FAWN 🍂 9
   (Day 11, Sunday, 7 PM)
   I still feel my body trembling after what happened on Friday night. I didn't go to school yesterday for dance practice even though I know that the anniversary is tomorrow.
   I can't bring myself to look or enter my room because of what happened. I feel like a dirty person after that incident. He touched me…
   "Dhai, come on." Luckily, Felly came to the house and invited me to go out with Lucas later in the evening. I need some distraction.
   I quietly sit in the backseat of the car beside Felly. Anya is with us too. I can't forget their conversation, especially how Lucas sees me as just a child. His words hurt me, but I just believed him because he has a point. I'm just a child in his eyes, and it hurts.
   I step out of the car when it stops by the side of the road before looking ahead. Felly quickly grabs my arm, and we enter the mall together.
   "What are we doing here?" I ask Felly with a furrowed brow.
   "Originally, my plan for this week was to have fun, but I know you need someone to talk to about what happened. I'm always here for you, dhai."
   Tears well up in my eyes at Felly's words, "Thank you."
   She removes her arm from around me and gently rubs my back. "Let's eat first before we start crying."
   We enter Mang Inasal and sit by the glass window at the end where there are not many people dining. Felly knows that my comfort zone is always food. I love to eat, but I don't gain weight. That's why sometimes she doesn't treat me to food because she says I don't gain weight.
   I finish three servings of rice and viand, and Felly doesn't complain, just letting me eat.
   After a few minutes, I finish eating and then look in front where Felly is seated. She finishes two servings. Later on, I open up to her about what happened, and she listens to me. I'm grateful that Felly is a good listener and never judges me.
   "Fawn, are you okay?" I ignore Lucas when he asks me and just walk past him.
   "Let's go to the skating rink, dhai," I invite Felly, and she quickly agrees.
   "Hoy, dhai, did something happen between you and Lucas?" she asks.
   "Nothing."
   "Why does it seem like you're avoiding him? Did you two kiss?" My eyes widen, and I look at Felly.
   "Dhai, what kiss are you talking about? I'm just upset about what he said. No kiss happened." I roll my eyes. I feel lighter after opening up to her earlier.
   "Huh? What did he say to you? Share it with me. Come on."
   "I'll tell you when we get home, okay?" We finally enter the skating rink and put on our shoe blades.
   "Just tell me now." This one is so persistent.
   While skating with Felly, she keeps questioning me. "I'll tell you later."
   "Fine--wait!" She suddenly stops me from skating and points to someone. "It's Zev!" I look at where she's pointing. Zev is skating with someone. "Let's go closer."
   "Wait--" the crazy one pulls me towards Zev.
   "Hey, Zev!" I feel embarrassed at Felly's loud voice, and others look towards us.
   "Felly, Fawn," Zev looks and stops, releasing the hand of the person he's with. "What are you doing here?"
   "Duh, we're obviously skating. Who's that with you? She's cute, can I pinch her cheeks?" The child hides behind Zev as Felly approaches.
   "She's my sister. Selene." Zev said while still looking at me.
   "Aww, she's shy," Felly smiles.
   "Fawn," Zev takes a step closer to me and hugs me tightly, leaving Selene behind him. "I miss you."
   "Hey, behave around your sister, Zev!" Felly scolds, but Zev doesn't listen to her. "Baby girl, come with me for a bit, okay? I'm your brother's friend. You can trust me."
   "You're my brother's friend?"
   "Yes, I am. I'm Felly. Zev, I'll take your sister with me for a bit. Bye." Felly said and left us with Selene without waiting for Zev's response. 
   "Zev, let go." I try to push him away, but it has no effect.
   "I'm sorry. It happened because of me. I'm so sorry." After what happened, he suddenly left and couldn't look at me that night.
   "Zevadiah, that's enough." I gently rub his back and he finally lets go of me. I'm angry with him, but I know he didn't want what happened to me. No one wanted that.
   He gently cups my cheeks with his hands and leans in close, and I'm frozen in place. Why is he doing this to me? "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I can't even imagine my life without you again, Fawn."
   His words make me want to vomit. "You're making me puke." I'm not use to hearing sweet words, okay?
   Instead of getting offended, he just laughs and suddenly kisses my forehead. "Ich bin völlig vernarrt in dich."
