Idiots to Lovers (bxb)

9 | Stolen Ice Cream and Sneaky Sheep

Everett glared balefully at the troop of monkeys who had stolen his ice cream cone. They chattered away noisily inside their sanctuary, feasting like kings.

"How did they get that?" he exclaimed. "It was here one minute and then the next it was gone!"

I shrugged. "Maybe you shouldn't have leaned against the bars, dude."

"But how could I have known they just steal things from whoever leans against the bars?"

I pointed. "Because there's a sign right there reading 'Please refrain from leaning on the bars; the monkeys can, and will, rob you.'"

"I thought it was a meme."

I rolled my eyes. "Idiot."

He pouted. "Don't be mean, haven't I already suffered enough? I'm ice-cream-less."

"You can have mine," I offered, handing it to him.

"Ew no, you licked all over it."

"Oh right." I paused. "That was kind of gross of me to offer actually, sorry."

Everett snorted. "Nah, it's good. Hand it over."

He took a large bite—also, what the hell, who bites their ice cream—and handed it back to me.

"Er- you can finish it," I said.

"No, that's fine, have some more," he encouraged.

"No it's really quite alright." I started heading down a winding path.

He narrowed his eyes. "Why, what's wrong with it?"

"It's kind of gross actually." I grinned. "I mean, who shares ice cream?"

"Hey you're the one who offered first!" Everett objected.

He shoved me playfully as I started laughing. "I didn't even lick it like you did; I bit it politely."

His lips turned up at the corners, his smile a hollow-point bullet expanding on impact. All this time, I had wrongfully believed his smile to be nothing but innocuous. It was cheerful and brighter than the sun, sure. But it was also lethal and deadly, able to penetrate through anything. The kind that could explode a bulletproof heart.

The path narrowed down the further we walked. A gentle breeze shook the trees that lined either side of it, creating a shady avenue. There didn't seem to be anyone else around.

Everett suddenly grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back.

"What?" I asked

Eyes wide, he pointed.

In the distance, fluffy white dots littered the area beneath the trees. Several of them ambled along the path and blocked our way.

"Are those..."

"Sheep!" Everett exclaimed. "There's so many of them!"

He rushed closer, pulling me along.

"Aaah, I don't think we're supposed to touch them," I started, already knowing my warning was futile.

"But they're so soft and fluffy, like happy little clouds," Everett sang, crouching and petting a little lamb.

It bleated cutely and then tried to bite his finger.

I snickered as he pulled away in shock, cradling his wounded hand against his chest.

"It's not funny, Clementine," he admonished as my laughing grew. "I could've actually died."

I snorted. "Dramatic much."

"You don't know what it feels like to be lulled into a false sense of security only to have your fingers almost ripped apart by what you thought was a happy cloud of pure joy."