Cigarettes

ch. 3

The next few weeks went by quickly before I saw Tyler again. The sight of him in Kenny's shop stopped me in my tracks. He was in the same aisle we had met in, flipping through the same records. But there was something off about him. He had dark bags under his brown eyes, and the confidence that once radiated off of him no longer coursed through his limbs. My mind was debating on whether or not to talk to him, but eventually I did. Nonchalantly, I started looking through the vintage albums.

"Come here often?" I question with my awkward attempt to defuse the tension. A ghost of a smile flickered across his face, but it didn't reach his eyes, to my dissapointment.

"Hey, Lil." His voice was quieter compared to how loud he was when I met him. I studied him for a moment, but the amount of questions I had for him were bubbling at the surface.

"Are you okay?" I blurted. Tyler froze, as if I had just asked him what color his underwear is.

"I'm fine, my dear Lilian."

"You're lying." I declared, but the look of anger that manipulated his features instantly made me regret opening my mouth.

"We met each other once a few weeks ago, so don't pretend that you know anything about me!" With each emphasized word, the closer he got to my face. Eventually, Tyler stormed off, leaving me in his wake.

Once my body regained its ability to move properly, I started after him. I had no idea of where he could have gone, but taking a chance, I turned down Ocean Avenue. As I was running, I went past an old Korean couple, who were selling homemade dishes. I backtracked to ask them if they saw a tall, fuming teenager run past them. They pointed in the direction of the local farmers market.

"Thank you!" I yelled over my shoulder, before running through the tents of fresh vegetables and hot bread.

I couldn't see any signs of Tyler from my spot in the crowd, so I lifted myself to climb up a small tree in the middle of the square. A struggle all in itself, due to my lack of upper body strength. However, the climb proved fruitful, because I could see the tall frame I was looking for. His long legs were stretching across the pavement with ease, seeming to be making his way to the skate park. I jumped down from the tree, the bark placing splinters in the palms of my hands, while my ankle rolled under my weight. Despite my graceful endeavor, I made a beeline to the loud skate park.

My eyes skimmed over all the little kids as they looked on in awe as they watched the older kids show off their tricks on their bikes and skateboards. That wasn't what caught my eye though. What caught my eye was the dark-haired boy who was silently staring at his shoes as they hung over the rail. Cautiously, I moved to sit next to him.

"I didn't mean to snap." His words rushed out of his mouth so quickly that it took me a while to comprehend them. I shook my head at him.

"No, I shouldn't have stuck my nose where it didn't belong." I've always hated admitting my wrong-doings, but when it came to Tyler, I was just a little bit too curious to even consider biting my tongue.

"I want to tell you everything, trust me. It's just something I don't like to talk about." He wrung his hands, weaving them together and then ripping them apart again.

"That's okay. This reminds me of something my dad used to tell me when he was-when I was younger," Tyler looked at me, signaling for me to carry on, "he always told me that not all wounds were visible, so treat people with nothing but kindness. Because we don't know what they have been through, or what battles they are fighting." I trailed off quietly, nervous of his reaction.

"Your dad sure was wise." Tyler seemed to move away from the destructive cloud that was previously hovering above his head because once I looked up at his tan face, his lips were pulled into the smirk that I had spent the last few weeks missing. His hands had stopped their constant movement, when one of them came around to reach into my back pocket.

"What are you-," my phone was being pulled away from its secure spot in my pocket. He easily unlocked my phone since there was no password, and immediately went to my contacts. My lips formed an 'o' shape as he clicked the 'add contact' button. After a minute or two, he slid the phone back in my pocket. Receiving a look from me, to which he smiled sheepishly in response.

"Have you been to the new art gallery downtown yet?" He asked, which I assumed was an attempt to change the subject before I kicked him. However, I humored his attempt.

"No, but I have been wanting to. Why?"

The newly-energized Tyler bounced up, reaching out for my hand. I took it.

"Well, my dear Lilian, get ready for the best date you will ever experience, thanks to yours truly."