Love From Afar

Midnight Sun

August 11, 2020

6:07 P.M.

I hopped off the bus.

To fit this trip into my school schedule, I had to catch a bus home by three in the morning. I caught sight of my hotel and rushed over, excited. 

While I checked into the hotel, I could feel a pair of eyes on me. I glanced behind me and accidentally made eye contact with a green-haired boy. Mistakingly, I laughed at his hair before carrying my one bag upstairs. 

6:23 P.M.

A few minutes later, just after I'd showered and changed into something fresh, there was a knock on my door. I opened it and saw the same kid from earlier. Except, I noticed he actually around my age. And admittedly, pretty attractive. He coughed, letting me know that I was staring. I felt my face go red, which he took his turn to laugh at me. 

"Hey," he greeted between laughs. His laugh had me mesmerized for a moment. I could think of nothing more of how I'd love to capture the intricate lines of his face on paper. And as for that hair, it was ridiculous, but in a way that suited his features. 

Realizing I still hadn't answered for seconds, moments, minutes maybe, I blurted out, "You look like a lime." That set him into a laughing fit, barely able to stand. It wasn't that funny, and I was completely embarrassed.

"This was a dare!" he exclaimed, pointing at his hair. "Anyways, lemme show you 'round, Stars?" That wasn't even close to my name, but he probably called me that because of the dark freckles spotting my ghost-like skin. I gave him a face, wondering how he knew I was on vacation. "Well, you look like a foreigner," he explained, less unsure of himself, "and there's a few tourist attractions near here, so I assumed. Was I right?" I scoffed and nodded in response. "Great. Let's go." Lime grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my hotel room. I had to pull him back to the door just to close it. Then, we were off. 

2:32 A.M.

Back at my hotel room, I felt my phone ring in my hand. It was clasped in it as I snuggled into Lime. The vibration woke me up and I carefully dragged myself out of bed, not wanting to wake Lime up. I found my suitcase and put on a light jacket. Quickly, I jotted my number on paper and stuck it to his phone. As I was going, Lime awoke and stopped me before I could leave. 

He drowsily asked, "Where're you going, Stars?" Unable to answer, I froze. "Can I at least have a hug?" My words ultimately failing me, I kissed him and waved goodbye. I could see on his face that he was still comprehending everything as I left.

On the bus ride, around fifteen minutes later, I got a text.

Unknown: Hey, Stars

Unknown: Btw, it's Carlos. You?

Me: It's Dayden