It wasn't a cold night, but it wasn't warm either. It was one of those evenings where you had to keep taking your sweater off then putting it back on a couple of minutes later. Despite the irritation this type of weather caused, she was happy. And she couldn't help but smile stupidly at herself as her feet click-clacked against the pavement. The sun hit her face as she kept on down the sidewalk, the rays of light impairing her vision. She looked up from her feet every now and then, to look at the sky. It was lovely. The sunset had been fairly anticlimactic for the past couple of weeks that she had come out here but today it was beautiful. The streaks of purplish-blue and white clouds complemented the pale pink sky. The moon was already peeking out, it was full tonight. It would be dark soon. She hurried her pace as the sun started going from its bright yellow colour to a fiery orange. She passed streetlight after streetlight as she walked, toward the place she had visited every other day this past month.
She slowed her stride as she approached the bus stop. Her smile grew once she saw that he was already sitting there. She studied him as she got closer. He was a strange character, in all their months of knowing each other she felt she knew nothing and everything at the same time. She still remembered the day they'd met. It was a warm day, unlike the current weather. He wasn't anything special at first glance, just an average boy with brown skin and curly coils of brown hair that spilled over his face, covering his eyes and forcing him to constantly move the shiny hazel hair out of his eye view. She remembered dropping her bag, various items of hers spilling all over the crowded crosswalk. He was the only one who'd stopped to help her pick it all up. They had both squatted down and he stayed and helped even when the traffic light turned green and cars began to honk at them. She remembered making eye contact with him and even though it was only for a moment, she saw so much in his face. His cheekbones were uneven and his nose had a bump in the middle that bent the bottom half of it crooked, but his imperfect features suited him well. His smile is what had stood out to her. He had smiled softly at her as he handed her a tube of lipstick that she dropped. Their hands touched for a moment when she took it from him. She remembered looking into his twinkling eyes like an idiot, her mouth agape. Their exchange only lasted a couple of awkward seconds before they both got up and parted ways. She thought she would never see him again, that their meeting was just a once-in-a-lifetime storybook moment. She was wrong, and for once she didn't mind it. She saw him again at the bus stop. Though they had parted in opposite directions, they had somehow both gone in a circle and gotten to the same bus stop. They recognized each other immediately and began a conversation. It was easy to talk to one another, he was a good listener and she was a good talker but eventually, the bus came and she had to board it to get home. They had agreed, though, to meet back at the bus stop that coming Saturday, when the sun was about to set and there were no other people, just them and the cars that were passing by. She went that Saturday, then eventually every other day of the week for a month. It was now almost over a month since they had met. She slowly inched closer to the all-familiar bus stop. He didn't see her yet. He was slouching on the bus bench. He was hunched over something, she couldn't tell what it was. As she got closer, his image became clearer. It was a book that he was hunched over, and he had a coffee cup in the other hand. He turned to look at her once she was close enough for him to notice her presence. They grinned at each other as she took a seat next to him.
"You're late, flower" she didn't know where the nickname he'd given her came from or what it meant but she loved it.
"I think you're just early," she said looking at the watch on her wrist.
"Your watch must be wrong," his voice had a natural tinge of sarcasm to it, one she grew to love dearly.
"Me being late is a first,"
"I know," he smirked.
"Why are you so early?"
"It's not that early! The sun has already set,"
"I know but this is early for you,"
"I was just excited to see you,"
"Oh, were you now?" she nudged her shoulder into his playfully.
