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Jahseh's pase was quick, his long strides made it hard for Stokeley to keep up and not be found. The lather had no idea how he was even going to make anything work without it seeming strange, was he to tell Jahseh now that he wanted to be friends or stay behind and enter the building like he also enjoyed the silence found there.
He had put himself in a position that had no good outcome. Most definitely Jahseh would be creeped out if Stokeley blatantly followed him and if Stokeley were to barge in after some time Jahseh wouldn't be happy with the intrusion as it was obvious this abandoned building had become sort of a personal sanctuary.
Stokeley still hadn't come to a final decision when Jahseh came to the entrance of the building. So the boy with the sad, downturned eyes tucked himself away in the darkness between the two buildings. Stokeley would now have no choice but to come up with something to say when he enters, he couldn't come all this way just to back out and never befriend the lighter toned boy. In all honesty, Stokeley never really had many friends and now in highschool he barely talked to others- not because he didn't want to, there was never the right moment for him to comment, no one took interest in what Stokeley might think, and when he would muster up the courage to speak those who did hear him would scoff and shake their heads as if what he said was wrong or just weird.
With his back pressed against the side of the building Stokeley began to think of what he should say, whispering to himself.
"Should I come in and act surprised to see him- or, well... No that's weird, he would know I never come here..."
With the limited social interactions Stokeley had had in his life, improvising would be painfully awkward, he could never make it seem believable and he didn't like to lie to people. He didn't want to lie to Jahseh, but the truth could push him away and seclude the younger more.
There's not much time, he could leave any minute. Feeling as there was no other option, Stokeley made his way towards the entrance. His feet dragged, the soles of his shoes scuffing against the concrete of the sidewalk- he couldn't do it, his heart pounded against his chest, the possibility of ridicule so fresh in Stokeley's mind causing his eyes to widen. But maybe he was used to it, the rejection and hurt. If you don't take chances in life then there's no way to know if things could become better. If friendship could form, acceptance could be attained, new experiences could make the world seem so much brighter. The dullness of it all got to Stokeley here and there, he wanted to see the world, to see if there were more colors than what he'd be exposed to.
