heart beat slow

Mitch's brow showed a wrinkle of confusion. Knowing Mikki as long as he had, which was a long time considering he'd pestered his parents to let him hold her merely seconds into his sister's existence in the world, he knew she didn't cut people off easily. Lottie's concern about it had him curious, though. It seemed like there was some kind of wall there, or at least something she wasn't ready to talk to him about. "Hey," he scooted himself closer to where Lottie was seated, reaching over to lace his fingers through hers. "I know I say a lot of stupid stuff, but believe me when I say this: that's not happening. Mikki wouldn't do that. She has to love me because we're family and all that, but you? She chooses to because you're her best friend." He sighed, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation they'd gotten into. "Mikayla also has a stupidly big heart. I think she'd understand." It was apparently his turn to deal with the anxiety and what-ifs, his leg rapidly bouncing in place. "I don't want to do a full-on ambush or anything. I don't want to leave you out of this, either, but...you think I should talk to her first? Like, only me? I just..." His free hand moved to rub at his own chin. "I feel like...if it's me, on my own, it'll make it clear that this is not a joke or a prank or betrayal. None of this is a joke to me."

Mitch had shuffled close to her, and Lottie rested her head on his shoulder before she'd even thought too much about it. Their relationship had begun on quite a physical note, and hadn't really reached a point where they were having deep heart to hearts or she had needed him to comfort her, until now, at least, but he was surprisingly good at it. She gave his hand a small squeeze. "You're probably right," she admitted. "Maybe I'm being silly. But... I don't know." Mikki was the best friend she had ever had, and she didn't want to admit to him that a lot of her worries about being dropped from her life came from guilt. Your best friend's brother was supposed to be off limits, and Lottie had crossed the line massively. "Uh," came her response to his offer to talk to Mikki alone. She lifted her head to look at him again, brow furrowed in thought. Maybe it would be for the best, and if not, it would give her time to figure out what she wanted to say while Mitch felt the full force of Mikki's wrath. It wasn't the most selfless of thought processes, which was probably why Lottie made a face at the idea. "I don't know. Kinda seems like the cowardly option on my part." She shuffled a little on his bed, bringing her legs up and tucking them underneath her so she could turn her whole body to face him. "I think it would be better if you talked to her, though," she said. "I mean, I'm still trying to process everything that happened today. I don't think anything I have to say will smooth things over right now."

Mitch sighed once more, a bit more noisily this time around. "You know I didn't mean that how it sounded, and I don't think that. I'd yell about you from a rooftop if I could. Seriously. Any roof that I can find access to without a near-death fall happening? I'm there. Mikki, though?" He trailed off with a shrug rather than fill in any blanks. There was no denying the cold, hard truth: Mitch dating any of her friends, let alone her best friend, was not going to be taken happily.

Lottie shifted where she was sitting, turning to face Mitch a little more fully. Whatever leftover annoyance she was holding on to from her unexpected tumble into the snow had dropped, as had her defensiveness. Somehow, he had managed to comfort her a bit, although the fact she was upset was still pretty obvious in her expression. "No, I know," she didn't look at him when she spoke, instead glancing down at where their hands intertwined. "I'm not saying that she will. Just that she could, if she's hurt enough by this. And of the three of us, I'm the more disposable corner of the triangle." No amount of logic was enough to make her feel any less vulnerable about any of this, and in that moment, it felt impossible to know what way it was going to go. It was better to prepare herself for all eventualities.

"W-whoa, hold up," he immediately replied, shocked by the fact she wasn't taking his side. Well, maybe not shocked, but still offended nonetheless. "What you should be saying is 'wow, thank you Mitchell for saving me from breaking the worst news ever to my best friend.' So you know what? You're welcome."

Lottie's brows pinched together, the look she shot to Mitch pointed. "The worst news ever," she repeated, her tone deadpan. She knew what he meant - for Mikki, it likely was the worst news she'd hear in a while, or else they wouldn't have been so worried about her finding out, but that didn't mean she had to like hearing Mitchell describe it that way. "Gee, thanks."

