Five Foot Four ((Zach Abels Fanfic))

Chapter Five

We had started to walk back to the main stage, but very slowly and we had managed to talk about quite a lot in the small period of time. Rainey told me about her education and how she studied at an Art college but wasn't so keen of it because she couldn't see herself doing it in the future. She told me that she adored art but in the ways that weren't always seen as 'artistic', but are seen as 'just words'. Her previous project was based on the topic of 'identity' and she decided to focus on the poetic side of herself and concentrated on the words that made her the person she was. She told me that she had included lots of photography as well, because she'd enjoyed capturing anything and everything that could be caught. But as for the drawing side of art, she preferred using illustrations because it was the only thing that she didn't feel like she copied.

I never realised how big art was until she spoke about the different pathways you could take in art. Even filming is art. Rainey created a video out of short clips of trees and rain and even included silly little cartoons and thought it was one of her best pieces and I could see the excitement in her eyes as she spoke about it and I couldn't help but catch her joy fever.

I had asked her about music, in general, and she had told me that she didn't belong to any sort of genre. She had said that she 'varied because what was the point in being bound to one type and then getting labelled when you can just say that your type or genre of music was the music you listen to.'

"I wonder what your friend's thinking..." I spoke.

"I messaged her and told her I wouldn't be long..." She said, "but I do feel really bad for just leaving her like that."

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind, since she sort of left you today to talk to those other girls." I spoke without thinking and instantly regretted it.

Rainey stopped on the spot and looked at me. "Not really? She was just making friends and talking to new people... I'm hardly going to stop her from doing that?"

"I know, I didn't mean it like that." I shook my head. "Why didn't you talk to them?"

She shrugged and continued to walk, "I didn't want to deprive her from those new and, might I add, very lovely people."

I laughed and she smiled and lowered her head to the ground, with the smile still on her face.

"How long have you been friends for?" I asked.

"A while... She was actually my first friend at college and has stuck by me ever since so I owe her big time." She laughed again. "You know how hard it is to meet new people..."

I agreed with her and she just nodded her head along with me. I was starting to get different vibes and I wanted to find out what was bothering Rainey, but I couldn't just ask her straight out.

"Does she not have many friends?" I asked.

"Actually, quite the opposite, she's really popular with people and goes out a lot with all these friends, that are so cool and yeah."

Silence.

"What about you then?" I questioned.

"Not so much. I can't seem to meet new people that easily and make friends with them." Her tone switched from confident to shy and quiet.

"And why's that?"

"Do you have many friends?" She turned it on me.

"Honestly?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Not many." I responded, truthfully.

"And why's that?"

"Because I don't really bother with people... There are people that don't need to be a part of my life because they're not needed. I don't know, it's complicated." I paused, "But that doesn't seem like your deal."

"It's just this thing that had kind of followed me around for a long time and I've never really dropped it, so that's why I'm so lonely, I guess." She let out a nervous laugh.

I stared at her, wondering whether she was going to explain or whether she wasn't. She shook her head but didn't look finished. She looked worried.

"I can't have another person think of me like I'm a disgrace..." She finally spoke, with pleading eyes.

"I wouldn't even..." I shook my head because the thought of me thinking bad of her was so alien and wrong. "I wouldn't."

"You say that now, but you'd hate me after."

We stood still in our tracks, now face to face... Well, she had to tilt her head up and I had to tilt mine down, but it was almost perfect.

She gently tucked a couple of strands, that were in my eye, behind my ear and then pulled her hand back down, realising that she actually did that. Her eye's widened and she tried to pull them away from mine but couldn't.

"I can't think badly of you, that seems too foreign for me." I spoke, quieter.

"But what if you surprise yourself?"

"I wouldn't."