Paper Boats // xiaodery

two

Hendery snapped his fingers, swaying his hips slightly with every step he took across the sidewalk.

"Are you excited about something?" Xiao Jun asked, walking beside the dancing boy.

"It's just a habit I have. Dancing while walking." the other replied, continuing with his action.

The males entered one street of the neighborhood, houses surrounding them.

"There's my house." Xiao Jun pointed at a gray home at the end of the row. Hendery observed it: the exterior was nice, green grass spread across the ground, small potted plants lining the pathway to the front door. But most importantly, he took note of where it was, memorizing the numbers displayed on the house.

They walked further, turning a corner to the next street.

"That's where I live."  Hendery lifted his chin, gesturing to the house that sat second to last of the row.

Xiao Jun's lips parted into an 'o' shape. "Damn, that house sold so fast. The people who use to live there moved out like a month ago."

"Did you know the people who use to live in my house?" the other questioned, tilting his head in wonder.

"Yeah, they were a nice family. I was really good friends with their son."

Hendery nodded his head.

They explored the rest of the neighborhood, Xiao Jun showing him the places he's never seen. In Hendery's opinion, Xiao Jun would make an excellent tour guide, because he was patient and let's you take your time while looking around, and he told Hendery about the area if he wasn't familiar with it.

"You know, you would make a great tour guide." Hendery lifted his arms, placing them on the back of his head.

"What makes you say that?" Xiao Jun hummed.

"You're just really patient when I want to look around. And you've told me some interesting things about our neighborhood."

Xiao Jun let out a breathy laugh. "Thanks."

Despite the sound of birds and waves in the distance, Hendery heard his empty stomach erupt a long, drawn out growl.

"Are you hungry?" he turned towards the other boy.

"I'm down to eat right now." was the reply he got.

"Do you know any food places around here?" Hendery turned his head in all directions.

"There's an ice cream stand right around the corner. Do you mind going there?"

"Nope, not at all."

Xiao Jun wasn't kidding when he said the ice cream shop was right around the corner, because it literally was.

"Cookie dough, right Xiao Jun?" Renjun, the young cashier guy, raised his eyebrow.

"Yes." Xiao Jun agreed, reaching into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He turned his head towards Hendery. "What do you want?" he whispered.

"Uh, strawberry." he quickly said.

Xiao Jun looked down, counting the dollar bills in his hands.

"You're paying for the both of us? You really don't have to-"

"I got it Hendery." the other handed the money to Renjun. "Don't worry about it." he softly smiled.

Hendery's lips parted, stunned by the generosity. "Thank you." he muttered.

"Look at you, being a gentleman." Renjun clicked his tongue. "By the way, who's this new boy?" he pointed towards Hendery.

"This is Hendery, he just moved into the neighborhood."

"Hi." Hendery smiled, waving at the cashier boy.

"He seems nice." Renjun nodded his head in approval. "Oh, Xiao Jun, the next time you see Yangyang tell him to come by."

"I don't even have to tell him. He always comes to admire you before he visits me." Xiao Jun stated bluntly.

A red blush spread across the cashier's cheeks. "You better stuff your mouth with ice cream before I ducktape it."

They obtained their ice cream, settling at a table right against the all window wall.

"You can see the harbor from here." Xiao Jun said, pressing his lips to his ice cream.

Hendery gazed out the window, watching the boats sail not to far from the docks. It was truly a sight, an amazing one Hendery could never wrap his head around the fact that he could see this everyday.

"You're obviously on summer break, right?"

He directed his eyes to XiaoJun. "Yeah. I better take advantage of it before university starts again."

"You're in college?"

"Mhm. Gonna be a sophomore this coming school year." Hendery took a bite of his ice cream.

"Huh. Me too." Xiao Jun nodded, intrigued by the information.

"When's your birthday?" Hendery asked, licking more of the ice cream.

"‪August 8th.‬"

"Oh. Mine's ‪September 28th.‬ You're older than me." he pouted.

Xiao Jun chuckled at this. "It's not my fault I was birthed into this world before you."

Hendery rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Whatever old man." he said.

When they finished, the sky was turning into a pinkish hue, the sun slowly falling behind the horizon. They managed to get back to the harbor, settling at the edge of a dock, legs dangling above the water. Hendery squinted, examining the silhouettes of the boats still sailing in the distance. His eyes skimmed around, in search of his tiny paper boats.

He ended up finding one floating near the rocks below their feet. He was surprised it even survived.

"Thanks for spending the afternoon with me." Hendery softly said, continuing to look at the origami boat, which reflected off the color of the sunset.

"It's no problem." Xiao Jun replied, tearing his eyes away from the scenery to look at his friend.

Hendery's lips curled into a closed mouth smile, a warm feeling spreading throughout him. For the first time in a while, he didn't feel lonely.