Way And Direction

Chapter 15

Richard shut his eyes and clenched his fist.

"Just when I thought I could go without getting noticed." he thought.

Kiaan turned back and waved at Sizwe, who called out to them. Richard looked at Kiaan and said, "What are you waving for? You're acting as if you know him."

He chuckled and continued waving, then looked at Richard as if to say that they should go to Sizwe and Ellie.

"Firstly it's good manners. Secondly, we should go there, it's getting weird with me waving here. Sizwe can see us you know," he said very matter-of-factly.

Richard sighed and walked towards Ellie's house with Kiaan. Kiaan was eager to meet Ellie, even though he felt sad for Richard who could  potentially be marked as a stalker.

They opened the unlocked gate and stepped into her yard. It was beautifully adorned with a few garden trolls on the way to the door. It was not an extraordinary house, or a million dollar yard setting, but it was absolutely pleasing just the way it was. The short green grass, and a brown bench which needed a little bit of painting, all came together to form an amazing scenery.

They walked to Ellie and Sizwe, who were then standing near the bench.

Ellie heard their footsteps and called out with much enthusiasm, "Mr Russell?"

Kiaan looked at Richard teasingly and whispered, "I can feel the excitement."

Richard glared at him and ignored it because of course he didn't want to embarrass himself more than he was already.

"Poppy," he said in a sweet voice. He wanted to hug her but he also didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable if he did. Richard did have his fair share of overthinking.

Kiaan greeted her and said, "I'm Richard's best friend. I don't know if I was mentioned before, but I'm glad to meet you Ellie."

She was impressed by his way of talking.

"Yes you were. I've heard you're a great person, glad to meet you too. What are you guys doing around here?"

"Just a stroll," he promptly answered and Ellie smiled warmly. Richard released a sigh of relief.

Ellie noticed something about herself change at that point. The extremely introverted person she was, had seemingly faded. When she'd first met Richard, she didn't start being sweet too early. At the back of her head it haunted her that people leave too easily. However, at that point, she was finding herself being nice to other people and opening herself up to new friends and experiences.

Her inner self smiled.

Kiaan definitely was the comical guy in that group, he cracked jokes which made everyone's sides split with laughter. He was a complete mix of an immature and mature boy at the same time.

"And then I told him," No dude! That's dumb," and they laughed because of Kiaan again. Sizwe actually enjoyed their presence, he trusted Ellie that they were good people and wouldn't trigger him.

Sizwe had an amazing personality and he also contributed to the conversation much.

"So how'd you two friends meet?" Richard asked, indirectly emphasizing the word 'friends'.

He was jealous. He knew it. Kiaan did too. He didn't know why. Kiaan did, but he didn't bother to call him out there.

Sizwe grinned and they narrated their story. How they met at school, and instantly clicked, how Ellie got excited when she found out that he is actually Gogo's grandson. They really did share a deep bond, and it radiated in the way their eagerness to continue telling their story increased at every word.

"That's our story. I'll never leave Ellie's side," he smiled and held her hand in their air for a second.

"That's cute," Kiaan acknowledged and he noticed Richard silently dying of jealousy.

"Yeah it is," Richard said, in a voice as modest as a person could possibly get.

"I'm happy we're all getting to know each other," Ellie said. She sincerely meant those words, she was genuinely happy that Sizwe and her had made new friends.

Everyone agreed and they continued chatting, Ellie brought snacks and they had a great time. It seemed as if Ellie and Richard's relationship was growing, because they started to get to know the other important people  in each other's lives.

Richard felt relieved that she didn't think he was a stalker for being near her house. He was happy she understood, even though technically he was showing Kiaan her house, but he chose to not consider that as stalking.

Sizwe was happy he'd called out to them to join too. He loved making friends, but he normally chose not to, simply because nobody besides Gogo and Ellie could tolerate his disorder. It was too complicated, and he often thought about what he would do without either of them in his lives. He apologized to Ellie a lot, for having to always be there and handle him. She never accepted those apologies, for in her view, the sorries weren't even needed. One thing couldn't change though. The fact that Sizwe lived with the burden of his disorder, and so did Ellie.

After much chatting, they eventually realized that almost three hours had passed.

"Guys we've got to be going now. It's definitely late. It was honestly awesome today," Kiaan said and smiled widely.

The guys did the 'shoulder bump' goodbye gesture. It was, indeed, a good day and a time well spent.

As Richard turned to walk out , Ellie called out to him and he was startled with what she did.

She embraced him in the most sincere and warmest hugs ever. He felt a sudden burst of energy and shock, her hands wrapped around him gave him a sense of happiness and comfort.

She let go slowly and whispered softly in his ears, "Kilig, a word of Filipino origin used to describe the thrilling feeling of butterflies in your stomach when something romantic-ish happens."

They chuckled at that and said bye to each other.

Nobody else mattered at that point. Not even that Kiaan was standing there, or Sizwe.

In the midst of other people and things, they found their space, their own little space.

Richard smiled and walked out with Kiaan, who also smiled.

Richard whispered to himself and giggled, "Kilig."