Mitchell was already like an excitable little dog, so add gifts, booze and cookies into the mix? Christmas was an all out celebration for him, or at least it should've been. It seemed something was in the air at the Smith residence that night because Christmas was turning out to be way more chaotic than usual. He thought, as a joke, throwing Lottie over his shoulder and tossing her into the snow might get some laughs. Maybe it would've if it weren't for the fact that they hadn't told anyone they're dating. Not only did he end up looking like a total dick, but he blew his own cover and let his family that they were together in the worst way possible. He knew the moment he saw the look on Mikki's face, as if she'd been punched in the stomach, and the way she sulked up the stairs to her room that he fucked up. Massively.

Lottie was fiddling with the hem of the t-shirt Hunter had loaned her, her own clothes in the laundry after being ruined by Mitch tossing her into a pile of snow. She was still angry with him for that, but as much as she didn't want to be talking with him, her temper was cooled by the fact she was hugely anxious about how Mikki had taken the revelation she and Mitch had been seeing each other. "You should feel shitty," she pointed out. "Of all the ways it could have come out, that was probably the worst." She still couldn't fathom what he was thinking, or even if he was thinking at all.

Mitch frowned a bit as he thought about Lottie's statement. "I don't like that it's a secret. Like, I don't want you or this or us to be, but...I don't want to hurt Mikayla, either. She spazzed out at me just for kissing you, although I think it was more about the making you run out part afterwards, but still. I don't want anything to screw it up when it feels like it's just started, you know?" He wasn't even sure how to describe it. Some internal light switch was flicked from the moment he kissed her, and going from feeling irritated at the sight of her to having to dig up every sense of willpower he had to keep from kissing her at any given moment was still a bit of a whiplash in his mind. "We'll figure it out." That was his lame temporary answer for their problem, one that was easily whisked away from his mind with the cupcake joke. "Ah, real clever. Just as long as no one tries to take them from me one they're finished, I might consider it," he smirked. Although he knew there was an attempt to move back to the desert island question, once she mentioned museums, Mitch's curiosity was fully piqued. "Au contraire, that sounds super interesting to me. I love museums," he mused, pressing his lips to hers once more before trailing down her jaw. He left out the part in admitting that most of the museums he'd visited were for children, but it still counted in his mind. "I think I'd love them even more if you were my curator. Tell me your favorite history fact."

Lottie shook her head. "No, no, I get it. I don't want to rock the boat until we have to." She frowned a little bit at the revelation Mikki beat him up over her, torn between feeling bad for him and wondering if it was justified. "I'm sorry. I don't want you and Mikki to fight. Even if you did deserve it a little bit." She tried to soften that by pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "But Mikki is pretty much my favourite person, and you're, uh, kinda working your way up to be pretty high on the list. So if we need to keep things private for a bit, then that's fine." There was no point in making a big deal of things. She didn't know how long this was going to last. Until that was settled, she'd keep the secret. She tried not to dwell on it, smirking a bit when he picked up on her joke. "Oh, don't worry. You've made it clear your cupcakes are a no-go." That wasn't a surprising revelation, but what was more shocking was the fact he was genuinely interested in her dorky admission. Normally, she was full of facts, but it was a little hard to think when she could feel his lips moving along her jaw line. "Um," she began, searching her mind for something other than the urge to continue the make out session. "Uh, in Ancient Egypt you had to shave your eyebrows off when your cat died. To show you were mourning."

