Spring: A Ryden short fic (WIP)

One

Spring is the best season. The flowers, the rain, the grass. Spring is the season of renewal. It's like a renaissance, a chance to start over new. Maybe it's the warm sun that hugs your back, or maybe it's the baby animals being born, but to Ryan, spring is the best time of all. His heavy heart became lighter as the days slowly grew longer, and his soul yearned to be outdoors. There is always a deeper yearning in Ryan's heart that can't seem to be satisfied by the glory of spring, but he tries not to focus on that.

Today would be different, though. Much different.

The sun was out and so was Ryan. He was on a walk around the park. He decided not to wear his hearing aids today, which means he was completely deaf. It was easier to focus on the beauty of nature without the burden of sound bombarding his ears every second.

He felt the crunch of stray leaves underneath his sneakers as he walked on the sidewalk. The park was busy today. A group of children jumped around the play structure while their parents sat and gossiped on the benches. Nearby, a dog was fetching a ball and bringing it back to its owner. Ryan smiled. The world, at least before his eyes, was having a good day. And if the world was having a good day, Ryan was bound to have a good day too. What's a good place to enjoy the sun? He asked himself. His mind wandered for a bit, searching his memory for an answer. At last he had come to a conclusion. The garden, he thought.

The garden was almost empty, save for one boy sitting at a table with a cup of tea pressed to his lips. The boy, well, to put it quite frankly, was beautiful. His eyes were brown like melted chocolate, his frame slender, his skin fair, and his stature tall. Okay, maybe he sounded ordinary, but that's just the thing, words could never do the pretty boy any justice. Ryan did a double take. Normally, he ignored everyone, he preferred to be his own company. But there was something about this stranger that caught his eye, something beyond the boy's looks. Perhaps it was how relaxed he seemed, drinking tea in the garden, soaking up the sunshine, or maybe it was the delightful vibe he gave off. Either way, this boy was special, and Ryan greatly regretted leaving his hearing aids at home.

Butterflies started to rambunctiously jump about in Ryan's stomach. His palms began to sweat, and his limbs felt heavy. His heartbeat also began to speed up. He realized that he had just been standing in the archway of the garden staring at the beautiful stranger, and if he kept it up, the boy was sure to notice. Shakily, Ryan made his way to the corner opposite of where the boy was sitting, as far away as he could possibly be from the stranger, but still close enough to see him. What a freak I'm being, he thought, Its just a good looking stranger, why do I care so much?

Ryan decided not to pay the stranger any more mind. It wasn't like he had seen the stranger before, nor would he see the stranger again. The boy was just that, a stranger, a passerby, another someone who would not stay in Ryan's life, and Ryan had to accept that. He began to feel alone. Yes, it was true, Ryan did not know many people, but he had always been just fine with that. Loneliness was safe and he was content, why would Ryan need anyone anyways? Frustrated with himself, he pulled out his phone and tried to beat his high score on snake. After a handful of useless attempts, he shut his phone and put it back in his pocket.

The air was crisp but warm, like a hug from Mother Nature herself. Ryan shut his eyes and allowed himself to bask in the light. He wasn't sure how long he was in the chair, but when he opened his eyes once again, the sun had changed positions. To Ryan's slight disappointment, the boy was no longer in the garden. He sighed. For some reason unknown to Ryan, he felt defeated. He sighed once more as he got out of his chair and began his walk home.

Its not like anything could happen between the two, so Ryan wasn't missing out on anything, right?