The Little Blue Pitcher

Blue-Raspberry Slush

I woke up and, once I cleaned up, went to my favorite diner to get breakfast. It was 11:00 once I finished eating, so I made my way over to the park, which was a thirty-minute walk. I sneaked around the park, looking around to see if Orion would show up.

I was almost certain that he wouldn't show after an hour of waiting under the tree. I had written three more articles about Scotland, and I was getting impatient when all of a sudden a pine cone fell harshly on my head. What the hell? I thought to myself as I looked up.

I shot up and away from the tree when I saw Orion sitting in the tree with a pinecone in hand and a smile on his frustratingly handsome face. His back was leaning against the trunk, one foot was relaxing on the branch, and the other hung freely off the side. He ran a hand through his short, dark hair and sighed, "Well you were an hour early."

"Oh yeah? And how long have you been here?" I argued, putting my hands on my hips. "Oh, since about 10:00. I thought I'd try to figure out why you chose this place to meet but I couldn't seem to place a finger on it." he confessed playfully. I rolled my eyes.

"Get down from there and let's go. We have work to do." I demanded, and he hopped down as if it were nothing. He stood next to me, and I couldn't help but feel vulnerable due to his superior height.

"How did you know to meet me here?" I asked suspiciously as we walked.

"I saw your message, of course, Allie." he replied innocently.

"Yeah, and I was birthed by an elephant." I retorted.

"That's a rude thing to call your mother, Allie." He quipped with a smile.

"You-you probably stared through my window, you creep." I spat, my heart crumbling a little bit at the thought of my parents.

"Lovely." he muttered, ending the conversation.

I stared at the ground as we walked, not wanting to reveal that he'd gotten me by mentioning my mom. I made sure that there was only silence, even if he asked me the stupidest of questions, which he didn't. I took it as he wanted silence too. After fifteen minutes, he stopped and broke the silence.

"Do you think we could stop at this little store? This silence is making me famished." he asked, with a calm voice. I looked over at the little corner store before pointing at it and barking, "You have five minutes." He nodded with a cool smile and started walking away, and I watched him for a moment before shaking my head and turning around, but when I did so, he was standing behind me.

I squealed, jumping back and almost into traffic. Orion used his free hand to grab my arm and steady me before I fell in time to meet the incoming car. I stared up at him in bewilderment, looking back and forth between him and the store.

"I'm ready to go," he chirped, holding up the cup in his hand. I was about to ask him how he did that, but I decided against it. We continued trudging along, but I noticed that his drink was blue, and he had a bit of difficulty slurping it through the straw at first.

"Are you drinking a blue-raspberry slush?" I asked stupidly, immediately regretting opening my mouth. "Yes I am. Would you like some?" he offered nicely, tilting the straw towards me. I grabbed it and slurped some, letting the memories flood my mind while the amazing taste flooded my mouth.

I smiled and even chuckled slightly. "My dad and I used to go get one of these after school, every day since my first day of kindergarten." I laughed, a spring being placed in my step. Orion watched me, smiling along. I told him some memories I never thought I would relive.

After I'd told a couple stories, the spring in my step was gone, and my smile had faded. I was back to trudging, and it felt worse than before. All I seemed to be able to think about was my dad, and every second I thought about him, I got more upset.

Orion seemed to realize this, and stopped us, taking my shoulder and turning me lightly towards him. "Are you okay?" I looked away, and started walking again after saying, "I loved my dad..."