"Eh, it's fine. Mikayla doesn't need to know about all this just yet. Will we tell her at some point? Sure, but that doesn't have to be until much, much later." As much as Mitch wanted to scream from the rooftops about how into Lottie he was, the idea of telling his youngest sister, AKA Lottie's best friend, about what was going on with them? It wasn't the right time. He honestly wasn't sure if there'd ever be a right time. With the way she basically turned him into ground beef after the first make-out session, he didn't think she'd be any gentler on him when it came to really talking about the feelings there. He wasn't worrying about that just yet, though. His mind was currently occupied with nicer ideas. "I kind of cycle through different 'things.' It was briefly singing, there was this whole boyband phase and everything. Also basketball, which my brothers are much better at than me. I guess right now, it's cooking. I'm no Gordon Ramsay, and I may scream any time oil spits back at me, but I'm pretty decent at making stuff. I'll whip up a grilled cheese for you one day...if you're a cheese fan, which you definitely should be. What about you, what's yours?" Mitch scoffed a bit when she suggested that his sexy palm tree fantasy would be uncomfortable, shaking his head slightly. "No, babe, it'd be a smooth palm tree. They exist, trust me. Saw tons of them in Hawaii. I do like the hammock idea, though. The balance part might be tricky, but I definitely wouldn't mind trying it out with you." Although he had a million different comments zinging through his mind, they were easily settled when Lottie's lips returned to his. He expected to be pushed away at some point, but considering she wasn't making any move to do so, he shifted his position so he was on top of her now, the kiss deepening with the movement.

She nodded her head, fully in agreement and relieved that he said it, and not her. "Our secret, then. At least until we figure out what's going on with us from here." She didn't want to make assumptions, but his comments up to this point made it seem like this was going somewhere rather than just being a physical thing. You don't take hook ups to the zoo. However, she didn't want to take that as complete truth and end up embarrassed at the end of it. "I've never kept a secret from Mikki before," she mused, suddenly a little nervous at the prospect. Not nervous enough to tell her right now, though. The idea of that scared her more. "I think I remember the boyband, kinda." She hadn't been to any of his gigs or anything, but it was ringing a bell of Mikki mentioning it. "I didn't know about the cooking though. And I would love a grilled cheese. Maybe a cupcake for dessert?" She wasn't sure if they were at a point where she could joke about cupcake-gate, but she was willing to test the waters. "My thing? Uh, I don't really know. I work at a museum, and curating is what I wanna do as a career, so I guess history and all that nerdy stuff. It's not that interesting." She wasn't sure why it felt embarrassing to admit to him that she was a huge geek. He hadn't exactly been shy about showing her the side of him that wasn't the coolest guy in the world, but she wanted him to think she was cool anyway. "Hmm. Okay. Find a smooth palm tree and I'll think about it." She still wasn't convinces. "You're right, hammocks are dangerous too. Maybe we should stick to the houseboat. The kiss was getting a little deeper, and as much as she had promised herself she wouldn't get carried away, Lottie didn't want to stop it either. Instead, she kissed him back.

Although the plan of actually taking Lottie out would make its way back, Mitch's mind was like a dead end road and only held so much focus per subject. That's why he thought so intently about Mikki's frog situation. "I mean, she isn't but she is. Like, she likes that we like her frogs, but if I decided I wanted to have my own little frog colony, I don't think she'd be into that. It'd kind of be like if one of the other's decided to go vegan. Hunter's already got all of that tree hugging stuff accounted for, and it'd just throw everything off balance if another one of us decided to take it up." Despite being his family, there was no denying that every single person in the Smith household had a weird quirk to them. Just like their dumb nicknames, it was stuff that was unique to each person. Mitch was starting to think one of his newest quirks was the urge to kiss Lottie every time he saw her, though. "I know," he smirked, "but they were decided before I was aware that you were also stuck on this island with me. I would've gone into much more detail." As he kissed her back, he shifted around so that he was now on top of her, one arm holding himself up while the other slid down to her hip. "Although most of it would have to do with being with you in the ocean," he muttered, lips brushing hers as he spoke before kissing her again. "And on the beach." And again. "And in the houseboat. Wait, are there palm trees on this island? Definitely against a palm tree, too," he grinned before finally shutting himself up and returning his lips to hers and not having the urge to comment any further.

