After somehow completing and surviving a dreadful senior year, Alice is finally at her favorite place, her granny's house. She has always been an introvert, socially awkward, but a stubborn person. She is closed off and always prefers to be alone.
...
We were at the place I really loved going when I wanted some peace to myself. There was a small waterfall between the two big mountain rocks. The water here was as clear as crystal, like a mirror. If you peeked into the water, you could literally see your reflection in there. It was an aesthetically beautiful place. This was one of my secretive spots, which meant that there weren't any people here as it was deep into the forest.
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"Wow" I heard Nate whisper behind me. His face was astonished and he was looking around as if his eyes couldn't get enough of this place.
"I know right" I praised the place more and started walking towards the familiar place near the waterfall to sit down.
"How did you even find this place?" He asked following me behind.
"Once when I was younger I got lost around here. When I followed the sound of water I came across this place, it's beautiful isn't it?" I found my favorite spot and sat down. I could get a perfect view of the place from here.
"Yes it's amazing" He was still in daze taking in the view. I patted the place next to me. After recovering from the shock, he came and sat down with a sigh.
"You didn't tell me why you wanted to look around for a peaceful place? What work were you talking about earlier?" I asked.
"I was talking about painting" he scratched the back of his neck embarrassed.
"Really? That's great, why do you look so embarrassed to tell me?" I asked confused.
"I don't usually talk about my paintings to anyone"
"Why not? I'm sure you're a great painter" I encouraged him.
"You don't know that" He chuckled.
"Yeah I don't, but you sure didn't look any less determined to find a place for something you're not good at" I smirked.
"Okay, do I like painting, but I don't show them to anyone often"
"Why not?"
"Because no one asks me about it?"
"Oh" There was an awkward silence for a few seconds "You can show me your paintings, I would love to know how much of a great painter are you" I laughed.
"Maybe" he smiled a closed mouth smile and looked away.
Silence settled between us, not awkward this time, but comfortable silence. I looked around embracing the natural beauty. Now that I'm here again I feel so good that I found this place. I closed my eyes and inhaled the fresh air. I could hear the sweet chatter of the birds and the rhythmic flow of the waterfall. It was always peaceful and relaxing to be here, I could forget about all the problems and complications in this place.
I felt Nate staring at me so I opened my eyes and looked over at him, for a second I forgot that I wasn't alone here. "What happened? " I asked.
"Your eyes" He said, his eyes scanning mine.
"What? Do I have something in my eyes?" my hands rubbing my eyes subconsciously.
"No! They're beautiful.... I-I mean fine, they're fine, fuck" He whispered the last part looking away, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink.
My face turned red "Thanks" I hid my smile looking at a random stone on the ground.
"Hmm"
"So tell me about yourself," I said, breaking the short-lived silence.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? Because we're going to be around more often, at least we could get to know each other. I don't want to roam around as strangers" I'm only asking this because we are acquaintances, it would be awkward to show him around and not know anything about him.
"Okay, but I have one condition" he said looking down at me.
I raised an eyebrow "And what is that?"
"No asking questions about family or the past"
"Sounds good to me" Even I didn't like to talk about my past, not that anyone ever cared enough to ask anyway.
"Let's play the question game then,"I added.
"Okay"
"What's your favorite color?" I started with the most basic question.
"What is with girls and your favorite color, is it some kind of an obsession girls have, to know others favorite color?" He chuckled.
"No, we just ask that first to keep it light, or would you rather me asking something like, do you shower naked?" I rolled my eyes.
"Um no the farther is fine, and my answer is black and maroon, what about you?"
"Black and blue" I like these mostly because they suit me more than any other color.
"Okay, if you were a dog, what kind of a dog would you be?" He asked with a thoughtful expression.
"That's sounds like a question from those weird 'what kind of a pizza am i' type of quizzes online" I laughed. He gave me a look as if saying just answer it. I thought about it for a second, then answered "Probably a golden retriever"
"Why?"
"I think that I'm reliable and trustworthy like any golden retriever out there" I said "And yeah I'm friendly, there is the thing that I don't have many friends, but that's besides the point" I laughed.
"What about you?" I curiously asked.
"Probably a husky, no reason just because I like them" He said, getting up from beside me.
"Where are you going?" I asked confused.
"Is that one of your questions?" he grinned, showing his perfect set of teeth. He ruffled his already messy hair. He looked so incredible like this. The sunlight pouring down on his face, enhancing his honey brown eyes even more. This is the first time in a few days that we've known each other I've seen him smile, really smile showing his teeth and all. Why doesn't he do it more often?
Snap out of it, I scolded myself.
"Um no, for real, where are we going?" I asked, getting up after him.
"It's almost noon, aren't you hungry?" He said looking at his wrist. My stomach growled at the same moment answering for me. He chuckled and started walking away.
"Come on. Let's go, Aly, I'll die if I don't eat something soon." he said dramatically and I laughed at the silly nickname following behind.
