Cocoa Under The Sky

Chapter 4: Star Hater

That night Jude found himself sitting on the bench that stared out into the lake. The moon wasn't around, and the light post was off. He patted the spot next to him, and Aludra jumped up on the bench with him.

"I'm not scared of my own shadow," the male mumbled underneath his breath. Aludra sneezed, and he jumped before hunching over in his seat with a hand to his chest. His head snapped to his dog with a glare, "You're not funny."

The dog glanced at him licking her snout before turning her head back to the lake and glancing towards the sidewalk, an ear twitching towards the male occasionally, but her attention mainly on other sounds.

He slumped in his seat and stared back at the lake. The night was cool, but he could feel the cold front ending. Spring wasn't too far away, and he wasn't too excited about the Floridian-heat the very word promised.

With his gaze on the stars, he stared at Orion, wondering how would he even teach someone about the stars. He was a stargazing rookie too.

His head rested against the back of the bench, and let his brown eyes focus on the dark space above him until his eyes adjusted and could detect more stars. His eyes fell on a white moving light, that was much smaller and dimmer than the other stars. It traveled North as he always saw it doing, and left him wondering what it was each time.

He heard the grass move about behind him and his dog's leash jingle as she stood on the bench. His head turned as his gaze fell on the stranger-boy, heart brutally constricting as his nerves kicked in. Anxiety truly hated strangers.

"You see that too, right?" The teen questioned, not once looking over at Jude.

The curly haired male looked back up pushing up his glasses. His gaze scanned the sky until they fell on the moving light again. "You mean the light?"

"Yeah."

Aludra placed her paws on the back of the seat sniffing at the stranger and wagging her tail. Jude watched as he smiled at her and sat on the other end of the bench, his dog rubbing herself all over the male.

"Aludra, no come back here."

The stranger shook his head, "It's fine; she's adorable."

Jude stopped tugging on her leash and let her have her way with the teen. His hoodie was down today, allowing Jude to see the male's dark short hair. But then again everything looked dark when the streetlamp wasn't on.

"I bet it's a UFO."

Jude blinked, "What?"

"That light thing, I bet it's an alien."

Jude looked back up with an arched brow, it was gone, "That seems far-fetched." His gaze leveled back down only to find the other teen looking straight at him.

"Then what do you think it is?"

"An asteroid."

The boy hummed.

It became quiet between the two, and Jude shifted in his seat not knowing what to say or do. "You start conversations weirdly."

He laughed still petting the dog, "And you don't keep your promises."

Jude squinted, "What promises, I never promised anything."

The male didn't look up, just kept playing with Aludra, the dog having the time of her life it seemed, "Well then," he paused as if to think, "lie? When you say something, it's pretty much a promise."

The boy crossed his arms leaning back on the bench, "It wasn't a promise. Plus, I don't know you." He caught a smile on the other's face. He fidgeted in his seat again not knowing what to do. He glanced at the other, "I forgot your name."