Candy Man
Pairing: Greaser!S. Coups x OC
Genre: 50s!AU; Fluff; Humor; Angst
Word Count: 5,120
Warnings: Lots of profanity; Racism (but nothing too descriptive and no slurs)
Synopsis: Young love is bitter-sweet, especially when everyone is against it.
Author’s Note: Been having trouble with spacing lately, so bare with me.
“Ayo, Coups! You mind spottin’ me?” Mingyu asked, gesturing towards an apple on the produce vendor’s cart.
“I ain’t spottin’ shit; I lent you money last week.”
“Fine,” the younger male snickered, plucking the bright red treat and taking a bite out of it before his superior could tell him to put it back.
“You better pay for that, you little thief!” the elderly owner exclaimed.
“Cool it, Mr. Jung. We don’t want no trouble,” S. Coups said, clearly amused at the thought of this old man threatening his able-bodied friend. Taking a coin out of his pocket, he flicked it in the air, making it an easy catch for the gray-haired shop keep.
“You’re alright, Choi. Those other ones you hang out with? Not so much.”
“Eh, what can ‘ya do?” the black-haired boy shrugged with a sly grin before running off to join his friends down the street. “Have a nice day, Mr. Jung!”
“Have a nice day, Mr. Jung!” Mingyu mocked as S. Coups caught up.
“We don’t want no trouble, Mr. Jung!” Vernon chimed in with the same tone.
“Ayo, shut the fuck up!” S. Coups laughed.
“You should thank him for covering for you. Being a jackass doesn’t get you anywhere or anything,” Wonwoo informed the two younger boys.
“It got me this apple,” Mingyu countered, taking a bite for emphasis.
“And it almost got you a cap in the ass. I swear Mr. Jung is packin’,” S. Coups said with a nudge to the boy’s side.
“Wonwoo with his books and you with your manners think you’re so fucking great, huh?”
“Well, I can’t speak for Wonwoo, but my manners are what got me a game of backseat bingo with Hyojin last weekend while you were at home twiddlin’ your dick,” the eldest smirked, causing everyone else to laugh.
More playfully careless banter was exchanged between the four friends as they approached the bus stop. “Alright, now if they say anything to you, don’t respond,” S. Coups ordered, upon seeing a few white kids waiting there.
“I ain’t no candyass, Coups,” Vernon muttered.
“Don’t say another fucking thing. You almost got us killed last time.”
The four boarded the bus in silence, ignoring the few white kids that made snide comments or spat slurs. “They’ve run out of original material. Ain’t that a bite,” Wonwoo said under his breath.
“The fuck did you just say?” one blonde haired boy asked.
“You heard me.”
Before the blonde boy could answer, the bus door opened again and a girl with warm brown skin and coiled black hair walked on, clutching a few grocery bags to her chest. By the time she made it halfway to the back, the four Asian boys had become old news. Even more people shouted at her while making obscene hand gestures, but she simply kept her eyes on the back window.
S. Coups’ eyes followed her from the moment she stepped on until the moment she sat down at the back of the bus. He scanned over her features before moving down her body, only to be interrupted by a pluck on the head snapping him out of his trance.
“What are you looking at?” Vernon asked.
“Huh? Oh, nothing,” S. Coups replied, pulling a lollipop out of his pocket and unwrapping it.
“You were lookin’ at that black chick, weren’t you?” Mingyu said, already knowing the answer.
“Maybe so,” he shrugged, popping the candy into his mouth.
“You’re keen on a black girl?” Wonwoo asked.
“My god, guys, she’s black not a fuckin’ leper. And yeah, I mean…She’s beautiful, and she’s-“
“Black. She’s black, Coups,” Vernon interjected.
“You don’t like it when people judge the way you look, do you?” the eldest male reprimanded.
“I’m not judging her, I’m just saying you’re asking for trouble. Mrs. Choi would just about drop dead.”
“Yeah, well you said that when I got my piercings and tattoos, but her heart’s still beatin’ ain’t it?”
The bus came to a sharp stop and their topic of discussion arose from her seat and walked towards the front of the bus to leave. She made swift eye contact with S. Coups, and he swore on his great grandfather’s grave that she smiled at him. He got up as she passed him and turned to look at his friends, giving them a salute and sideways smile.
“You’re joking,” Mingyu deadpanned.
