rain and roses - steven meeks

[2]

nobody knows this little rose —
it might a pilgrim be
did I not take it from the ways
and lift it up to thee.
only a bee will miss it —
only a butterfly,
hastening from far journey —
on its breast to lie —
only a bird will wonder —
only a breeze will sigh —
ah little rose — how easy
for such as thee to die! -Emily Dickinson

the boys

Knox and Angeline had no trouble getting introduced to one another after their awkward first meeting. Their small room was filled with simple jokes and outrageous school stories from the past. Laying on their respective beds, the pair threw around a crumpled up ball of paper found in the bottom of Knox's bag.

"You know, Hellton isn't a bad as everyone says. Sure, most of the teachers suck, and there's an entire mountain of homework, but most of the guys here are chill. Coming from a guy that's known them for a while, they're not bad."

Angeline raised her eyebrows and caught the paper ball coming her way.

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" Knox let out a chuckle, and shook his head.

"Scouts honor." As the paper ball returned back to the boy, Knox stood up. He threw the paper in the trash, and gestured for Angeline to stand. He held out his hand for her go grab, causing Angeline to look upon it with distain. Knox retracted his hand, and watched as she rolled off the bed, dusting herself off in the process.

"Why'd you make me stand up? We're not nearly close enough friends to go on sunset strolls." Knox rolled his eyes, and gestured towards the door.

"I said the guys here weren't that bad. So, why not take you to meet some of my friends? You're bound to meet them anyway, I mean, there's only so many people in this school our age. And besides, it'll give you the chance to woo some boys under your feminine spell."

Angeline laughed. "I thought I already wooed a boy to do my bidding, Knox. Don't you count? I'm pretty sure you felt flushed when you first saw me."

Knox picked up his bag, and opened the door for the girl. "Not quite."

The pair travelled the short walk down the hallway, stopping in front of a door that looked like every other one. As Knox went to grab the handle, Angeline's arm shot out. Knox gave her a look of surprise.

"Are you sure that they're not horrible? Because I'm sure I can find some bad mannered men on my own." Ignoring her statement, Knox opened the door and slightly pushed the girl inside, with him following shortly after.

The small room was filled with six other boys, all in varying positions across the floor, radiator, and beds. They all seemed look up at the same time, with various greetings towards Knox on their tongue. These greetings were cut short as they all begin to stare at Angeline, causing her to shrink towards the door.

"Do you usually have this affect on boys our age Angeline? Because it seems that this seems to happen frequently."

"Shut up Knox. Only the creepy ones like you." Angeline took a deep breath.

"Jeez, cut the staring. I've come to see the not-so-bad hooligans Knox has praised for about an hour." One of the boys chuckled and stood up, heading towards the girl.

"The name's Charlie Dalton. And you better get used to the staring sweetheart, these boys haven't seen a woman besides their mother in years."

Angeline scoffed. "Well I hope you guys get better at hiding your boners, cause then it'll just be awkward."

All the boys immediately looked down at their pants. Angeline laughed, and stuck out her hand. "Angeline Scott. The best and brightest."

The entourage of boys introduced themselves one by one. Angeline scanned over the boys, one by one, stopping a little longer on the auburn-haired boy that introduced himself as Steven Meeks.

"So, how'd you get yourself thrown into Hellton Angeline?" Neil's question caused Angeline to groan and throw herself onto the floor.

"Don't get me started. It's all because my dad donated like a crazy amount to this school, cause he went here when he was young. So he paid my way through so I could get a real 'education'. Whatever the fuck that means."

Angeline's hand fly to her mouth as the words flow out to her mouth. Laughter soon filled the room and her face reddened and she stuttered out an apology.

"Don't worry about that here Ang. I'm pretty sure that we've said worse."

"Oh I'm not worried about your purity Knox. Lord knows you don't have any to begin with."

Sounds of laughter filled the room again the group regaled embarrassing stories from their differing childhoods. There was a constant stream of words flowing from Angeline's mouth, whether they were sarcastic or filled with sincerity. A smile graced her face as she sat on the floor, spiritually finding her place in between all the boys surrounding her.

"It's almost lights out guys. We should probably started heading back to our own rooms." Cameron's words placed a light damper on the feel in the room. All the boys stood up, and began to gather their belongings. As Angeline began to raise herself from the ground, a hand was placed in front of her face.

"Here, let me help you." Steven Meeks stood in front of the girl with his hand outstretched, softly inviting her to take his hand. Angeline smiled and took the invitation, slightly pushing against the ground to propel herself into standing.

"Thanks Steven." A blush sprinkled across the glasses clad boy's face, causing him to release his hand from the girl's.

"No problem Angeline." She smiled and made her way towards the door, where Knox was waiting. As she stepped through the door, Knox threw his arm around Angeline's shoulders.

"So how come Meeks gets to help you up, and I don't?" Angeline threw his arm off of her shoulder, and slightly punched his shoulder.

"Cause he's not the guy who I'm sharing a room with." Angeline turned around slightly to glance at the room she had just left.

"And he's kinda cute." Knox laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Told you they weren't that bad."

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