See you again

Chapter 7

"So you are embarrassed to be with me?" he asked removing his hand from my own. A cold breeze replaced the warm feeling his hand offered and I couldn't help but long for his touch again. "What? No- I- Of course not," I reassured. "Then why did you hide your face from your friends earlier?" he asked with an upset look appearing on his face. Wanting to quickly relieve the situation, I spoke without thinking. "It's just that they always tease me about having a crush on you..." A smug smirk appeared on his face and I instantly regretted my decision to open my mouth. "Do you?"

"W-what?" I nervously asked even though I knew what exactly he meant. "Do you have a crush on me?" He asked taking a step closer, shortening the gap between us. I opened my mouth to respond, but I didn't exactly know how to. He stood across from me and waited patiently for a response, but it never came. He muttered a "Hm" before slipping his hand back into mine and pulling me away. Although I wasn't pleased with how I handled the whole situation, it felt good to have his hand in mine again. Something in the back of mind was warning me that I was getting too attached too soon, but all of this was so new to me that I didn't really care.

We aimlessly wandered around for a bit before Aaron stopped at a bench. We both sat down as he pulled his hand away from mine and the empty, longing feeling returned. "Yes, this is very much cliché," he said, breaking the silence and folding his hands neatly in his lap. "Do you always answer questions later than they are asked?" I asked as I studied the profile of his face. His strong jaw line notably contrasted his soft features. Although there was a small smile on his lips, his eyes said otherwise. There was a tinge of sadness and what almost seemed like anxiety. Before I could look further into it, he turned his head and met eyes with me. "Are you enjoying the view?" I quickly shifted my eyes away and stared straight ahead at the few people lingering around the park as if to discount the fact that I was staring at him.

I felt his eyes linger on myself for a while until he slowly returned his vision ahead of him. "Do you like people watching?"

"I do more than just people watch," I said placing my eye on a girl jogging by. "What do you mean by that?" "It's kind of a habit of mine to read people... You see that girl jogging?" I saw him nod in the corner of my eye. "Do you notice how she's not listening to music? And how her shorts are awfully short? And how her hair is in a high ponytail?" He nodded once again. "She used to be extremely overweight and insecure a few years ago. She used to be bullied for her weight when she was in school. She failed all of her classes and didn't graduate so to prove that she could do something with herself, she took to losing weight. Now that she's finally done it, I've noticed that she has picked up a few quirks. She doesn't listen to music because she likes hearing remarks made about her as she runs around town. She shows off her legs for obvious reasons and her high ponytail is because the way it swings around while she runs makes her feel feminine." I looked away from the girl and back to Aaron.

He kept his eyes on the girl but his mouth fell slightly open. "How can you just infer all of those things by looking at her?"

"Practice. And I do have quite an extensive knowledge of everyone here. It's really simple actually."

"How is any of that simple? Do someone else!" he pleaded with eager eyes. I sighed and shifted my eyes around looking for my next target. "There," I said pointing to a boy walking his dog. "That's your friend isn't it?"

"Yes, that's Austin."

"His undone hair doesn't necessarily suggest laziness, but instead, simple-mindedness. This can also be proven by his choice of plain jeans and a t-shirt. His hand in his pocket suggests that he is carefree, but the way the dog leash is wrapped around his hands tightly proves otherwise. And judging by the agility and preciseness of his steps I think he might be a dancer, but that's just a guess." I turned back to Aaron to see him with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"You nailed him right on the head. How did you even know that he dances just by the way he walks? He's never told anyone outside of his friends that he dances..." I shrugged my shoulders and watched as he turned something over in his mind. "Do you ever think that people don't want to be read? There are reasons people keep things to themselves, you know."He said. "Yes, of course, but there are people out there that I can't seem to get a read on at all..." I said, undoubtedly referring to him. "Can you get a read on me?" he asked as he turned his body to face me, propping his arm onto the backrest of the bench and leaning onto his hand.

I looked at him with somber eyes before shaking my head no. "Why not?" "I have knowledge of everyone here. I don't really know anything about you to be quite honest."

"Does it scare you?" He asked. "You don't really strike me as someone that could possibly harm me, but then again I wouldn't really know because you seem to be able to hide your feelings well. But I guess I can infer that something traumatic had to have happened to you for you to be this way, right?" He suddenly stood up and said, "I have to go." before scurrying off into the distance.

I would have chased after him, but it was obvious he didn't want to be followed. I had said something that bothered him. Could I have possibly hit the nail on the head of himself? What was he so afraid of? Why did he even leav without me ? Isn't this supossed to be a damn date? So much questions throwed into my mind.

"I would be careful around him if I were you," a voice said behind me causing me to jump. I looked behind me and saw Austin sitting on the bench with his dog lying on the floor beside him. "What are you talking about?" I asked, turning to face him. "He'll get you to be really close to him, but just know that the feelings will never be returned..."