First

Seven

My drowsiness was fully gone by now. A lump formed in my throat preventing me from speaking as the familiar numbness from before made its presence known to me. But, I had to speak. I had to. Otherwise he would think of me as a weirdo.

Since when did I start caring about what a stranger thought of me?

"No, of c-course not." I managed to let out, trying to smile.

He stared at me with uncertainty. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, wanting him to believe that it really was okay. In fact, good. I knew I wasn't in my senses to act normal but even in my senseless self, I couldn't help but adore this man. It wasn't fair.

"Okay, if you say so." He smiled.

Butterflies. Thousands of them. In my stomach.

"Did he apologize to you?" I asked, trying to suppress everything that was stirring in.

"Yeah, he did. Perhaps a million times. I know he kicked me out in a split second but he also said sorry the entire time he was doing it," He laughed. "But, I honestly don't mind. I'm happy they are finally talking to get the closure they deserve."

"Wait, how do you know about that?" I blurted in confusion. Suddenly, the question seemed stupid.

But I couldn't un-ask it now.

He smirked at me, making my heart beat a bit faster.

"Summer," He started. My name sounded even better now.

What the hell was wrong with me?

"Jason is my best friend. That should explain everything."

"Ahh right. Sorry." I blurted out.

"No worries. Don't apologise. I'm just happy that there is one more person who really and truly knows him."

For the first time, the mysterious aura around him seemed to disappear, replaced by warmth emitted from the love he had for his best friend. I saw him let his guards down as he smiled genuinely. Something I didn't know I needed.

"I'm happy for them too." I added softly.

There was silence for a while.

"What's your major?" He asked, a few moments later. It touched me because he wanted to talk. To me.

I found myself smiling at that. "Journalism. You?"

He sighed. "Fine Arts."

"You are an artist?"

He turned to me. "Yeah," and smiled. Smiled. Like legit smiled truly. Like the kind of smile that reaches your eyes and not just for the sake of it. For the second time, I saw the mysterious aura around him disappear again. I saw his innocence in his smile but as they say, every good thing also has its own set of cons, the stupid foreign feelings came back to haunt me.

Oh God, why? Why did I feel like this around him? And why did you give him such a beautiful smile? Forget his smile. Why did you create such a beautiful human being in the first place? Because it's not fair. It's just not fair.

I could feel the nervousness coming back now, and the next moment I knew what was happening, I found myself turning red. I quickly looked away before he saw it.

"What about you? What do you want to be?" He asked, his gaze still on me. I looked up then, having been reminded of my long-time dream.

"Netherlands." I answered.

"Wait what? What do you mean?" There was a lot of perplexity in his voice.

"Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to live there and become someone on my own. I don't know how this might sound but for some reason, that country calls to my soul. It's as if I'll finally have my 'I made it' moment only once I have established myself on my own out there, just through my sheer hard work and determination." I looked at him then and gave him a small smile. "So, yeah that's my dream."

"Wow. Just wow. That sounds so great." His lips curled up to a wide smile this time.

'Yeah, I guess so." I laughed softly. We went quiet then. I expected awkwardness to come and overpower the peaceful silence between us but it never did. The comfortable silence was maintained throughout until I heard him breathing soundly. I turned to face him and realized he had fallen asleep.

I could calmly look at him now.

The rain grew heavier and heavier outside but I didn't care, probably for the first time. I put my earphones away as I continued to look. He looked beautiful even when he was sleeping. His eyes were closed with such calmness as his steady breathing maintained its tempo. I leaned back on my seat, still looking at him when a sudden thunder grabbed my attention. I looked out the window for a moment when in that split second, he whispered something.

"You are a very easy person to talk to. I hope you know that."

And you are a very beautiful person. I hope you know that.