CHAPTER FIFTY- TWO
THEORIES

Hours later, Aaron, Kimmy, Dustin, Steve and Robin were outside on the roof of the mall, watching for anything suspicious going in or out of storage and deliveries.

It was eight forty-five, the exact time when the yellow and blue hands of the mall clock would meet in the west.

Robin had broken down her theory for the group, as well as the translations she had worked out on her own to make them possible.

'Silver cat', a symbol of the LYNX delivery logo, 'a trip to China sounds nice', a symbol of the Chinese takeout on the lower story of the mall, 'if you tread lightly', a metaphor to the shoe store located in the mall, 'when blue meets yellow in the west', a reference to the big mall clock with yellow and blue hands.

Whatever was going on, it was all linked directly to the Starcourt Mall.

Now, the group were waiting. Simply waiting for something to happen so they could confirm Robin's suspicions. If anything would happen, it would be now - when yellow met blue in the west.

"Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes." Robin told the group once more to make sure they knew exactly what to look for.

Luckily, Dustin had his binoculars again, because Aaron was struggling to see through the heavy rain.

None of the five had any sort of jackets with them to protect them from the rain, seeing as it had been quite hot that morning.

There was three extra rain coats the group had found in the Scoops Ahoy staffroom, Steve and Robin insisting that Aaron, Kimmy and Dustin should take them. Kimmy would have had to take one anyway with the cast she had on her arm.

"They're with that whistling guy, ten o'clock." Dustin told the group as he looked with his binoculars.

Aaron squinted his eyes to try see despite the heavy rain, but it was no use. He couldn't see at all.

"What do you think is in there?" Steve asked curiously.

"Guns, bombs?" Dustin offered, Aaron turning to glance at him with a taken aback expression.

"Chemical weapons?" Robin added hesitantly.

"Jesus, I didn't realise we were assuming this extreme." Aaron retorted, trying to see the three sat to his side through the rain.

"It must be, Aaron." Kimmy spoke up from his other side, the boy turning to look at her instead. "They can't attack the country with water guns."

"Yeah," Dustin agreed, his voice slightly muffled through the heavy rain pour. "Whatever it is, they're armed to the teeth."

"That's great." Aaron heard Steve faintly reply sarcastically.

Suddenly, the doors the two men with guns had been guarding opened, allowing the boy with the boxes to enter.

"Hey, what's in there?" Robin asked Dustin from next to Steve.

"It's just more boxes." Dustin replied calmly, sounding like he was trying to focus on trying to pick up on something sketchy.

Steve must have been sick of trying to see through the rain, because he reached out to try grab the binoculars off of Dustin, much to Dustin's dismay.

"Give them to me." Steve said firmly, wiping the rain drops off of his face.

"No," Dustin argued, trying to pull the binoculars back. "I'm still looking."

"Just let me see!" Steve exclaimed frustratedly, pulling the binoculars harder.

However, Steve must have pulled to harshly because Dustin lost his grip on them and the binoculars fell and hit the metal railing ontop of the bricks on the roof that the group were looking over.

The binoculars had hit the metal so loudly that it had the two guards looking up to try find the source of the noise.

Instantly, the five ducked down to hide behind the small brick wall lining the roof.

Kimmy was very clearly terrified, her breathing picking up and her eyes squeezing shut in fear of what would happen if they got caught.

Aaron reached out and grabbed her hand to try comfort her silently, the one that closest to him, the one that didn't have a cast on it. Kimmy didn't turn to look at him, her eyes still squeezed shut and her breathing still faster than usual. Aaron presumed that she hadn't even realised he had a hold of her hand.

So, instead of letting go of her hand or simply leaving his hand where it was and leaving her to panic herself, he opted to force his fingers to lace through hers so that she would know what he was actually trying to do.

His attempt at comfort seemed to work. While her eyes remained squeezed shut in fear, her breathing returned to hits normal pace and Aaron definitely felt her grip his hand tighter.

Aaron heard one of the men yell out in Russian and he too began to panic slightly, although he tried to push it down and repress it. Knowing it was the last thing the girl gripping onto his hand needed.

Steve then turned to the group with a wide eyed expression after peaking over the wall to check if they had stopped watching for the source of the noise.

"We've got to go." Steve told the group in a firm voice. "There's only one of the guards still there, I think the other ones looking for us."

"What?" Dustin asked in a shaky voice, clearly panicked.

"We've got to go." Steve repeated, sounding incredibly stressed. "We can make it if we go now, before he thinks to check the roof."

Steve then turned to make sure the one guard left wasn't watching the roof before he stood and began making his way to the door that lead into the mall at a rapid pace, the four running after him.

The group soon made it safely behind the door and began making their way through the back corridors of the mall faster than usually would due to pent up fear and adrenaline.

