He loved moments like this, when the air was cool and crisp and the sun was bright. The wind lightly blew his hair around, and made his cheeks red and his nose run. Cedric Gryphon had never really considered himself a winter person, but as he watched his breath rise to the sky, he felt calm. He hadn't felt as calm as he did sitting on this cold stone bench than for god knows how long. Cedric closed his eyes and tilted his face towards the sun. An odd sort of satisfaction came over him as he felt the sun on his face, but couldn't feel the warmth it gave off. There was a peculiar sort of precariously balanced warmth and cold that was infused in the wind that played across his skin, the kind that made him want to sweat and shiver all at once.
"Cedric!" A voice called. His eyes lazily opened as he turned his head to find Lexi, one of his closest friends, waving at him. He smiled and waved back to her, then paused as he took in the girl walking next to Lexi. His hand slowly lowered as he leaned against the brick wall behind him.
She was standing right beside Lexi as Lexi inserted coins into a vending machine, her eyes fixed on Cedric. She was on the other side of the courtyard, but even from there he could see how blue her eyes were, and he felt the urge to get a closer look. He could tell that she was pretty--beautiful even. Lexi said something to her, and the girl's eyes flicked away from him. The girl swept her messy dark blonde hair over her shoulders, then twisted it into a bun on the top of her head and pulled out a few strands that settled around her tan face in a wispy way. She raised her eyebrows at Lexi, who smiled and nodded.
That was when the girl turned her eyes back to Cedric. They made eye contact, and Cedric realized that it was probably obvious that he had been staring at her. He couldn't find it in himself to care too much, though, not with his newfound calmness. He then noticed that she was studying his face with a blank expression on her face.
He wondered what she thought. Cedric knew that most girls considered him attractive, but by the way the girl was staring, he felt like she could see more than the messy copper hair and lightly tanned skin. He knew that being close friends with Lexi required a certain amount of depth not found in most people, due to her dark past and somewhat darker present. The girl had to see past the football hoodie and Hollister jeans, right? She blinked, then looked away as Lexi touched her arm.
Lexi glanced at Cedric, then back at the girl. The girl shook her head, a slight grimace on her face. Lexi nodded her head, grinning. The girl rolled her eyes, then hoisted her backpack further up on her shoulder and walked away, not bothering to look back at him. Cedric watched her go, and then the sudden moment of clarity that the wind had brought shattered as the bell rang, signaling that they had five minutes to get to class.
Cedric picked up his backpack and stood up, sighing as the cold rushed over him all again. He couldn't really complain though, it was January and still in the 40's. Bless Arizona and it's refusal to let the temperature drop below 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Cedric, hey, what was that about?" Lexi ran up to him, a smile on her face. Her blonde hair was all over the place, and her cheeks contained a warm pink blush.
"What do you mean?" He asked, even though he knew she was talking about the girl.
"Marie, the girl I was with. Do you know her?" She questioned. Marie. Marie, Marie, Marie. The name echoed through his head as he glanced down at Lexi to find her staring at him with amusement.
"Nope, never seen her before." Cedric said, but he knew for a fact that he wanted to see her again.
"Do you want me to introduce you to her?" Lexi asked, a knowing smile tugging at the edges of her lips. Cedric glanced down at her, not sure whether the red on his cheeks was from the weather or their conversation. "She's one of my best friends, I don't know how you haven't met her yet."
Cedric shrugged, than said, "I'll see you later, alright?" And with that, they parted ways.
He walked away thinking about Marie. He had never wanted to know someone like he wanted to know her. It wasn't the possessive type of want, either, no, this was something in the pit of his stomach that was demanding to know how she thought, and laughed, and the way she looked at the stars. Not quite innocent, because Cedric was sure as hell that he could never manage to be just friends with her, not with the way she looked or walked, but a deeper level than the physical.
Lexi, though, she knew with a fierce determination that Cedric and Marie were about to be in for an adventure. She knew in the way that one decides what answer they will give on a test, or what they will have for breakfast, or what jeans they rush out of the door in. It was a curious thing, she thought, to know that the decisions some struggle with on a daily basis are the easiest choices for other. And this, the choice to introduce them to each other, was the easiest decision of her life.
As she headed to her first hour class, Marie couldn't help but think about the ginger haired boy she had locked eyes with. Cedric, Lexi had warned, was a jerk with a kind heart. Marie knew that was the last thing she needed in her life, so she abruptly shoved the beautiful boy out of her mind.
What she forgot to do, was shove him out of her heart. It might seem a bit crazy, to think that someone can enter your heart through a single glance, but it's entirely possible. First impressions are everything. And once someone has touched your heart, a part of them nestles its way in, whether they're wanted or not.
//
Cameron Monaghan as Cedric.. Not exactly what I had in mind but hey, he's still a cutie.
I don't know where I'm going with this story but oh well.