“Nah, I’ll leave the jokes to you Bozos,” the oldest responded with a laugh before leaving the group. He gave them a small wave as they rode by him and tossed the stick from his candy on the ground before turning around to find the girl struggling with one of her bags. Rushing to her side, he used his hand to support the bottom of it, startling her a bit. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. It just looked like you needed some help,” he smiled.
“…Thanks,” she hesitantly replied.
“I can carry one if you want. They look kind of heavy.”
“Thank you kindly, but I can handle it,” she said defiantly. Taking another step forward, she tripped over a rock, causing an apple to fall from one of her bags. S. Coups caught it and placed it back on top.
“You can handle it, huh?” he chuckled.
She stopped in her tracks and looked at him almost incredulously. “Why are you being nice to me?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She simply rolled her eyes with a scoff.
“Look, I know what you’re thinking, and I’m not like that.” She searched his face for any sign of deception or dishonesty and couldn’t seem to find one, so she reluctantly allowed him to help her.
“You got a name?” he asked, walking beside her.
“Annabelle.”
“Annabelle; that’s pretty. I like it,” he smiled at the way her name rolled off his tongue.
“What’s yours?” she asked in response.
“Coups. S. Coups.”
“What kind of name is that?” she giggled.
“It’s my kind of name. What, you don’t like it?” She shook her head, laughing at his mockingly offended expression. “Well, my real name’s Seungcheol, but let’s keep that between us. Only you can call me that.”
“Well, don’t I feel special.”
“You definitely should,” he chuckled.
“Hey, we’ve been walking for a bit. Not that I mind the extra time with you, but why’d you get off the bus so far from your block?”
“Bus doesn’t ride through black neighborhoods. I ‘spose you ain’t too keen on walking through one, neither?”
“I’m keen on you, so I’d follow you anywhere,” he smirked.
“You ‘bout as slick as that grease you slather your hair in,” she laughed.
About a block later, she stopped again. “Well, there’s my place right on that corner.”
“You don’t want me to walk you to your door, do you?”
She paused for a moment before answering, “My mama would kill me if you strolled up to the door.”
“I can’t even be upset, since mine would do the same if she saw you. It’s because I’m Korean, right?”
“No, she’d say you look like a hoodlum,” she began, gesturing towards his outfit. “But yours would say the same about me, so I guess we’re even.”
“Albeit for a completely different reason,” he muttered, shoving one hand into his pocket. “So, what if I wanna see you again?”
“Like when?” she asked.
“Like all the time, but we can start with tonight,” he replied with a crooked smile.
She bit her lip in thought and S. Coups took note of how pretty her lips were. “My mama’s usually in bed by the time the street lights come on.”
“Great, I’ll pick you up at eight thirty.”
Annabelle sat on her bed, waiting and thinking about all the things that could go wrong. But just as the list got too long, she remembered that smile of his. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was eight twenty-five. She hopped up from her bed and took a look in the mirror, fluffing her hair and applying a coat of lip balm. Then she quietly made her way downstairs and out the door.
S. Coups popped another lollipop out of his mouth to greet her. “You made it!” he smiled.
“What, did you think I would punk out?”
“I don’t know, but from what you told me, your mama’s kind of intimidating. A real ‘no bs’ kinda gal.”
“Well, she is, but she worked a double yesterday, so she’s knocked out. I wouldn’t chance anything by staying out too late, though.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll have you home well before she wakes up for her next shift. Quick question…You afraid of motorcycles?”
“Careful, Sweetheart. You hold me any tighter and I just might propose,” S. Coups laughed.
“I wouldn’t be holding you so tight if you weren’t driving like a bat out of hell,” Annabelle replied, voice cracking when they hit a speed bump.
“Sorry ‘bout that. I hope your eyes are open, though, since you’re supposed to be giving me directions.”
“Oh, right…,” she muttered, opening her eyes to take a look around. “Make a left at the next corner.”
After a few more minutes, the vehicle came to a stop in a dimly lit neighborhood. S. Coups got off the bike, locking it into place before offering a hand to his date. Normally, she would have declined, but she was still a bit dizzy, so she accepted the gesture.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“You’ll see,” she smiled, tugging him down a small hill to a slightly worn-down building.
She knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before someone opened an eye level slot.
“Password?” questioned the pair of dark brown eyes.
