10 Butterflies

4. Friendship smells like homemade cookies

When I walked into the lunchroom I felt a surge of confidence. The night before on the roof with Liam made me feel capable of keeping up a conversation. I sat next to Emily with a smile plastered on my face. I wanted to be like everbody else and have normal teenage conversations and that was exactly what I was aiming for that day.

"Hi guys!" I said cheerfully.

Emily and Cara looked at each other. Cara's eyebrows were raised while Emily's jaw dropped. They seemed to be having some unspoken conversation with their eyes.

"Are you alright? I mean, yesterday you acted like your dog just got hit by a car." Cara furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just feel energetic today." I'm going to be a normal teenager.

Cara gave me a nervous glance before returning to her burger again. Emily patted my shoulder and poked at her caesar salad with a plastic fork. Maybe I should've gradually changed from a depressed, messed up teen to a regular teen. After noticing that, I calmed myself down a bit. A flicker of blue by the window made my eyes quickly avert to my hands. I pulled my sleeves back up to my hands after noticing that they weren't covered.

The blue made my insides droop; bringing out my shy, awkward side and pushing out my surge of confidence and cheer.

"Is that you Delilah Rose?"

I looked up from my hands and saw a familiar face. Liam. He looked different under the moonlight than he did in the sunlight. His caramel colored hair seemed more vibrant and distinct. I noticed he had silvery-blue eyes like how you'd expect to see the reflection of the moon on a blue lake. His fingers were slightly calloused and made me wonder if he played sports or something. He definitely looked like he might. My eyes traveled to his own pair again. I could see flecks of excitement and recognition in them.

I thought of all the possible outcomes. Yeah, it's me. Oh okay, by the way you don't seem very cool. I don't think we should talk anymore.

The idea frightened me but not as much as embarrassing myself and him by saying no. Perhaps he'd hate me eternally for being selfish and embarrassing him on his first day.

"Yeah, hi Liam." I smiled coyly.

Oh dear lord, I didn't sound cool enough! I should've said "Oh yeah! Hey Liam!".

"It didn't even occur to me that we would go to the same school. Even though we're neighbors, I didn't really think of that!" He slapped a hand on his forehead.

"In your defense, I didn't either." I offered.

Then I remembered that two girls were sitting with me. I also remembered that the human female is the basic organism for spreading news and gossip. Reluctantly, I turned back to them, hoping that they didn't notice my conversation. But with my luck, the sat there with their eyes glued to the 'intensity' of our conversation.

I sighed. "This is Emily and Cara. They're my... friends. And guys this is Liam; my neighbor." I said emphasizing the word neighbor.

Cara snapped out of her trance first. "Oh, uh, hi!"

Liam looked at her with flecks of recognition in his silvery blue eyes. He looked like he was trying to remember her, but couldn't really recall.

"Hi... Do I know you?" He asked.

"I don't think so." Cara frowned.

Liam nodded and faced Emily. "Nice to meet you."

Emily blinked twice before snapping herself out of her trance. "What? Yeah you too!"