van der waals ✔ | seaycee (sean and kaycee)

[7] warm

It was a cold windy morning for the both of them the next day. The dried brown leaves were falling down, mimicking the way cherry blossoms do.

It had rained throughout the night and Sean looked out of his window to be greeted by the sight of the sparkling grass patch near his house from the morning dew.

He stared at it for a while, mesmerised at how it shined as the wind gently blew on the grass.

Sean quickly got himself ready. He was running a little late for his small agenda this morning. He was going to fetch Kaycee from her house and head to school together.

"Son, good morn...hey you're up early by yourself today. I'm proud of you." Sean's dad smiled at his grown up son, no longer needing him to be his alarm clock. Sean was indeed old enough, but he would always have that bad habit to snooze the alarm clock and continue sleeping away. So his dad had to be the second one, but more physical and verbal.

"Good morning dad! I'm already ready for school, so could we go off a little earlier after breakfast? I promised to fetch one of my new friends just around the corner to school." Sean pleaded and his dad was more than contented.

"Of course! I'm glad that you're getting along well with some of your peers and even making new ones. Come on, time for breakfast."

They both rush out of Sean's bedroom and head to the kitchen.

As Sean enjoyed his meal, he couldn't help but notice the dark eye circles around his dad's eyes. He was not getting enough sleep and yet he was still so energetic, just to match Sean's energy level.

After mom and dad took a break from each other, with mom temporarily moving back with her family, Sean's dad hasn't been getting the best of sleep. He was constantly worried if she was okay, wondered whether things will work out between them eventually. And most importantly, will he be able to have enough money to raise Sean, assuming if she is not coming back for a long long time.

He has both a part-time job and a full-time job, which explains why he hasn't been getting a lot of sleep. He comes home really late in the night and Sean would have been asleep by then. While he was away, Sean's aunt usually comes by their house to help cook meals for Sean.

But despite all that, he still isn't earning enough. Sean noticed the tall stack of papers and crumpled up balls of paper everywhere on the coffee table, in the living room.

There were pencil marks everywhere on each one, scribbled on each piece was investments, expenses and taxes that they needed to pay if they want to be able to continue living in this home and to live comfortably.

Yet, his dad was still the most optimistic about everything. That was not gonna falter his crooked smile.

Sean looked at his dad and this time he was beaming with pride. He was father was truly one of a kind, despite all circumstances.

"Dad?"

"Yes son?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

-

Honk! Honk!

"Bye mom! My friend is here." A little girl waves one last goodbye to her mom before rushing over to the sidewalk to join the ride.

"Good morning Kaycee." Sean put on a wide smile.

"Good morning Sean." She giggled a little, which was really rare of her to sudden be so open with him. She also greeted my dad, which my dad waved back from his driver's seat.

He was a little taken aback at how radiant she was, but he was also extremely happy that she was finally starting to open up to him more.

One step at a time.

"Are you feeling better after last night? You were feeling chilly, weren't you?" Kaycee asked.

"Y-yeah. I'm much better. Thanks." Sean replied. He swear he could feel holes burning through his skin from his dad's suspicious glare, so he tried to talk about something else to perhaps avoid it all.

"I think we might have some time to spare, like another 45 minutes or so. How about we head to the park for a bit before we go to school?" Sean suggested, in hopes that he succeeded in changing the subject.

"Sure. Erm sir, if you don't mind, is it okay if we head there first?" Kaycee asked, with such a genuine and polite tone. Sean noticed her eyes sparkling in the rear mirror.

"Of course. And don't need to be so formal, I really hate it. It makes me feel like I'm going to get a reprimanding from my boss. Call me uncle, that is the least you can do." Sean's dad smiled and Kaycee laughed.

"Yes sir!" Kaycee pretended to act innocent and that nothing had happened. Sean's dad sighed before giggling.

This was the first time in many weeks Sean saw his dad wholeheartedly laughed at a joke or even at anything. He was genuinely smiling, the side of his eyes were crinkled like how a true smile would be like.

He couldn't help but smile at the fact that this girl had something so special, something he had never seen before.

She had her bad side, but when she was herself, she was like a ball of sunshine. She could make anyone laugh with her laughter. It was extremely contagious.

-

"You have arrived at your destination." Sean's dad mimicked the voice of the GPS and ushered everyone off the car.

"I'll stay in the car for a bit to settle some stuff, y'all can explore the park, but be back in 20 minutes. We don't want anyone to be late for school!" Sean's dad quickly briefed the two.

The duo nodded in sync before running to the part of the park where it faced a beautiful pond.

They sat down on one of the benches and Sean never felt himself smiling so hard until his cheeks hurt.

Kaycee, on the other hand, felt so safe around him. She could be herself without having the fear of being judged, despite only knowing him for less than a week.

She felt like they could establish something stronger together.

When she looked at Sean and watched as he laughed at her silly past stories, she noticed his dimples forming and his eyes forming two little semi-circles.

She felt her heart racing as she let her eyes trail to his dimples every time.

No, I can't be that way.

-

"Kaycee! Look, it's a rainbow!" Sean exclaimed like a little child.

"Oh wow, must be our lucky day today." Kaycee grinned back at the monkey, who was running around, trying to take a good look at the rainbow from different angles.

Sean looked back at her and noticed how her smile made him feel so warm and bubbly inside.

Her one smile could make the whole day seem so much brighter and way more colourful.

Her smile really makes rainbows.