Trading Pieces of Sky [COMPLETED]

6

We waited for the auditorium to empty before beginning to make our way out.

"So, Elena, do you have a ride?" Cass asked.

"Uh, yeah, my dad is going to pick me up. Do you guys need a ride?" Elena asked, turning around to face us.

"My mom is going to pick me up," Cass replied, "Won't you miss the bus Sky?"

"Oh, I have to stay after for a project."

"Wait," Cass stopped, grabbing my arm, "You mean the project with Hill?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, the project with Beckett Hill."
She squealed and squeezed my arm.

"Have fun!" she said before linking arms with Elena and exiting the school building.

Elena waved with an expression that I could only assume was discomfort as Cass dragged her along.
When I entered the library Beckett waved me down from the group of armchairs next to Melissa's desk. I nodded and took the chair across from him, slipping my backpack off of my shoulders.

"Hey," he smiled, "do you have your laptop, or do you want to go to the computer room?"

"Uh, yeah, let's go to the computer room," I suggested not wanting to tell him I was too poor to afford a personal laptop.

I stood up and waited for him to grab his backpack and sports bag before leading us to the computer lab on the other side of the library.

We were alone, not to anyone's surprise since it was the first day of school. I logged into the nearest iMac with my school ID and pulled out the assignment paper while we waited.

I skimmed the requirements and looked up to check what Beckett was up to. He had pulled out his laptop and was staring at a blank Google Doc.

"Good idea," I said, motioning to the document when he looked puzzled.

"Oh, yeah, I just shared it with you."

I opened up the shared link on the computer and started to type the outline for the assignment.

"So, um, I guess you don't really need to stay since we're going to use a Google Doc," I said realizing how unnecessary our meeting was.

"Oh, I guess I don't have to, but I have practice in an hour so I have to stay on campus anyways," he shrugged.

"Oh," I nodded, adding clarity as to why he had a gym bag with him, "well, why don't you work on parts C and D and I'll do A and B?"

"Sounds good," he smiled leaning back in his chair and balancing his laptop on his legs that he propped on top of the table.

We worked in silence, occasionally stopping to ask each other's opinion or a question. My arm itched from the results of last night's relapse and I sighed to myself.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked, interrupting my typing.

"Huh? Oh, nothing," I said, not bothering to look over as I finished typing the sentence I was writing.

"It's the first day back, it can't have been that bad," he joked.

I dropped my hands from the keyboard and turned to face him.

"I told you, it's nothing," I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"Okay, if you say so," he paused before closing his laptop with a loud clap. "I've got to head out, but I'll finish my parts tonight. Okay?"

"Okay, sounds good. See you tomorrow," I nodded as he packed up his backpack.

He stopped in the doorway as if to make another comment, but instead he smiled before walking out.
I stayed for another hour finishing up my section of the proposal, making sure to do the necessary research to thoroughly complete the assignment. I was actually kind of excited about the project. We decided to put on a fundraiser fair with all the tickets purchased going towards completing the garden. So far we had thought of a live band to play and several local shops to ask to participate.

It was definitely going to be a long process, but I hoped it would pay off and successfully raise the money necessary. Granted, it needed to be approved by administration first, but we were hopeful that it would. I was glad that Beckett had actually taken the assignment seriously so far. Hopefully he would actually complete his portion. From what I knew, he usually cared about his grades so I tried not to worry.

When I waved goodnight to Melissa it was already 6 o'clock. I pulled up the bus schedule on my phone as I left the school building. The next bus was due to arrive in ten minutes, so I crossed the street and headed towards the bus stop at the end of the road.
The bus ride was a short fifteen minutes through town since there were only a few stops that we actually stopped at to pick or drop riders off at. I hopped off the bus and opened the front door to our building.

Like everything else in this town, it was an old building, probably a factory of sorts that had been converted into apartments. There were only six units, three upstairs and three downstairs. There was a communal laundry room on the bottom floor as well. I climbed the stairs to our unit while pulling my keys out of the front pocket of my backpack. I could smell the food our neighbors were cooking and my stomach grumbled.

"Waylin?" I called as I closed and locked the door behind me, "I'm home. You hungry?"

I slipped off my shoes and dropped my bag on the floor waiting for him to respond.

"Waylin?" I called again entering the kitchen to cook something for dinner.

"Yeah?" he called down the hallway, the sound of a door opening preceding his voice.

"I'm going to make food, did you eat already?" I asked, my voice gradually getting quieter as he entered the room.

"No I didn't eat yet," he said leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Okay, I'm going to make..." I paused as I scanned the fridge for ingredients, "pasta?"

"Sure," he shrugged turning around to leave.

"Hey, wait," I called meeting his blue eyes as he spun around to face me again. "How was your day? Do you have classes with any of your friends?"

"It was fine," he sighed, obviously not interested in talking to me, "yes, I have classes with some of my friends. Can I go now?"

"What's with the attitude, huh?" I asked as I filled a pot with water.

"Sorry, I was just in the middle of something," he mumbled.

"What's so important that you can't say hello to your sister?" I questioned.

"Nothing," he said quickly.

I squinted my eyes at him suspiciously and he avoided my gaze.

"You're not doing anything stupid right?" I quizzed.

"No! Gosh," he said squirming where he stood.

"Then what is it?" I pressed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Ugh," he groaned, "I was...you know...having some me time."

"Oh," I bit my lip trying not to laugh as I realized what he was saying, "I see. Okay, well I'll...let you get back to your me time."

He groaned in embarrassment and left me alone in the kitchen dying of second-hand embarrassment. I dropped my head and sighed.
He's growing up too fast.
.....
The sound of the front door closing woke me up from the dream I was having. I listened carefully to the familiar sounds of mom as she dropped her keys in the dish by the door. Her footsteps carried her to the bathroom where I heard the sink running. Shortly after the door creaked as she opened it and crossed the hall into her room. I could hear her rummaging in her dresser for what I assumed was pajamas, then the groan of her mattress, and then it went silent.

I rolled over and checked my phone for the time. It was 2am. She must have gotten off of work from Joe's early. I read several texts from Cass regarding my time with Beckett and silently chuckled at the joy the situation brought her. I double-checked that my alarms were set and tried to get back to sleep before I was too awake.