One House Behind | ✓

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲

Shelly

I hadn't talked to Tanner for three weeks now. I missed him. We hadn't talked much, it was only a few times in person and text, but something was different with him. He wasn't like my old friends, he was better.

He had made me not feel weird about being weird. I sat outside doing my homework when I heard his sliding door. I jumped up, almost falling, as I ran to the fence and peeked through.

"What is wrong with you? She just wanted to talk!"

"Well I don't want to talk to her, she should know that. What we had was nothing more than fun."

"Tans, that's not nice. Leslie has real feelings for you. Not Ian, not some new guy, you. Why can't you give her a chance?"

"Because I don't want to. It was nothing more than fun for me," he huffed.

"You're a horrible person for playing with her like that. We both knew, hell the entire friend group knew, she had feelings for you. You are an asshole."

With that, the girl stormed inside. Tanner threw his head back before bringing a hand up to run his eyes. He grabbed a chair and threw it across the yard.

I held in a gasp. I had only seen his soft side. I didn't think he had a mean one. He embodied a person who knew how to control his emotions. This was the first time I had seen something other than happiness.

But it wasn't offputting. I liked knowing he wasn't just a happy-go-lucky boy. He had real feelings. He was just like me, letting himself feel them. He was just more physical about it. He picked up a second chair and threw it too. And then he just walked over to where they lay and tossed them over and over.

"Freakin' parents, think they know everything!"

A throw.

"Stupid Susie, bringing up Leslie!"

A bend and then toss.

"Screw Leslie, oh wait, ya already did!" He threw the chair further this time.

"And to hell with Shelly, she doesn't even want to talk to you. I wouldn't either."

He paused his tantrum a few seconds later. He tilted his head a bit and blinked. I only hoped he wouldn't turn my way. He didn't. But he also didn't throw the chair.

Instead, he picked it up, walked to the others, and stacked them. After that, he placed them in their original spots. And then he sat. Putting his hand in his pocket, he grabbed his phone.

The lyrics of Here Comes The Sun crooned and I felt myself wondering what he was doing. He got up and walked over to the grass. Laying on a spot that the sun was beaming on, he crossed his legs in front of him and his hands behind his head.

Putting his phone on his chest, he closed his eyes. Lip-syncing the lyrics, he moved his head and top foot to the beat. Dare I say he looked...peaceful?

"Here comes the sun

And I say

It's alright"

I just watched him like he had when he first saw me. I knew what he felt now. Curiosity. Someone you didn't know, but wanted to, was sitting just a few feet from you. He turned his head my way but didn't say anything.

"Little darling,

the smile's returning to their faces"

After the song finished, he stayed there, on the ground with his eyes closed. There was no next song. It was just silent. The birds made chirps, the wind whistled by, the whoosh of the cars traveling by was there, and the leaves on the trees shivered as the wind curved through them.

But he stayed silent.

And then his eyes opened. A wide smile replaced his stoic look. He looked in my general direction, not quite at me, and then gave a small wave. He looked calmer than before.

"Who's the stalker now?"

I returned his smile with a chuckle and a small wave back. I liked this Tanner. The angry one. The calm one. They were intertwined. They were the same person, different timing. This was the real Tanner, deep into his emotions, and easily pulling himself out. 

He was just like me. Weird. Strange. Crazy over tiny things. And suddenly, my lonely world gained a new dweller.