Smothered (bxb)

August

Today Is going to be different.

That is what I told myself over and over again in my head as I walked to school. I plastered a smile onto my face and kept my head up, today was going to be good. Today was going to be great! I brought my favorite book to read at lunch and I was going to sit underneath that elm tree I saw on my way home yesterday. It was far enough away from the school that I was sure I wouldn't be bothered while still being on school grounds. It was going to be a good day, so what If I didn't have a friend, I had my books, and sometimes the best type of friend is a fictional one... okay that sounded pretty sad... but anyways! I kept walking happily towards school, an attempt at a fresh start.

When lunch rolled around I was actually pretty excited to go check out the elm tree. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze, beautiful Californian weather... and perfect weather for reading your favorite book under the shade of a big tree. I walked outside towards the area where I saw the tree and just as it came in to view... I saw a girl sitting there. Great. How could I be so dumb, Of coarse someone would already be sitting under the cool shade of that beautiful tree on such a hot day... I'm a complete idiot. With my mood dampened I decided to go and ask if I could sit down beside her and read. Maybe if I had a smile on my face I wouldn't scare her... maybe.

I walked up and said in a tentative voice, "Ummm, Hey... do you... uh, do you mind if I sit here? I'd just read... uh... so you don't have to talk if you don't want to..." Silently cursing myself at my new found awkward social skills, I slowly looked a her. I was suddenly surprised, because the girl sitting there, actually wasn't a girl at all! She... I mean He was very thin, but tall, probably about the same height as me, and the reason I thought he was a girl was because of his long, dirty blond hair that messily fell down just above his shoulders. He was wearing a baggy, stretched out white t-shirt with some punk band logo on it and tight, heavily ripped, light blue skinny jeans that showed his thin, willowy stature. A sketch book lay rested in his lap and in one hand he held a pencil while the other held a smoking cigarette. He looked up at me with big hazel eyes seemingly flustered as well.

"Uhh..." He said In a husky voice as his brows pulled together in confusion. "I don't see why not."

"Thanks." I mumbled as I put my bag down and sat next to the thin boy. He nodded and went back to sketching, and every once in a while he would take a drag from his cigarette. I took out my book but for some odd reason I couldn't concentrate. Usually I would get lost in my book in an instant but at that moment all I could do was read the same sentence over and over again. So I decided I'd try talking to this guy, he seemed decent enough letting me sit with him. so I gave it a try.

"What are you drawing?" I asked as I put my book down and leaned over to look at his sketch. He didn't look up from the paper but he replied all the same.

"Take a look." He stopped sketching and tilted the book over in my direction so I could see it. I looked at the picture and I was completely amazed! The drawing was of an old man looking out to the ocean, so life like it could have been a picture. How could someone draw like that when I can only manage pathetic stick men? It was breathtakingly beautiful, I almost didn't know what to say.

"Jesus..." I muttered dumbfounded. I looked at the boy as he took another puff from his cigarette and then dangerously put it out in the dry grass.

"Yah like?" He said in a raspy voice.

"Is that even a question? It's amazing!" I told him at a loss for words. He looked at me with a shy smile as his long, wavy hair fell into his face and took the sketch book back. He looked down slightly so his long, silky hair now covered his face from my view completely. For a split second something in my chest missed a beat as I started openly at the shy boy in front of me. But I quickly dismissed the odd feeling and introduced myself.

"I'm Rain, by the way." I said, not expecting him to reply. But he surprised me yet again.

"August."

"August? Like the month?" I asked.

"Yup." He said and popped the 'p' at the end of the word.

"That's..." I tried to think of the right word...

"Weird? Yeh I know." He interrupted.

"No... I was going to say original." I said smiling that I was having a conversation with an actual human being. He looked over at me and scoffed.

"Original, eh?" and he nodded his head and went back to his art work. We sat under the tree for a few more minutes in silence as I read and he sketched until I was pulled out of my trance when he started to cough. The wheezing and coughing sounded horrible and he doubled over, his hands clutching his stomach for air. It was the same hoarse coughs I heard the day before in the boys washrooms.

"Jeeze, are you okay man!?" I said surprised, my dark blue eyes wide. He just sat there hacking and gasping for breath. I thought that he was going to suffocate, His face started to go red.

"I'm going to go get someone!" I said frantically as I started to get up, but a long, thin arm stuck out from the crumpled boy and grabbed onto my tan wrist. I looked down at him and he tried to wheeze out something.

"You... don't... need to do... that." He said through coughs. I was getting a little worried, I didn't want this guy to die in front of me, but I could see that It was going down a bit so I asked if he was sure and he nodded back at me. I sat down next to him as he started to catch his breath.

"Seriously dude, you need to cut the cigarettes." I said jokingly after he stopped wheezing and started to breathe again. He looked over at me and gave a quick huff of a laugh and then leaned his long, thin back against the trunk of the elm tree.

"Nah, I like to live on the edge." He joked as he looked up into the rattling leaves overhead. "I don't know, it's dumb, but I just like it." He said more seriously in his husky voice. I didn't feel it was my place to say anything more since I'd just met the guy so I just nodded, forgetting that he wasn't looking at me. I watched him as he closed his eyes and sighed into the breeze. He seemed peaceful, like he was at ease and it somehow reminded me of my previous home and of my father. I wonder what he's doing at the moment; probably drinking himself to sleep on the beach.

"Hey?" A husky voice pulls me out of my thoughts and I look over at the scruffy looking boy that is staring at me.

"Humm?" I respond calmly looking at his thin face.

"Call me Gus."