“SlimJim,” she answered confidently. The door opened to reveal a black boy around their age. He smiled at her but gave S. Coups a strange look as she pulled him through the room and down a flight of stairs to what he figured was the basement. The room was packed with black kids, all dancing and having a good time, the jukebox blasting the latest tunes. A few came to greet Annabelle, and he got a couple stares every now and then, but overall, nobody paid him much attention.
Unwrapping a lollipop, he watched in amusement as she got pulled to the middle of the dance floor by two of her friends. She was one hell of a dancer, and quite the social butterfly; he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. She made everyone around her smile…including him.
“You aren’t gonna stand here all night, are you?” she asked, jogging back over to him during a song change.
“I’m not much of a dancer,” he replied, shifting the candy to one side of his mouth as he leaned against a table.
“That doesn’t matter to me. I brought you here to have fun.”
“I don’t know…,” he trailed off, contemplating whether he wanted to embarrass himself or not.
“C’mon, Candy Man. It’s just one dance,” she teased, gently tugging on the front of his shirt.
“One dance?”
“That’s all I want. Besides, I’m sure that’s all you could handle,” she smirked.
“Oh, really?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.
Crossing her arms, she replied, “Mhm.” Without breaking eye contact, he slid his leather jacket off and placed it over a chair. Taking a few steps back, she beckoned to him with her finger, that same playful smirk still gracing her features.
“So, I was that bad, huh?” he asked as they walked back up the hill.
“What? No, of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Your friends were laughing. They thought I was a total spaz, didn’t they?”
“…Well, yeah, but they thought you were a cute spaz,” she giggled.
“I’ll take it.”
Noticing a slight chill shake her shoulders, he wordlessly took off his jacket and draped it over them. She simply smiled, knowing it was pointless to try to convince him that she didn’t need it. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” he replied, nonchalantly sticking another lollipop into his mouth.
“I swear you always got one of them suckers hangin’ from your mouth.”
“Better than a cig. I quit a while back” he shrugged.
“Can’t argue with that. My friend told me kissing a boy who smokes is like kissing an ash tray,” she said, slightly leaning on his bike.
“Oh, really?” he asked with a raised eyebrow as he stepped closer to her.
“Mhm,” she mused, gently pulling the lollipop out of his mouth. After looking into her eyes for a moment, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, tilting his head a little to deepen the kiss.
“What did that taste like?” he asked as he pulled away.
“…Candy,” she smiled. “What did it taste like to you?”
“Heaven,” he smirked, causing her to laugh and playfully roll her eyes.
“These things must be the reason you do all that sweet talkin’,” she said, holding it out to him.
He plucked it from her fingers and responded, “Maybe so,” before popping it back into his mouth.
Realizing that it was getting really late, S. Coups decided to take Annabelle home. After a short ride back, he insisted on dropping her off at her door since everyone was asleep, anyway.
She took off the jacket and went to hand it to him, but he just raised his hand to stop her. “Give it back to me on our second date.”
“And what makes you think you’re getting a second date?” she inquired, folding her arms as her lips tilted into a smirk.
“That kiss,” he said without hesitation, biting his bottom lip as he watched a blush tint her cheeks.
“Well, you have until then to practice your dance moves,” she quickly recovered.
“Will do. Next weekend; you, me, and that dance floor.”
“Will I see you again before that?”
“I’ll be around. Why, would you miss me?” he teased.
“No,” she scoffed, folding her arms.
“Well, that’s a shame, ‘cuz I’d miss you,” his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer as he spoke.
“Sweet as candy; slick as grease,” she chuckled, shaking her head.
“Yeah, but you like it,” he smirked, leaning in again.
“Maybe so,” she quipped, giving him a light peck on the lips.
He released her and said, “I should probably get out of here before the parentals notice I’m still out. Goodnight, Sweetheart.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out yet another lollipop and held it out to her. With a grin and a light laugh, she accepted it.
“Goodnight, Candy Man.”
“So, nothing happened?” Wonwwo asked.
“Nothing,” S. coups answered, tossing a white stick on the ground.
“Look at that shit-eatin’ grin! He’s fuckin’ lyin’!” Mingyu laughed.
The four boys stopped at the produce cart again a few days later. No matter how much poking and prodding his three friends did, they couldn’t get S. Coups to describe his night with his new love interest.
“Aye, Mr. Jung! Can I get one of them roses over there, please?” he asked the owner.
