December 19th, 2019

There were moments. Moments where one would wish time to stop and stretch on forever. Moments that would anneal one's soul with yearning.

This was one of those moments for Nith. And he realized that even though there was a decade in between who he was back then and now ... he, as always, was still stuck in the same place.

He was in love with Kate Aurum.

The only difference was that now he wasn't thirteen anymore. And he had more than just his feelings to hide from her.

And he hated that.

That he continued to go on the same path. The lying and the hiding and keeping secrets from her that he knew would not just break her heart but ruin everything she believed in. Everything that she knew about him. About them.

This time … he won’t just lose his first crush but his best friend too.

"Ummm," her voice came in a whisper, "Nith?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I?"

"Who put this basket here?" the voice boomed outside their nook. 

And just like a snap of a finger, the bubble broke. With a jolt, Nith let go of his hold on Kate. He stepped away hitting his back on the wall with a thunk.

The place where Kate’s hand was on his chest tingled as the void grew bigger with each passing second. Her brows knitted together, eyes downcast while her arms reached out to hold him in place.

"It's not even 12 and we have weirdos all over the shop!" the cashier continued to yell. A blaring voice for a 17-year-old.

Tick

Tick

Tick

The atmosphere was filled with heavy awkwardness. Both stood rigid, hands by their sides. One with head tilted toward the ceiling as the other had their eyes glued on the floor.

Tick

Tick

Tick

Second pass as they waited for the commotion outside to end.

"I should check what's going outside," Kate’s voice cut through the silence. She poked her head out. Her hand grabbing onto his forearm instinctively to steady herself.

Nith let a breath out.

The kid was gone as well as Nith’s basket full of ingredients.

"They aren’t here," she said with a smile. But the tone of her voice didn't match her smile. "We need to make a gateway. I will be your Wheelman for the day." Kate grinned.

"Rina will see me the moment I walk out of here."

A brow arched. "Rina?"

"The reporter outside," Nith explained. "How will we get out?"

"I have a plan." She smirked. Nith shook his head. He didn’t trust that tone of hers. Kate took a step back, dangling her purse - that Nith had never seen up until this moment - in front of him. "I have just the things!" She opened the zipper, bringing out two scarves. "Rina outside is waiting for a guy to come out. So she really won't care if a woman walks out of the shop. No matter how bizarre she looks."

"What?"

"I am gonna make a lady out of you," she sang with a wink, her usual cheerfulness coming back. "You might need one scarf." She eyed his chest, measuring it as she talked, "Or maybe two scarves to make it more 'prominent' for others," she air-quoted the word, her eyes lit with mischief.

Nith shook his head. A sense of deja vu washed over him. "Wh-what?"

"Raise your hand a bit." Even though he had no idea what Kate was doing or was up to, he still raised his hands. She took the scarf and closed the gap between them.

"I am going to tie it around you. So that we can stuff the other scarf inside to make the boobs." Nith opened his mouth to protest, but Kate already knew the answer to that question. "I'm just gonna wrap it around. I won't grope you or anything, purposefully," she added. Nith blinked. "Trust me, it's gonna work."

Nith did a cut nod, stretching his head back and hands high but making sure others don't see them. And that sense of deja vu came back once more. This was their usual play. Kate would always make Nith agree to whatever bullshit she had going on. Whether it was crashing Jay’s grandmother’s car into the school pole or pouring red dye into the society's swimming pool.

Nith would always end up saying yes.

He missed it. He missed saying yeses to her shenanigans. 

The blonde smiled as she took the scarf and placed her hand under the coat Nith was wearing. She wasn't touching him just as she had promised. Which was surprising considering the fact Kate rarely listen to him.

She came closer as she struggled to get the scarf to the other side. Her hands fumbled behind him to reach the end. "Why did you become so wide?"

Nith's ears were on fire. "I - I am not."

"You are. You were like a branch before but now you have like … packs." Her head tilted, cheek pressed into his chest as she tried to grab the end of the scarf. She huffed in frustration. "Guh … when do you even work out?"

