, but it had some humor mixed in. I even caught a glimpse of some… indulgence, like he was dealing with a small child.

“I could be persuaded to have another.” His eyes flickered down my body, then returned to my face.

I was taken aback. “I – I can’t.” The words tumbled out of me, unbidden.

Soren nodded agreeably. “So you said.” He paused. “Maybe some other time?”

I found myself agreeing before I could think it through. The familiar smile appeared, but with a bit more humor. “Cool.”

There was silence while I waited for him to go to his car and leave me to begin my trek home. “Where’s your car?” he asked, mirroring my thoughts.

“I walk.”

He looked at me curiously before nodding slowly. “Where do you live?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Are we back to the stalking thing?”

He laughed, and the mood seemed to lighten. The previous awkwardness – okay, my awkwardness – seemed to disappear. “No. I was just thinking I’d walk you home.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Why?” Soren repeated, seeming slightly surprised. “Isn’t that the polite thing to do?”

“Maybe in the big cities, where girls don’t walk alone after dark,” I offered, my mind flashing to stories I’d heard of New York and LA. “Not here.”

“Oh. Well, I guess I’m not used to the small town yet. I come from one of those ‘big cities.’ ”

I nodded as he echoed my words. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay.” He didn’t push it, just stuck his hands in his pockets and watched me.

Which wasn’t creepy or anything. I waited another minute before I turned and headed down the street. When I looked back, he was leaning against a black car, watching me.