“Sure can. For a special lady, I assume?” The young boy simply winked and tossed a coin to the elderly man.
“Thanks, Mr. Jung,” he said before continuing to walk towards the bus stop.
“’Nothing happened’ my ass! Tell us what went down!” Vernon snickered, pushing his friend’s arm.
“It’s none of your fuckin’ business,” S. Coups chuckled, pulling another piece of candy from his pocket.
“So, explain how you ended up bringin’ that Chinese boy to the Juke,” Denise playfully demanded, leaning over the convenience store counter.
“He’s not Chinese. He’s Korean,” Annabelle absentmindedly replied as she flipped through a magazine.
“Whatever he is, he sure as hell can’t dance to save his life,” her friend laughed. Annabelle rolled her eyes and closed the magazine before placing it back in the rack.
“He can’t dance just because he can’t dance; not because he’s Asian. And if you must know, we met on the bus. He helped me with my groceries and walked me home.”
“Like all the way home?” her friend inquired.
“Well…’til about a block away from home, which was close enough.”
“Yeah, close enough for your mama not to catch you with some Chinese boy dressed like a hoodlum,” Denise snorted as she started restocking the candy on the counter. Annabelle gave her a dirty look and she raised her hands in a defensive position. “My fault. I meant Korean.”
S. Coups smiled to himself, twirling the rose between his fingers as he walked down the street.
“So, now that the kids are gone, are you gonna tell me what happened with that black chick?” Wonwoo asked nonchalantly, closing his book.
“Nothing happened!” the raven-haired boy laughed in response.
“Then what’s got you smiling like an idiot?”
He paused for a minute, biting his bottom lip. “She’s amazing, Man,” he all but gushed.
“So, something did happen! She was that good of a shag?”
“What? No, we didn’t…We didn’t have sex.”
“So, what the hell did you do?” the younger asked bluntly.
“We went dancing.”
The younger male looked at him incredulously. “You? Dancing?”
“He really got you sprung, huh?” Denise smiled, resting her chin on her hand.
“Well, I wouldn’t say sprung…”
“I would. I ain’t seen you this happy since your mama let you stop getting perms,” she laughed.
“He’s just really really…sweet,” she grinned, glancing down at the candy next to the register. “Hey, Denise, gimme two of them candy pops right there.”
“Sounds pretty damn nifty,” Wonwoo smiled, sitting down on his stoop.
S. Coups leaned against the railing and nodded. “It was.”
The two watched as a Korean couple a little older than them walked by holding hands, and S. Coups couldn’t help but smile a little wider at the thought of being like that one day. Wonwoo frowned a bit, noticing the dreamy look in his friend’s eyes.
“You know it won’t be that easy, right?”
“Yeah…I know,” he replied, plucking a thorn off the rose.
Wind chimes could be heard over the soft hum of the radio as the convenience store’s door opened. “Hello. How can I help….you?,” Denise trailed off as she looked up to see Seungcheol standing at the front of the store.
“Hi…I’m looking for Annabelle he said hesitantly, recognizing Denise as one of her friends from the party.
“She’s uh…She’s in the back room. She’ll be out in a second,” she replied, still a little surprised that he ventured out to their neighborhood.
“You’ll be around, huh?” Annabelle mocked, one eyebrow slightly raised as she came from the back room carrying more magazines. He smiled at her and shrugged as she placed the books on the counter.
“I happened to be in the neighborhood.”
“Considering most people avoid this neighborhood, I find that hard to believe,” she joked, walking over to him.
“Alright, so maybe I just wanted to see you,” he admitted with another crooked smile, handing her the flower.
“Maybe?” she asked.
“Alright, so I definitely wanted to see you,” he corrected himself with a light laugh.
“Thank you, Seungcheol. It’s beautiful,” she admired the rose.
“Not as beautiful as you.” Denise rolled her eyes behind them, pretending not to listen as she counted her till.
“Oh, I got you something, too,” Annabelle beamed, pulling a lollipop out of her pocket. He chuckled and took it from her.
“Sweet,” he grinned, unable to fight the light blush that dusted over his cheeks and nose.
“Not as sweet as you,” she cooed, placing her hand on his cheek.
“Well, you’re both about to give me a cavity. Could y’all take this little love connection somewhere else?,” Denise teased, shutting the cash register.
“Sorry about my friend, Denise. She don’t mean no harm,” Annabelle spoke quietly as the two of them walked down the block.
