From the Window

chapter 2

After pizza with Brighton and Rowan, I headed back up to my room. At first, I worked on some homework, but around 9ish I decided I was over it. Now I laid in my bed with my MacBook resting on top of my thighs. As New Girl played on my screen, I popped another piece of popcorn into my mouth. It was always my go to when I binged a show in my room. Watching Nick grab Jess and kiss her for the first time, I start to hear small taps. They are repetitive and coming from my window. My eyebrows furrow as I paused the beginning of the next episode.

Pushing my laptop off my lap, I crawled out of my sheets and stood in front of my window. I grabbed my navy curtains and pushed them away from the window. Behind the glass, Bradley stood with a mischievous smile. In his hands, he held a container of popcorn kernels. I raised my brows. He gestured for me to open the window.

"Your interrupting my show," I spoke quickly. It was just getting to the good part of the show when Nick and Jess were finally getting together.

His eyes narrowed a bit as his lips pressed together to form a thin line. "Sorry love, what show?"

Just then, I realized he was British. The way he said 'love' echoed in my ear a bit. "New Girl," I managed to answer.

"Never seen it, but I assume it's good."

I watched as he leaned against the window frame. He still held onto the tub of popcorn kernels. I couldn't get over that. Who would of thought to throw those at my window to get my attention? "Um, yeah. It's one of my comfort shows."

"Comfort shows?"

"Yeah, like a show you go back to when you need a good laugh or you don't know what to watch. Don't you have one?"

He shook his head. "I never really thought about it," he paused before continuing, "I guess, maybe the Office or Friends."

"Both solid options."

Bradley shifted off of the window frame and set the tub he was holding onto the floor. Once his hands were free he swung his right leg over the window sill before swinging the left leg. He perched himself there and held onto the ledge with his hands. I was impressed that he could so easily sit there. I would be too afraid that I would fall. If he leaned any closer though, I bet he would make it into my room.

"Were you doing anything else?" He asked.

I snapped out of watching his every movement to looking him in the eye. His eyes were brown. Not like a dark brown that was cold. His eyes had a comforting warmth to them. I could tell that he was intently listening. That he genuinely wanted to know what I had been up to the past few hours we had been apart.

"Um, nothing much. I had pizza with my siblings, worked on some homework. What about you?"

"Kind of the same. I left earlier because of dinner with my parents. We had a family Skype call with my sister. She's still in London because she's at Uni. Anyway, homework. What school are you at?" He asked.

"Liberty." I said.

His eyes lit up as he smiled. I noticed then that his eyes didn't crinkle in the corners like some peoples' did. Like mine did. Instead, he had these ginormous dimples. "Me too. Are you a year 12 too?"

I smiled at that. "You mean, senior. And yeah, I am."

His cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. He bit on his lip before speaking. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, I'm still not used to that."

I shook my head. "No worries, just giving you a hard time."

Again, he smiled. What was with this boy and smiling? It was like he was constantly happy, but I guess it was sweet. "So, how are you liking it at school?"

"It's been great. Everyone has been so nice. I can't believe I didn't see you at all today."

I shrugged. "I mean, our school is relatively big. Plus, I am very easy to miss."

He laughed and shook his head. "Nirvana, trust me your going to be hard to forget, let alone miss in a crowd. You have a cool ass name and pink hair. I know I would have remember you if I saw you today."

Something about him possibly remembering me if he saw me made me smile.

Silence fell between us for a moment. "So, you said your sister's at Uni?" I asked. I needed to break the silence. Silence made me feel awkward and I couldn't handle feeling awkward right now.

"Oh, yeah. Her name's Natalie. She's on her second year of Uni so she obviously wasn't going to move with us. You said you had siblings?"

I nodded. "Brighton and Rowan. Also older then me. They're actually twins."

Brad swung his legs. Every time they would fall back the heels of his black vans would hit the side of the house. "Cool, so are they identical?"

"Um, no. Not at all. Brighton and I look more alike then her and Rowan. Rowan looks a lot like our mom, but Bri and I look like our dad. It's funny actually. The boy of the family is the one with our mother's features."

Brad nodded as he followed along with my words. "What makes you look like your dad? I assume it's not you hair."

"Haha," I laugh dryly. I wasn't used to someone our age being somewhat witty. "It's actually my eyes. My dad had hazel eyes like me and Bri. Ro got my mom's green ones. Part of me has always been jealous, but I feel like it suits him better than me."

I shift my gaze back to Brad's eyes away from his swinging vans. He had a small smile. "I like the color of your eyes. My entire family just has brown eyes. Kind of boring if you ask me."

I shook my head. "I like them."

"Well thank you Nirvana. Nirvana." He repeated my first name. Then he furrowed his brows before gazing into my eyes again. "What's your full name?"

"Nirvana Mae Carson."

"I like that." He whispers. Raising his voice, he continues, "Mine's boring. Bradley Will Simpson. You have a special name Nirvana."

"Thanks, Bradley."

Lifting his hand from the window sill, he glanced down to his watch. I hadn't seen a boy wear an actual watch in a long time. He sighed before looking back at me. "As much as I would love to keep this going and learn everything about you. I should probably finish my math homework before going to bed."

"That would be smart." I agreed.

"Before I let you go," he said as he shifted his legs back around. He continued once his body was back in his room. "What's your favorite color?"

I laughed a little at that. "Um, I don't know. Maybe maroon."

He pressed his lips together. "Maroon, interesting answer."

"What about your's?" I asked.

"Red, definitely red." He said it so quickly. I nodded. "Anyway, good night Nirvana."

"Good night Bradley."