Starr

Maybe I Could Stay A Little Bit Longer

After dropping off Charlie and Maxene at the front door, Kieran drives into the student parking lot, seeing the faces of his classmates, along with some juniors. As Kieran backs into his assigned parking spot, he prepares himself for his last day of subjecting himself to this hell hole known as high school.

Kieran unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the car door, stepping out onto the black pavement and taking in the smell of the Autumn breeze. He lets the light breeze kiss his skin. It embraces his skinny physique as it blows through his clothes and rushes through his ebony hair. He feels so serene. 

Kieran isn't always able to see the beauty in things; but moments like this? He takes in every little thing around him and loves it. Foggy evenings in the Winter, Summer sunsets in a parking lot, the beach at night with the glowing moon reflecting onto the warm waves, or even just silently looking out the window at the snow falling. It's what makes life worth living. Unfortunately though, he can't just hold on to sunsets and beaches for dear life. 

An orange leaf skitters across the pavement and stops at Kieran's Doc Martens. He picks it up and examines its beauty; his face etched with inquisitive awe. Kieran's eyes narrow, modestly letting a small grin bare on his face, observing the beautiful orange hue.

When Kieran was younger, he and his brother and sister would pick up all the pretty leaves they could find and they would make leaf piles to jump in. They had so much fun back then when nothing mattered as much as they do now. Kieran was about twelve years old back then.

Kieran releases the orange leaf and watches as it blows over to the most beautiful girl at Westridge (at least, she is to Kieran). 

Tatiana Waters. Kieran's crush since he started going to school at Westridge, so ever since he was in eighth grade. Her beautiful, radiant, dark skin tone, her dark curly hair, her big, brown eyes... every inch of her makes Kieran melt. He couldn't point out a flaw on this girl for the life of him.

As he marvels at Tatiana, her stance, her smile, how she behaves with her friends, Kieran opens the car door and grabs his book bag out of the backseat. He keeps on gazing at Tatiana as he slings his brown book bag over his shoulder. 

"You are still not over her, are you?" Elijah, Kieran's best friend asks, shooting him a sore look. Poor Elijah is an orphan, and arguably the most mature freshman Kieran, a senior, has ever met. Since Elijah walks to school (the school isn't even a minute drive from his house), they often meet up in the parking lot before the bell rings. 

Kieran tries to avoid eye contact, for he has promised that he is over her. "It's just a crush, 'Lijah" He mutters. "It's okay, it's not like it's going anywhere."

"Exactly. Boy, you have got to snap out of it!" Elijah exclaims. "Until you can bring yourself to actually say at least two words to her, she's not worth it. C'mon, man" He crosses his arms. "What about that guy? Hunter?"

Oh god. Him.

"Don't worry about him" Kieran insists. "I mean... don't get me wrong, he's dreamy..." He looks up at the clouds as he gets butterflies about this guy who's a total gay scumbag.

"Omg. Do not even start with that. He is not dreamy. His hair is constantly greasy, he's probably a stoner-" 

"Yeah, but so are most people at Westridge."

"Fair, but the point is, he's a ginormous dick, he looks like a sewer rat, and he is not worth my best friend's time." Elijah declared. Kieran sighs and looks at his friend hopelessly as he leans against his car. Elijah leans on the car right next to his amazing friend, and they just zone out together. They actually do that quite often.