Bates & Landon [Wattys2015]

LANDON

Landon

My dad always said people who were rude(or assholes, like I liked to say) had a reason to be like that. For instance, family problems or problems with yourself and so on. My dad taught me not to be so judgmental to people. He said, "Always look past the appearance they give you; don't overlook the surface before studying deeper inside," and I always tried to do that. I really did.

That is how Alice and I met. She used to not even know my existence, let alone my name. She wasn't well known by others either. Like it mattered that much, we went to middle school -- a small one, actually. One day we were teamed up for a three legged race during field day. Of course, she and I didn't talk much until we had to work out a strategy. For some reason, I didn't really like her. It wasn't like I knew her much, all I did was judge the surface.

She really talked to me when we won. We talked about what most girls in middle school could talk about -- boys. As stupid as it sounded, we both thought this one guy was cute. But both of us were too much of a chicken to go talk to him. Anyways, we became close friends and stayed like that since. I had looked past the surface of Alice Martin and I still liked both surfaces of her; the one she showed to the world and the one way buried beneath.

That was the beginning of our beautiful friendship.

"Landon?!? Landon -- did you hear me?" It was Alice. Mandy left to go get food at the supermarket for dinner tonight, so I took the chance to call Alice before her parents came home and before Mandy came home too.

"No, sorry. I zoned," I said as I lightly ran my fingers over a scar on my knee from riding my bike when I was ten years old. Alice had carried me all the way back, leaving our bikes unattended. "What did you say?"

"I said where did Bates even take you since you and him ditched for a romantic day. You two are bad kids, leaving school to hang out. Yet it's kinda cute."

"We ate breakfast--,"

"But you always eat those bagels Mandy the Witch buys you and your dad," she interrupted.

I smiled. "I did eat that. And breakfast with him too. Anyways, then we walked for a while then went to that park you and I always used to hang out at and we just talked.."

"I sense something else happened..," I heard a loud gasp, "Oh. My. Gosh. You guys kissed, didn't you?"

"No! We didn't. He ended up sketching me,"

"That's so romantic! Ughh, I want a guy like Bates, too!"

I blushed, "Mhmm. Yeah,"

"Did anything else happen?" She asked me quickly, excitement in her voice.

"Uh, no. I dunno, maybe?"

"Tell me more, Landon," Alice said, I could hear her beginning to smile.