"I think we found our Russians." Robin snickered to Steve and Dustin from in front of Aaron and Kimmy.

Aaron went to let go of Kimmy's hand once he had known the group were definitely safe after the door leading to the staffroom of Scoops Ahoy came into view. However just as he unlaced his fingers from hers and went to let go of the now loose hold he had on her hand, Kimmy surprised him by lacing her fingers back through his before he could fully let go.

Aaron turned to look to her to see if she was still shaken up, but she didn't look to be in the slightest. Her gaze was to the floor and she was biting the inside of her cheek nervously, her cheeks slightly pink.

Aaron hid a smile and turned away from her, gripping her hand while reaching up to pull the hood of his borrowed jacket down with his free hand, then reaching over and pulling the hood of Kimmy's jacket down without saying anything next. Knowing the girl wouldn't manage to do so, seeing as her free hand had cast on it.

Kimmy ripped her attention from the floor, turning to look at the blond who had a firm hold on her hand with a bad attempt at an appreciative smile, however Aaron could tell it was more of a nervous smile than anything.

Aaron raised his eyebrows at her flustered state but said nothing about it, trying to keep his emotions under wraps as to not grow flustered himself.

Aaron grinned at her, causing her cheeks to grow red and she looked away from him, the boy continuing to watch her even as she was looked away.

Aaron eventually did look away from her, focusing his attention forwards.

Despite not actually speaking on the short walk back to the Scoops Ahoy staffroom, neither of the fourteen year olds allowed the grip on each others hands to falter.

...

Later that night, Kimmy was sat at the Harrington kitchen table with Aaron, Steve having headed up to his room the second he was home seeing as he was exhausted.

Aaron and Kimmy had a pizza they were sharing in the middle of them as they sat across from each other.

The blond was trying to think of a way to bring up his feelings to the girl, completely going against Steve's advice. However, the way the girl had gripped onto his hand earlier had given him a confidence that he knew he probably should not have had.

"So..." Aaron trailed off awkwardly, not really knowing what he wanted so say. "Um, I saw that there's a new movie being shown at the the mall tomorrow. After we've helped out Dustin with the Russians or whatever do you maybe want to go see it?"

Aaron bit his cheek nervously as he waited for her answer, the girl looked up at him with wide eyes, pausing as she went to grab another slice of pizza.

"Um, sure," Kimmy nodded nervously, her voice slightly shaky. "Will the others be there?"

"No." Aaron shook his head as he blurted the word, however he wanted to take them back when he seen the look of hesitance in her face. "I can ask them, though. If you would rather that-"

"No." Kimmy cut him off, shaking her head. "I do want to go with you. I was just wondering if the others were coming, that's all. But I definitely will go to the movies with you. Unless you want the others to come-"

"No, I wasn't going to ask them." Aaron spoke truthfully, trying to look calm as he went to pick up another piece of pizza to distract himself. "But I just figured since we would already be in the mall, that we could go over to the movies after."

"Yeah, sure." Kimmy replied, sounding just about as nervous as Aaron felt. "Um, what are we watching?"

"Back to the Future I think?" Aaron said honestly, ignoring the way his voice threatened to crack with nerves. "It looks quite cool, it's like time travel I think."

"Cool." Kimmy nodded, adverting her attention back to her pizza as she was unsure what else to say.

"We could get food before too if you want." Aaron chanced his luck by saying, unsure if maybe he was making it out to be too much like a date the two would be going on. "Just maybe not the restaurant we ran out of."

"Yeah, probably not there." Kimmy laughed in response, clearly using her laughter to hide her nerves. "But I would go get food before the movie."

Aaron couldn't help but send the girl a smile of slight relief as he looked up at her, only to find that she wasn't watching.

Aaron noticed her hair had gotten slightly wet from the heavy rain pour, despite being in two loose braids, the fronts of her hair was beginning to curl slightly.

Kimmy's hair wasn't completely soaked because Steve had taken the raincoat from his work staffroom for her to use seeing as he didn't want her cast to get wet.

However, Aaron was soaking. He had nothing but his shorts and t-shirt on, allowing the heavy rain to drench him and Steve completely, even if it was just a walk up the driveway. Aaron's hair was soaked. His sandy colored hair turning a light brown color due to the water.

At the thought, the boy ran his hand through his hair, trying to fix it as he assumed he looked a mess.

"Aaron." Kimmy scolded, finally looking up from her pizza as she felt specks of water land on her. "You're not a dog, do you mind waiting to do that until the food is off the table."

Aaron rolled his eyes halfheartedly at her, continuing to run his hands through his hair as he tried to fix it.

"What are you doing?" Kimmy asked puzzled from across the table, tilting her head to the side as she watched him.

"I'm fixing my hair." Aaron told her simply. "It's all messed up from the rain."

