One House Behind | ✓

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞

Shelly

Once I had gotten done with my classes for the day, I changed out of my pajamas and into shorts and a tank top. I figured that since it was the weekend, I should let the sun warm me up with its natural blanket-like warmth.

I also wanted to see if the boy would be out there. It had been a week since he came back outside. Or maybe he did and just didn't talk to me. I grabbed my phone, a charger, my water bottle, and headphones. I didn't bother with sunscreen because it would take me longer to rub it in as my skin is tan and it's noticeable.

"I'm bored, come on!"

"I'm not playing with you. I'll break a nail."

"Susie, it's just basketball!"

"We don't even have cement. It's all grass!" Susie shouted before walking back inside.

The door slammed shut with a rattle. I winced before sitting down in my spot. Leaning my head back, the warmth of the sun ran along my arms. A tiny smile found its way onto my face. Everyone thought I was weird as the sun had been my best friend. But it was natural to me and I wouldn't let anyone tell me otherwise.

"Why do you do that?"

So he wasn't going to even try to hide his peeping now? Were we already passed that?

"Do what?" I answered, giving up the thought that he was a weird boy.

"Why do you sunbathe every day? You'll get skin cancer."

"I got tough skin. It feels good anyway."

"Yeah, that's not weird."

I lifted my head to where he should have been. He had a smile playing on his lips as we made eye contact. When a blush rose, I rolled my eyes and turned my music up. I even put my headphones back on to ignore him and to stop myself from wondering why I blushed at a mere smile.

"Hey!"

"What?" I yanked my headphones out in annoyance.

Hasn't anyone told him that it's rude to talk to someone who's listening to music?

"What school ya go to?"

"Online."

"Yeah, no dur smart ass. I'm saying, which one do you go to?"

"The one that's around here." 

I wasn't going to give out personal information that easily. Did it matter though? Feeling a little silly, I decided to just give him the direct answer.

"I go to Oak Grove." 

"Oh, same. What grade?"

"I'll be a senior next year. This thing put a big pause on my dreams."

"I would've been gone by then, we would have never known each other."

"Yay, because of this pandemic that has killed many and more as we're speaking, it's so great that we met!" I squinted my eyes as I gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"I can't tell if that was sarcasm or not."

"Figure it out, bye now."

I didn't put my headphones back in. He didn't step away from the fence. I tried to ignore him but then I suddenly felt naked. My shorts felt like they were boyshort underwear and my tank top felt see-through.

I tried to shake it off but couldn't. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. The light from the sun hit my eyelids and created a warm orange. It reminded me of why it was my favorite color, it was warm and felt fuzzy. I smiled again, finally forgetting the boy staring at me.

The birds sang as they flew by, the cars in the distance honked, and the wind blew in a steady breeze. I let myself go to my childish side and see if I could listen for noises that were further away. A very faint one was a bird. It had to have been three houses down, a little on the louder side, but it was hidden behind everything else.

I knew the feeling.

"What does that do for you?" he softly asked a few minutes later.

"It relaxes me. Try it."

"What?"

"Don't stare at me the entire time, sit down with me, feel the sun and hear the world."

I felt like a nature expert. I had wanted to be one but figured it wasn't going to get me a stable life. My grades would have been great for it as they were horrible during my freshman and slightly better sophomore year.

"I just sit here...and sleep?"

"Did you pull up a chair?"

"Yes."

"Then lean back, let the sun heat your body, and think about nothing. Absolutely nothing. Or think about how the sun is hot against your skin and how the breeze cools it off."

Once the words were out of my mouth, I felt like they were strange. My thoughts weren't considered normal, my friends had told me that a lot, but I was used to such thoughts. Just drowning in the sounds of life made me feel safe. It was my own version of destressing.

"You are one weird girl, Shelly," he laughed.

"How do you know my name?" I lifted my head to see a dark spot a few inches away from the fence, sitting down.

"Learned it the day I looked over the fence. Your mom said your name. I just remembered it. Figured I'd need it if we were going to be friends."

"Oh. We're friends now? Should I be friends with a stalker? Or with a stranger because I don't know your name."

"Tanner," he almost sighed.

"Huh?"

"My name. It's Tanner."

"Tanner," I repeated his name, tasting it. Since I knew his name, we were no longer strangers.  

I closed my eyes as I leaned my head back again. Listening to my previous words, I hope, we fell into silence. I smiled as I thought about how he remembered my name from more than a week ago. He said it so casually too. Like he had known of my name since the beginning of time.

Tanner was starting to pique my interest.