Cruel Summer - C. Sturniolo

Four | Garden Gate

It was about two in the morning when Stella was frightened by her phone vibrating. She checked it instantly, realizing she fell asleep at her desk. The notification was a text from Chris, saying to meet her in the backyard of her house.

Stella put on pants with a hoodie, grabbing her shoes and walking down the stairs silently. Her mind being scrambled from barely waking up, she couldn't wrap her mind around meeting up with a boy at two in the morning. She was too tired.

When she opened the sliding door and slipped on her beat up air forces she saw Chris sitting on the stairs.

"Dude it's like two in the morning" she said checking her phone

"Sorry I just was bored" he said standing up

"No you're okay, what's up?" she asked holding herself

"I just wanted to get to know you better" he smiled

"You've seen my room, my closet, even how I sleep.. i think that's a lot already" she laughed

"Anybody could know that about you. I want to know the basics first then you know, learn somethings nobody knows" he shyly said

"Fine, but not right here" she said looking around

"I have a place" he said waving a hand to follow him

He lead the way to the wooden fence, she thought she was hallucinating. Like this was all a dream. But it wasn't, he lifted up the boards to reveal a little garden. He let her enter before entering himself, both of them being covered by the same wooden boards that separated their backyard. Sitting down on a little bench  far behind so nobody could see them.

"There has to be a reason you brought me here Chris" Stella said looking at him

"I like being around you" he said

"You've only hung out with me for probably a total of twelve hours" she said raising an eyebrow

"C'mon Stell, I do like being around you. Plus i want to know you more" he said leaning into her

"Yeah right, nobody wants to know me more" she scoffed

"I do, c'mon what's your favorite color?" he asked

"Green, any green is beautiful" she replied

"Favorite book?" he asked

"Nobody can ever have a favortie book, can't trust them" she shook her head

"Are you scared of the ocean?"

"No, it's a beautiful place that covers most of this floating rock" she says forming a ball with her hands

"So you like the unknown?" he asked facing towards her

"No, I hate it. But the ocean is not a scary unknown, to some it is. But to me it's just a magical place where anything could live, we just let out minds run wild and go into panic mode whenever we hear eighty percent has not been discovered" she replied

"You have an oddly positive look on the ocean" he said

"Its been something I've loved since the beginning" she smiled

"Favorite artists" he asked

"Rex Orange County for sure" she paused waiting for his reaction

"Okay, good songs" he nodded

"I feel like with that one we do not have the same music taste" she says observing his face

"I don't think we do" he nodded with a small chuckle