Exiled (AmBw)

Chapter 30

Sipping water, casually strolling with Naoto as we talked, felt good. The cool breeze of the night helped sober me up and gave the night a pleasant atmosphere. Naoto and I spoke about our first impression of each other and what felt like a million other things. Skipping around from topic to topic, we landed on our childhoods. Unwilling to dampen the mood, I strategically maneuvered around my more unpleasant memories, relaying the good ones which were mostly with my parents. Not wanting to cry in front of Naoto, again, I forced myself not to get too comfortable with him. Naoto was so easy to talk to, and I knew I would share something I wasn't ready to share as yet if I wasn't careful. We went back and forth, sharing our memories, giggling at each other's silly moments. After asking about his parents, he told me they were quite traditional, but he mostly talked about his mom. A sweet smile crept across his face as he told me stories about her.

Naoto: "Actually, she used to work not too far from here, maybe a block or so." He said, finishing off a story he was telling me.

Layla: "Really?"

Naoto: "Yeah, there was a park near it where I used to play with my friends until she was off from work. I have a lot of memories in that park." he said, thinking back. "From primary school until the end of secondary school, I made a lot of good memories with my friends. Especially during the summertime, Koda, one of my friends, used to work there. There was a secret entrance in the back of the park, that he had made. A group of us would use it to hang out in the park after dark."

Layla: *Gasp* "So you're telling me I'm walking with a criminal." I said, teasing him. "Oh my, what will my mother think?" I joked.

Naoto: "Yes, you are." he laughed. "They say girls like bad boys," he said, jokingly popping his collar to look cool.

Layla: "Yeah, well, those are girls. I'm a lady. I like my men responsibly rebellious." I kidded, stopping to fix his collar.

Naoto: "Is that so?" He smiled mischievously. "So, Miss Kato, do you want to be a bit rebellious with me."

Layla: "I might. It depends. What do you have in mind?" I asked, slightly curious.

Naoto: " Come on, I'll show you." he said, taking my hand.

After jogging through the streets like a couple of teenagers, we arrived at the entrance of a closed park.

Layla: "I guess our field trip is over for the day." I said, looking at the chained up entrance.

Naoto: "Not quite." Naoto said, before grabbing my hand again.

Walking around to a shifty-looking part of the park, behind a few bushes, was a plank of wood blocking a portion of the fence. After moving the wood, Naoto pulled back the clipped wire so we both could sashay through.

Layla: "We must be insane." I said, looking at Naoto. "Are we really trespassing?"

Naoto: "Yup." he said, amused. "In all honesty, I'm surprised that this entrance is still here," he said, looking back at it.

Layla: "I'm guessing no one is looking for a hole in the wall when it comes to a park." I said, realizing how ridiculous we were right now. "We are terrible criminals. Next time we should do something noteworthy like rob a bank or something." I joked.

Naoto: "If you pick the bank, I'll bring the masks." he said, playing along with my joke.

As we walk through the park, he told me some stories about his time in the park with his friends. Seeing him talk about his youth was refreshing. It brought out a more playful side of him. I enjoyed seeing it.

Naoto: " And oh my goodness and the number of games of tag we played, you would've thought we were going into it professionally." He relayed fondly.