Lottie let out a hum of understanding at Mitch's words, though they did bring up another concern. If Mikki wasn't overkeen on sharing her love of frogs, would she be any happier about her best friend hooking up with her brother? "I think I get it. It probably means that she won't be too pleased about this, though," she gestured vaguely between the two of them, not wanting to address the elephant in the room that it was probably a good idea to keep things private for a little while. At least until they were sure it was going somewhere, at least. "What's your thing?" She knew that Mitch was an off-beat sort of person, but exactly what he was into, she couldn't say. "Oh?" Her eyebrows raised, but before she could ask any more questions, he was rolling on top of her, and giving her exactly details. "Sounds.. um... unsanitary. And scratchy. I don't think palm trees are all that comfortable." She wasn't trying to kill the moment, but he seemed to have a way of making sure she said the first thing to pop into her mind at any given moment. "But the houseboat, for sure. And maybe a hammock if we can make one." Her lips returned to his, getting a little more heated on her end. Any thought of taking it slow seemed to have been forgotten.

"You think, huh? Well I think I might just take you up on that," he grinned. Despite his lack of actually going on dates in recent years, something about the idea of actually being somewhere outside of his house and the eye of his siblings with Lottie made Mitch feel a bit giddy. Nothing would ruin that, not even the idea of matching with his sister's frogs if he decided to get green in his hair. "Ooh, not sure I'm ready for that, plus I think Mik would probably get all defensive like I'm moving in on her hyperfixation. I'll let her have the frog thing and maybe get a green streak if I'm feeling a little wild or want to look like a punk rocker. Didn't the singer of Green Day do that, or am I just thinking green because it's in their name? Mmm, either way, maybe in the future." He shrugged a little once she mentioned Ashley being sweet as his first choice. To him, it was a no-brainer. "We're just weirdly close. I mean, it's not weird to me, but we're buddies. I feel like she'd make me laugh, too. Like, if the guy in Castaway had his slightly crazy sister to keep him company, things might've been different." Although he knew the question was rhetorical, the situation of the island changing had him rethinking his answers before shaking his head and listening to hers. The idea of her being stuck on the island as well had him raising his brows suggestively. "You're stuck there too, huh? Well if I knew that from the beginning, my answers would've been very different," he grinned before leaning in closer and placing a slow but deep kiss to her lips.

"Okay." It was a lame response, but Lottie could feel her smile stretching across her face in a huge, and probably dorky, grin. She couldn't actually recall the last time she had been on a proper date. Pretty much everyone she had ever been interested in had always seen her as the second option, which didn't really lend itself to romance. With Mitch, though, it felt different. Something huge had shifted between them, and all of a sudden, she wanted nothing more than to be on a date with him at the zoo. "Huh, really? I didn't think she was possessive like that. I mean, she loves showing off her frogs." She paused as she tried to picture the lead singer of Green Day, giving a little shrug to show that she didn't really know the answer. "Maybe? I'll Google it later." Checking her phone was the last thing on her mind right now. "I don't think it's weird. I mean, it's kind of sibling goals, right?" She found it oddly sweet how close he was with Ashley, even if the idea of Ashley daunted her sometimes. "Oh, but your answers were good ones!" She had completely missed the suggestion in his tone, but when his lips met hers again, she suddenly didn't care what he'd change. From where she was leaning against him, she wiggled her arm free, letting it drape across his shoulders and inch herself a little closer to him while continuing the kiss.

Lottie's question actually stumped Mitch, considering he hadn't been on a proper date in about a trillion years. The implication of it all did have him smirking, though. "Are you saying you wanna go on a date with me, Charlotte Liang?" he teased, her comment about continuing the make-out session having his grip around her tighten just slightly. As much as he wanted to get back into all that, he wasn't about to distract from having an actual conversation with her. She was right when she said that a lot of stuff between them was still a mystery, and he didn't want it to be like that. He wanted to know her outside of being Mikki's best friend. "I don't think green's my shade, but we'll see. Maybe if I'm feeling a little wild, I'll try it one day. It might make my eyes stand out a bit more.'' His gaze remained fixed on her face as she thought of a question. He wasn't about to ruin the moment by saying something stupid, but he couldn't help but grin and think about how cute she looked while searching for the right thing to say. "Ooh, good one," he said, although the expression he wore showed he was about to take the question a little too seriously. "First thing would probably be Ashley. She's pretty much my best friend, but I'd also love to see her go full on beast mode while trying to open a coconut or hunt for fish. Second would be a house boat, just cause I feel like sleeping on the sand or in some kind of bamboo shack situation would not be good on the old back, and I'd like some form of normal civilization. And third, uh...maybe a nice stereo set up. I work better when I have good tunes in the background." With a little nod, he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before flashing a smile. "Your turn, three things."

