The Great Escape

The Mysic

I found myself hoping that the weird kid would end up meeting me by the river. About a week went by, every one ending with my runrunrun. As it always did.

Sometimes I wondered what would happen if I jumped into the river. Not to me, because I would probably be killed on one of the rocks, or the current would drag me under. What would my parents think? How long would it be before they started looking? Would Mavis wonder at all?

'Speak of the devil.' my mind said as he turned the corner. He didn't look at me the way others did, like I had such potential if I only tried. I had the smoothest hair, which laid flat unless I tried to curl it. I had clear skin, a small nose, long legs, blue eyes, and a body that allowed me to wear almost anything. I felt like a child who hadn't even hit
People looked at my face, my eyes, my chest, my body. Nobody looked at me.
But Mavis...
It took a few more seconds for me to realize that he was walking towards ME. Not the library door, which was located just past my bench. The angle and rate at which he was walking, as long as it didn't change, would intersect with my location..
I sat up straighter and tucked my hair behind my ear.
"Is anyone sitting here?"
He asked, referring to the small space on the bench next to me. I eyed him suspiciously, but smiled a little.
"Is that a joke?"
I half joked, and scooted my stuff over to make room for him. He sat down, leaving exactly four inches of space between his thigh and my thigh. His hand rested nearly on mine.
"Whatcha listening to?" he said, not quite in the conversational way adults speak to you when they're over at your house. 'How are your grades? Do you have a boyfriend? Have you applied to colleges?'
I'm sixteen, but okay.
When I didn't reply, he assumed that was invitation to reach over and oh-so-carefully pluck an earbud from my ear and insert it in his own.

"I'm not sure you'll know who they are..."

I started, but stopped when he closed his eyes and listened. His body movement changed slightly to be in rhythm with the beat of 'Stars Fly'. I stared at him, because that's all you could really do. It was at this point I decided to take advantage of his closeness and take him in.

His hair was almost as dark as his eyes(which were closed). His neck and ears were simple curves that weren't meant to be noticed, but were. He had skin the color of brown sugar, and lips that made you care about lips. Lips that I wanted to lean forward and..
And he was moving them.
No sound came out of his lips. Not a word. But they moved in perfect synchronization with the lyrics, and-
"I'm sorry.. I love this song."
He whispered, and I realized he had caught me staring. I also realized, as he smiled at my lips, that I had been mouthing the words too. The space between our legs had halved. His hand was interlaced in mine.
I nodded and pulled out my iPod, wrapping it in the headphones. He looked slightly stricken for a moment, but recovered and stood.
"Could I ask why sometimes you're so agreeable, and others you're the opposite?"
I stared into his eyes, and found them staring right back into mine.
"It's your shorts." I said tersely. He nodded and released my hand, but my before giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Tomorrow, then."
I nodded slowly, then walked past him, ducking my head. Once I got off campus, I ran.

He never wore those shorts again.