Polaroids & Memories

Afternoon meetings ~ 2

The next day, around afternoon, I come back to the abandoned train station. I see the boy there sitting, looking up at the sky.

"Hey!" I say to him.

He stops looking up at the sky and turns to look at me.

"Hello." He says shyly.

"I'm not bothering you, am I?" I look up at the sky, scratching my face with my pointer finger.

I'm standing by the steps, ready to leave if I am bothering him.

"No." He says while closing the book he has on his lap. "Can I ask you something strange?" He turns to look at me.

A strange question?

"What is it?" I say nervously.

"Did I meet you here before?"

Meet me before?

I look at him confused. Does he not remember me from yesterday?

"Yeah." I finally say.

"I see. I'm sorry. We did meet before." He says almost embarrassed, feeling bad that he had forgotten.

"Yeah, but only for a couple of seconds, though." I say, trying to make him feel better.

"Oh, I see." He grabs his book and stands up and turns to face me. "Um.. Do you..."

"What?" I say, confused.

"Do you come here often?" He says quietly.

"Well, just sometimes."

"It's nice and quiet here."

"Yeah, I agree. It's an ideal spot for reading by yourself.
Or maybe for pretending you're someone in that movie "Stand by Me."

"What?" He looks at me confused.

"It's that movie with the kids walking on the train tracks. You won't get into trouble for doing it here."

He laughs. Loudly. I look at him confused. I guess he enjoyed my joke.

"Well, that sounds like fun. I might have to try it some time." He gives me a smile. "It's Louis." He says quietly.

"Huh?" I say, surprised.

"My name is Louis. Louis Tomlinson. It means renowned warrior."

"In that case, my name is Harry Styles."

"Oh, home leader."

"Yeah, I guess." I furrow my eyebrows , not knowing what he meant. "You're really fast, aren't you, Louis." I say cheerily.

"Fast?"

"Yeah. You were here before me when I came the other day, too."

"Well that's because... I don't go to school." He starts to shake, clutching the book in his hand hard. He's nervous.

"You don't go to school? You really don't go to school?"

"No." He looks down at his shoes. Embarrassed of my questions.

"Oh, I understand."

"Yes... I'm sorry. I'll leave now. Um..." He starts walking towards me.

"Leave? But why?"

"This is your special place. I don't wanna bother you. You seem kinda nervous."

He continues to walk.

"No! It's nothing like that! I'm happy for the company! I was actually thinking the same thing about you. That my being here might be making you nervous or something like that." I say almost shouting it out.