"I think I am," despite the smile on her face, she could feel herself blushing. She'd never had the best luck romantically, and that was enough to make anybody a bit shy, but coupled with the fact it was Mitchell Smith she was talking about going on a date with? A few weeks ago, she would have laughed at the idea of it, and now, the idea was giving her butterflies in her stomach. "Uh, I mean, sure, if you're really feeling it. I think Mikki would like that. You'd match her frogs." A vision of Mitch with frog-green hair popped into her mind, and she tried to hold in a laugh at the image. While he spoke, she leaned back a little to look up into his face, though not enough that his arms moved from around her. His answers weren't what she expected, but were enough to have her nodding her head. "Taking your sister is sweet. And the houseboat is a good idea, actually. Especially if there's WIFI on board." It was such a good answer that she was a little envious that she hadn't thought of it before. "Well, I guess it depends. Am I trying to survive the island or escape it? Because if it's the first, I want a lighter and a big old knife. And, uh, if it's the second, I want a radio and a flare gun. In both cases I want my Kindle, but you'll probably have to let me into the houseboat to put it on charge."

Mitch's mind was occupied with the image of a chimp using its foot to open a banana, finding he was maybe a bit too intrigued with that visual. Before he could start considering trying the foot-fruit move for himself, her follow up question had him raising a brow. "Well I don't know about you, but I would personally love to take you to the zoo. Doesn't even have to be a date if that makes it weird, it was just be, uh...two...people...enjoying animals...or something like that," he said, the pauses cutting in as he attempted to describe what it could be without labels. "Also the whole 'never hanging out again' idea kind of defeats the purpose of me wanting to make out with you, so...don't see that happening anytime soon." As he watched her poke around, he attempted to shift himself so that the frog Squishmallow Mikki had bought him was sufficiently hidden behind his back. "Oh yeah," he chuckled at the blast from the past, thinking about how they all were as kids. "Me and Ash lost that natural colour years ago, although she convinced me to dye it with her when the Barbie movie came out. We also all went through weird, long hair phases. Hunter's was the worst. He looked like homeless Jesus for a while." He watched as she took a seat much farther away than he would've liked, realizing that she had a point. He could've said the same about her and what he knew. "Well...it's a good thing you're here, then." With that comment, he leaned over to pull her in closer to him, settling back against the pillows and loosely wrapping his arms around her. "It's about time we dive past the surface, don't you think? Ask me anything."

"Oh," Lottie wasn't sure why, but she could feel herself flushing a little bit. "Well I would like to go to the zoo. With you. As a date or not, I don't mind what you want to call it. Is it kind of weirder if it's not a date?" She frowned for a minute, trying to define whatever it was that was going on between them proving an impossible task. For now, though, him being somebody she wanted to make out with was enough. "I mean, I won't stop you if you want to make out with me a little more." Even though they were here because she wanted to slow things down, something about being in his room with him felt intimate, like a speedrun of getting to know him better. "You did?" She cracked a smile, trying to imagine him with a bleached hair look and somehow imagining him in one of Ken's get ups. The idea was funny to her, and she had to stifle a laugh. "Well, luckily it was Barbie and not Shrek, I guess. Or you'd have to dye your hair green." She was saved making a further fool of herself when he put his arms around her, pulling her towards him, and she found herself settling into a comfier position as she leaned in to his touch. "Oh, um, okay." She frowned for a minute, trying to think of something interesting to ask. "Why's it always that you can never thing of anything to ask in times like this," she chuckled. "I guess... if you were trapped on a desert island, what three things would you want to take with you?"

