rose garden | MILEVEN AU

iii. plain petals

Ever since she allowed herself to believe in fairy tales, she wanted her own. She let her heart wander, dreaming of everything that it had never dared before, forgetting about the boundaries that she would usually fear. Throughout the years of having nobody to make friends with, nobody to ease the ache of loneliness within her heart - it was hard to wish for something that she would never have. But as soon as she locked eyes with him, it was as if he had unlocked a small part of her heart, releasing the endless possibilities that she had tossed aside. He awoke something inside of her soul. 

There were certain moments where time felt frozen. The fresh blooming of a rose bud, its sweetness piercing the air - or even the lost princess meeting her beloved prince charming. As soon as she saw him, she found herself looking further. Her hand automatically curled around the curtain, fingers squeezing it gently as she watched him, reluctantly letting go so that she could follow her instincts. Before she knew it, her feet were carefully moving down the stairs, across the living room window where he was curiously watching her, until she was on the other side of the back door. Mike didn't even notice the way he was holding his breath, glancing over the fence so that he could be certain that the chief had left for work. As she walked closer to the door and placed her small hand on the glass, she felt like a regal princess floating down the staircase to where her prince would be waiting for her. Their eyes were locked, allowing the feelings to sink into their hearts, even if only for a moment. 

Mike's marigold gloved hand waved for her to come outside, a small inquisitive smile resting upon his lips. She hesitated for a moment and his face fell, her eyes darting around the empty house as if about to take a mighty risk. 

Please, he mouthed to her. 

Her eyes squeezed shut, a shaky sigh escaping her lips as she willed herself to open the door. There was part of her that wanted to run back inside the house, and maybe that was the voice that she should have listened to all along. But she couldn't help but follow the newly discovered warmth in her heart, the smile that she tried to hide while watching him garden and fall around with his cumbersome sneakers. In her life, she had the pleasure of reading many books, each one always describing the hero of the story taking a leap into a new adventure. Her heart fluttered at the thought, knowing how she had always wanted to be the hero of her own story. So, she took the leap. 

His voice was meek, almost unsure. "Hi."

"Hi."

The raging fire inside of his soul simmered slightly, cooling down at the sound of her voice, a voice that withheld all of the sweetness of the flowers around them. There were crushed spines and petals all around him, and hopeful new seeds that he would soon plant - but she was like a fresh rose reaching up towards the sun. 

He noticed the bundle of books that she held within her slender arms, squinting to read the topics of whatever textbooks she seemed to be working on. She sat down on one of the porch steps beside the ruined rose garden, placing one of the textbooks on her lap comfortably as she got ready to study. Her face was blank, eyes not even giving him a second glance - if only he knew how fast her heart was pounding just from his presence. Simply sharing the same air as him felt like a strange disturbance in her atmosphere, her nerves tingling and fingertips shaking as she tried to concentrate on her equations. It took all of her strength to ignore him, simply turning the pages of her book so that she could find the right passage to work on. Mike looked around with a weird expression, trying to figure out the equation in front of him, trying to process the thoughts running through his head.