“She’s funny. Reminds me of my friend, Mingyu. Hopefully you’ll be able to meet him and the others soon.”
She gave him an unsure look and he reached down and grabbed her hand. “They’ll like you; I’m sure of it,” he assured her. As he looked down at their joined hands, he thought of the couple he saw earlier that day and smiled.
“What’s got you grinnin’ like a Cheshire cat?” she giggled.
He laughed and shook his head. “Nothin’ in particular. Being with you just makes me happy, that’s all.”
Before she could reply, she heard murmuring from across the street. Looking over, she noticed two black women whispering to each other while staring. “Oh, no,” she sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just one of my mama’s co-workers over there mindin’ our business.”
He quickly let go of her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you into any trouble.”
“You didn’t,” she smiled genuinely, intertwining her fingers with his again. “Let ‘em stare and whisper all they want. I’m sure my mama would’ve found out eventually anyway.”
S. Coups thought for a moment before speaking. “Hey, wanna get out of here?”
“And go where?”
“My side of town.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea…,” she trailed off.
“Nobody’s gonna fuck with us; trust me. You do trust me, right?”
She indulged in the nervous habit of chewing her bottom lip before nodding with an equally nervous smile.
“Just a little bit further,” S. Coups grinned, gently tugging her along. They passed another group of trees before coming to a clearing. Annabelle took note of how beautiful it was. Flowers of every color, lush grass as far as the eye could see, a small pond of sparkling blue water- she had never seen anything so pure.
“This place is amazing! How did you find it?” she asked once they sat down.
“I didn’t. My father did like twenty-something years ago. Used to bring my mother here back when they were dating.”
“How romantic,” she smiled, looking over the landscape.
“What can I say? I learned from the best,” he smirked, causing her to roll her eyes.
He laid back and rested his head on his arms as he continued to speak. “My parents would just lay here, looking at the clouds and talking for hours.”
“About what kinda stuff, if you don’t mind me asking?” she inquired, gently running her fingers through his hair. After about the third time, she felt grease accumulate on her fingers and decided to stop.
“Wait, why’d you stop?” he asked in an almost offended tone, clearly disappointed.
“I just remembered that you dunk your head in a vat of Crisco every day,” she laughed, showing him her hand.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry.” He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and handed it to her before letting his hand rest on the ground.
Wiping her fingers off, she urged him to continue. “Back to your parents.”
“Right…..They just talked about everything, I guess. My pops said they talked a lot about living the American dream. Y’know, nice house, nice car, white picket fence. An apartment, a hoopdie, and a barbed wire fence is what they ended up with, though,” he laughed humorlessly as he stared at the sky.
Laying down beside him, she supported her head with one arm and said, “America seems more like a nightmare than a dream to me.”
“I’m sure I can understand why.”
“What do you think of it here?”
“Personally? It sucks…But I figure my parents came here for a reason and decided to stay for a reason…So it must be better than whatever they left behind.”
He felt her hand slide into his and smiled, looking over at her. After a few seconds of him admiring her as she watched the clouds drift by, she finally turned to meet his eyes. In their comfortable silence, he leaned in and kissed her forehead.
Annabelle slid into her house and closed the door as quietly as possible before tip-toeing through the corridor. “Annabelle!”
“Shit…,” she mumbled to herself. “Yes, Mama?”
“Come in here. I need to speak with you.”
She walked into the living room and sat down in front of her mother, waiting for her to initiate the conversation. “What’s this I hear about you runnin’ round town with one of them little Asian hoodlum boys?”
“He’s my friend, Mama.”
“Your friend? What kind of friend?”
“Just…a friend.”
S. Coups walked into his room, only to find his father waiting for him. He sighed a bit, knowing a lecture was the only possible reason for him to be there.
“Seungcheol, we must talk. Now.” S. Coups simply nodded and sat down on his bed. “What’s this I hear about you bringing one of those colored girls around here?”
“She’s my friend.”
“Your friend? What kind of friend?”
“Just a friend. I don’t know what else you want me to say, Dad,” S. Coups answered, avoiding eye contact.
“I want you to tell me why you’re bringing your colored friend into our neighborhood. You’re just asking for trouble,” Mr. Choi said, voice raising slightly.
S. Coups finally looked up at his father with a blank expression. “Why do you call her colored?”
“Because she is.”
