Are we all just hiding

Chapter TWO

I was going to wake up at 7 am, an early start for my walk. So I woke up at 10 am. I was kidding myself with 7 am. Who gets up at 7 am if it isn't absolutely  necessary. After my late night binge watching of the vampire diaries getting up at 7 am would be merrily impossible.

The streets are full of rubbish. There was a storm last night. I get to the woods and start to walk a bit faster , there's something about the woods that makes me feel uneasy, no one ever goes here, maybe it's because it makes them feel the same. Maybe they had heard the story about the snakes that the council had made up, in fear that kids would start to use the woods to party.
I trip over what I think is a twig. But it's not it's a pencil. A hb artists sketch pencil to be exact.
"Ow" I Yelp. As the knee of my jeans rip in my fall.
"Who leaves a pencil on the floor in woods?" I groan out loud.
"Who walks through the woods in pouring rain in flip flops ?" A slow deep voice talks to me. I wasn't alone . I flip my head up and look around at the trees. Then I see him, it was a boy , it was him who was throwing pencils at me.
"What the heck! Why are you throwing pencils at me , you know that's not just vandalism but it's also harassment and-" he cuts me of with a rude laugh.
"Why are you wearing flip flops in the Woods in the pouring rain" he jumps down from the tree brunch. He was like a tree himself. He stood at Atleast 6 foot 2.
"Why are you throwing pencils at me!" I cross my arms and scowl.
"No" he says and crosses his arms to, making his lips pout slightly on the no.
"No? What do you mean no!" I yell, getting slightly angry now, who does he think he is? To throw bloody sketch pencils at me!
"You answer my question first" he demands.
"What" I say confused. He peers down at my feet, my big toe bleeding. My nails were half painted, a beige colour, they had lasted at least four months, it's funny how toe nail polish lasts a lot longer than hand nail polish.
"I, the shoes and trainers are kept in the cupboard in the kitchen , I didn't want to go in there, and these were right by the door so I-"
"Why didn't you want to go in the kitchen" his arms remained crossed.
" I, that's none of your business! Why were you harassing me!" He unfolds his arms, lighting a cigarette he finds in his pocket he says " I wasn't, I was throwing them at the floor, you just so happened  to walk by and trip over one, I'm not just going to stop my game cos some kid walks past , now that would make you really selfish right ? " he snickers and takes a breath.
" ild rather you didn't smoke so close to me and I'm pretty sure I know who you are
Blaine kaden brookes, and I'm also pretty sure we go to the Same school and are in the Same which would mean you calling me 'kid' doesn't really make sense now does it" I yell. Now I was getting angry , he was rude and obnoxious all I wanted was an apology.
"Okay okay ,, ciara" he raises his eyebrows and looks down at me  "sorry , sorry, Ciara kimmy Rosellna, oh hey, I know your name to. " he laughs and takes the cigarette out his mouth and squashes it under his foot.
" it's not good you know , to do that," I point to his foot.
"And what are you the woods police? Are you gonna arrest me" again he luaghs.
"Just say sorry and I can continue on my walk, accept i can't ! I'm gonna have to get my mother to pick me up since I can barley walk on my right foot now" I snap.
"Oh , see here's the thing, Ciara kimmy Rosellna, I don't apologise. "
"Whatever!" I yell and walk of, well hobble, well hop back home.

It was now Sunday and I hated Sunday, Sunday's meant that my parents would be home all day, they were always bloody home all day on Sunday's .
I just wanted my toast to toast in peace. But no , never any peace on. Sunday.
"Don't you think you ought to see some friends or something" my dad says.
"Leave her alone Adrian, you know what happened to the nice girl she was always with, she left remember, give your daughter a break, if she wants to lie around then let her." My mother rushes to my defence.
"Well," my fathers raises his voice. " I'm dropping your sister at a friends near the seafront, i could drop you of if you wanted, to go to the beach or something , would you like that, Ciara would you like that, would you like to go?" My dad always asks things one to many times, I think he forgets he's the old one with the bad hearing, not me.
"Sure whatever" I shrug my shoulders and spread my peanut butter on my toast. "Where's the jam"I ask? Looking around the kitchen to see its on the table, empty next to my sister who's crunching her last bite of toast. She didn't, she did, she had eaten my jam.
"You ate my jam, Kathy," I fold my arms
"whatever" she rolls her eyes. So I run upstairs and spray to many squirts of her favourite perfume, I'm evil like that.

