"can i sit here?"
tatum, looked up to see a boy with ruffled dark hair, and freckles dusted along his nose. his outfit consisted of a bright yellow hoodie and blue jeans that he cuffed.
his hazel eyes blinked a couple times, waiting for her response. she snapped out of her thoughts, and quickly moved over to make room.
once the boy sat down, he took a worn down pack of cigarettes out of his jean pocket. he flipped the lid open and took one out. he waved the pack in front of tatum's face, "want one?"
"i'm not really into fucking my lungs up, but thanks anyways." she turned down his offer.
he chuckled, as he stored the pack back into his pocket, then pulling out a blue lighter. the flame flickered, grabbing her attention. she watched him light the cigarette and take a long drag.
"i'm matt." he introduced himself without making eye contact.
"cool name."
"thanks, my mom picked it out for me." he joked, which made tatum slightly giggle.
"so, what brings you here?" he asked.
she shrugged, "i just thought it'd be nice to get out of the house for a bit."
truth was that tatum came to that specific park every single day. degas park was where her mother brought her all the time before she passed away a couple years ago. after that, it quickly became a place that she cherished.
"oh." he takes another drag. "me too."
tatum observed him, the way he sat on the bench, the way he slowly let the smoke escape his lips, how his messy hair made him look almost homeless, and the way he peacefully stared up at the pretty sunset. she thought he was beautiful.
"you never told me your name." matt reminded her.
"i'm tatum."
"i like it. that's a pretty name." he complimented.
"thanks, my dad picked it out for me." she said, poking fun at the joke he made earlier. but really, her father actually did pick it out for her.
matt grinned, and threw his cigarette onto the ground, stepping on it. silence flowed between the two for a few minutes, as they both watched the sunset and a few birds pass by.
matt suddenly spoke up. "i'm gonna go get something to eat."
"i'll see you around then." she waved goodbye.
he slowly rises up from the bench. "it would be a shame if i went alone. me sitting at a booth, all by myself." he tried to drop hints that he wanted her to come along.
"i guess so." tatum shrugged.
he sighed, "i'm asking you if you'd like to come with me."
she checked her phone, and saw that she only had about an hour before she had to be home. she looked at matt, "i can't, i have to be home by eight."
he scoffed. "eight? that's pretty fucking early."
tatum was used to her fathers strict rules. a lot of things changed around the house when her mother died. a couple weeks after the tragic event, he became a helicopter parent, and that brought up all these different rules that he created for her.
"i'm guessing your dad is strict, huh?" he asked, and tatum just nodded in response.
"like you've never snuck out of your house before?" matt questioned.
she shook her head.
"ever been to a party?" he raised his eyebrows.
she shook her head again.
"gotten drunk?"
tatum remained silent.
"skipped class?"
"okay, i get it, i'm boring." she frowned, realizing the lack of adventure that she's had in her life.
"i can help you with that." he smiled. "i already have a ton of things in mind that we could do."
"we probably won't have enough time for half of those things in your mind. i'm moving to arizona in early december." she told him.
"why?"
"my dad and i think it's time for a change."
"then we should start tomorrow! i'm going to a halloween party, you can come with me." matt said enthusiastically.
"but i don't think my dad will-" she was cut off by matt's frustrated groan.
"forget about your dad for a second, and just think about what you'd like to do." he told her.
tatum thought about it, and she knew matt was right. she did want to attend a party like she's seen in her favorite movies, she did want to try alcohol for the first time, she wanted to be a real teenager for once. she decided that her time was now.
"sure, i'll go with you." tatum agreed.
