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"We can go to a diner or something if you're not comfortable," Elias reasons unsurely.

Candice smiles cheekily, "Honestly, I'm fine, Elias, stop worrying."

Elias didn't respond, only opened the door and was happy to be met with complete and utter silence.

He knew that Leon and Anthony were suspended away in their bedroom judging from how he gently tugged Candice into the kitchen and found a few dirty dishes in the sink that weren't there before. He assumed they got a snack before heading in.

"Are you hungry?" Elias heads to the fridge and pulls it open, waiting to hear her answer.

Instead, he heard her hesitate before murmuring a quiet, "No, thank you," The truth was, Candice really didn't feel comfortable going into someone's house and just taking food from them, no matter who they were. She even felt extremely uncomfortable doing it with her family members outside her immediate one.

She hadn't had enough time to munch on something before she came over, due to her being in a rush. She just hoped that her stomach didn't growl.

Elias closed the fridge and stood up to his full height, turning around to face Candice fiddling with her fingers.

He stared at her face for a few seconds too long for her liking, which led her to drop her gaze to the floor.

He let the corner of his lips twitch up a little before he looked away from her uncomfortable form, "Lucky Charms." He simply said. "Have a seat."

He remembered in one of her rants that Lucky Charms were her favorite cereal. He mentally gave himself a pat on the back for remembering such a minor detail.

Candice didn't reply but instead, just took a seat at the island like she was ordered.

She smiled and looked down at her lap, hearing the clinking of a glass bowl behind placed in front of her with a spoon. She watched Elias as he turned around and opened the cupboard above his head, his muscles flexing as he reached out to grab the box of cereal.

Yummy, she thought. And she wasn't talking about the cereal.

She quickly shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts as he placed the box next to the cereal with some vanilla milk.

"Eat up," He encouraged as he stood in front of her on the other side of the island, his eyes trained on her with his large arms outstretched on either side of him as he held his weight.

"You know," Candice smiled discreetly as she wrapped her hand gently around the corner of the box, "Most people don't like to be looked at while eating," She mentioned.

For the second time, Elias' lips twitched, but he refrained them from tugging fully up at the corners.

"Oh?" He commented. "Is that so?" He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the marbled island, his face a good few inches away from hers.

She picked up the jug of vanilla milk and poured it over the sugary cereal slowly.

When she finished, she took her spoon and dipped it in the heavenly treat, her eyes finally looking up to meet Elias' gaze to find his already on her.

"Yes, it is," She blushed as she finally scooped some of the charms on her spoon, her lips parting to take them in her mouth.

Elias clenched his jaw as he slowly rose from his position and turned around, thinking that it was best that he did look away; for both of their sakes.

He backed her, his arms folding across his chest as he looked out the window at the beach below them, hearing the soft clinking of the spoon against the bowl every once in a while.

He finally heard her voice speak, "All finished," She almost sounded proud of herself that she completed the meal in less than 15 minutes.

Elias turned to her distractedly, becoming interested in the game of volleyball that a few teens were playing on the beach. The girls were kicking the boys' ass. From the short time that he was watching them, the girls had already gotten 4 wins and the boys only 1.

Elias now fully paying attention to Candice, looked to the girl before balling one of his hands into a fist and placing it by his mouth as he choked out a laugh, quickly clearing his throat to make it sound like a bad cough.

Candice looked at up at Elias, a soft frown on her lips, "What? What's funny?"

Elias cleared his throat for a second time, the corner of his lips tugging at every moment, "You've just got a little something below your nose." He told her, his arms leaning on the counter once again.

Candice pouted, misinterpreting his words and wiping her nose vigorously, completing embarrassed that he possibly saw a bugger. Horrid.

Elias shook his head humorously as he leaned forward, his face a mere inches away from hers. "I got it, don't worry," He whispered against her face.

Candice held her breath as he raised his hand, his thumb jutting out to slowly swipe itself above her lips to remove her milk mustache, and a bit lower to remove the excess from her lips themselves.

Candice felt like dying when his thumb grazed against her lips, her eyes looking at the action as she releases a shaky breath.

"I'll be back," He whispers gently beneath his breath, his eyes finally moving away from her lips, his thumb coated with droplets of milk from her lips.

Candice felt herself nodding slowly as he finally stood up to his full height.

He turned around and took long strides out of the room, the blonde's eyes watching his every move until he was out of sight.

Candice released another breath at the intense moment, her feet moving to finally place the bowl in the sink before washing it.

Elias turned the corner, and in that moment, brought his thumb up to his lips before tasting.

"Wow, the view is spectacular," Candice found herself murmuring in complete awe.

Elias stuffed his hands in his pockets; this boy loved his pockets.

"What time will your brother be expecting you?" He asked curiously as he opened his mini-fridge and took a small bottle of water from it. "Want anything?" He gestured to the open fridge.

As he watched Candice look at the view beneath him, he was glad in that moment that Anthony and Leon had that fight for the bedroom when the chance had arisen.

He couldn't imagine not having Candice all to himself in the room that was all his. He should thank them later.