Mitch's eyes squinted as he considered the qualities that him and a chimp would've had in common. "You know, I can't say I've ever seen a chimp open a door with its foot, but that sounds about right. We'll have to go to the zoo or something to see it in action." Although he was usually a yapper extraordinaire, something about watching her point out whatever frog she likes best, and he was pretty sure it was Bonnie, had Mitch quietly watching with a grin and feeling like cartoon hearts were floating around his head. If he hadn't spent so much time blinded by rage, he would've been noticing how adorable she was way earlier on. It took everything in him to not explode on the spot with her next suggestion, though. "Oh, my...my room? Yeah, absolutely," he nodded in a jerky chicken like motion before grabbing her hand once more and leading the way. He normally left it open so there was no need to fully use his foot to open it, just finding that nudging it with his big toe was enough. "So, this is where all the magic happens," he let go of her hand to walk in and gesture around the space like a realtor. It was, like him, a bit chaotic; not overly messy but definitely with its Mitch touches. "We've got some trophies and medals and stuff from when my parents forced me into sports as a kid, said some shit about finding an outlet for my energy or whatever...uh, some pictures of us all from about a thousand years ago, books, CD's...yeah! Feel free to look around. You're getting a full, private showing of the Mitch Museum." He settled on his bed before shoving part of his blanket out the way and patted the now empty spot next to him. "A spot for you once you're done, madam...or honestly wherever you can fit. Feel free to move whatever around, and sorry if there's any dog stuff. Sometimes Stephen mistakes my room for Ashley's."

"I mean, I haven't either," Lottie confessed. "But I've seen one open a banana with their feet. That's got to be trickier than opening a door." She was babbling, but she didn't miss his offer to go to the zoo and witness it in person. "What, like a date? Or was it just one of those things people say? Like 'we should do this again sometime' when you have no intention of ever hanging out again?" She winced, acutely aware she was bombarding him with questions, but her mouth and her brain weren't really in alignment right now. "Sorry. You don't have to answer that." It was easier to fall silent when he was dragging her around the house by her hand, and not just because the feeling of actually holding his hand had her stomach doing backflips. She wasn't sure what to expect from his room, but as she entered and glanced around, she realised she was surprised. She let her hand fall from his grasp, slowly walking a lap around the room as she took in the things that mattered enough to him to keep, and it hit her that she didn't really know him that well. His frostiness had made sure there was a distance between them, and now it felt like there was so much to learn that she didn't know where to begin. "This is a cute picture," she smiled, picking up the frame to examine the photograph of Mitch with Mikki and Ash a bit closer. "Look at Mik's hair! I forgot it used to be so long. And you look really handsome, too. I like the blonde look on you and Ashley." She replaced the frame in it's place and crossed to perch tentatively on the edge of his bed. "I'm just realising I don't really know that much about you. I mean, I know some stuff, obviously, like your parents names and how to make your dog stop howling, but beyond the surface level stuff. You're a surprise."

"I mean, usually I'm a man of steel. Like, nothing breaks me when I'm in full concentration mode," he attempted to explain, although his own opinion on the self control he possessed was a little skewed at best. "Someone makes it a little harder for me, though...not that I'm complaining. It's actually the opposite of complaining. Like, I don't mind being distracted at all if it's by you." He made a face once she claimed to not be invited into his room, and he was a split second away from arguing that of course she had, but their pre-kiss ways slowly trickled back into his mind. "Riiight. Well, honestly, you haven't missed much. I feel like I spent more time in everyone else's room than my own, except for when Hunter gets out his spray bottle and I'm kind of corralled back to my own place." Upon her confession, he immediately grabbed her hand before dragging her up the stairs behind him. "Nah, come on, they're super easy to tell apart. I'll show you!" He considered it a pit stop before they moved to his room, using his foot to nudge Mikki's door open. "I can usually use my toes to get the knob, too," he grinned at Lottie as if he were expressing an athletic feat before turning his attention to the dimly lit enclosure. "Oop, okay, so that one is clearly my fave, Charles," he nodded as he watched one particular frog climbing a branch then shortly losing its balance and falling into the water dish with a splash. "Pretty sure that's Bonnie sleeping on that leaf over there. Felix and Harvey are swimming, Mortimer is eating what looks to be a bug but could also be dirt, and that's Flavia chilling at the top of that plant there." He glanced over at Lottie, silently taking in the sight of her studying the tank with a grin. "Also I won't tell Mik about you not knowing them if you don't tell her about me bringing you in here. She might actually try to strangle me."

