If Normal Was a Thing

Nightmares

Lunch was the brightest part of my day, and I think I laughed more during it than I had in a while, Asher was a really nice guy, and while Oakley had invited everyone back to our place to hang out, the boys had to decline, saying that they had some business to attend to.

"Well, you've all got Sang's number, but here's mine as well," Oakley said, scribbling out her number on a napkin, she handed it over to Nathan, who was the closest, and he grinned.

"Will do!"

Kota grinned at me as we stood up, and I smiled back. During to course of lunch it seemed as if the awkwardness of having kissed him and his eight best friends all in one day had vanished, for which I was grateful.

Before anything could be further said, Silas met my eyes and a goofy grin spread across his mouth as he went around Nathan and scooped me up in a hug that barely let my toes brush the floor, and I'm pretty sure he was bending down. His arms were warm and his scent inviting, it made me want to sit there forever. Memories of the kiss we shared in the lazy pool burst into my brain and I blushed. Silas murmured something in greek, that ended with the nickname he had given me, and then set me gently onto the floor.

He backed away and Kota swooped in, not a second later. He didn't naturally go in for a hug as Silas did, but I had a feeling that no one would ever be as natural at hugs as him. Instead Kota's cheeks grew a soft pink and he pushed up his glasses. He tilted his head slightly, in an adorable fashion, and smiled.

"I hope we'll meet again soon, Sang," he said, and then he hugged me with one arm, and I could have sworn he kissed the top of my head, but I wasn't positive as he was already gone and replaced with Nathan.

His red hair seemed less vibrant in the artificial light of the mall as it had in the afternoon sun at the waterpark, but it didn't detract from his handsomeness in the slightest. We also said our goodbyes, followed with a hug, and this time a request that we text later.

My goodbye with Asher was perhaps the simplest of all. He grinned and we both waved at eachother. When I had finally been able to focus on Oakley she simply shook her head and smiled.

"You bad girl," she said, as we walked out to the parking lot to the bronco.

I frowned, "What?"

There was a silence before she answered, and when she did she said it in the most simple voice she could manage, "you have all of those boys wrapped around your finger," she said and flicked her hair out of her eye, "all of the ones from the park, at least the one we've seen since then, are just smitten," she smiled at me, with eyes full of mischief and a tint of pity, "good luck with that sweetie."

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The next morning I woke up rather early, and headed down to the kitchen to see about making a bowl of cereal. No one else was up, but then again I wouldn't have expected them to be up, as it was only five am.

A nightmare had roused me from my soft sheets, and forced me to get up or fall back asleep with the possibility of returning to the dream and letting it continue. I padded in my slippers to the fridge and put away the milk, before taking my bowl and a glass of water out to the back porch, which had a swinging chair and a hammock, along with a hanging chair and some tables. The back yard would need some work. Whoever had lived here before had attempted, and failed, at growing a garden.

I had heard Dad talking about the possibility of putting in a built in pool, and day dreamed about the way it would look once my Mom had finished with what would undoubtedly be a project. There would be flowers blooming everywhere, perhaps a cherry tree, with a bench sat under it, or maybe a tree swing. The pool would glitter a sparkling blue, and knowing my Mom it would look as if it had come out of a magazine.