I AM WOKEN UPby the sound of knocks on my door. I open my eyes, my vision was hazy, but shortly adjusted to my surroundings. I press the screen of my phone to reveal the time, "1:35 AM" it read.
I groan in despair and try to block out the knocks by stuffing a pillow over my face. But much to my dismay, the knocks don't stop.
"what the hell" i mutter to myself as I peel my body off of the bed and get up to open the door. And as if God or the universe was testing me, there stood Asher.
I blink a few times to assure myself that i was not in fact dreaming.
"Get dressed." he simply spoke, breaking the silence.
"Hm right .. and why exactly would I get dressed AT ONE THIRTY IN THE MORNING." I question as calm and collected as I am able.
"Well you see there's this partnered project, and you just so happen to be my partner. So if you wouldn't mind, i would like to cross one place off the list already and it's better to go at night. "
I give him a deadly glare before be speaks again, "Just please trust me, it's worth it."
I chew the inside of my cheek and decide to find the kindness in me to let his smart ass response slide. "Okay fine, but just so you know, i hate you greatly right now."
"Yeah yeah, whatever, just hurry up. " He states, and before I go into my room to change I notice the corners of his mouth turning upwards slightly for a mere second, to the point where if i would've blinked i would have missed it.
__________________
We were now in his car. It was quiet so far, not uncomfortable, just silent. I took the time to look over my outfit; a cute blue tank top, brown pants that flared at the bottom and had a faint pattern of vertical stripes, a light blue-almost white-cropped cardigan, and brown converse.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Where are we going?" I whisper, finally breaking the silence.
"It's a surprise." he answers shortly.
I mentally roll my eyes. "i hate surprises"
Always have, always will. If there was one thing i hated the most, it was not knowing. Because not knowing lead to overthinking, and my minds ability to find every single possibility in a worse case scenario, far and wide, was rather too much.
My mind thought back to my 8th birthday. My mother threw me a surprise party with nearly half of the kids in my grade. long story short, i ended up locking myself in my room, crying, and I refused to open the door.
Like i said, i have always hated surprises.
My blast to the past was interrupted by Asher's voice as he parked the car.
"We're here" he simply said. I look up to take in my surroundings
"Hm and what exactly is "here" " I mutter
He just cackles and shakes his head before climbing out of the car. He makes his way to the passenger side to help me out. He opens my door and sticks out his palm.
I roll my eyes and let out a sigh before quickly taking his hand in mine.
I eye the view in front of me, or therefore lack of. And taking the words out of my mouth he speaks, "we have to hike to get up it." I simply nod in response.
At home, surprisingly, I use to go hiking a lot so i didn't really mind.
__________________
It wasn't a long hike, but in that time Asher and I talked about the littlest and most simple things, such as our favorite colors. His happened to be blue.
When we finally reached the top we both let out a breathless laugh and plopped to the ground. We sat silently for what seemed like hours, but was really mere seconds, just taking in the euphoric scenery in front of us.
the top of the Hollywood sign.
You could see the whole city lit up from where we were at. It was captivating, to say the least. I had always dreamt of seeing this sight but never thought I would have the chance. So maybe, being woken up at one something in the morning is not so bad after all.
I snap out of my daze at the feeling of eyes on me. From the corner of my eye I can see Asher staring at me, almost studying me like someone studies a book.
I give him a brief glance back before looking back at my hands, that were now folded in my lap.
"You know, maybe you're not so bad after all." He breaks the silence, causing me to divert my attention to him.
I think awhile before i finally decide to speak, "why's that?"
By now we were laying flat on the rough ground, with our heads turned to each other.
"I'm really not all that sure. but you don't seem like a bullshitter like a lot of people i know. " he pauses, "You're not a bullshitter, are you?"
"I hope not " I laugh
"I hope not either "
We set in a comfortable silence, the only sound from the city below, before I decide to speak.
"my brother."
"Hm?" he looks at me with confusion written on his face.
"The other day. The boy in the picture was my brother. And before you ask, I say was because he's dead now. He was fourteen and he... he killed himself. I know a lot of people struggle and they hide it so well, but I still sometimes blame myself. That's why i got so touchy when you asked about it." My mouth scrambles out faster than my mind can keep up.
why was i telling him all this.
"I-"
"Please don't say use the typical, i'm sorry", line that everyone feels like they have to use when you tell them bad news. " I interrupt him
"I wasn't going to say that. I was going to say that I think shitty things happen to people all the time, but one shitty thing doesn't define someone's life. and it doesn't define yours either. "
I flash a wide smile at him, "maybe you're not so bad after all either. "
__________________
AUTHORS NOTE
hi angels. thanks for reading <3 let me know what you think of the chapter!