Lottie nodded her head, clearly taking his words seriously. She had yet to see anything of Mitchell that would make that statement untrue, given that he had always been pretty single-minded in his decision to hate her. "Well, uh, that's good. I kind of like distracting you, it turns out. I would hate to have to hold back from that." She wasn't trying to make it awkward by bringing up any past bad feelings, but luckily Mitch didn't linger there. "Why?" she asked. "Why not your room, I mean. You'd be drier, by the sounds of it." A very brief, very distracting image of Mitch in a wet shirt came to mind, but before she could dwell on it, he had grabbed her hand and was dragging her up the stairs to Mikki's room. The revelation of his toe agility was not expected, and Lottie blinked. "What, like a chimp?" She blurted out, moving into the familiar space. It felt a little weird, being here without Mikki present. It kind of made the whole space feel different - especially as it was Mitch there with her. She tucked a curl of hair behind her ear, and bent down to examine the tank, her eyes following each frog as he pointed them out. She nodded her head like she got it, but in truth, she knew she wouldn't remember which was which. "Clearly your eyesight is better than mine," she chuckled. "They all just look little and green to me. Cute though. Especially that one." She tapped her finger on the glass gently, gesturing to a frog with a particularly sweet face before straightening up. "It's a deal," she grinned, squeezing his hand gently. "Do you want to go to your room? Just to make sure we don't give her anything to be really mad about."

Mitch found himself pouting as she pulled back, although what she said next brought the smirk back. It settled into just a regular smile as she went on to explaining how she wanted to pump the breaks a bit. He definitely didn't like wasting time if he didn't need to, but he understood where she was coming from. "Sorry," he chuckled. "I kind of dive in head first without thinking stuff through, sometimes...I mean, example A, the cupcake. And just so you know," he paused for dramatic effect, gently placing his lips to her temple before pulling back, "I really like kissing you too. It may actually be one of my favourite things to do, just saying." With a sigh, his lips twisted in thought as he wondered what to do with the time they had before Mikayla came barging through the door. He wasn't sure they'd be able to hide it from her forever, but for right now, this was just for them. "So, uh, do you want to watch a movie or show or something? Or go to my room? Not for sexy purposes, I promise. I just don't think I've you've ever seen my room. I can give you the grand tour. I don't have exotic pets like Mik, but I do have some cool participation trophies and a stereo."

She had been a little nervous about suggesting a slow-down, but his reaction was reassuring to Lottie, and pretty sure, she was smiling too, her grin matching his own. "Oh, no, no, nothing to be sorry about," she shook her head hurriedly. "It's, uh, very easy to get carried away, I think." Or it was when kissing alone felt like it did with Mitch, at the very least. She didn't think her smile could grow bigger, but somehow, when he kissed the side of her head, it did, the action whipping up another flurry of butterflies in her stomach. It should have felt weird, but it didn't. Somehow, it felt like the most natural thing in the world, as though everything had led to this point. "No, I've never seen your room before. You've never invited me in before." There was something that felt intimate about it, as though he was revealing a part of himself. "That's okay. Don't tell Mikki I said this, but I can't actually tell the difference between all those frogs. So even if you did, I think they'd be a little wasted on me."

"Yeah, no, I know. That was kinda fucked up," he replied, his smile drooping as he reflected on the not-so-nice names he'd called her. "Not an excuse or anything, I'm just protective, and obviously that includes over my desserts." It had him wondering who the culprit was if she was telling the truth about not stealing or eating it the whole time. He wasn't about to think too hard about that, though, considering it'd likely make the few brain cells he had left go into hibernation. "It won't be any of those, I promise. Maybe...Char?" he suggested, wanting to see how it felt on his tongue even if it didn't stick.

"S'okay. I get it. You were mad," Lottie shrugged off his apology. Now she understood why he was so angry with her, and knew she had done nothing to warrant it, she was finding it impossible to hold a grudge, especially when being this close to him had her feeling like her brain had been replaced with television static. What had actually happened to the cupcake was a mystery, though, one Lottie was sure she'd fixate on later, but it was hard to care about when his lips were so close to hers. "Char?" She thought about it for a few seconds. "Sure. If it works for you." She wasn't sure she would have said no to anything he suggested right now.

