Flowers For Terra & Flowers With Thorns

| Chapter 10 |

I should have left five minutes ago.

The park wasn't that far but I had two minutes until I was supposed to meet Blake and I still wasn't dressed.

Well, I was dressed. Technically I had been dressed five times now but none of them looked right, none of them felt right. Not a skirt, not a dress, not jeans, not shorts. Nothing.

My bed was filled with clothes, tossed haphazardly, covering the floor. Nothing seemed to be working and I hated it.

It was just so...

So typical.

Then again, I guess you could say that I was always typical. What kind of movie would it be without a sarcastic sidekick? Though, the word 'sidekick' made me sound like I was a hero. I was more like the super villain's sidekick.

I was a privileged teenager with an attitude problem. How much more typical could you get?

Apparently more so. I had become that girl in those nineties movies that went through a montage of trying on clothes in front of a mirror. Because we totally need more of that.

I threw a t-shirt to the floor, picking up a loose shirt I'd discarded. I wasn't sure why I cared so much. Picking out clothes was never something that had bothered me in the past. I just picked something that looked decent enough together and that was that. No stress, no bother and no hassle.

I buttoned the shirt and pried myself from in front of the mirror. I didn't have any more time for second guessing or changing. Blake was going to be at the park, wondering where the hell I was and there was no way that I was going to tell him that I was stressing over what to wear. It was stupid, pathetic even.

My chest was tight, my stomach twisting, bubbling with feeling. Nerves? No, it couldn't have been nerves. There was no reason for me to be nervous. I was just going to hang out with Blake. Did other people get nervous when they were going to hang out with friends?

Probably not. But then again, other people probably hadn't only had one friend for seven years.

The park was quiet for a Saturday afternoon. There were kids running around with their parents trailing along with strollers. Couples swung their hands as they spoke, walking along together with their fingers twined. Earphones in, people jogged along the paths, mouths set in a determined line as they dipped into the grass for a moment to avoid others.

A light breeze rustled the branches of budding trees, the sun glinting on the lush greens of the grass, highlighting the soft brown of the bark with hues of honey gold. The same bark where Blake was leaning, one hand in his pocket as he glanced up from his phone.

He grinned at me, the smile lighting his eyes as his lifted his hand in a wave. There was something in my chest, a jolting squeeze, like a rush of anticipation.

"Terra, I thought you were going to stand me up," he said with a laugh, opening his arms as he went to lean in for a hug. I shrugged, crossing my arms as I leaned back. It was subtle enough that he dropped his hands, rubbing one over the back of his neck.

"I drove here, there was some traffic." Blake leaned over, picking up a backpack and slinging it over a shoulder.

"I didn't know you drove. Amber always gives you a lift to school, right?" He looked over at me as we started strolling down the path.

"She drives 'cause her car's nicer. I try to avoid driving where I can. It's an effort." He laughed. I made him laugh. I hadn't meant to, I was just being honest about it.

"An effort," he chuckled, those cerulean eyes twinkling. "So you an Amber do a lot together then?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, she mostly gets me to do things. I think I'd end up staying at home a lot if it wasn't for her. I'm the reluctant sidekick in her adventures. But we've got some stories, that's for sure." The thought almost made me smile. After being friends with Amber for as long as I had, I could recount nearly all of the misadventures and drama she'd dragged us through. They certainly made for some memorable moments.