The beach is practically empty, thank goodness. I've never say on a beach by myself, so I was happy it was nearly empty, or it may have felt claustrophobic. My hair wasn't the colour of the sea. My hair and gone dull and dingy, the sea remained the only bright thing around. I don't know why I was sitting on the beach on a cold windy day, I hate cold windy days. I whip out my book, I was reading 'to kill a mockingbird' I didn't particularly want to read it, but I thought I ought to. It was just one of those things. plus it was on my 'things to do before I'm 20 ' bucket list. I had twenty things on it, and for some reason, among 'go sky diving' and 'ride a motor cycle along a beach in exactly 25•c weather'reading the book was also on there.
"That's a good book" a familiar voice talks to me.
I look up and it's Joan.
"Hey what are you doing here?" I smile and ask.
He bends down and strokes the two dogs next to him.
"Got to walk the dogs, and I live over there" he points to a house in the distance, its hidden behind trees and is facing the beach. I had no idea that when I went to his party at his house last year that it was facing the sea, the trees covered most the view up, I guess they wanted it for privacy. I wouldn't do that. I mean I love privacy and all, and I'm definitely not a people person, but the view of the sea every morning, now that is what I would call magical.
"I see, cute dogs ,I'm just, reading I guess, my dads getting me in two hours, he popped into town to look at fishing rods or something."  I shake my head.
"Didn't want to go with him?" Joan asks, sitting dow besides me and letting his dogs jump on him.
"No well, I don't fish, I think it's cruel so-" I answer.
"Yeah me to, I don't eat them" he smiles.
"Same , I'm Urgh vegan " I half smile, pushing the hair out my face.
" yeah, me to, I've never actually met anyone else who is, apart from my mum that is." He says.
"Great, that's great, my friend, I don't know what happend to her, she left,
but she is to, I don't know anyone else, this guy at school was once like, you know plants have feelings to, and I totally owned him , I gave him a massive speech ,on how plants have no nerves and anyway animal agriculture involves a lot more plants being eating than being vegan,, then he shut up, still gives me hate though" I had talked to much, when I'm nervous I always talked to much , and I'm always nervous. Well not when Helen was around.
"That sucks, that people make fun of you, luckily if I don't really get that" he looks towards the see, squinting his eyes at the sun that has suddenly Emerged. "Don't go near people like that, there not worth it, if there just going to try and shut you down, it's what you Bellivie in, the nice people in the world will accept that"
"Your nice" I laugh " well I mean everyone know your nice, like a good nice obviously, like your always nice, I'm not saying over nice just-" he stops me from using the word nice for the sixth time .
"Hey hey, it's cool, yeah I'm nice, not all the time but I'm nice, life's to short, I can't help always putting myself in other people's shoes, I guess that's why I'm so nice" he grins "now I seem a bit cocky though"
"no, no , just honest , I like honest "
"Well I mostly try to be honest , anyway I think that this friend, who left you? Made a mistake, I mean I don't know you that well but what I do know is that  your caring , " now he sounded nervous again.
"Yeah and how do you know that? " my voice gets quieter.
"When I was friends with your sister, she said so"
I was shocked, I mean my sister rarely  complimented me, but to compliment me to someone else, now that was almost like a miracle.
"Oh" i frown.
"Anyway, look , this might be a bit forward but yeah, Urm, there's this restaurant  opening round the corner, yeah plant based, and the owner asked me to go and bring someone, he wants me to review it on the website, give it a good honest review, the owner he knows the family, so, would you go with me ? I know it's a bit random and stuff you barely know me so it's cool what ever you say, I just thought cos-" he was really nervous.
"Yes, yes , ild love to, like to" I chuckle.

I had a date? I was excited, it was set on Tuesday, only two days away, I was really really excited. I think I liked him. Urgh what was I thinking, I couldn't  like  someone I barley knew. I wasn't one of those girls, I didn't coo over every guy, I saw past the attractive appearances of the hot guys at school, I knew which ones had the personalitys of a complete tosser, and I could tell which ones put on that personality just to fit it, to be part of that group. I mean I was attracted to  guys often, but I never would have though someone like Joan would ask me out. He never said it was a date. Oh . I, remember he never said it was a date. Oh well, my friends at a school would say it was a date, they would be over the moon that I Ciara Rosellna had her first date. But I didn't want to wreck my cool and Become obsessed because of one date with a guy, i didn't want to give any guy that power. Plus, it probably meant nothing . Still I  went to sleep that night with my headphones plugged in with my Spotify playlist which I had named "songs for those moments when my emotions are slightly messed and I really need a cup of tea and to dance with a cat right now" I made myself laugh, atleast.