Song for the chapter: One Wish by NONONO
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Something that I really hate is walking to my locker alone. What's even worse is arriving at my locker to find none of my friends around it. The days are long and boring, especially lunch where Linley and I sit alone at our big table meant for more.
Today at lunch, we are suprised with company.
"Mind if we sit here?" Nathan asks as he and another boy sit across from us.
"Of course not," Linley smiles at them and answers for the both of us. I didn't mind though.
We all talk about how our days are going among other things before we are interrupted by the bell. Nathan and I walk behind Linley and the other boy, Peter, who is in one of my classes.
"Do you have any plans after school?" Nathan asks as we walk through the crowded hallway.
"Nope, why what's up?" I ask back.
"Wanna hang out? We could do homework together or something," he smiles.
I laugh. "Yeah, we can do that."
"Cool, well I'll meet you outside later?" He asks.
"See you then," I say before walking into my class. I glance behind me and see him smiling as he continues on down the hallway. The thought of making someone smile again made me warm.
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When school ends, I grab the things I need from my locker and walk outside with Linley. I tell her about hanging out with Nathan and she smiles excitedly. I immediately see Nathan waiting for me when we get outside and say bye to Lin before walking over to him.
"Hey," he says when I approach him.
"Hey, so what are we gonna do?" I ask.
"Do you mind if I drive you somewhere?" He asks.
"Of course not," I say. He smiles and leads me over to his car.
He drives down unfamiliar roads and asks before rolling the windows down. The wind blows through my hair and The Neighbourhood is playing through his speakers.
After a few minutes, he turns into a hidden path that is surrounded by trees. If I was driving, I would have never even seen it. We drive down the path of nothing but dirt and trees and I wonder where we could possibly be going.
He parks his car in the middle of the path and gets out. I get out as well and look around in confusion as to why were standing in the middle of a forest. My luck, he probably brought me out here to kill me.
"This way," he says with a smile.
I follow him down the dirt path and soon he leads me into the trees. I walk as carefully as I can, but being the klutz that I am, I trip over a root. Just as I think I am going to faceplant into the ground, he catches me in his arms.
"You okay?" He asks when I regain my balance.
"Yeah, I'm just not graceful at all," I say with a giggle.
"Here," he says as he holds out his hand. I hesitantly take it and he intertwines our fingers together. "Careful," he says and begins to lead the way once again. A few steps later, we step out of the woods and into a huge field surrounded by tall trees. It is big and open and bright, everything inside and around it bursting with life.
"Wow," I say with wide eyes.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He asks as he stares down at me, our hands still connected.
"It's amazing. Is this the place you told me about?" I ask.
"Yes," he smiles. "I'm surprised you remembered it."
"Well of course I did," I smile back.
His smile grows bigger at my words. "Come on," he says and leads me into the light.
We sit down in the middle, surrounded by many yellow and purple flowers. He points out the different views that he has painted and tells me that he would show me sometime if I wanted to see them. We brought our backpacks along, but no schoolwork gets done. Instead we share stories of funs things that we've done or like to do. He talks the most, but I open up a little more than I had been.
"Look," he begins after a few minutes of silence, "I know about Luke, and I'm really sorry. I also want to apologize if I came on a little too strong at the party. I know how much breakups suck. But if you ever want to talk about that or anything else, I'm here for you."
"Thank you," I give a small smile. "It really means a lot."
"It's no problem at all," he responds.
"And about the party, don't be sorry. We were both drunk and it was just a night of fun," I say.
He laughs. "Well, I wasn't drunk. I enjoyed the kiss and I hope that someday I might be able to kiss you when you're sober and not have to worry about you throwing up afterwards," he laughs again. I feel myself blush at his words and hope that the red on my cheeks isn't too obvious. "If that's okay with you of course," he adds.
"I'm flattered," I say quietly. I really didn't know what else to say.
"Sorry, I probably came on a little too strong again, huh?" He asks with a nervous laugh.
"No no no, it's not that. You're very nice and...cute, I just don't think I'm ready to be kissing anybody yet," I say sadly.
He puts his hand on top of mine that is laying in the grass. His touch is cold against my skin, but it gives me a warm feeling. "I understand completely. When you're ready, if you're ever ready and want to, I'll be here. Until then, we can just work on getting to know each other better and being good friends."
I smile at his words. "I'd like that."
"Good, me too," he says and removes his hand from mine. The warm feeling leaves my body and deep down I have the need to feel it again.
