Telescope

Lightning Storms and Blue, Blue Eyes

Juno

I stepped off the ladder, stepping back to look at the giant white wall in front of us. Benny looked over his shoulder at me, blonde hair disheveled and eyes tired, but still relentlessly blue in the cool, cloudy morning. His cheeks were flushed, and I noticed light freckles under his eyes, so faded you would only notice from this close. He looked at me, smiled a bit and stepped back to stand next to me, looking at the blinding white wall.

He squinted at it. "Jesus," He said, voice hoarse. "How long have we been here?"

I walked over to the wall, checking my phone. "It's 6:11. So, an hour and a half-ish." I headed back over to him, and he looked down at me, shaking his head. 

"Nope, I'm going to die if we keep going. We can come back later," He said. "Come on." He held out his hand. 

"Shouldn't we get the paint-" He grabbed my hand, pulling me through the empty school into the parking lot. It started raining and he started running, pulling me after him laughing, as we sprinted across the parking lot. He stopped and looked back at me, hair soaked and dripping down his face and as he stood there in the rain, cheeks flushed, eyes running over my face as raindrops slid into the corners of his smile, I thought I'd never seen something so beautiful. And then he took two steps towards me and kissed me, closing the gap between us.

I draped my arms around his neck, smiling into the place where rain disappeared between our lips, and his hands dropped from my cheeks to my waist I leaned into him and his frame consumed me and standing in the pouring rain in the middle of the school parking lot at six in the morning felt more golden and warm than all the summer waves I've surfed and all the starry nights I'd seen. 

The sky flashed, followed very quickly by a rumble of thunder which made us both jump. I started laughing, and he was too and we were just staring at each other, completely alone in this world, noticing all the details I hadn't before. I looked up, at the gray sky and the rain falling towards me like this crazy optical illusion and I felt dizzy cause I couldn't believe how light my heart felt.

And then I looked down at Benny who was watching me and I said, or yelled over the rain, "This is where you wanted to take me?"

He looked like he just remembered, then smiled, and took my hand, lacing his fingers through mine and it made me think about how wonderful and lovely it is that humans are just meant to hold each other. The way our fingers lace perfectly together, the way our arms link, the way our shoulders dip perfectly for someone to tuck their head in when hugging us. 

We walked down the parking lot until a lightening bolt struck through the sky and I looked at him and said, "Did you see it?" and he looked directly in my eyes and said, "Yeah, I see it."  

When the thunder rolled we took off running again, and I realized how god fucking fast we are. We raced to his car and leapt in, and suddenly his lips were on mine again and his hand was in the small of my back and with my eyes closed and the rain pounding outside of the car, arms draped around Benny's neck, all I could think of was lightning storms and blue, blue eyes. 

"Okay," I said after a while. "I don't think this is where you were showing me?"

He sighed, smiling at me and sitting up, running a hand through his damp hair. "No, it wasn't." He reached in the back and grabbed a couple of t-shirts, handing me one and pulling the other over his head. 

I pulled on the dry shirt, black with some logo, and Benny started the car. As the heat blasted through the vents and the warm smell of cigarettes stirred, we pulled out of the parking lot. I watched all the cars pass, filled with people with tired eyes and empty coffee cups, on their way to their probably boring, miserable jobs and I thought, Ha, I just made out with Benny Strander.

"So where are we going?" I asked, glancing over at Benny. 

"It's obviously a surprise," He said, smiling ahead. "Trust in me."

"That seems like a horrible idea."

"Hey!"

So, the mystery surprise ended up being a short turn off the freeway with neon signs and even brighter lights inside. We ran through the rain into Beatrice's Diner and the doors swung open, hitting the bell above us. An old man was sitting behind a counter, with a newspaper comically propped up in front of his face. The rest of the diner was empty, except for an old, wrinkled man in a booth in the corner, eyes on us, and three teens who looked maybe a year younger than us sitting at a table, drinking coffee and judging us.'

We walked over to the counter, sliding onto the stools. The man behind the counter slapped the paper down so fast in made me jump. He squinted at us, eyes running over our disheveled hair, our sneakers and sweatpants, and Benny's oversized shirt. (It smelled like salt and the sea and lightning storms).

"Good morning," Benny said.

"No, it's not," The old man replied, eyes still on Benny's slightly concerned face. "What can I help you with?" 

"Chocolate chip pancakes, please," I said.

"Blueberry pancakes," Benny said, smiling. 

"Boring," I whispered.

"Classic," He whispered back. 

"And a milkshake, please," I said. "What flavor do you want?"

"Strawberry," Benny said, no hesitation.

"Alright," The old man replied, slowly and carefully. "It'll be right out."

"What's your name, sir?" I asked.

He looked at me, surprised, the squinted again. "Bill."

"Cool. Thank you, Bill."

"Uh, huh." He watched us carefully as he walked away, leaving us at the counter, spinning around on our stools. 

"So," Benny said. "Our mural, I think we go back after breakfast, do one more layer of white, and come back later to do the actual painting part."

"Okay," I said.

"And then we should definitely make out."

"Ha." 

The pancakes were the best I've ever had, and the milkshake was right up there. (It didn't stand a chance against the homemade oreo milkshake my friend and I made after we quite literally escaped the evil hag in our neighborhood). We shared a straw, which made me way happier than reasonable, and maybe it was because there was a thunderstorm raging outside or because of the way I could remember how he tasted, but I've never had a better strawberry milkshake.

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Hey guys! I know this is a really really short chapter but I really wanted to publish it tonight and I'm exhausted! I'm dedicating time to write tomorrow so I'll probably be able to publish another chapter or at least get really close. 

How do you feel about their first kisssssss? I know I wrote it but I'm so invested it low key gave me butterflies. So did it work? I'm really really excited about this! 

I know my reads are pretty low right now, and I will keep writing no matter what, but if you like my book it would mean the world to me if you shared it with whoever! I don't want to beg for likes or anything, I'm just super excited about this story. Also, it's late and I'm super loopy right now so I'm sorry I'm totally rambling. 

ALRIGHT THANKS LOVE YOU ALL