THE SUNFLOWERS ↳ KRII7Y

c h a p t e r f i v e

CHAPTER FIVE: SO INVESTIGATE

jaren smith smiled as he walked towards the park with his best friend, the boys never stopped laughing as they spoke. this time was no different than any other, except for the fact that jaren wasn't thinking about the happy boy next to him.

jaren's mind was on something far more tragic, the look in john keyes' eyes when he walked up to the blonde the night before. the look that he didn't entirely understand, seeing as he had never been subjected to the horrors that kept john awake at night.

the things that haunted john's mind were things that jaren had never heard of, which is why he was stuck on the perfectly sad boy that sat in the sunflower field rather than his friend.

this didn't go unnoticed to david, however. the boy was quick to realize the far away look that dawned jaren's eyes and he pouted when it occurred to him that his friend hadn't been listening. "smitty," was what he huffed as he grabbed his friend's arm. "pay attention to me, pretty please?"

that's when the teary eyes faded from jaren's mind, a soft smile coming across his face as he looked at his friend. "davey, i am paying attention to you."

"no, you aren't," david hummed matter-of-factly, "you had that look in your eyes. what were you thinking about?"

jaren's mind reared back towards the blonde boy in the sunflower field, moonlight cascading across his body and making him look absolutely heavenly. "i met someone last night, he was really sweet."

david's face lit up, squealing like a schoolgirl as he grabbed his friend's shoulder and shook him. "you're thinking about your crush!"

"i do not have a crush!" jaren sputtered, laughing slightly and pushing his friend's hand off of him. david's hair flopped into his eyes as he shook from laughter.

"you totally do," david teased, "what's his name, smitty? what's he look like--" david stopped, gasping quickly. "is he cute?"

jaren gave his friend an unimpressed look that was coated in amusement, rolling his eyes playfully. "his name's john, i met him last night and i do not have a crush on him. he's blonde-- it's obviously dyed-- and he has real pretty eyes."

jaren couldn't help but think that no matter how pretty john's eyes were while glossy and basking in moonlight, they would be much prettier in the sunlight.

david kept his lips curled into a bright smile as he watched his friend, "is he cute?" was what he said in retaliation, repeating what he'd said previously and putting emphasis on it this time so his friend couldn't ignore the question.

"yes, david, he's cute." jaren huffed out defiantly, pretending to not be amused by his friend's nosy antics. the boys hadn't even realized they were heading towards the swings until david plopped down on one, bouncing slightly as the chain shook. jaren swiftly followed the boys example, letting himself fall onto the seat, bouncing with the chain.

jaren hadn't noticed it this time but david absolutely did, the feeling of being watched was overriding his senses and he couldn't help the fact that he was tense.

he was used to the feeling, jaren always stared at him as he spoke. the only difference was, jaren wasn't behind him.