steve—robinson:

ava-macpherson:

Ava turned her gaze back to Steve as he cleared his throat and began, what she guessed was what he wanted to say all along. She listened intently, nodding, “It is a long time.” She agreed before letting him continue. He seemed so unsure of himself, that was easy to pick up. May or may not. Ava furrowed her brows at the indecision in his sentence. “May or may not…” She repeated as he gave up. She had an idea of what he was trying to say, it really wasn’t fucking rocket science. “Alright,” She sighed, propping herself up and facing him completely. She was going to make this easy for the both of them. Steve was a sweet guy and Ava without a doubt did like him. She leaned in, placing a hand to his cheek and kissed him once, then again before pulling back. “How did that make you feel?” She asked, almost like she already knew the answer.

She smiled at him, almost as if to let him know that whatever he’d say, it was okay with her. “Take those feelings and then think about everything else we’ve done and there you have it.” She explained. It was easier said than done, sure, but she didn’t want any if’s, and’s, or but’s from Steve. Just a solid yes or no. “So, the real question here is whether you do or do not have feelings for me.” She pressed her lips together and blinked repeatedly. A silence fell over them as Ava awaited his answer. Should it be bad, she’d still like to remain friends with him because really, she did have a great time just hanging out with the boy. And should it be good, well, they’d see where it lead.

Steve sighed. He knew he’d said something wrong. May or may not. He listened to Ava, kissing her back quickly when she kissed him. He cleared his throat again and smile. “It felt very good. Made me feel… like I’m… on a cloud…?” He shook his head. He was so dumb now. “Yeah, that feeling… like, I feel really light and happy, and it’s that true happiness—not that shit that you tell your parents when you just want them off your back.” He bit his lip and shrugged. “I’m positive that’s how I feel.” 

So Steve thought about everything—him and Ava meeting, then going to the kitchen for a drink, having pretty much a heart-to-heart, and making his promise to protect her sister and help her protect Anya, too, and then getting drunk, and then her falling and him catching her, and then him picking her up and going to the living room, and then they danced and then they kissed and now they were here. All of that was such a jumble of greatness, and he smiled at Ava. “The real question…” He repeated. Of course, another thought occurred to him. They’d just met, and he really liked Ava. That brought his mood down a bit. “I like you, Ava.” He said surely. “I do. A lot.” He sighed again, more out of frustration. “But we just met. I’m sorry for kissing you so soon. I do like you already, though.” Now he kind of wished he wasn’t raised the way he was. “Maybe we should wait until we get to know each other, though.” He told her carefully. “Possibly.” He pressed his lips together, feeling already as if he’d said something bad.

Ava smiled. She didn’t know she was able to have that sort of affect on someone. On a cloud? Well, it was good enough to her and she definitely found it pleasing to the ear. “Good.” She nodded with a smile and relaxed again, getting comfortable like she had done before. Then Steve went on to speak and again, Ava listened carefully. She perked her head up at, “But we just met.” And she suddenly knew where this was going. She let him finish before giggling softly, smiling at him. “Relax, you,” She began with a playful nudge of his arm, “Nothing has to happen right off the bat or anything. That was just to help get your feelings in order, and now that you have, I can tell you that I like you, too, but you’re right. We did just meet and jumping into anything would just be fucking stupid.” Ava spoke honestly, no regrets in her words. She didn’t like how tense the air suddenly got, they were having a much better time when they were poking fun at one another.

Ava herself hadn’t been a relationship person for quite some time, in fact, the thought of it scared her. She didn’t know why but it did. She liked that she and Steve could remain friends for now, everyone needed friends didn’t they? “So, friend,” Ava smiled wider, “How do you feel about the house itself?” She asked, changing the subject to lighten the mood once again.