"Say an hour?" She shrugged nonchalantly as she clutched her purse tightly in her hold. "And no, thank you," She finally turned around to look at him.

"So, what do you usually do at this time?" She conversed as she stands in the middle of the room, looking incredibly out of place.

Elias sat on his bed, his back leaning against the headboard as he placed the uncovered bottle by his lips, a slight twerk in his lips as he looked at her, "You can sit, you know," He chided.

Candice cleared her throat and looked at the computer seat across from them. Elias couldn't help but chuckle as she took a seat over there, acting as if he wasn't referring to his own bed.

He pulled out his phone and set a 55-minute timer so that he could know for sure when to escort her back over to her hotel.

He threw his phone across the bed after it was set, his head lolling back to rest in the headboard, his Adam's apple proudly in the air as his eyes stared up at the ceiling.

Candice started at him from her position across the room, her body spinning in the chair.

Elias finally rolled his head over to look her, a tweak in his lips.

She finally stopped, noticing how his eyes were solely trained on her, "What?" She voiced confusingly.

He sat up, his eyes still on her curiously as if trying to figure her out. "What's your story?" He suddenly asked.

Candice tensed, "My- My story?" She quipped.

He nodded his head, his hand leaning on his knees with interest as he urged her to continue. She was beautiful, kind and genuine. They weren't many people like her and if he wasn't mistaken, there was surely more to her than the naked eye could see.

He didn't really enjoy speaking that much, he was a good listener when he wanted to be though, and what better time than now? He wanted to know more about her and in the small space that he knew her, she liked speaking, so he wanted her to do just that.

Candice hesitantly started, "Well..." She began. "My full name is Candice Adelliana McKinney, I'm seventeen years old-" Candice talked, and talked, and then did even some more talking.

In just the span of 2 minutes, Elias felt himself gently relaxing himself back on his comfortable bed with his arms behind his head as she continued to speak.

He closed his eyes and listened to the gentle caress of her voice against the air. Her talk varied from her brother and parents to her mother's sister and husband who she absolutely despised because of a silly incident when she was younger.

She soon found her getting comfortable as she kicked off her shoes and folded her heels beneath her butt, her hand playing with the hem of her dress.

Elias opened his eyes to look at his ceiling every once in a while, listening to every spur that descended from her lips, not inputting or commenting on anything.

Candice spun and swirled in the chair, her eyes too looking above her as she chatted her life away. She didn't go into any details of her life back home and he didn't ask why. Despite the few family members that she mentioned, she didn't mention school or any best friends, nor did she mention a boyfriend so that was always a good sign again.

Even as she got up and went to the mini-fridge to retrieve a soda as she paced the room, she didn't stop talking. Elias listened as her lips moved about how her brother's friends usually gave her the creeps.

Seconds passed, which soon turned into minutes as she continued.

Throughout all of this, Elias' lips would twitch or tweak at everything she said that amused him, ranging from the slight raise of her voice when she mentioned something she believes was so incredulous, to how she found every little thing to play with as she continued her story.

"Elias?" He hears her pause to take a breath.

He rolls his head over to her direction, his eyes averting from the roof of the room, "Hm?" He hums as he folds one of his knees to point up.

"You've been quiet, I'm sorry if I'm boring you. I have a tendency to talk and talk and talk and some people find it quite annoying and..." She didn't even realize that she found herself doing it again, nor did she realize that Elias had already gotten up and was standing in front of her already.

Her breath only hitched when she felt him grab the palm of her hand, only now realize that there was a 6'2 boy standing in front of her.

"I don't find it annoying," He whispered as he looked down at her.

Candice stared at the movement of his thumb against the back of her hand. "W-Well, um-"

She was at a loss for words as she tried to regain her voice. How could the even think straight when he was looking directly at her face, analyzing every flaw of her imperfect face?

He interrupted her blubber, "Now what's that story about your grandmother?" He asked lowly.

Candice finally looked into his dark eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat, "Well- she got my father at an early age s-so... so um-" Candice felt her voice trailing off into nothingness when she sees Elias ever-so-slowly leaning in.

The movement was so slow that she wouldn't have caught it if he wasn't so close to her face that she could now feel his breath against her lips.

Elias gave her hand a squeeze before brushing his lips against hers so gently, the pair letting their lips hover over each other.

It was an odd feeling, how Candice managed to feel weak at the knees as they both just stared at each other. Why wouldn't he just kiss her already? She was going to lose her mind.

The bell; the sound of a loud, annoyingly blaring bell was what caused Candice to jump two feet backward.

Her hand was pulled from his grasp, and Elias felt himself looking down at the floor, a soft, almost inaudible, humorless chuckle leaving his parted lips.

The universe worked in absolutely fucked up ways. Why did he have to set that alarm and why did it have to go off in that exact moment? It was ridiculous.

"I- think it's time for me to go," She sped across the room and grabbed her purse and shoes, sliding them on quickly. Had she been talking for nearly an hour already? How much of her life had she told home exactly?

Elias grabbed his keycard yet again from beside his bed and murmured, "I'll walk you."

Word Count: 2264

Something to read in quarantine.

~TheOfficialSinner