After a few tests at school and two weeks of waiting, Ariel could finally hang out with me. In the cool November air, Ariel and I walked down the pathway in the wooded area behind the local cinema.
"So for your birthday coming up, what do you want to do?" I ask, nudging her bony shoulder with my elbow.
"Oh I'll be taking tours at a few universities that week." She says, shrugging the shoulder that I just jabbed like it wasn't a big deal."
"You shouldn't have to do that on your 17th birthday. Won't it be a bit boring for you?" I ask, stopping by a tall tree. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you are thinking about college. But, can't you do it some other time?"
"No, Luke, I'm sorry. I'm taking the tours with my Advanced Placement Psychology and English classes. If take the tours with my classmates, they will be free and I will earn extra credit for going." She replies, looking at the ground as a way to avoid eye contact.
"I can't believe you have AP classes when you are only a junior. You make me feel dumb, I won't even get in them next year as a senior." Then I look away so she wouldn't be able to see my emotions as they slip from the corners of my eyes. "I won't even make it into any colleges, let alone any universities. I've never been good with school." I stop talking when she puts her hand on my cheek to make me look at her.
"Hey, don't think like that." She gently wipes away a few of my tears with her free hand and then keeps both hands rested on my cheeks, her being on her tiptoes the whole time. "You are going to get into a college, It does not matter if it is a big university or just a small campus college. I'll still be proud of you even if you decide not to go at all."
"Thanks, Ariel." I say, letting out an awkward, girly giggle. She removes her hands and lightly kisses right under the side of my jaw, being the fact that she is not tall enough to reach my cheek even when standing on her tiptoes. She steps back down on her heals and makes her feet flat on the soft ground again. "That laugh was weird, I don't know what happened." I laugh again, this time gladly being not as high pitched as before.
"It was cute." She replies and pokes my cheek as they are probably darkening in the color pink to an embarrassing shade of red.
"Oh." I say, spinning around in a fairy dance-like fashion.
"You are such an eccentric being." She laughs at her smart person joke.
"And that means... What?" I ask while furrowing my eyebrows.
"Not important right now. Shall we go to a movie or do you want to stand here for a little longer?"
"I don't know. How was that movie you saw with Calum?" I ask. My nose scrunches when I say the name.
"It was okay." She says. "It was a bit awkward because we were surrounded by a bunch of ladies in their forties, who came to watch their fantasies come to life." She says that and then points her index finger inside her mouth and makes a gagging noise.
"Well that is disturbing." We both laugh at my comment.
"I agree." She grabs my wrist and then starting running down the almost nonexistent path, I being right behind her until my long legs make it easier to pass her and she eventually stops. Ariel drops my wrist and bends over, breathing heavily. "It amuses me that you never thought of running track. Why haven't you, Luke?"
"I'm fat." I say and then shrug my shoulders while awkwardly making a half-chuckle, half-snorting sound.
"Luuuke. If you're fat, then I'm fat. Am I fat?" She asks.
"No." I reply without hesitation.
"Exactly." She says, poking my nose.
"I'm still fat though." I say, poking her nose back.
"No you aren't!"
"Yes I am!"
"No."
"Yes."
"Fine. Take your shirt off."
"Wait. WHAT!"
"Do it." She lightly commands.
"Nah. Let's go to the movie now." I say, backing away slowly.
"How about-" She pretends to make a decision while tapping her chin with her index finger. "No." She walks toward me and I continue to go backwards. The ground getting softer, the farther we go. I begin to move faster and trip over my own feet and land in a pile of mud and moss.
A swamp. GREAT.
Ariel comes tumbling down after me and we both end up on our backs lying in the thick, earthy smelling substance. My hair now flattened down and sticking to my forehead, I look over and see that Ariel's hair resembles a dirty mop.
"Now you have to take it off!" She sticks out her tongue but quickly regrets it once mud starts dripping down her face into her mouth. I start laughing uncontrollably, I hold my stomach gasping for fresh air as the laughs keep coming. She spits out the mud and joins in with my laughter.
But her laughter stops. I'm then tackled and held down by the wild-beast-of-a-girl. She sits up into a straddle on my waist. I eyes go wide for a second.
"What?" I ask confused.
"Calum is picking me up at the cinema at six." She pulls a surprisingly unmuddied phone out of her back pocket and turns the screen on. "Oh frick, it's five minutes from that time." Time went by fast, considering we headed to the cinema at ten a.m., and instead we are behind the building in the woods. We both get up and dash for the end of the wooded area. When we reach the end and walk around the building to the front, Calum's car has yet to appear.
We stand and wait around for a hour and a half. Calum in his blue mustang finally appearing, Ariel lets out a sigh. She gives my hand, that she had been holding for a while, a light squeeze. Then she drops it and waves to her boyfriend.
Calum stops in front of us and gets out.
"How did you get so dirty?" He asks. Ariel steps towards him for a hug. He jumps back. "I can't let you get me or my car muddy, so i guess you will have to walk home. Ill meet you there though."
"But Cal-" Ariel starts to say.
"You didn't say why you re so muddy. and id still like to know." Calum says, raising his left eyebrow.
"A car drove by us fast while we were waiting here and we got splashed." Ariel says. Calum having his lips pursed, deciding whether or not to believe her story. I wouldn't buy it. But he did.
"Okay meet me at your house." He steps a bit closer and pecks her cheek with his big lips. He backs away towards his car, gets in it, and after a moment he drives hastily away. We watch as the dark blue vehicle disappears.
"Well that was great." Ariel says sarcastically. He shoulders droop from disappointment.
"He is a jerk." I admit, which earns me a look of daggers. "Sorry, but its the truth. I'd never do that to you... Or any girl for that matter!" I reach for her hand and pull her to my body for a tight hug and as soon as she gets close enough, she starts sobbing in my chest.
"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to cry." I say, lightly rubbing her back.
"I want to." She says through sniffles. "Please don't leave me, Luke."
"I wont, I wont." I kiss the top of her head, and we just stand like this in front of the cinema for a long time.
friendship goals, man.
hey thanks for reading! please vote, comment, and follow :)
~ Answer for last chapter's question:
I was planning on doing both Contemporary Dance and Track & Field, but because of my grades, that doesn't really work for me :/
~ Question for this chapter:
What is your favorite band?
