My phone made a little ding noise and my reflexes kicked in. I snatched it up in a split second and quickly typed in the passcode. I saw the little notification for a text message and my stomach dropped.
Alex wrote: Hey. I'm sorry.
I replied two minutes after, you know to casually seem as if I wasn't next to my phone twenty-four/seven.
Me: It's okay.
Alex: Friends?
Me: Yeah, friends. :)
Alex: :)
Alex: Let's hang out. Want to go to the park?
Me: Sure, Golden Gate Park or?
Alex: Yeah. See you in thirty minutes.
When I saw him, he gave a small smile and waited till I caught up with him. We walked down a path into Stow Lake until we saw Huntington Falls. The water cascaded ever so smoothly as if there were no rocks and edges, just a straight line. There was a way to climb to the very top of the waterfall as huge rocks compiled on top of one another at the sides of the waterfall.
"W-W-Want t-to cl-limb it?" He asked.
"Definitely." We started our small hike up the rocks, helping each other climb the gigantic rocks when it was physically impossible to jump up. When we reached the top, we sat down on a rock and let our feet hang at the edge. The waterfall was just a few inches away from us and if we reached out just a little, we could feel the water graze our fingertips.
"So, what has happened?" I asked as twirled a tiny flower in between my fingers, watching the wind take away its petals.
"N-N-Nothing. J-Jus-s-t b-been av-v-oiding sp-peakin-g-g." He adjusted his glasses and pushed them up to his nose. "I-It ha-as-sn't been ha-ard."
"Oh." An awkward silence rang throughout the park for a good while. It tumbled down the rocks and cut right through the river.
"I'm s-s-orry for ta-a-king my-y anger out on yo-u-u. I d-didn't mean to. It's li-ike..I've been k-k-keepi-n-ng all of m-my emotion-s-s bottle-d-d up and I g-g-guess there w-w-wasn't enough r-r-room in the b-b-bottl-le so it ex-xploded."
"It's okay, really. I don't blame you." I nudged his shoulder and laid down on the rocks with my feet still dangling at the edge. "If you look up at the sky, it looks like the sky is crying because of the sound of the waterfall. Do you know what I mean? Like, all that I see is the sky. All that I hear is the sound of the waterfall. Put 'em together and you've got a sky who has seen too much that it can't get out of its memory."
He laid down next to me and crossed his hands behind his head. "Y-Yeah, I-I kn-now what y-you m-mean."
"Want to play seven questions?"
"S-Sure. W-Why s-sev-ven?"
"It's my lucky number. Favorite color?"
"B-Blue, y-you?"
"Same. It reminds me of the ocean and the sky, how one is at the very bottom of the planet, and how one soars at the top. The color hits every inch of the world."
"F-F-Favo-o-rite ba-n-nd?"
"Question without an answer."
"Fa-a-vo-orite b-bands?"
"Much better. Atlas Genius, Florence and the Machine, The 1975, The Kooks, Daughter, All Time Low, City and the Colour, Marina and the Diamonds. Oh, and Arctic Monkeys. Oh and―" I stopped before I rambled on some more, turning red at the sound of the silence. "You?" I squeezed out.
"M-Memphis M-May F-F-Fire, Holl-lywood Un-d-dead, Sm-a-ash Mout-th."
"Nice. I've listened to them before. Favorite time of the day?"
"R-Right b-e-efore th-h-e day g-gets chaotic. The s-s-econd right a-after the sun rises. You?"
"Right after the day gets calm. The second right after the sun sets." I turned my head at him and gave him a cheeky smile.
"F-F-Favorite pl-l-ace?"
"My room. It's where my stories are born. Yours?"
"S-Same, it's where I c-can be my-s-sel-f-f with-h-out being ju-d-dged."
"Favorite childhood memory?"
"R-Reading a book a-a-l-loud ever-ry night b-before I w-went t-to bed. I w-w-i-ish that c-could happen again. E-Even lit-t-tle me c-could read b-b-netter―c-l-learer―t-h-han current m-me. Y-You?"
"Running away for a few hours by accident. Even though it was by accident, I did find the true meaning of freedom and peace. No one could tell me what to do or how to sit. It felt blissful."
"Ha-v-ve you e-e-ver fa-a-llen in l-love?"
"Yeah. You?"
"N-No."
"Oh."
"W-Who d-did y-you f-fall in l-love with?"
"My ex. He was a good boyfriend till it got rocky towards the end. Started being really rude and just..not himself. He wrote me poems," I remembered the little notes and a smile broke out unexpectedly. "I miss him. Correction: I miss the concept of him."
"I w-w-ish I c-could f-f-find someone."
"I'm sure you will. They're looking for you too."
"W-Why d-do you s-s-a-ay cor-r-rec-c-ction?"
"Because there are moments where I realize that my mind spoke faster than my heart did, so I have to correct myself or else my mind will trick me into believing what's not true. Then I'll end up doing dumb things that I'll regret the second after."
"W-What t-time i-is it?" Alex sat up and stretched his arms.
"Time for you to get a watch." I chuckled as I got up and stretched my legs.
"S-Stop." He shook his head and started climbing down the rocks. He reached out for my hand and helped me jump down.
"It's―" I pushed up my jacket on my arm. "6:47 p.m. Almost seven."
"L-Let's g-grab t-t-takeout and t-then w-we c-can g-go w-w-atch the s-s-uns-set?"
"Yeah, that'd be nice. Chinese food?"
"Y-Yes!"
YOU ARE READING
the art of
Teen Fiction"I think you should -" "Correction: I am in my own body, with my own mind; you do not and cannot tell me what to do."
