In Color. {l.r.h.}

her

Halli smiled to herself upon hearing the soothing voice of this new stranger. His timbre was deep and calm, and his inflections were peculiarly beautiful to her. He wasn't saying anything particularly meaningful: the majority of his breath was wasted on excess apologies for yelling at a blind girl for staring at him.

She placed her hand beside her leg and discovered his body was much closer to hers than she'd anticipated. She quickly removed her fingers from his leg, jumping away like an abused animal.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry. That was..."

He was in hysterics, gasping between laughter. "You groped me."

"NO!" Halli was mortified. "I thought that was your knee... I'm-"

"Halli," he put his hand on her shoulder. "I was joking. My crotch isn't that far down."

"Thank God," she said, putting her hand over her thumping heart. It took her a moment to register what she had just said. "Not that-- Not because I care about your crotch. But, you know, so I didn't grab it on accide--."

A blaring alarm on Halli's phone rescued her from her own uncomfortable and awkward babbling.

She could hear Luke jump back at the sudden loud noise. "What's that?"

"Oh shoot, that's my cue to leave." The alarm informed her when it was 3 PM every day. She stood up and grabbed the red and white stick she used to guide her.

He stood up along side her. "You're leaving? Do you have to?"

Halli nodded. "I'm sorry. Goodbye, Luke."

"Wait, do you need a ride? I'll take you home."

She smiled warmly. "It's not often that a guy offers to leave his four year old cousin's Power Ranger party even after you told him you don't care about his crotch."

Luke let out the most gorgeous laugh she'd ever heard.

"But no," she said. "I live in an apartment building right behind Central Park. Don't even have to cross the street." It technically wasn't a lie. Her building really was right behind Central Park, but she never said that's where she was going. "Also, you might be a sociopath in hiding, and I'd rather not get in the car with one of those."

"Right. That was probably creepy."

She shook her head. "Wow, you really didn't catch that joke." She grinned. "Bye, Luke."

"Goodbye, Halli."

She hadn't taken but a few steps before turning back to say, "Sorry I'm so awkward."

And with that, the girl wandered down the familiar path towards Montgomery Baptist.

Good Lord, Halli, you're pathetic, She thought. You're never going to speak to that boy ever again. Why did you walk away from possibly the only man who tolerated those social skills of yours?

But it was too late to turn back now without looking drastically desperate, and she couldn't look to see if he was still there anyway. So she just kept on the path towards the cemetery with too many thoughts of regret filling her crammed brain. She was probably right. She probably should've never found him again.

But that's the trouble with love. It finds us.