the crush • afi

två

The windows were rolled down and so was the roof of his car. Rock music was playing loudly enough for pedestrians to hear but not enough for them to be annoyed of.

It had been a little over three weeks since he had started looking for a new apartment. His old place was becoming to big for his liking.

Since the end of his last relationship, where his girlfriend had broken up with him, over the phone that is, the man was feeling lonely. And, the flat he lived in only made him remember of the fact that he was alone. He needed to move, just to at least try and make the loneliness disappear.

So, here he was, three weeks later, a little desperate to find somewhere to live. He just wanted to focus on his career as a journalist.

He was driving through a suburban neighbourhood. A nostalgic smile slowly appeared on his lips as memories of his childhood resurfaced. Which, made him feel a little homesick.

But those feelings went away as quickly as they came when he had to break, his old tires squeaking abasing the asphalt.

His eyes widened as he stopped the car, his body being pulled back by his seat belt as he tried to get out.

He huffed, mad at himself for forgetting to unbuckle himself.

Once he did do it right, he got out and prayed he hadn't someone badly.

In the short time, where he had almost crashed into someone, he hadn't checked to see who they were. It wouldn't mattered anyway since he didn't have any acquaintances living in this neighbourhood.

As he walked closer to the front of his car, he caught a glimpse of a pair of silver and pink roller skates. Eyebrows raised, he crouched down and saw a teenage girl sitting up, also noticing a few fresh scratches on her already bruised knees.

A tsunami of apologies started flowing out of his mouth. Even he hadn't hurt her badly, he felt horrible.

Surprisingly, the girl started giggling which made him wonder if she had also hit her head on the ground during the fall. Wasn't she supposed to be mad at him? He did almost ran her over, by accident, of course.

He kept asking if she was alright while she still couldn't stop giggling. But when she did calm down, she brought two of her fingers to her mouth, sucking to wet them before rubbing them over her small wounds on her knees, wiping the blood away.

He almost gasped when she did. The man couldn't take his eyes off her when she did. He forced himself to look away, his cheeks feeling a little hot.

But he forgot about her doing that when she started to stand up, making him hold out his hand to help her.

She straightened up, still in her scratched roller skates. He once again proceeded to ask if she was alright, making the girl playfully smirk.

"Asking me if I'm alright and helping me up, huh? You're such a gentleman.."

What she said almost made him blush. Confidence almost seemed to radiate off her. It wasn't like he himself wasn't confident, he just wasn't as much as her. Though he was thirty two and she didn't look a day over seventeen.

He finally cleared his throat and looked down at the younger girl who still had the same playful smile as when she had been cleaning up her bruises her own special way.

"I did almost run you over.."

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced down at her. Even while wearing her rolled skates, he was still towering over her.