Park Bench (Prinxiety AU)

Chapter 4 - Roman

October 13

     I was blissful in the days that followed that second meeting. I didn't really know why, but something was just leaving me flying high. Well, actually, I knew exactly why. I had met with the boy at the park every single day and always came home with the biggest smile. Surprisingly, I had yet to brag to Patton about this. I finally had a secret I didn't hate keeping. Not to mention how I imagined Patton would react if he knew the biggest part: I still didn't have this guy's name. I wasn't even that bothered by it, either. 

     I should mention that I'm not an idiot. I knew he didn't like me. Of course, I felt guilty when he repeatedly hinted that he'd like me to leave. He seemed to love his privacy. But I just couldn't stop myself. Every day, at 5 o'clock precisely, I would walk to the park to see him.

     Making my way up the street, I inhaled the cold air. It was the coldest it had been so far, and I had my red jacket wrapped tight around me. It was just one of those days that proves fall was the worst. Just the absolute worst. The cold is such a horrible, horrible thing to endure, especially when it's ugly. At least winter gets pretty snow here. Oops, tangent. I was on my way to the store to get groceries.

     I reached the nearest shop, my legs tired from the, admittedly not-so-long, walk. There were only a few things I needed. They were all thrown out the window when I saw who was inside. I rushed through the doors and ran over. "Hello, my dear Jack Smellington," I greeted cheerily.

     He looked behind himself with wide eyes. "Princey?" he mumbled, scanning the area around us. I raised my eyebrow.

     "Emo? You good?"

     He stumbled backwards, panicked. "Hello?" He would only look past me, even when I leaned over to meet his line of sight. There was a bad feeling in my stomach until I figured it out.

     "You jerk. You're messing with me," I whined, crossing my arms. He smirked at me. "Unbelievable."

     "What did you expect? For me to be nice? Greet you with open arms?"

     "A 'hi' would have been a good start."

     "A 'hi' wouldn't get that reaction out of you." He poked my cheek and started to walk away. I pressed my hand to the spot, staring where he stood. He'd never made contact with me before. Realizing I was wasting time, and that I looked stupid, I chased after him. I caught up with him in front of the eggs. I stood beside him as he picked a carton, to which he gave me a weird look, but he didn't ask me to leave. That made me feel really good.

     I followed him all the way to sugar before he actually questioned me.

     "Are you here to actually buy something?" he questioned, dropping the sugar into his basket. I froze up. Was I there for something? I glanced around. There was a little rack of chocolate bars. I grabbed one, and he chuckled quietly. "That's it?"

     "Uh, yes...?" I looked around again. My mind had drawn a complete blank. I couldn't remember a single thing I actually needed, which made me feel sort of pathetic. I felt better when he chuckled again, louder. He grabbed my chocolate bar and dropped it in his basket. I smiled at him and we kept walking. "So, uh, baking ingredients?" I asked, trying to keep our comfortable groove going.

     He grabbed icing off a shelf. "I want to bake a cake for my friend. He's letting me stay in his house, and... I feel kind of selfish because of it." My eyes widened. By the screams of snipped snakes at a Gorgon salon, was he actually opening up to me? This was the first time he ever told me something personal. "I mean, I can't bake, but it's the... thought that... counts? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked. I choked on nothing, looking away. Embarrassment gripped me and I'm pretty sure I was blushing.

     Our comfortable groove departed then. It was suddenly slightly awkward, and I was right back to just following him around. I was feeling sad because of it, but then I remembered his little laugh. I knew that it would be okay.

     I also knew that I definitely needed to buy bread.

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     "Hello again," I sighed happily as I reached the bench. He waved at me. "I hope you've been flourishing in our hours apart."

     "Nope," he joked. I think. Maybe it wasn't a joke.

     It was just as cold now, maybe even colder. It made me frown when I noticed his lack of a jacket. "There's no way that sweater is warm enough," I said and sat down. He shrugged.

     "I like the cold."

     "You're kidding."

     "Nope."

     "Cockamamie, my friend," I huffed. "Utterly cockamamie." I smiled over at him, but he was looking at the sky. My smile disappeared. Due to the chill, his cheeks and nose were painted the same pink as the setting sun. I couldn't not stare. He was just so pretty in that lighting.

     "You're doing it again."

     I snapped out of it. "Doing what?" I asked. Somehow, I managed to look away.

     "Looking at me like that." I could hear his smile. I wanted so badly to see it, too. "Are you seeing something I'm not? Should I be concerned? Are you just waiting for an autograph?"

     I stole a glance. "Maybe," I grumbled. "At least then I'd get your name."

     "You don't know my name?"

     "No!"

     He laughed. A smile fought my scowl for a split second before I managed to get control of it. "Oh, that's really good," he said. "That's so good." In a bout of confidence, I elbowed him playfully.

     "You're so mean!" I groaned.

     He reached into his pocket. "Hang on, I forgot something," he said. He pulled out a chocolate bar. "Your very important groceries." I took it from him.

     We were both smiling well after sunset.