Every Little Thing

09

As it turns out, I am physically incapable of refusing a night out on the children's playground in my fluffy-sheep pajamas. Especially when Reed Bishop is there.

In the hazy darkness, I see him, shining his phone as a flashlight. I raise a hand in greeting, spotting Georgie and Hale standing beside him, their arms wrapped around each other—out of cold or mere comfort, I'm not sure.

Wrapping the thin jacket tighter around my shoulders, I walk up to them, unable to fight off my smile that Reed returns quickly.

"Nice pajamas," he says, with a wink. I slap his arm.

Georgie sidles out of Hale's grasp and next to me, smiling as she whispers,

"So...Reed's here."

"Really?" I reply, in an equally hushed tone, "I hadn't noticed."

"Make a move! Hale and I will leave you two—"

"No, don't do that," I say immediately. "God, no."

At this, she draws back with a devilish smile.

"Okay," she says, "Maybe not, but if you two start to—"

"Georgie!" I hiss, and she backs away, laughing. I shake my head and trudge over to where Reed has relocated, with Georgina branching off to get back to Hale. The four of us just stand there, the playground sand squelching beneath my bare toes.

"So," Hale says, clearing his throat. "Why did you bring us to a playground?"

"The game is called Hide and Seek," Reed says, with a grand flourish of his hand, and the three of us burst into peals of laughter. He glances around, obviously fighting back a smile as if to keep a straight face.

"What's so funny?" He asks and then breaks, a laugh escaping his lips. "Alright, so maybe it's a little overused."

"Or maybe we haven't played it since second grade," Georgie says.

"Oh, come on," Reed says, "You know it's better than watching those sweaty guys trying to play beer pong with cheap tequila. Besides, what ever happened to childhood nostalgia?"

"You speak like an old man," Hale points out, "But I see your point. Can we—hide in teams?"

Reed shakes his head. "Sorry, but this isn't a glorified makeout opportunity. Singular players."

Hale laughs good-naturedly, whereas I can see Georgie's blush even in the dark. I bite back a laugh of my own.

"Alright," Reed says, clasping his hands together. "I'll count. You three will hide. The first one to be found has to buy waffles at Wham."

"We're going to Wham at one in the morning?" Georgie asks incredulously, and Reed shrugs.

"Depends on how long this takes. Maybe two, maybe three."

"Well, I'm broke," I add, with a smile, "So that means I'm going to be the best hider in the whole damn park."

"Language," Reed says jokingly, and when I flick my fingers towards his arm, he laughs. "Okay, is everyone ready?"

We all agree, and when Reed gives the signal, I take off.

I find Hale sneaking behind the swings—too easy, I notice, because Reed will see right through the gaps, and he'll be a goner—Georgina, meandering along towards the jungle gym, checking over her shoulder in an obvious attempt to find her boyfriend.

And then there are the slides, my eyes falling on an especially large one that is completely covered, whereas the others are open to the outdoors. I spring onto the small, built-in landing and rush up the steps, careful not to make noise. Reed is still counting, but when I force myself down and nestle in the crook of the slide, I can't hear him anymore.

The night sky has made the plastic tube dark and cold, and I curl into myself, making sure that I'm perfectly placed—if Reed looks down the slide, he won't see me. If he looks up from the opening at the bottom, I'll be concealed as well. I bite back a smile, thinking of the look on Reed's face when I'm the last one to be found, the winner of his supposedly stupid game.

What feels like hours pass before I hear anything, and when I do, it's Hale's loud protests, coming from across the park.

"Come on!" I hear him saying, mingled with Reed's laughter, "I coughed, that doesn't even—"

"Sorry," Reed says, "But you owe us all Wham after this."

There's an over-exaggerated complaint, but Hale will obviously be able to pay for it, and I know he's just being dramatic as a joke. Although I don't know much about Hale, his tendency to make small things seem huge is something that I've begun to pick up on.

I'm torn from my thoughts when I hear Reed's footsteps start up on the stairs, and I curl in tighter, hardly able to breathe, excitement and nerves coursing through my body. Then, right as he's about to reach my slide, he stops. I wait, unable to see his face, not daring to look up.

Then, out of nowhere, Georgina giggles. Reed's footsteps quicken as he races away, and I'm sure she's laughing because she's found Hale, and that means they're both in the open, and I'm the only one left.