"No, you're making it worse." Kimmy laughed, Aaron snapping his eyes over to her worriedly.

"Seriously?" He asked, his hands pausing from doing anymore apparent damage.

"Yeah." Kimmy continued to laugh from opposite him.

Aaron dropped his hands to his sides as he sighed, shaking his head before dropping his head into his palm. "I need a mirror-"

"Hold on, I can fix it for you. I don't know if I trust you to fix your own hair, that should say something." Kimmy teased the blond, standing from her seat and wiping her uncasted hand before making her way over to the boy. "Just- wait, I'll clean my hand, I've been eating that pizza and I know you don't like germs as it is."

With that, she walked away from him, heading over to the kitchen seat as she struggled to wash her hand that had no cast on it. Only walking back over to Aaron once her hand was completely clean.

Aaron was deadly silent as he watched the girl ruff up his hair, completely ruining all the 'work' Aaron had already done.

"There." Kimmy smiled down at him, moving away from him as she admired what she'd done. "All fixed."

Aaron rolled his eyes teasingly at her. "I didn't know I had to be fixed."

"You don't." Kimmy assured as she sat back down in her seat and picked up her abandoned pizza. "But I couldn't leave you with your hair looking like that. Seriously."

Aaron scoffed, turning his attention down to check the black digital watch on his wrist to check the time.

"Do you want me to get Steve to take you home?" Aaron asked Kimmy carefully. "It's already eleven thirty."

"Yeah, alright." Kimmy nodded, standing from her seat as she spoke, Aaron doing the same. "I better get going."

Aaron motioned for Kimmy to follow him as he went to leave the kitchen and climb the stairs.

"I'm going to have to make sure to call Max after our movie." Kimmy blurted, much to Aaron's surprise. "I can't call her tonight now, it's too late."

"Why do you have to make sure to call her?" Aaron asked confused.

"Um... because she's my best friend and I tell her everything?" Kimmy retorted with an eyeroll. "She'll definitely want to know we're going to a movie, if she finds out and it wasn't me who told her she will actually be betrayed. You know how she is."

Aaron raised his brows but didn't say anything, not wanting to read too much into the fact that the girl was quite obviously excited to tell Max about what they were doing tomorrow.

"Steve?" Aaron asked while knocking on his bedroom door, not stopping knocking until the older boy opened the door with an annoyed expression. "Can you take Kimmy home?"

Steve rolled his eyes but nodded, grabbing his jacked and throwing it on, slamming his bedroom door behind him.

Upon turning onto Kimmy's street, Aaron reached over and pulled her hood over her hair just like he'd done earlier, the girl smiled at him to say thanks. Unlike usually, Aaron had decided to sit in the back with her as they went to drop her off.

"Remember," Aaron told her with a teasing tone, making sure he was quiet enough so Steve wouldn't hear. "You can't make plans with Max tomorrow, doesn't matter how persuading she is."

"'Course I won't." Kimmy scoffed quietly. "We've got our movie to watch."

Aaron scrunched his nose at her teasingly, as if pretending he wasn't sure he was going to go just to annoy her. Kimmy shoved his shoulder in response.

"See you tomorrow for our date, weirdo." Kimmy teased as she got ready to leave the car that would soon stop outside her house.

Aaron's cheeks went pink, trying to recollect his thoughts before she left.

"Our date?" Aaron replied quietly, trying not to show how flustered he was over her comment. He cleared his throat and straightened his posture as he tried to look calm, however his voice was filled with nerves. "Um, sure, a date."

Kimmy raised her brows and nodded as she went to open the door after the car they were sat in had come to a stop. "It's a date."

She sent him a smile as she shut the door, Aaron sending her one back. The second she turned away, he let out a slightly relieved sigh. The blond climbing over the car seats into the front passenger seat. 

Steve gasped dramatically. "Aaron, I've told you a million times about climbing over the car seats-"

"Guess what?" Aaron asked his brother once he had sat down, the younger brother unable to keep the wide smile from pulling across his face.

"What?" Steve asked hesitantly, not sure what was about to come out his brothers mouth.

"I have a date with Kimmy tomorrow night." He announced proudly, Steve's eyes widening as he smirked.

"No way!" He exclaimed as he gave his little brother a high five.

"Yup, and I didn't even use your advice." Aaron nodded as Steve started the car. "I just asked her."

Steve raised his brows, proud his brother had gotten himself a date with the girl he had been trying to get close to in that way for months. Yet, clearly annoyed that his advice hadn't worked.

Aaron rolled his eyes halfheartedly at Steve's reaction at Aaron not using his advice, not caring in the slightest.

...

NEW CHAPTER AHHHH I ACTUALLY LIKE THIS ONE ITS BASICALLY ALL KIMMY AND AARON.

Hope everyone is having a great day!!!

- AJ :)