Everything Everything
Word Count : 860
Summary : You and Crutchie have a quiet day reading at the park
Warnings : Spoilers for Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon.
Authors Note : ITS ABOUT TIME I POSTED THIS!!!! Anyways, if you have not read or watched Everything Everything and want to spoiler free, don’t read this!
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“He tugs my hand just slightly. It's a question. I know, and I look up from the miracle of our hands to the miracle of his face and eyes and lips loving closer to mine. Did I move? Did he?”
The sun was shining, a warm breeze blew by, and you and your boyfriend were laying underneath a tree in Central Park. This had become a regular thing. You and Crutchie would take a small picnic to the park and read under a tree. His reading voice was smooth. Words rolled off of his tongue like he was speaking symphonies into existence. Emotions flowed naturally when necessary. He was a magical reader honestly.
He laid with his head propped up against the tree trunk and body out on the red and white checkered blanket you’d been reading on all summer. You were laying on your side, head resting on his chest. The warm July sun peeked through the leaves above you. It was a perfect day. Lunch had consisted of sandwiches and fruit, and now you were reading through Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon.
“His breath and then his lips are brushing butterfly-soft against mine. My eyes close on their own. The romantic comedies are right about this part. You have to close your eyes. He pulls away and my lips are cold. Am I doing it wrong? My eyes fly open and crash into the darkening blue of his. He kisses me like he’s afraid to continue and he’s afraid to stop. I grip the front of his shirt and hold on tight.”
This part made you want to reach out and kiss the beautiful boy beside you. The silky smooth words came pouring from his mouth with such love in his voice that you wanted nothing more than to kiss him. Crutchie looked over at you and smiled. It was almost as if he knew what you were thinking. You pushed yourself up just enough to press your lips to your boyfriend’s.
Olly reminded you of Crutchie. He was gentle and careful, like he may break you if he pushed too hard. But, he was also strong and protective. He’d take a beating from a demon itself if it meant a finger wasn’t laid on you. He seemed like someone you had known all your life, yeet you constantly learned new things about him. He was both an adventure and a home at the same time.
“Can I keep reading or do you want to continue to gross tourists out with public displays of affection?” You chuckled and moved your head back to his chest to listen to him read again. “My butterflies are rioting.” You couldn't help but laugh. That very easily could have been a book line, or an admittance of feelings. “He squeezes my hand and my lips part and we’re tasting each other. He tastes like salted caramel and sunshine. Or at least what I think salted caramel and sunshine taste like. He tastes like nothing I’ve ever experienced, like hope and possibility and the future.”
How the author so perfectly captured the essence of a boy they had never met was astonishing. Crutchie really was like Olly. He represented the good in the world. Sunshine on a cloudless day, warm sand between your toes, salted caramels, the thunderous applause during a standing ovation, a trip you had only dreamed of before, or a well worn book. He was all those things, in one blonde boy. It was one of the reasons you loved this book so much. Because while you were not much of a Maddy, Crutchie was an Olly.
“I pull away this time,” he continues to read, “but only because I need air. If I could, I would kiss him every second of every day for all the days.” Wasn’t that just a big, fat, giant MOOD!? “He leans his forehead against mine. His breath is warm against my nose and cheeks. It’s slightly sweet. The kind of sweet that makes you want more. Is it always like that? I ask breathlessly. No, he says. It's never like that. I hear the wonder in his voice. And just like that, everything changes.”
Crutchie closes the book and runs his fingers through your hair. Neither of you say anything for a long time. His hand finds yours to hold. You just lay there in pure happiness. People pass. People with kids. With dogs. Every time a dog passes, whoever saw it first would squeeze the other’s hand to make sure they saw it. It was your own special kind of communication.
“Hey (Y/N)?” Crutchie asks after nearly 10 minutes of silence. You just hum in return. “Can we pull an Ollie and Maddy? Let’s go somewhere. Take a spontaneous trip to wherever we feel like it. Just to breath a fresh of breath air.”
“I would love to do that. We can go to end our summer. Where do you want to go?”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as I’m with you, I’m happy.” You laughed, kissed him once lovingly, and proceeded to start brainstorming all the places you could go.
