Wrap Your Arms Around Me [Oliver Sykes]

Seeing You Happy Made The Whole Experience Worth It.

“Hey,” Oli smiles and looks down at the ground, kicking the grass with the toe of his vans. He seems nervous, tired, worried, and slightly…I don’t know. What is that look? I’ve seen it before. I mentally shrug it off. Oli’s always been a weird one; that’s probably just one of the weird faces he makes.

“Hey,” I reply, pushing myself up on my forearms. Oli doesn’t say anything - he just stays where he is, kicking the ground. I chew on my bottom lip and finish my cigarette, flicking it somewhere to my left.

Oli and I stay like that, him staring at the ground, me staring at him. I look at his tattoos, all of which I’ve seen many times. They’re familiar – like the worn pages on a favorite book, or a path to a family cabin somewhere in the woods. I know them like the back of my hand. But, while I may know the tattoos, I don’t know the man whose skin they decorate anymore. I used to think I knew him, but in all honesty, I don’t.

Do I wish I did? I don’t know. Sigh. I seem to not know a lot when it comes to Oli.

After about five minutes, Oli sighs. He walks over next to me and lies down on his stomach, his face level with mine. I lie back down and return my gaze to the sky. The sound of blades of grass being ripped out of the earth is the only thing that can be heard, aside from Oli’s rhythmic breathing.  It’s peaceful, in an unexpected sort of way. It kind of reminds me of those movies where the guy and girl sit under the stars, talking about the future like they have a clue. Only, Oli and I aren’t together. This isn’t some sort of ccheesy movie, this is real life. And no matter how much I wish this was a movie and that somehow all of this will eventually make sense, it’s not and it won’t.

“I remember your face when we went to Warped,” Oli says suddenly, laughing to himself. He’s talking more to himself than to me, and I listen, letting myself get lost in the memory with him. “We had to run to the complete other side of the venue from where we came in because you wanted to see Good Charlotte. You looked like the ultimate fan girl, covered from head-to-toe in merchandise. Your hair was blonde and blue that summer.”

I look over at Oli. His eyes are foc