CONSUME

[01] it's mine

***

Eventually, spring came around.

Which meant spring break: A nice long two weeks off from school.

It was a relatively warm afternoon in the month of March: my favorite time of the year. Everything was just so beautiful, and the weather was perfectly breezy; warm enough to wear shorts but not so hot that I couldn't still wear a sweater. I was walking along the sidewalk of the neighborhood, a red leather leash in my hand, the other end of it attached to the collar of my adorable sweet puppy, Leo. He's a nine week old Labrador Retriever.

With every slow step I took, he stumbled beside me, excitedly sniffing the green grass and blooming daisies along the concrete.

A smile lingered on my glossy lips just from the mere sight of his cuteness.

"That happy to see me?"

I recognized that voice from anywhere, and I looked over my shoulder -- but didn't stop walking-- to see Axel. Of course. 

His face was red and flustered, little droplets of sweat dripping from the tips of his fluffed up brown hair. His tanned skin had a flushed undertone, and his chest rose and collapsed at a quick pace under the fabric of his t-shirt. He must be on a run.

His blue eyes looked more vibrant than they usually did when he stood underneath the sun, and I could even see the little splatters of freckles drizzled along the bridge of his nose and across his cheeks.

I tucked away my smile and flipped my head back ahead of me, focusing on walking my dog.

"Guess not," Axel clicked his tongue and jogged ahead, but kept a pace so annoyingly close to us.

"Did you expect a different answer?" I rolled my eyes, watching Leo's little paws scurry quickly ahead once he noticed a butterfly floating around in front of his little pink nose.

He's so cute.

"He's so cute," Axel smiled when I noticed his gaze shift down to the little golden ball of fur in front of us. For a moment it actually looked like he was genuinely smiling, but once he looked back up at me, his usual stale, stoic facial expression returned.

"I know."

Axel rolled his eyes, and departed from me, running ahead of us.

"Whatever, see ya round Kammy," He spoke loudly over his shoulder.

"Stop calling me that!" I don't even know why I bothered correcting him anymore, considering he had been purposefully using that nickname for the ten years I've known him.

He just ignored me and focused on his workout, turning down Oakland Street and jogging down the sidewalk of the array of houses. I shook my head out of annoyance, going back to watching Leo once he was gone. But I couldn't really focus on the scenery of the vibrant green trees and colorful blooming flowers anymore, because Axel had already spoilt my mood.

"How was the walk? You two were gone for a while," My mom called for me from the kitchen once I came in through the front door, feeling the air conditioning hit my face. Leo was panting, his drool dripping from the side of his little mouth. I shut the door behind me and unhooked his leash, wiping the corners of his mouth with his towel that was hung on the coat rack and also cleaned up his paws, before watching him scurry into the house, slightly slipping on the wooden floor.

"Yeah, it was good though," I set Leo's leash down and took off my Converse, walking towards the kitchen in my socks and taking a seat across from my standing mother. She took a sip from her coffee mug before setting it down onto the counter. "I saw Axel."