Apricity

27 ❥ Arcade Ruckus

I wanted to tell him everything last night.

I wanted to tell him about how I grew up because he opened up to me and that wasn't easy for him.

I wanted to tell him it was Axel who made me so upset that I sent myself home to recover. I wanted to tell him why everyone hated me and what kind of rumors were spread about me. I wanted to tell him what actually happened over the summer.

But I couldn't. The words just wouldn't come out of my mouth. They solidified in my throat and refused to surface.

But he was there. He sat beside me the whole night and that was enough. I was expecting another sleepless night. However, I think what happened instead was that I found so much comfort in his presence that I forgot all about it.

The weekend went by how it usually did and so did the next couple of days at school.

I avoided Axel so that I saw him a minimal amount of times. Naomi however came to practice with extra bite. She was pissed that I skipped out on our last game, which is understandable enough.

I did feel bad that the girls had to perform around my parts but I know they managed fine for one night. I told myself it wouldn't happen again and moved on.

I sat across from Roman at the coffee shop where we decided to study. He decided we should carpool. Our presentation was due at the end of the month so we were trying to wrap up with enough time to avoid cramming.

The shop was at the heart of the town, just across the street from the nickel arcade where people still liked to hang around for old-fashioned games.

I wonder if Roman appreciated the fact that we made it through our entire study session without a single off-topic not so fun fact for him.

"Are you going to go home now?" I ask him.

"I guess so. Aren't you?"

I shake my head. "I'm going to finish my math homework before I get home. I can never concentrate when I'm there."

He nods and I reach into my bag for my book. When I set my stuff out, I notice Roman hasn't made a move to leave. In fact, he has a notebook open against the edge of the table that he seemed to be scribbling in.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

He looks up from his notebook while his pencil makes some lingering movement. "Hanging around," he responds.

A wave of warmth blankets me for a moment. I like that he doesn't leave me here alone. There's a handful of people in this world that make me feel... safe. I'm glad Roman has become one of them. I smile to myself while he goes back to his scribbling.

I get enough done to where I feel I can slack off a little bit. I begin to pay attention to the motion of Roman's pencil. I stop what I'm doing to watch him. He's not writing something. I think he may be doodling, but then again Roman doesn't seem like the doodling type.