He wasn't sure if it was just habit or what, but he was so accustom to full-naming her that anything else felt a little out of place. "Sorry," he chuckled slightly. "It's just...I know most people call you Lottie, but that always felt like Mikki's name for you and not mine. I know that sounds kinda weird. I'll just have to think of my own special one." The realization on her side had Mitch grinning, although it turned into a deep smirk as she stumbled to be just as reassuring for him. Despite his previous feelings, he wasn't a blind man. He'd always found Charlotte to be attractive. How he currently saw her was on a much different level from before, though. "Well, I didn't exactly tell you," he admitted with a wince on his face. "I kind of got up in your business about it, and not even in a normal way. It was more...spastic, and really dick-ish, which I'm sorry about. Clearly, I don't really know how to do calm."

Lottie shook her head a little. It was a little weird to hear her full name, but she definitely wasn't complaining about it. "No, no, no need to be sorry," she added hurriedly. "I mean, I don't mind or anything. It was just an observation, I guess. You can call me whatever you want." She paused, already regretting her choice of words. "Except maybe freak or psychopath or all that stuff. I didn't like that very much." Maybe she should stop bringing up their previous confrontation, but there was still a lot of air to clear, even if the worst of it had been resolved. "It's okay," she shook her head a little. It didn't feel okay at the time, but now, she kind of wanted to laugh about it. "The, um, main thing is that you told me. Because if you didn't then I guess we wouldn't be here now." She had always idly thought Mitch was a good-looking guy, but until he kissed her, she had been content to leave it at that. That definitely didn't seem like an option anymore, though.

“I dunno, I couldn’t think of a better word. I wanted to sound smart,” he chuckled, peering down at her and leaning into her touch. Mitchell sounding smart would be like saying there was a chance of the sky turning purple, but apparently whatever he was doing worked. This was very different from their last conversation. Any sense of tension between them now felt electric, and there was no way in hell he could ignore it, not after knowing what it was actually like to kiss her now.

"No, no, it's a good word. Very expressive," she was quick to clarify, not wanting him to think she was laughing at his vocabulary choice rather than her surprise at hearing it. "Kinda sums up this whole situation pretty well. I mean, I was definitely a bit flabbergasted when you kissed me for the first time." There was undeniably a shift between them. The last time they met was all fire, but this was much sweeter, and Lottie thought that she liked that a lot better.

Mitch clammed up as she started off by taking them back to the very thing that'd made things so messy between them. It was still touchy, and he found himself curling his fingers up into a fist as he listened to her dipping back into her denial-of-stealing ways. The thoughts of her continuing to refuse responsibility for it had Mitchell wanting to fall back into his ways of icing her out, but then she continued talking and any form of prickling anger melted into curiosity. He wasn't totally sure what she was talking about or what point was attempting to be reached, so when he opened the box, he assumed there'd be some sort of answer to it all. A black forest cupcake wasn't what he expected from it, though. It wasn't his cupcake. His could never be replaced. What it was, though, was a reflection of the best parts of it. The dollop of frosting. The cherry. The small details that showed Lottie listened, even as he spewed fire at her. He wasn't about to admit it out loud, but Mitch thought that there was a chance he could've been wrong about her.

Lottie observed Mitch's face carefully, watching it for any sign of how her little gift was received. It was hard, however, to decipher exactly what he made of it, his expression nearly unreadable. It was the silence that had her most nervous, though, and she rocked on the balls of her feet in an attempt to cool off some of that anxious energy. It seemed to stretch out forever, but what happened next seemed to happen in an instant. He closed the gap between them, and Lottie pretty much melted against him, standing on her toes to meet him in the middle. There was something about this kiss that felt softer than what came before, and she couldn't help but raise her hand to the side of his face, brushing her thumb lightly across his cheekbone. "Flabbergasted?" She let out a quiet laugh, a little surprised by his choice of words.