From The Day I Met You

Friends

These past few weeks have been really surprising.

James was making genuine efforts to get to know me and my friendly self was more than happy to accept all of it, despite him still having the habit of ignoring me and rarely opening his mouth, but I guess it's better than him not even talking at all. Our friendship was mostly me asking questions and rambling on, followed by him answering once and a while. But sometimes, just sometimes, he would do some really nice things for me : He would bring me my favorite snacks, or recommend a good book to me, (we both liked reading), or he'd even invite me to watch anime together. Which meant he was listening to me, and paying attention which was more than enough for me.

But my happiness was short-lived. School was near and I had to go to that hell-hole again.

Yes. College.

In a week.

I was thinking about it while having some ice cream with James. Today was Tuesday : sit in the park and eat ice cream together day. It was something I decided on since he never gets out of his room, so after a lot of begging and dragging, I convinced him to do this ridiculous tradition.

So, here we were, slurping and licking the same ice cream flavors we always had : Chocolate for me and coffee for him, and it will always stay that way.

"I don't want to go back." I state, and he knows what I'm talking about.

"Me neither, but don't you have lots of friends there? We go to the same college too." He finishes his ice cream.

"WHAT? HOW COME I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU?" I shout out loud, suprised.

"You're always busy with your two best friends, those weird girls you hang out with." He shrugs, like he's stating the obvious.

"Yeah, I love those two." I smile to myself when I think about them, our ridiculous memories coming to mind and my statement is soon followed by silence.

James gets up, and I follow him after finishing my own ice cream. I look around the familiar park, watching the different families who were smiling and laughing, sitting under the trees, and the kids running around, playing, the couples, who were holding hands and smiling at eachother, eyes full of love. And then there were the lonely people, or maybe just people who liked to be alone, maybe they were artists who were looking for inspiration. They were listening to music through their headphones or reading books quietly. It was beautiful, the dead leaves falling from the trees made it all even prettier. Life was beautiful.

I look at James now, and take my time admiring his face. He may be an annoying asshole, and I hate to admit it, but he had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. He had thick and lustrous jet black hair, that complimented his beautiful and mesmerising eyes who had the same colour. His jawline was sharp, his lips full, and his face was perfectly chiseled and defined. 

Maybe if he was nicer to me, I'd have fallen for him. But for now, he's nothing more than a friend.

"Do you have a best friend?" I ask him suddenly, waiting excitedly for him to answer. His reserved personality makes me think that he doesn't have many.

"Two. But they live far away." He answers, and that explains why he never gets out of his house unless I drag him.

"Do you miss them?" I ask yet again, always curious, wanting to know everything about the mysterious person next to me as we get closer to out home.

"Yes." His reply was short, and our conversations ends there. He always takes me back home, and I think it's sweet. He waves me goodbye and I do the same, watching him leave before getting inside, where my mom was probably waiting for me.

The reason my dad was rarely home was because he was a pilot, so he traveled a lot. It's never been a problem tho, because he's the best dad I could ever ask for. On his days off, he always gave Mom and I all his time and attention : we'd go out to eat delicious pizza, then we'd hang out at home, watching a funny movie, and finally when it was time for dinner, he'd tell us wonderful stories of his many journeys.

"Welcome back sweetheart, did you have fun?" She asks after hearing me open the door, her voice coming from the kitchen.

"Yeah mom, thanks for asking." I was glad our house was close to the college I went to. Especially since I was really lazy.

"Well, dinners ready if you want. I'm going to visit Laila, and don't forget to brush your teeth before going to sleep!" Laila was James mother. Also my mother's best friend.

"Yes Mom! I'm not a kid anymore jeez!" I reply, annoyed that she still treats me like a five year old.

I head towards the kitchen, to be greeted by the sight of delicious looking spaguetti, and I dive right into the food.

While eating, I couldn't help but think about James. I wonder what he's doing right now? I hope he's not skipping meals. He tends to do that when he's reading a book : he gets so absorbed that he forgets everything around him. Or maybe he's studying? I think he might be a nerd.

The thought of James in glasses, doing math homework is funny to me, and I can't help but snicker.

I can't wait to spend another day with him.