The Summer "Junkies"

Sunsets, Fruitless Mulberry Trees, Star-Gazing, and Light "Thumps"

"Hey guys, it's already 7:50. You wanna go do man hunt now or when it's darker?" asked Paige.

"Ehhh. . . I think we should go now, so by the time we get there, it'll be perfect." I suggested.

"Okay, then it's settled! Pug, you need to get your keys or no?" said Danny.

"Yeah I do. You guys just wait outside, while I get them." I said, while heading for the door.

I jogged over to my house, noticing the sky was a bright yellowish-orange. Even though it was the summer time, the atmosphere was perfect; a slight breeze yet still warm. I entered my house, and Boston ran to greet me. I petted him, and headed for the drawer containing all the house keys. My key was gold, and it was attached to a Winnie the Pooh key chain. Once I got it, I noticed that there was a teal note on the kitchen table; it was from my dad and mom.

        Dear Jackie,

        Your mama and I are out on a date again. She's been dragging me everywhere, telling me to help her with the garden. Mrs. Marik called us telling that you and Doug are at Danny's house; no funny business! We'll be coming home around 10, but make sure you come home soon. Be safe; we love both you and Doug. Love you, honey. 

        Love, Papa

        P.S. Be wary of the Aymos twins. We met their parents, and their a little. . .  different. :D

I snickered at the note, folded it into a neat square, and put it in my pocket. I went to the T.V., put on the fourth episode of the third season of Gossip Girl, and whistled for Boston to watch. He trotted to the couch and watched attentively. I put on the house's alarm, locked the door behind me, and walked back to my friends.

 Twenty minutes of sauntering past identical houses were fun; we took turns acting out animals and made fun of annoying dogs. We soon reached the brink of the appointed area, and we could barely see the sun; the sky was a violet but orange and pink blend. It was gorgeously placid; I just stood by a stop sign for a while staring at the sunset.

"Hey, you okay?" Danny asked me. He looked worried. I looked at everyone, and they were waiting for me.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Let's go!"

"So, the boys' base is it at the far soccer goal, and our's is the street lamp at the opposite side. Any objections?" Jade was a natural born leader. I admired her independence. 

"Nope! Let's get this on!" Rufus eagerly said.

"Okay, Okay. Girls get to hide first; we get 4 minutes and no peaking! I'm talking to you, Doug." yelled Jade when we all scattered throughout the area. I looked behind me, and Doug and I glanced at each other. He grinned and aired a fist bump to me, and I grinned back, mimicking his actions. 

I checked my phone to see what time it was, and in bold, white numbers, it read 8:26 P.M.. I jogged to a fruitless mulberry tree that I always climbed; when Doug and I were younger, we would sleep at the top of the tree like we were lions or something. That tree was our hideout, and soon, Danny came to join us on our expeditions from the imprisonment in our house. It didn't take me long to climb and conceal myself from everyone. After about 3 minutes, I was already at the top of the tree, escaping into the amazing height and gorgeous view. I could see the layout of the park, playground, and neighborhood; the sunset caught my attention again, and I kept gazing at it.

Once I got out of my stupor, I looked back to the playground's slide, searching for the boys. Lewis wasn't with them anymore. I didn't pay much attention from his absence, but when I decided to take a rest in the tree, I looked down only to see that Lewis was at the mulberry's base searching for "fugitives." I immediately held my breath, not moving. 

"Damn it, I shouldn't have worn my red Converse shirt today." I was in panic mode, and right when he was about to search in a different area, my phone slipped out of my jacket pocket.

"Shit."

I just watched my phone descend from the branches, down to the Earth; once I heard a light "thump," my heart felt like it skipped a beat, but a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Lewis noticed and picked up my phone, searched the tree to see a familiar face; when he caught my eyes, he let out a smirk.

He slowly ascended the tree, and when he was at my level, he dangled my phone right in front of my face.

"Huh, I see how it." I thought to myself. I gave him a smile, and then I noticed that he was leaning in. I already knew where that was going, so I pretended to lean in and kiss him, but right when he was about to kiss me, I snatched my phone away and jumped down the tree.

1) That was a stupid idea on my part.

2) My feet were throbbing like crazy; it felt as if they stepped on millions and billions of mini Lego pieces.

3) When I started running to my base, I looked back only to see that he also jumped from the tree, and he was only three yards away from attacking me.

I was running for my life; the whole lower part of body felt like they were about to split wide open and crumble into pieces of shattered human pride. I was so FLIPPING close to the street lamp; I was probably one meter away from my sweet victory, but he grabbed my shirt and held me by the waist. Struggling to free myself, I said,

"You can let go of me now, Lewis."

"Call me Boo, and no, I'm good. You're my prisoner now, remember?"

I sighed in frustration, "Don't you have to find the other fugitives?"

"We all decided that we would find the girl of our choice, and I picked you."

He gave me his cute-little-boy smile again, and he let go. I felt a "pang" in my chest because if Lewis was there, then that meant that Danny picked someone else. I shrugged the feeling off as if it was nothing more than dirt; Lewis took hold of my right hand and started walking to his base. He took out his phone and texted the guys. It probably stated my capturing and how they should hurry up with theirs.

"Hey, what time is it?" I asked.

"Already around 8:50. Why?" 

"Wow, it feels like 9:30 or something. The stars are already out, so I just assumed."

"Well, if we hurry, we can do some star-gazing." 

I laughed at his cute suggestion, and he just smiled at me. The rest of our journey was silent, but when we reached the soccer goal, we both sat down on the grass. Eventually, we were on our backs looking up at the stars. Even though Lewis was right next to me, I thought he would be looking at the stars or even his phone, but when I looked at his direction, he was gazing at me. We held our gazes; it was one of those moments where two people only had to communicate with their eyes to understand each other. I only experienced that moment with Danny, Doug, and Boston, so when I held Lewis's gaze, I could discern as to what he was thinking. It was:

"I want to kiss you."

I don't know what I was thinking. All I could see was his brown yet green eyes. He leaned in, but I didn't feign to lean in that time. That time I didn't pretend to not want to kiss him; we just kissed. It wasn't one of those shitty and sloppy French ones; it was. . . genuine, I guess. When our lips parted, I suddenly heard a light "thump" hit the Earth. I looked to my right and saw a phone. I searched for a familiar face. I saw a pair of black sneakers, so I looked up to see the owner. It was Danny.