Do you ever wonder if the stars shine out for you?
He walked over to the bench and sat down just like her: legs stretched out, arms supporting torso. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at her.
Her face flushed when he caught her doing the same.
He snapped his attention to his old, dirty Converse and their laces. His fingers played around with the fraying ends as he tried to remember what the plastic pieces that used hold the strands together were called.
Aglet, he thought.
No one remembered aglets. Yet they managed to keep the fibers of strings and cords together for long periods of time through all kinds of weather. In a simple, understated way, they were incredible.
Aglets. Why the hell am I thinking about aglets? He mentally punched himself as he readjusted his body to face her.
Glancing back up to her face, he saw that her eyes were wide open, just like the starry sky.
Out of everything in the park tonight, she definitely intrigued him the most.
He knew she had dark hair, that she was shivering ever so slightly, that her knees were bare, and that she wasn't looking anywhere but up.
He wanted to know why.
He wanted to know her story. She had to have a story. Everyone did. There was a reason she was at this park tonight and he was determined to figure it out one way or another.
"What's your story?"
She whipped her head around to face him. "What?"
"Your story. Like, why are you here?"
She didn't want to tell him. It was stupid. Everything that led her to this bench tonight was stupid.
She shrugged. "Oh, I come here all the time."
"Bullshit. I come here every night and you're the only person I've ever run into."
He stared at her, expecting a response, and she stared back, experiencing a slight loss of words.
"I...it's stupid. Why are you here?"
He shook his head. "No. I asked you first. C'mon."
She really didn't want to tell him. Especially because she didn't even know him. He was a complete stranger. But then she realized how that might actually be the best thing.
He knew absolutely nothing about her. Not her age, not her grades at school; he didn't even know her name. All she ever wanted was for someone to listen, for someone to understand. Maybe this was her chance. Maybe the blue-eyed boy in front of her wouldn't call her insane or delusional. Maybe he would get it. He did, after all, seem to care. But then again, everyone did at first.
She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.
"I'll tell you why I'm here if you tell me why you're here first. I promise."
