Flower Boy

Chapter Two

            I remember I was only about eight years old, maybe nine. I was sitting on a bench, not this one, but a bench in this very park. I was crying silently, trying not to draw attention to myself. My dad was having a fight with my mom, and I ran out of the house to escape the yelling. I was alone, wondering if they were done yet when I heard the woodchips crunch in front of me. I looked up slowly. There was a boy about my age, with big, brown eyes that held concern, supposedly for me.

"Excuse me... why are you crying?" he asked me. I sniffed.

"My mommy and daddy are fighting." I answered shakily. He sat next to me on the bench.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be crying." He said slowly. I looked at him through my bangs. He was blushing and the corners of my mouth curled up slightly.

"Y-you think I'm pretty?" I asked. He nodded.

"Mmh hmm. I think you're really pretty!" His blush got redder and I started blushing too. He looked at me and I brushed my bangs behind my ear. He nodded again.

"Yup, you're really pretty." He smiled sheepishly and I smiled more. Some of my hair had fallen from behind my ear and I pulled it back again. His eyes seemed to light up as he jumped off the bench. I was about to ask him where he was going when he began rummaging in his pocket. I sighed a little. I thought he was going to leave me. He pulled out a clip from his pocket. It had three little flowers clustered together, one pink, one blue, and one yellow. It looked fancy to me at the time. He held it out to me.

"Here you go. For your hair." He pointed at his own hair. I blinked a few times.

"Who's is that...?" I asked slowly.

"My mommy's." H answered promptly.

"B-but doesn't your mommy need it?" I asked, slightly shocked that he would take his mommy's clip. He shook his head.

"My mommy's gone. She told me to give this to a nice girl. I think you're a nice girl." He smiled again, holding up the clip for me. I hesitantly took it and put it in my pocket. His smiled slipped away.

"You aren't going to wear it?" He asked sadly. I shook my head.

"My mommy and daddy will think I stole it..." He looked at me and brightened a little.

"Well, you can wear it while I'm still here!" I paused, then smiled and took it out of my pocket. I brushed my bangs away and put the clip in my hair. I blinked, swiping at my forehead but not feeling the bangs that had always been there. His eyes widened.

"So... do you like it?" He asked hesitantly. I nodded and his face lit up in a smile.

"Yay!" he laughed and I couldn't help it. I started to giggle too. I hadn't laughed in a long time. It felt strange, but a good kind of strange.

"Donavan, let's go!" I heard and we both turned to see his dead standing on the sidewalk, waving his arm in the air. He slipped off the bench.

"I have to go. Maybe I'll come to the park next week?" he said, looking back at me. I nodded, a warm feeling in my chest. He waved and began walking towards his dad, when he ran back.

"My name's Donavan, by the way!" I laughed again.

"M-my name is Rosalena." I said shyly.

"Rosalena... I really like your name, Rosalena!" He said, and waved again, this time running to his dad. I waved back, watching him talk animatedly to his dad. Once he was out of sight, I pulled the clip out of my hair. The warm feeling was spreading through my body, and I smiled and put the clip in my pocket. I pushed myself off the bench to go back home.