Me, You, and an Empty Road

1 | chapter one

someone might say

1 | 1
C H A P T E R O N E

THE MOMENT I SAW the wide smile belonging to a frizzy haired boy carrying a lizard, I felt the invisible strings of my heart pull towards him.

Sun rays heated up my skin. My ears followed the sound of birds chirping their little song as a distraction from the long winded sentences the boy was mouthing. The silence that follows after the unnamed kid asked if we could be friends, he left a deep seated feeling of copious of butterflies flapping around my stomach. It was a bright sunny day that started a chain of ripples in my life. My hand quickly wiped off the sweat brewing between my palms and extended towards the mysterious boy with a toothy grin.

The birds and the sound of other kids were drowned out the moment our hands interconnected in a handshake.

Seven-year-old me's breath hitched.

"I'm Declan." The nameless boy finally muttered. My throat became dry at the sweet voice introducing himself followed by an awkward rough handshaking. It felt like a sudden tremendous wave knocked me unconscious, the butterflies overlapping all over my body. My cheeks flushed as I returned the rough handshake.

"My name is Elijah." A sentence finally forced its way out of my clenched teeth.

That was the start.

My heart raced when staring down at the intertwined hands.

The harsh beating of my heart at seven-years-old.

The day bleeds into playing all afternoon with the boy and his lizard.

Eleven years later, I'm staring at the same bright smile belonging to my best friend and unrequited crush.

»»————-　♡　————-««

Declan's bedroom is a place of comfort and familiarity. A sense of warmth always fills up my veins when I first step into the blue colored room. Two weeks since graduation, Declan's bedroom became the center of all hangouts and boredom. The white carpet probably has a two person dent from the amount of laying aimlessly that has been done. Piles of clothes strewn across the carpet, bags of junk food left empty covering the once clean plaid covered bed.

Even with the mess, the room still felt homely.  I'm surprised that Declan's Uncle hasn't walked through the door yelling at us that the bedroom looks like a barn.

"Eli." I looked up to meet the bush of hair belonging to Declan who was dangling off his bed. He reached out a hand to brush through strands of my hair with a thoughtful smile. I took in a deep breath leaning into his palms loving the feeling of subtle brushes through my untamed brown locks. It was a calming experience making my heart beat in faster paces.

"Do you ever think." He started, pausing with a contemplative look on his face. "That we are eighteen- years-old and the most adventure we had was at a shitty carnival."

"I don't know what you're complaining about, the trip to the ER after you fell from the ledge running from the creepy clown is probably the most entertaining thing anyone could experience."

"I still remember awkwardly flirting with the cute nurse." Declan laughed at the memory of wiping his tears the moment the nurse arrived. "I thought I had a chance, she gave me a spider man sticker."

"Only because she wanted to shut you up." I remembered that day. It was my first heartbreak, sitting in the hospital room holding his tiny hand whilst he looked totally in awe of the nurse.