So Young at Heart

The second we entered the large doors of the mall, we were tackled by two massive bodies.

“Ow...why can’t we ever get away from you two?” I grumbled, rubbing my head. Gabe was on top of me, and Ryland looked quite comfortable sitting on Vicky, who was squirming around helplessly.

“Well, I just thought that we’d do some shopping. We are guys, after all, so we don’t do it very often,” Ryland explained. I looked at Gabe, who was still sitting on me. People who were walking by were whispering to each other and pointing at us as if we were freaks or something. Oh well.

“And what is your explanation, Gabanti? Was American Apparel having a sale on purple hoodies?” I smiled coyly as his face turned into one of mock surprise.

“Now, if you don’t play nice, we don’t play nice,” he warned, wagging his finger at me. In response, I stuck my tongue out at him. “Okay, you blew your chance at seeing my nice side,” he said. He then started tickling my sides.
“Oh...God...Gabe….stop!!!” I laughed. More people were noticing us, as well as pointing and staring. Vicky and Ryland were both sitting on the floor, laughing hysterically. There were tears in my eyes, I was laughing so hard. Man, I hate being tickled.
I pushed Gabe as hard as I could, which ended in his falling in a heap on the floor. Taking my chance, I leapt up, running down the stretch of storefronts, Gabe bounding after me. Within seconds, we were back on the floor, me pinned underneath him.

“How come we always end up on the floor?” I mumbled. He laughed quietly, talking into my ear.

“Probably because we know exactly how to tick each other off.” Just then, two security guards came up to us. One was slim, a determined expression on his wrinkled face. The other was younger, a plump woman who had hair that looked as if it was made of straw. Gabe looked up at them, a bright smile on his face. “What’s the problem, officers?”

“We are going to have to ask you two to leave,” the woman said. The man nodded curtly, as if only pretending to know what was going on. Gabe and I got up, dusting off our clothes. “Follow me,” the woman said. The officers beckoned, escorting us to the doors.

“And don’t come back!” the man hollered after us. When we were out of sight of the mall, we looked back to see Ryland and Vicky being escorted out as well. Gabe looked over at me. I bit my lip, trying to suppress laughter. It didn’t work, however, and Gabe and I started rolling on the ground, laughing uncontrollably.

“What’s so funny?” Ryland asked and he and Vicky neared us.

“I...don’t….know!” Gabe gasped, going into another round of laughter. They sighed, shaking their heads at us. This made me laugh even harder.

“Come on, Ryland, let’s leave the lovebirds to do their thing,” Vicky said. Instantly, I stopped laughing. I looked at Gabe. His smile had vanished instantly as well.

“What did you say?” I felt my voice crack as I spoke.

“What? Oh, nothing,” Vicky said, turning away once again. Gabe and I looked at each other again. I turned away. The only sound was the stomping of Vicky and Ryland’s receding footsteps.

“Come on, let’s not spend the rest of the day sitting in the middle of a parking lot,” Gabe said, hoisting himself up. I nodded, holding my hands out for him to help me up. He took them, bringing me up to his level effortlessly. Well, as close to his level as I normally got.

“Damn you and your tall-ness…” I muttered, looking down at my shoes. He laughed.

“How come we always end up together?” he asked. I shrugged.

“Because Vicky and Ryland need their alone time,” I joked. Gabes face twisted as he let out a strangled sort of gasp.

“Ew.”

I laughed, glad that he wasn’t acting awkward because of what Victoria had said.

Why did she say that anyway?