The Park.

Chapter 2

"Hi." she says with a slight smile.

"H-hi." I manage to say and I know that I'm probably smiling like an idiot.

There's an awkward silence. Great.

"Uh- I, " I begin to say. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you." I blurt out and bite my lip as I turn around to walk away. Shit.

"No, no! It's okay!" she claims and I turn back around. She moves to the other end of the bench and pats the seat next to her, smiling. She really is beautiful.

"Uh, thanks." I say shyly and smile as I sit down next to her. I read the title on her book as she closes it. 'The Mortal Instruments: City Of Heavenly Fire.' As much as I am antisocial as fuck, I can also famgirl anytime at any moment.

"OH I LOVE THAT BOOK!" I fangirl. Shit. I'm probably already creeping her out.

I expected her too look at me like I'm some kind of a weirdo, but instead she just smles excitingly. "Really? Have you read it?"

"Yes!" I reply.

"I'm halfway through the book and I'm loving it!" she says. "OH THE FEELS!"

I can't help but laugh. She's adorable and cute.

"I'm Claire." she says and holds out her hand.

Not only is she beautiful but she also has a beautiful name.

"I'm Anne." I say and shake it. As I shake it, I feel a wave of electricity pass through me. What is she doing to me?

"Nice to meet you. I'm new here by the way." she tells me.

"Oh, so where are you from?" I ask.

"I'm from California, and I've lived there for seventeen years of my life. But because of my parents' work, we moved here like a week ago. So New York is kind of our new home."

"That's cool. So, you're 17?" I ask. I don't know why am I suddenly so talkative with a stranger. Probably because I feel comfortable with her, but at the same time she somehow gives me those butterflies and waves of electricity pass through me.

"Yeah. You?"

Well shit. I totally forgot that my birthday is in like, almost 2 months.

"I'm 16." I tell her. "I'll be 17 in 2 months.

"Oh, so your birthday is in June?"

"First." I nod.

"Just like Ronnie Wood!" she says with an excited tine at first but then her face falls. She probably thinks I don't know who that is.

"Oh! You like The Rolling Stones?" I ask. Her face lights up again.

"Yes! Do you?" she asks.

"Of course!" I laugh.

"That's great! I see we have a lot in common." she tells me.

"We do!" I assure her.

"So, you come here often?" she asks me.

I know, she's a sgranger and I shouldn't be telling her my whole autobiography. But, hey, I'll just tell her only some things. Moreover, she doesn't seem like a criminal.

"Yes, actually. I come here almost every day to read a book or listen to music. To think. I haven't been here for the past few days, though."

"I was just walking around the park and I came across this place. I really like it." Claire says.

"Me too. It's kind of my hideaway from-" Shit. I told her it's my secret place. Now she's gonna think she's an intruder.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she apologizes. "I-"

I cut her off. "No, It's fine, really! I like your company!"

Claire smiles shyly.

We end up talking about the things we like and literally everything. She's easy to be around. Maybe it's easy to open up in front of strangers. They don't know you, so they can't really judge. All they can do is listen. No, I don't tell her about my family or anything. I just open up to her about what I think about the world, the things I like. I laugh and smile and enjoy my time. Not everyone sees me like that. Why? Because they can't make me feel like that.

Claire and I talk for hours. When I check the time, it's 5:30 p.m. and I should be going home. I have to he there before my father so I could safely lock up in my room without disturbing him. As we decide to get going, she says.

"You know, I'm kind of new here, and I've been here for like, a few days and I really need friends and you seem like a really nice person..." she sounds nervous. "So, uhm, can we like, exchange numbers or something?"

I feel her. I myself don't have any friends anymore but I can tell that she is really nice. Plus, I feel sorry for her. I know I'm bad at opening up to people or making friends, but she's just....different.

"Sure!" I smile at her.

Claire gives me one of those cute smiles. "Thank you so much!"