   I furrow my brow at his words that I don't understand. "Why are you doing this to me?" His actions, words, and the way he looks at me are all new and overwhelming to me.
   "Do what?" He asks and gently caresses my cheeks with his thumbs. It's doing the thing inside my stomach. What the hell is this feeling?
   "Zev." I hate this feeling... I hate that he is making me feel things.
   "Hmm?" I hate the way he smiles at me like he knows exactly what he's doing to me.
   "Please, don't make me fall." He wasn't surprised at my words; instead, he leaned even closer to me. I couldn't bring myself to push him away.
   "That's not fair, Fawn."
   "What are you talking about?" I could feel his breath. He is so close.
   "You're aware that I love you, and I'm going to make you fall until you can't breathe." I hold my breath as his lips touch the tip of my nose. "Past or present, I love you, always."
🍂 
   "Dhai, are you okay? You've been staring into space for a while." Who wouldn't be lost after what happened earlier at the skating rink? Zev's words caught me off guard, and I feel so lost right now. I was aware of his confession that night, but damn, what he did earlier drove me insane. My heart is beating so fast, and I feel like I'm going crazy. "Hoy! dhai!" Felly shakes my shoulder. "What's going on with you?" Her face shows obvious concern as she looks at me.
   I release a deep sigh and say, "It's Zev..."
   She lets go of my shoulder, revealing a mischievous smile on her lips. "Oh, so you had some PDA earlier."
   I give her a look. "That wasn't PDA, dhai."
   "What do you call it when he kissed you on the nose? Dhai, many people saw what happened earlier. Good thing I dragged you out of the rink; otherwise, you might have ended up kissing there."
   My eyes widen at her words. "Your mouth has no filter, does it?"
   "I'm aware, dhai." She rolls her eyes before continuing to pick up chips and placing them in the cart.
   I quietly follow her, also picking up Lay's chips before we both pay at the counter. But I'm surprised to see Zev walking towards us. What does he want now?
   "Felly, can I have Fawn for a moment?" Felly pushes me towards Zev. I want to strangle her out of annoyance. How dare she be okay with me being with Zev when she's my friend?
   "Of course. Just don't hurt her, or I'll bury you alive. Take care of my friend." She threatens Zev before smiling at me and leaving me with Zev.
   "What the hell," I can't believe as I watch Felly's retreating form.
   "Let's go." He suddenly takes my hand. I don't protest and just let him.
   "Where are we going?" I like the way his fingers feel on my hand. What am I thinking?! Erase!
   "To the horror house." He gives a simple answer. We reach the outside of the mall and head to his car. I get into the passenger seat as he follows and sits in the driver's seat.
   "Why the horror house?" I'm not a fan of the horror house.
   He looks at me for a moment, "What? Are you scared?" then a smile spreads across his face as he focuses on the road.
   "I'm not scared," I reply as he concentrates on the road.
   I heard him chuckled, "Are you sure?"
   I roll my eyes even though I know he can't see my face while driving, "People just pretend in the horror house. So why would I be scared?"
   "Let's see about that later." I know he's just teasing me, but I'm not really scared of going inside the horror house.
   I stay silent until we reach the horror house he mentioned. I take a deep breath as we enter. I grip his arm as we walk into the dark, eerie room. I almost scream when suddenly a ghost pops up in front of me, and I hear Zev's chuckles beside me. "Damn you!" Annoyed, I pinch his arm.
   "Pinch me as long as you want and hurt me, but I promise to get you out of here," I hear him say beside me as he puts his arm behind my back.
   In the end, all I do is scream and pinch him every time a ghost startles me. I hate him, and damn it, I hate myself for coming with him to this horror house. I almost ran out of breath when suddenly someone grabbed my leg, and Zev wrapped his arms around my waist, pinning me to the nearest wall.
   "Breathe..." he mumbled as he towered over me. I couldn't clearly see his face because it's dark, and I'm running out of breath, with our bodies so close together. "Breathe, Fawn," he whispers to me.
   I try to calm down, but I just can't. Damn him! "You're so close..." I manage to say softly, knowing he hears me.
   I hear his soft laugh, "Just breathe... you're running out of breath."
   He gently caresses my back to help me calm down until I finally relax.
   "That's my girl," I hear him say and he kisses my forehead. He loosens his arms from my waist, and I can feel his fingers on my chin. "Let's get out of here.”