two

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by shawnaaa_

by shawnaaa_

i woke up early the next day. the sound of rain tapping gently on my window was calming. i looked at the alarm on the side of my bed with droopy eyes. '7:00 a.m'

i groaned to myself. i still had about 2 and a half hours before i had to get up for work. i got up from my bed and dragged myself to the bathroom, lazily looking into the lit mirror.

i looked like shit.

i ran a hand through my hair as i stared back at my washed out features. i turned on the faucet, and splashed the water over my face in an attempt to revive some of the color to my face. i ran another hand over my face as i began to relive yesterdays events. it began to settle in on me that i had really lost my dad. he was never apart of my childhood and i had only met with the man no more than maybe 4 times once i got older. but, i think knowing that i'll never have the chance to try and create a relationship with him is maybe what fucked me up more than his death itself. i sighed and left the room, walking towards my kitchen. i made a cup of coffee. once it had cooled down, i leaned on my granite counter sipping on the beverage. i stood peacefully, wrapped in my thoughts, when i heard a knock at my door. four knocks...a pause...followed by two more knocks.

i furrowed my eyes in confusion, unsure of who would be here so early in the morning. i only had two close friends, and i doubted it was them. i got to the door and slowly cracked open the door. the person who stood there raised my eyebrows confusion- it was scott.
he looked up from his gaze on the floor and went to speak:

"i know this is weird and i shouldn't be here- but i feel like i didn't say thank you enough and you're the first friend i made here, i mean i've only been here for a few months but still. and i don't think you consider us friends but thats okay i just wanted to say that i appreciate it and..." he scrunched up his eyebrows as he rambled on, probably unsure of what he was saying at this point. i decided to cut him off, placing a hand on his shoulder. he stopped speaking, looking directly into my eyes. i chuckled and spoke in a friendly voice, "it's fine, i really don't mind at all. and yes, we can be friends". after i spoke he still stood there, his glance switching from the ground to my face. i decided to be polite.

"do you want to come in?"

he looked up immediately, surprised by my offer. i thought i saw the corner of his mouth twitch into a quick smile as he responded, "sure!"

we sat on my couch with the tv playing quietly, a lamp lit next to us. wyatt made his way into the room, taking note of the visitor, and approaching us. i heard scott quietly gasp from besides me as he picked the cat up, cooing in his face. i grinned at the site. i think this was the first time i saw the boy genuinely smile since i had met him, and it was a nice sight. i glanced down at the cup of coffee in my hand, then back at scott. "do you want any coffee? it's already made so it wouldn't be a problem." he stopped playing with the cat to think about his answer, before responding with a short 'yes please'. i nodded and made my way to the kitchen. as i fixed his cup, i realized i wasn't sure how he preferred his coffee. in fact, i had only learned a few things about the blonde so far:

-he liked cats
-loved strawberry flavored gum
-had a pretty smile

i decided to go off of a limb and added a little sugar, with a slightly-generous amount of creamer. i added a little bit of cinnamon on top, just to experiment. if he absolutely hated it, i could always just try again. satisfied with the drink, i returned to the living room, scott still infatuated with the hairless creature. he hadn't realized i stepped into the room until i was about 7 feet away. he gave me a shy smile and accepted the beverage. i watched his reaction as he sipped on the warm coffee, surprised to see his face contorting into one of enjoyment rather than disgust. he hummed, setting the cup onto the table in front of him. i figured that then would be a good time to actually learn something about the boy.

"so, where are you from?" i didn't mean to ask such a stale question, but it was the first thing my mind thought to ask.
"i'm from arlington, texas originally, but i moved here to chicago about 6 months ago. i nodded, we grew up in the same place. "i grew up there too!"

the longer we talked, the more i realized that the scott i was talking to now was nothing like the glossy eyed boy i had first met. though, i would notice with certain comments i would make or questions i would ask he would quickly crawl back into that shell, responding to me with small and forced smiles- or nothing at all. i had made a joke about how every time i would see him he would constantly be chewing on gum, but he didn't laugh. in fact, he didn't respond with anything, only giving me a sad look. then, as predicted, slipping a piece of the gum into his mouth. it confused me, as i didn't see what damage the joke could have done, but i dropped it anyways. it was awkward for a few moments, before i asked him another question i was curious to know. "how old are you?" i was hoping that he wasn't as young as he appeared, because he looked about 18. "22", he said shyly. he was a year older than me, oh. i gave him my age and searched my my mind for another question to ask. my train of thought was cut short by the sound of my alarm blasting. i blushed as the dialogue of spongebob yelling 'i'm ready' filled the room. i really needed to change that. i heard the boy next to me stifle a laugh, muttering something along the lines of 'adorable' underneath his breath. i grew more embarrassed, but ignored the comment. i checked the time on my phone and sure enough, it was 9:30 am. i hadn't even noticed how much time had gone by when we were talking. i had to be ready in 30 minutes if i wanted to get to work on time, so i had to kick scott out. if i was honest, it was kind of disappointing. i broke the news to him and he frowned but nodded understandingly, standing up from his position on the couch. he picked up and held wyatt for a few more seconds before letting him go and making his way to the door. i wasn't sure if he was more upset to leave the presence of the cat or me. i opened the door and he began to walk out, before stopping in his tracks. i was unsure of why he stopped until i was pulled into another sweet and gentle hug, much like the one yesterday. i took in his sent and warmth. he pulled away too quickly before mumbling a barely audible 'thank you', taking down the hall. i waited until he walked into his room before shutting my door and scratched my head. i was slowly becoming more and more interested in the shy blonde.