Sorry, Not Sorry

-12

I decide to just flip to the cover, since I do have some drawings on there. He points at the main attraction, (other than my name, scrawled on in graffiti type lettering) a drawing a made weeks ago.

"Miku!" He says.

"You can tell?" I ask, looking sideways at him.

"With her signature hair, how couldn't I?" He says. He must realise he's being really hyper or something, because he sinks into himself slightly as I flip the page, not wishing to wear me out.

I skip the first few pages, trying to find some with my more new OCs.

"Woah, what characters are these?" He reaches his hand forward, stopping the pages as they flip, stopping it just on the one I had been looking for.

"Mine." I say. "They're my OCs."

"OCs?" He questions.

I smile. "Original characters. I have lots of them in my brain, but I haven't drawn them all out. These guys are my favorite." I point at them.

He watches me as I talk about them. "They're a little orphan squad. Their main thing is just having fun in their orphanage. That ones Rosette. She's the leader. There we have Aliyrah and Ralph, and lastly that's Sam."

"Who's your favourite?" He asks me.

"Huh, I guess I like Rosette, since that's kind of like how I acted at the orphanage I was at."

"You were at an orphanage?" He asks.

"Oh, yeah. My parents died when I was pretty young." I shrug, turning the page. "I made their story because I wanted to have a story that would show other Orphaned kids that even though our parents are dead or don't want us, we can find our own families elsewhere, like at the orphanage."

Max just stares at me, unblinking. He leans forward, wrapping and arm around my shoulder. "I still know so little about you." He says. I smile into his hair.

"I- I drew you." I say eventually, pulling out of the hug.

"Woah! When?" He beams, scooching closer on the couch, our knees touching. I flip to the newer drawings, to a page from two days ago. "Uh- here." I flatten the page. He reached his hand out.

"Woah." I was expecting a portrait, it's a full body?" He says.

"Yeah, I just kinda felt like it. I wanted to draw your outfit, I guess." I don't want to admit there was a page with a portrait before this one, covered in a sticky note. I drew them late at night after the second Self-defence lesson, but it's surprisingly accurate.

"Is that Danny?" He points in the corner, where four little chibis stand. "Oh yeah. And Kitty and Kathy and I" He smiles. "Wanna show him?" He asks.

"If you think he'd like it." I say.

"Danny Boy! Come over here!" Danny jogs over from the kitchen, leaning cover the back of the couch. "Woah, is that Max?" He says, referring to the large drawing. "Oh! Little me!" He smiles. "I'm so cute, can I take a photo?" He asks, and I nod.

-

"Wait." Max says, as I'm about to shut the book, pulling his phone out. "Can I take a pic too?" I smile

"Of course." I say, but watch in horror as he completely fumbles the photo, complete wrong angle, light blooming in the corner, the shadow of the phone visible on the page.

"Oh my god, you're hopeless. Give it to me."

He pouts, handing his phone over.
I take the photo like I do with all my good drawings. High angle, brightness adjusted, held slightly further away and zoomed in order to get proper focus. I position myself so that the light is proper.

I hand his phone back, and he looks at the picture. "Yeah, yours is better" he sighs as I poke my tongue through my teeth at him, closing his phone. The doorbell rings and I pack my stuff up.

"That'll be my ride, thanks for putting up with me." I say.

"See you later, mate." Danny says.

Max waves with a smile. "Who is picking you up?"

"My mum" I say, from the doorway, swinging it open.

"Ooh! Can I say hi?" He says.

"Sure" I say, "Maybe put a shirt on first though." Wait, has he been shirtless this whole time? He has. Fun. Fun fun fun.

He scoops a random shirt off the ground and slides it on. The gravel crunches under our feet as he follows me out to his front path, where my mum is waiting, "Hello darling." She says with a wave. "Oh and this is.. Your friend from the phone." She struggles to remember his name.

"Max, pleasure to meet you. In real life, at least." Max says.

"Quite the house you have here." She says, examining the yard.

"Thank you! Anyway, I won't keep you waiting, bye Xavier" he smiles and waves as I walk off to the car with my mum. I wave back, grinning.

Why is my life such a roller coaster?