"I don't," he replied, taking a short glance down at her. "I barely surf on the weekends."

"Oh!" She finally managed to get the other part of the scarf between her finger. She breathed as she pulled it to the other side, tying it into a knot. Her cheeks matched the shade of red she had on her lips. "Hands down." Kate avoided his eyes. She brought out another scarf, handing it to Nith. "Stuff it." By then Nith knew his ears matched her lipstick too.

She breathed out before grinning at him as he took the scarf from her hand, shaping them before stuffing them inside his navy t-shirt. "Good boy."

With the scarf in place, there was only one thing left to do.

"Get down," she ordered. Nith, like before obliged. He kneeled before her, his head reaching her chest. He closed his eyes. "Why are you so red?" She teased him as she tied another scarf on his head as a headpiece. "Done." Kate took a step back, looking at her creation. "Somethings missing," she mused.

"A red ball on my nose." This won't be the first time Kate made him into a clown.

"To match your ears?" She shot right back.

Nith chuckled. His hand went up to touch the scarf but Kate swatted it down. "Don't touch it." He missed her scoldings too. The smile didn’t last long though. When her thumb brushed onto his lips, Nith froze once more. "Don't move," she said, her breath fanning over his face. Slowly, she dabbed the red of her lips onto his.

He stayed still in his place, eyes closed shut as she did whatever she wanted. His heart was hammering in his chest. He was afraid that she would hear and ask why, why it was beating so loud.

Nith gulped. He needed to distract her. He needed to distract himself.

"This reminds me of when you took me to school as your grandmother."

Kate laughed, her right hand on his shoulder as she shook in laughter. Her thumb was still pressed on his lower lip, tinted in the shade of her blush.

"How could I forget about that?" The smile on her voice was enough to make his heart flutter. "You looked so good in pink."

"I always thought red was more of my color." Nith peeked. 

She bit the inside of her mouth, trying to hide her smile. Kate nodded. "It kinda suits you too." She took a step back, taking in the sight. "You look pretty," she said to herself. Nith stood up, too scared to ask what Kate had made him into. "You know, you remind me of Big Mama, from that comedy I did a few years back." She grinned again.

Nith groaned to himself; glad for the lack of mirrors near them.

"Give me a sec to get ready." She gathered all of her sus-kissed hair and made it into a bun; then took a brown wig and a cap from the bag - how much stuff was in that purse? Nith wondered - she hid her hair underneath it. "Now you are Big Mama and I'm Jolly." She puffed up her hoodie.

Nith blinked at the bag and then back at her. She didn’t look that convincing but Nith knew neither did he. "What do we do now?"

Kate grinned. "Mama," her accent changed as did her voice. It almost sounded Southern, deeper and rocky as she continued to talk. "We get out."

And she walked out.

Nith followed her, walking closely. Her purse - it wasn’t even that big to have three scarves, a wig, and a baseball cap inside it - was in his hand. Kate started talking, her hands going all over the place as she did. She was in the character.

Nith didn’t even remember how they walked up to the counter. He just followed Kate. And then he saw Rina.

Standing by the counter with a bottle of water in hand. Jeans jacket and boots. Showing off her undercut beneath her wavy bob. A familiar bead bracelet in her hand.

Nith haltered in his steps. Kate stopped with him before pulling him by his wrist. Her Converse strides were long and confident.

"Ring them up, my man." She placed the bag of carrots in front of the registry. The cashier looked up from his phone; pissed at the inconvenience they had caused.

Rina turned toward them, giving them a once-over before looking back at the meat aisles.

Nith shifted beside Kate, inching toward her.

"Ain't she a beauty?" she asked the kid, who nodded without even giving them a glance. "A killer in the bed." Her hand slammed right across his butt. Nith yelped more in surprise than from the slap itself. When his eyes found hers, Kate winked. "Ain't yo' mama?"