He watchers Willa step out of the front door, slowly but surely. Today her body is hidden under a pink baggy sweatshirt that brings out the rosiness in her cheeks and a pair of soft grey leggings accompanied by white floral sandals. She's timid about crossing the yard and balls up her hands in the extra part of the sleeves.
Jasper tilts his head, smiling like so many times before, observing the girl. He strums a few melodies and looks away to ease any anxiety that might be crawling through her. A few nuthatches fly by with a hummingbird coming in hot right behind them. It buzzes around the front steps and goes around the side of the house where it's sweet, homemade nectar rests in a simple plastic flower designed feeder.
She finds herself at the railing already. Willa tries her best to avoid eye contact yet musters up enough courage to make it to the top, her mind and heart going crazy. Never has she been able to, willingly, talk or rather approach someone that isn't a doctor, not for years that is.
"H-Hey."
Jasper looks back over at the sound of her voice, his heart now racing. This is their first real meeting in over a month of living next to each other. Kona immediately jumps off the couch opposite of him and runs up to her as she sits in the rocking chair diagonal of the swing.
"This i-is uh—is kinda...this is weird. Umm..."
The same smile stretches farther across his face. He taps the side of his phone.
Ping!
|| message from: Neighbor Boy ||
i do believe you owe me an explanation of what happened in season 10 of that show you were watching
Willa's gaze travels to the side, hoping the blush doesn't make itself too apparent. "Right uh..so—" she chuckles, "there was this girl, ok?" Jasper nods seriously and leans forward. "Ok well, her daughter I guess, got kidnapped. It was this whole ordeal because her and her friend were talking to a stranger online." He raises an eyebrow, leaving Willa to laugh once again. She leans back in the chair and covers part of her face. "The irony, I know."
Ping!
keep talking, it's nice to hear someone else's voice over my own...thoughts? XD
"It's been so long since I've talked to someone that wasn't my mom or a doctor or anything. I'm not sure if I'll be that fun."
Jasper's eyebrows furrow together. He looks down at his phone.
Ping!
that's a load of bull
being shy doesn't mean you're not fun to be around
"I know. I'm surprised you aren't any more nervous than I am."
internally freaking out
trust me
but how is that going, like with the doctors if you don't mind me asking
"It's...going. Um...they're having me go in in a few weeks to do a check up. I've been having d-dizzy spells, pain and all of that more recently. Absent seizures which are like where I zone out, don't hear anything or respond to anyone but I'll just come out of them like nothing happened. Or I'll faint—It's-It's nothing to worry about though, I promise."
that doesn't sound like nothing
Kona whine's at the edge of Willa's feet. She smiles, rubbing behind the dog's ears. "I've been dealing with it for a long time. It's okay, Jasper. The only times I've ever been hospitalized because of it was for surgery and recovery periods after."
surgery for what
"The tumors. I don't remember if I told you about them or not. They mainly appear on my back but they can show up anywhere along the nervous system. But...and they said it's inevitable, that I'll lose my hearing which won't be too fun."
do you trust me
"What do you mean?"
just answer
"Uh...I guess?"
close your eyes
She's reluctant to do so but obliges. His warm hand encases her own, causing an explosion of butterflies to erupt within Willa's stomach. Jasper gently places it against the guitar under where he'll strum the melodies of the new song he's been working at.
Rather than listening to what it sounds like, she focuses more on how the vibrations of each note travels through her palm. It's soft and slow at first before picking up pace after the chorus.
She waits until the songs over before opening her eyes and realizing Jasper hadn't looked away.
Ping!
there's this girl that kinda inspired me to finally finish it
because before I didn't have an end
"She must be a pretty special gal.."
she is
im still waiting for her to realize that
🥀
I believe this has been the most awaited update in a long time.
I had to think hard about how this chapter was going to go so it could set up further events but hopefully I did their first meeting justice.
Let me know what you think!
Have your predictions on what's gonna happen in the end, change?
Have any details I've given about her illness warp your original idea of what it might be?
Am I asking these questions to make you second guess yourself?
Don't forget to
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And I will see all you lovelies in the next one 💕
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Hey Firefly| A Dialogue Story
Teen Fiction[ partly dialogue ] [ stand alone ] // previously known as "Hey Neighbor | A Dialogue Story\\ When a mute foster kid moves in next door to a deeply insecure homeschooled girl that lives in the middle of nowhere, them meeting is slim even when the cl...
