Red Herring ✔️

31. Clownin' Around

As thoroughly as Christian planned their evening, there were a few kinks to work out.

For one, with the presence of law enforcement circling the area for suspicious activity, the two burglars couldn't exit the building the same way that they came in. The risk rose too high. Though they did not encounter said law enforcement officer, who knew if he waited around to stalk the area.

Secondly, the door to the guidance counsellor's office could only be locked with a key which meant they had to lock the door from the inside. Even though the cameras surely would pick up their activity in the general office area, they didn't want anyone to know that they had been in Mrs. Meyer's personal space.

"Come on. This is our only option," Christian dragged her by the hand over to the window.

Third and lastly, Christian's "cover" cost much more precious time than he ever anticipated. Filling over 2,000 tiny paper cups with water to cover the entire office space as a senior prank took a lot of effort. Now, it was nearly four in the morning. Her alarm would go off in less than three hours to arise for the school day.

"I feel like I'm going insane. I need sleep," she mumbled unhappily, shuffling her feet around Mrs. Meyer's desk to the window overlooking her office.

Christian rolled his eyes. "Then quit complaining and come on." He popped open the glass and hitched one leg over the windowsill. "It's on the bottom floor. You won't even have to fall or drop."

She stood with her hands on her hips. "We covered all of our tracks, right?"

"Mazie, I'm never taking you anywhere again in my entire life if you don't get over here and climb out this window right now."

"Yelling at me doesn't work when I'm tired! I shut down!"

Christian held up his hands in surrender and talked in a cool calm tone. "I'm not yelling. I'm politely demanding. Get over here." His raised palms turned over and he offered her a hand. "I'll go first. And then you can come down. Okay?"

As he impatiently requested, Mazie waited at the window for Christian to slip through and drop to his feet on the other side. She peered through the window. Silently, Christian held out his arms, signaling that he would catch her. It took every ounce of trust she held in her body to loop one leg over the windowsill...then the next...then leap courageously. She fell into his awaiting arms. Christian didn't lie; the window fastened into the wall at about eye level. She easily touched the ground and found her balance.

Still, Christian held her tightly against his chest while she gathered her bearings. Mazie clutched onto his jacket with steely fists to catch herself from the impact of her miniature flight.

Quiet little bugs chirped and sang in the midnight hour all around them in the tall grass that grew up around the edge of the building. Leaning into him felt like a romantic moment in a movie where he was expected to kiss her but restrained himself. Maybe it was only she that sensed the tension pulled tight between them. Maybe she only imagined it.

"I think I like the mask." One finger gently traced the edge of her mask around her eye. She blinked a few times, thinking she imagined it.

"Well, I think I prefer your face," she whispered, still holding onto him.

He broke eye contact and laughed shortly. His gaze danced up to the stars in the sky that captured his attention. "You and me both. Between you and me, it's a little itchy."

They clung to one another in an odd sort of way; her, clenching the jacket tight around his biceps, him, gripping the back of her arms, locking her in his embrace. Neither shifted away, willingly resisting the natural tendency to release each other. For the first time, she noticed how their legs brushed against one another. His fingers splayed comfortably along the back of her arms, widening the breadth on which he touched her. It felt intimately visceral. A step in a new direction. And both of them actively accepted it.