Escaping Lights - A Greyson Chance Fan Fiction

Chapter 34: One Time or Another

I was not wrong.

My spirits had, no doubt, lifted up sky high since the night I had that little conversation with Greyson. I was willing to take any favors from anybody, spent more time in the bath, and scanned myself in the mirror more than necessary. I suddenly felt conscious about how I looked, which was rare, because I seldom cared about my physical being. I sang more loudly, ate my meals more heartily, and talked more happily. To capture in a word everything I felt, I was inspired.

The reason for all this was because Greyson invited me to his birthday. He said it wasn't much of a party; just an intimate gathering with friends and some nearby relatives. I barely considered the fact that there would be another sort of people that I would allow myself to hang around with. It never crossed my mind that maybe I would become my old self again—antisocial.

I only thought about how I managed to save myself the inconvenience of getting to know people for the first time in New York. I felt some sense of pride at the memory of meeting Maddie and dealing with her attitude. I would definitely have to bring it with me everywhere I went because I wouldn't be safe forever within the walls of our enormous house.

Furthermore, I only focused on the one thing that ever sent me on edge: Greyson's birthday gift.

I absolutely had no clue as to what he ultimately loved. I never got the chance to ask him what his favorite football team was, his preferred shades of blue, or even his taste for books. Once upon a time, I would probably think they were such petty and uninteresting things, but then I realized I actually needed them now.

Our time spent together since the day we became friends pretty much only revolved around me that I nearly forgot that his story also mattered. I frowned at the idea, thinking that maybe I was really just a stuck-up person who only cared about myself. I felt remorse slowly creep up on me, then eventually panic started to crawl in, since his birthday was only a week away and I needed time to come up with a gift that I thought he might really like. I set aside the terrible thoughts and instead thought about what to give him. I wanted it to be special and personal, so I decided that maybe I could give him something that was attached with a note from me.

After days of rapid brainstorming and mediating mental arguments with myself, I bought him a watch. I was in love with it when I first laid eyes on it inside its glass case. It was a black digital watch with gold accents on its face. It noticeably stood out beside its neighbors, so I asked the salesman to take it out for me right away. I didn't dare mind the price, for my dad once told me that if I wanted to purchase something I set my eyes and heart on, looking at the price would only discourage me from buying it.

The watch itself was lavish needless to say, but that wasn't nearly enough to thank Greyson for all the times he had saved my neck. Something so real and tangible could never match the kindness he had showed me, so getting him that expensive watch was only about a fourth of my gratitude towards him.

I was back in school before I knew it. Being reunited with the familiar faces of my classmates affected me in a strange way. It became a slap on the face knowing that I was not living under my own rules anymore. I was back in the life that I had dreaded but had finally fully accepted to live in. As expected, they were all too preoccupied about their own summer stories that the little speculation about me missing the last day of school the previous semester had been completely masked underneath by more of their interesting tales of lazy beach days and popsicle stick afternoons.

What surprised me was that my runaway story never managed to get out. If it did, it wasn't at all very detailed. Everybody thought I just went to the Big Apple as my choice of venue for a summer vacation. For that I was much relieved because I didn't have to owe anybody an explanation.