watermelon sugar - part 2
the metal table we were sat at looked so fragile that even putting my sandwich on it seemed enough to break it down, but to my luck it wasn't the case. as i drank my beer and waited for sco to come back with his food, i looked through my new book. norway seemed so fascinating, so much history behind the culture, so many colorful summers and ravishing winters, it was like a miracle had fallen upon it and created all of the beauty that the country held. as my eyes struck a picture of a rocky beach, sco sat down with a plate of fish and chips and a coke.
"what are you looking at?" he asked quietly
"this is amazing, sco, i want to go there so badly! i don't know why curiosity never struck me with norway, but i think i'm in love with a country."
"too bad."
"i'm serious, all of the beautiful things that you could experience, the mountains and glaciers are dangerous beauties, the summers are filled with flowers, the cities are nordic wonderlands, obviously, i have to go there someday."
"guess it'll be going on the map then."
"it is absolutely going on the map. where would you like to go?"
"me?"
"someone else around?" he chuckled and shook his head "come on, where would you, say, like to take anya."
"i... i don't know. never thought of that."
"mate are you serious?" he nodded "you've never planned a holiday with your girlfriend? or at least imagined one."
"anya's not much of a traveler. plus i didn't know if i'd ever, with the army and stuff."
"oh. sure." that last sentence threw me off a bit, but i didn't want sco to feel awkward so i just kept the conversation going. "where would you like to go then?"
"i dunno."
"come on, there must be one place..."
"i guess... i guess belgium."
"why's that?"
"they've got great beers. and also i'd want to see where the battle of waterloo happened, just because."
"that's actually pretty cool, sco. and belgium is not that far, i don't think is that expensive either, you could start planning a trip, even."
"i guess i could." he smiled
sco's smile was not a gatsby smile. it wasn't one of those contagious, big and toothy smiles. it was soft, timid and rare. it was the first purple heather to sprout after a norwegian winter, a sight for sore eyes. i have had the privilege of seeing him smile at things i've said, and i didn't take it lightly, in fact, because i had noticed that not even anya was used to seeing him smile so much, i was putting effort into making him smile more. it was a disaster. one day by his side and his dimples were already putting me in trouble, making me trip into bookshops with a guy who has a girlfriend, completely unreachable.
"what are you thinking about?" he broke my thoughts apart
"what?"
"you dozed off."
"oh." i blushed "i... purple heathers. i was thinking about purple heathers."
"what are those?"
"they're flowers. norwegian flowers, incredibly pretty."
"didn't know you were a flowers man."
"c'mon sco, who doesn't like flowers?"
"anya."
"what?"
"yeah. she says they're boring and cliché."
"there is something seriously wrong with your girlfriend, mate."
"i guess." he laughed "you ever got flowers?"
the image of my brother's funeral sparked in my mind, family friends handing us bouquets.
"yeah." i said "what about you?"
"just at the hospital." he raised his arm.
"right." i took a sip of my beer "i guess it counts."
"kinda does."
we finished eating and talked more about norway and belgium, sco was still his quiet self but i could notice he was starting to open up. even though i knew what i was getting into, i liked the quiet, subtle rush that was to be with him, it wasn't love at first sight but it was definitely a watermelon sugar high. we walked around the streets and i was enjoying every moment of getting to know him.
"and who do you like to listen to?" i asked
"it's nothing sophisticated, really."
"sco, you don't have to impress me, i'm not a pretentious douchebag."
"i like the arctic monkeys, they're my favorite band."
"mate i love them, they're amazing!"
"really?"
"really! what's your favorite song?"
"i don't have a favorite."
"course you don't." i mumbled smiling
"what?"
"w-what's one that you like a lot then?"
"teddy picker is cool. also glass in the park, it isn't arctic monkeys but it's alex turner."
"that song's beautiful. i like piledriver waltz a lot."
"that's also really good."
"it is, innit? that whole album is amazing, to be honest."
"do you like harry styles?"
"yes! i didn't expect you to like him, though."
"why?"
"i don't know, just a feeling. which album do you like better?"
"fine line." he looked at his shoes
"you have really good taste, sco."
"do i?"
"yes!" we laughed
"tastes like strawberries on a summer evening." he sang quietly
"and it sounds just like a song." i followed
"i want more berries" he looked up to me
"and that summer feeling." i smiled
"it's so wonderful and warm." his voice was quite beautiful
"breathe me in, breathe me out
i don't know if i could ever go without
i'm just thinking out loud
i don't know if i could ever go without" we sang together
we looked at each other and i jumped on a bench.
"watermelon sugar high" we sang
"blake get down." he whispered smiling, i didn't and we kept on singing
"watermelon sugar high
watermelon sugar high"
"blake come on we're in the middle of the street" he took my hand and i lost it, i had to get down
"watermelon sugar high
watermelon sugar"
"let's go back, yeah?" i said, his hand was still in mine, he looked down and quickly took it back, he nodded.