"Couldn't stay away from me, could you?" asks Hale, and Georgina responds with a laugh that affirms the accusation. I roll my eyes, falling quiet as I hear Reed coming again, this time slower, almost ambling.

"Evelyn," he whispers, as if that's going to get me to admit my hiding spot. He waits, and then I know he's right at the top of the slide; I just barely see his shadow casting over me.

I bite my lip.

"Evelyn?"

Don't answer. Don't answer. Don't answer.

He lets out a sigh, and before I know it, Reed Bishop is barreling down the slide that I have been hidden in for the past twenty minutes. I let out an enormous yelp as his body crashes into mine, and we both tumble down the tube and into the open night air, falling onto the sand so that he's on top of me and I have my hands on his chest and we're both laughing.

"Found you," he says, his mouth so close to my face that I can feel the warmth of his breath.

"Oh, my God," I say, slapping him away, "That was such a d**k move!"

"I know," he says, easing off of me so that he's sitting in the sand and I have room to sit up, brushing sand from my hair. His eyes glint in the moonlight as he said, "You still won, though. So that's got to count for something."

I shake my head at him, trying to ignore the warmth tingling in my veins, my skin begging for his touch. But then Georgie and Hale show up, and the thought is whisked away from my mind.

"Come on," Hale says begrudgingly, "You all are about to be treated to free Wham."

_________

Wham Waffle Emporium is basically the meeting place of all teenagers here in northern Atlantic City, besides the beach and maybe the abandoned theme park five minutes away from Atlantic High. It's literally just a renovated house, painted yellow and full of people, whose staff serves the best waffles of all time. They're not the pop-'em-in-the-toaster waffles, nor the ones that you make at hotels using the same old batter. No, these are Wham waffles. And Wham waffles are the best thing to ever grace mankind.

I can hardly contain myself; the entire restaurant is empty. Granted, that may because it's one in the morning, but it's a rarity to find the Waffle Emporium without what seems like hundreds of customers.

"Whoa," Reed says, glancing over at me, "Don't get too excited; you'll blow a circut."

"I love this place," I say, and he shakes his head with a smile.

"Don't we all."

Reed and I step inside, with Georgie and Hale not too far behind, and I smell the unmistakable aroma of Wham waffles the second we're inside. Georgie lets out an involuntary "mm", voicing my thoughts perfectly. A tired-looking waitress leads us over to a booth, takes our orders, and then leaves us to converse.

"So," Reed says, pointing between Georgie and Hale, who sit across the booth from us, "How, exactly, did this happen?"

Hale laughs, and Georgie glances down with a wry smile.

"I've always liked her," Hale says, clearing his throat, "I mean, who doesn't? But—I don't know, one day, things changed. I looked over at her one day, while she was studying in the courtyard, and I just—"

He releases a breath, followed by a sheepish smile. Their hands, I notice, are now entwined under the table.

"It took me a bit longer," Georgie says, her voice soft as she looks at Hale, although the words are directed at Reed and I. "One day, I just wasn't myself, and my mom was mad about my grades, and I just looked up from my locker and he was there and he asked me if I was okay. And I said no, because I wasn't, and he just—"

She sighs dreamily, her shoulders lifting up as a smile spreads across her face.

"He just hugged me. In the middle of the hallway. And that's when I knew."

I just sit there, astounded. All this time, and I didn't have a clue. All this time I spent talking with Georgie about Reed, she was actually thinking about Hale, and I had no idea.

Reed and I exchange a glance, and in it, we share a thought. Well, damn.

Reed clears his throat and says, "That's sweet, guys."

"Yeah," I reply, with an equally-forced smile. "I like that story."

They smile at each other before turning back to us. Hale clears his throat and points at me.

"I like your pajamas, Evelyn."

"Thanks," I reply, thrown off by the sudden, odd compliment. Reed jumps in with,

"They have cartoon livestock on them."

"Sheep," I say, simplifying the sentence for them, and they laugh. I glance at Reed, and he looks back with a small wink. Shaking my head, I watch as the waitress comes back with our Wham waffles, and everyone goes quiet as they eat, in total silence save for the occasional clanging of silverware against plates.

And somewhere in-between the eating and the conversations that spontaneously start and end, I feel Reed's fingers, inching towards mine, across the fabric of the booth seat. His fingertips touch mine for an instant, so quickly that it could have been an accident, and then retreat. A shock of electricity goes through me.

Come back, I will him, I'll hold your hand, I swear.

But no other attempts are made. Part of me wonders whether it was an attempt at all.