Serendipity

Every moment we have together

I don't know how I feel right now. The lingering worry about Luke and talking about middle-school now mixed with the flurry of butterflies from what Tim just said makes for a confusing mix.

"I love you too," I cough awkwardly.

His eyes are sparkling at me, and his sunburn tints his cheeks and nose pink.

"I'm really proud of you, Sydney," He grins. "And I kinda wanna spend a long time with you."

"What do you mean by that..?" I frown briefly, but then it hits me. I stare at him, eyes wide, and somehow he manages to sparkle even more, but the sparkle is all over his body.

It's like this light that surrounds him, even though his lip is busted and there's sand in his hair, he's so incredibly... beautiful. I don't want to stop looking at him. There's a warmth I feel blossoming in my chest as he smiles at me. A comfortable warmth.

I stand up, grabbing my shirt and tossing it over my shoulder. He raises his brows and stands as well.

"Where are we going?" He asks.

"Just follow me," I say. And then I take one last sip of my water before taking Tim's hand and tugging him back in the direction of the beach.

He laughs and twines our fingers. "How mysterious..."

I squeeze his hand. "You'll see."

It doesn't take long to get down to the shoreline, and once again the warm sand coats the bottom of my feet. Warm sand, warm heart, Tim's warm hand with mine.

I can feel the sun hot against my skin, but I don't mind the heat.

I tug Tim to the shore until the water laps at our feet, and then I stop and let go of his hand. He stops as well, brows raised curiously as his eyes squint against the sun.

I give him his hat back, since I'm not being blinded right now, and chuckle lightly.

"So, I've never been someone that's very good at...articulating their words," I say slowly, then take a deep breath. My heart is racing, but I know it's not just because of the run down to the water. "But I'm gonna try to say this in a way that makes sense."

Tim smiles, adjusting his hat slightly, and meets my eyes. "I'm listening."

I stare at him, my mouth suddenly flooded with all the words I want to say. But when my lips part to speak, they linger on my tongue.

I want to tell him that everything he's done for me— even if he doesn't think he's done anything— has probably been life-changing. I want to tell him that I don't know where I would've been if he hadn't talked to me that day.

I can still remember it vividly.

---

"Hey," Someone I didn't recognize said. I hadn't bothered to give my classmate much of an assessment before sitting next to him. What little of his features I remembered as I rested my face in the crook of my arm screamed "cis straight white boy", all of which should've been a huge red flag. "I'm Timothy."

I repressed a sigh before turning slightly to look at him. I glanced at his hand, which was extended as though he wanted to shake mine. I was comfortable enough, so I didn't move to take it.

"Hm?"

He retracted his hand back into his lap after another second. "I'm Timothy. Though I'm sure you already knew that."

"I'm Sydney," I replied, deciding he sounded nervous enough to not be too much of a jerk.

"Yeah," He said, then turned to look out the window. His jaw clenched. Had I upset him? Probably. It doesn't take much for me to piss people off.