A car horn outside our cozy home beeped loudly, ruining the warm and fuzzy atmosphere inside here and outside, behind our house and at our backyard, where the birds were chirping loudly and the sun shining brightly down at us.
I stared at my parents as they both stared back at me, all confused as to why someone was beeping their horn at us at seven in the morning.
Suddenly, the door bell rang, making us three all turn to look at the door, dropping our previous eye contact.
I hesitantly stood up from my seat and walked towards the door and swung it open.
"Who is—Brody?" I stopped in mid-sentence, realizing who our unexpected guest was and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Brody grinned at me and opened his mouth to reply when his eyes averted from my gaze and saw the confusion of my parents' face.
"Hello Mr and Mrs Parker! Good morning to you both!" He waved to them as I turned to face them, shaking my head, trying to telepathically tell them that I had no idea what was going on.
"As I was saying," He started to reply to me, giving me his fullest attention again, "I'm picking you up today, and for the rest of the year. I promise that to you yesterday, don't you remember?"
Of course I do.
Along with the weird mood swing he had yesterday.
My mind rewinded itself back to yesterday and I recalled how his eyes flashed with something so fast I hadn't be able to register and I spent the entire night trying to figure out what he was hiding behind those chocolate brown orbs. I recalled how fidgety he seemed as we walked back to his car and how he couldn't seem to stop looking everywhere as he drove me back to my house.
What secrets were he actually hiding?
"Wow, I gotta admit, I thought you actually forgot about it," I laughed dryly, hands fidgeting with the many bracelets on my hands that I wear everyday, each meaning something dear to me.
He laughed, "I'm sorry but I tend to have a memory of an elephant. Let's get going."
I nodded and made my way to the kitchen to kiss my parents goodbye before heading out again and out the front door with my schoolbag and to Brody's car.
Surprisingly, he opened the passenger's seat door for me and held it there until I settled in, eyeing him wearily yet all he did was lift an eyebrow at me as he waited patiently for me to sit down comfortably on the leathered seat.
He closed the door and jogged towards the driver's door and I watched him, heart skipping a beat when he combed his hand through his messy hair and ever so slightly pucker out his lower lips.
He got in and started the engine, the car roaring to life and softly vibrating beneath us.
"Buckle up, kitten."
My face heated up, no doubt about that, "W-What?" I croaked out.
He chuckled, seeing my discomfort, "I said, buckle up, I'm going to start driving."
His left hand placing on the wheel while his body turned to the right to face me, grinning his infamous grin at me.
I looked down and realized I hadn't buckled up my seatbelt and blushed even further.
What did I expect? Some hidden meaning behind 'buckle up, kitten'?
"Sorry," I mumbled out and quickly fastened them up and we drove off.
The car ride was filled with silence, apart from the soft humming of the radio playing songs that I was familiarized with, so my lips hummed softly along to the tune without the consent of my brain. Brody noticed and gave a small smile —awkward from yesterday?— and asked, "You listen to Sebadoh too?"
I gave a small grin back and nodded, pleased to hear that he was familiar with the rockband.
"Mind if I join?"
I nodded again, not minding the duet soon to happen in the car. Together, we let our voices and the music fill the silence of the car, glancing at each other once in a while, and then quickly looking away when we realized the other person saw, with a sheepish smile plastered over our faces.
I think I love you, though I don't know what love means
Girl of my dreams, or a friend that one day leaves?
Could I trust you when I've lied to myself before?
Will I do it all again to taste what I've imagined we could be?
YOU ARE READING
Started As Strangers, Ended As Lovers
Hayran Kurgu"How was I such an idiot?..." "and not realize you sooner?" Social outcast, her. New kid, him. They accidentally bumped together at a café and met again in school. He has a secret that she wants to find out, only realizing it was harming her at the...