“Then what are we?”
His father remained quiet for a moment.
“What are we, Dad? We definitely aren’t white, no matter how much you want us to be, so what are we?” he asked in an almost harsh tone, though he kept in mind that he was still talking to his father.
Mr. Choi stood up from the desk chair and said, “We are trying to get by…and I don’t want you making that any harder than it already is,” before leaving the room.
S. Coups felt his left leg bouncing in agitation as his father closed the door. Reaching over to pull open his desk drawer, his eyes locked on a single cigarette. After what felt like hours of contemplation, he closed the drawer before reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out the lollipop he’d gotten from Annabelle earlier that day, and unwrapping it with shaky hands.
A faint tapping against her window woke Annabelle from her already unsatisfying slumber. With a light grumble, she got up and walked over to the dark frame before looking out and down. Finding none other than Seungcheol standing there, pebbles in hand, she quickly backed away and yanked off the scarf that had been protecting her curls. “Seungcheol Choi, what the hell are you doing?” she asked, amusement betraying her attempt at a scolding tone as she looked out again.
“You’re a heavy sleeper. I damn near threw a brick.”
“That doesn’t sound like a hate crime at all,” she deadpanned.
“You know what I meant. Now are you gonna come down here or what?”
“Why should I?” she inquired, folding her arms. “It’s been over a week since I last saw you.”
He sighed in defeat, running a hand through his hair before responding. “I know, and I’m sorry. Just—Just come down….please, Annie.”
Hearing the remorse in his voice, she did what he asked and ventured downstairs and outside. “You really shouldn’t be here in the middle of the night.”
“I know, but I just had to see you. And I know your mama’s out on her night shift, so I figured the timing was right” he shrugged sheepishly.
She took a look around before grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. “Come in, just in case.”
Seungcheol’s eyes wandered throughout the living room, taking in all the pieces that held cultural significance. Smiling at a picture of a bright-eyed girl with two puffballs atop her head, he asked, “Is this you?”
Rolling her eyes, she walked over and turned the picture over, placing it face-down on the shelf. “Tell me what’s going on, Seungcheol. You gone crazy?”
“I’m crazy about you,” he replied in all sincerity, hand grasping hers. “And I know everyone thinks we shouldn’t be together, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.” She remained silent, eyes staring into his with no readable emotion, so he continued. “I….I threw out my last cig the other day, and I thought of you when I did it.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re taking better care of yourself.”
“That’s part of it,” he began, releasing her hand and stepping back to lean one shoulder against the wall. “But I also couldn’t risk tasting like an ash tray the next time I got lucky enough to kiss you,” he finished, earning a soft giggle from her.
“So, you came here after dark to tell me that?” she asked, tone lighthearted, but still mildly confused.
“I came here because--” he paused, trying to gather his thoughts. “I don’t know why I came here. I was just sitting in my room thinking about all the bullshit I’ve been hearing over the last week and about how I let it keep me away from you…And I just needed to tell you that I don’t care anymore, about any of it. All I care about is you,” he breathed, letting his words fall from his mouth in a jumbled mess.
She sighed heavily, crossing her arms again as she stepped closer. “I’d be lying if I said people weren’t getting to me, too…But all I want is to be with you,” she timidly spoke, eyes finding his.
Without another word, he pulled her into a deep kiss, taking the initiative to press her against the wall. Having missed the feeling of her coarse hair, he trailed one hand up from her face to gently twirl a lock around his finger as his other hand drifted to her back. She couldn’t help but smile as her hands gripped the lapels of his leather jacket and tugged them down. He released her momentarily to slide his jacket off, letting it fall to the floor.
Pulling about a centimeter away, he whispered, “I don’t know much about love, but I sure hope it feels something like this,” brushing his nose against hers.
“Well, we got all the time in the world to figure it out.”
“Just you and me?” he asked, eyes lidded.
She nodded before pecking his lips once more. “Just you and me.”
“And if anybody says a fucking thing, you come get me, alright?” S. Coups said sternly, masking the worried feeling threatening to overtake him. Annabelle nodded, giving him a nervous smile. He unwrapped a lollipop and stuck it in his mouth as the two turned to face the doors of the school, which somehow seemed even larger than usual.
She laced her fingers between his, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “Just you and me, Candy Man.”
With a soft chuckle, he smiled and replied, “Just you and me, Sweetheart.”