awkward

chapter two

I walked into the art room and surprisingly it wasn't crowded. I looked around for that girl but I didn't see her.

I turned around, ready to leave when someone called me.

"Tyler! Wait up."

It was her.

"Were you about to leave?" she chuckled though sounded kind of thwarted. I nodded and waited for her to speak.

"Oh come on. At least come to one meeting. Please?" she begged as if we had been friends for years.

Til this day, I still wish I would have said no.

I thought about how I had nothing else to do and followed her into the art room.

There were about five other kids there. I took a seat near the door while Kai went up to the board where there was a little podium.

"Welcome back to art club everyone. And lets welcome our new member, Tyler." she smiled at me.

Everyone fixed their attention on me as i awkwardly sat there.

"Today, we'll just be doing some free work. It's been a long day. So do what you want. You guys know where the supplies are."

Everyone got up and went to the back of the room. I cluelessly followed. I saw some copic markers and grabbed a sheet of sketch paper.

"You don't like watercolors?" Kai said plopping down beside me.

I looked up at her and looked back down.

"Yeah, they're alright." I replied watching he swirl her wet brush around.

I watched her paint for a while, admiring how she would stroke the brush against the paper.

She would occasionally look up at me and give me a small smile.

After art club was over, I stayed behind to help Kai clean up.

"Have you ever been to Jefferson Park?" she asked me as she locked the door to the art room.

Of course I have. Everyone has been there at least once. It's where most kids go after school and get drunk.

"Yeah. I live pretty close to it." I replied.

We were silent until we returned the key to the office and stepped outside of the building. I was about to leave when she stopped me.

"You wanna go there? To Jefferson Park?" she asked.

Why would I want to go there when I can go anytime on my own?

And plus I hate Jefferson Park.

But of course I said yes like a dumb ass.

She smiled and we started walking. The park actually wasn't far from the school.

"So why did you wanna come here so badly? I bet you got some niggas waiting around the corner, waiting to jump me." I said looking around.

"No. It's just nice here." she laughed.

"Nice? I'm guess you didn't put your contacts in."

She laughed again. "My God, are you always this funny?"

I chuckled. I was actually having a good time.

We started walking and talking. Turns out, we have a few things in common. Like we both like art. And music. Her and her dad were also big fans of The Alabama Shakes.

We were walking past the bathrooms and the broken fountain when she stopped me.

"Wanna see something?" she asked, not giving me time to answer and pulling me behind the bathrooms.

I was expecting her to flash her boobs or something but we continued into the woods behind the bathroom.

I couldn't really see where I was going. I was getting slapped in the face by too many low branches.

"Uh, where are we going?" I asked, trying to lift my head to see.

And then we stopped.

We were in a part of the park I had never seen before. It was a small grove. And it had a small stream, not too far behind it.

I was amazed.

I looked behind us and saw a trail of stepped on weeds that looked like someone had been passing through often.

She led deeper into the grove amd stopped on a patch of grass.

"Sit." she demanded.

Once again I followed her instructions and sat down. I ran my hand across the grass which was surprisingly soft.

Yeah, this is definitely not Jefferson Park.

"It's nice isn't it? I first found it when I was like 13. My mom and dad were fighting. A lot. It was like my safe place, ya know." she said fiddling with a blade of grass.

I nodded because I understood.

I watched as she placed the piece of grass in between her thumbs and buzzed her lips against the grass.

I laughed at how childish she looked.
She noticed and playfully punched my arm, laughing.

We soon stretched our bodies across the grass and stared up at the leaves and branches above us that were blocking the sky. I crossed my eyes and listened to the sound of light breezes going through the trees.

"Why are your ears so big Dumbo?" she asked flicking my ears.

I sat up, offended. "Oh yeah? Well, why is your hair so curly? A-and soft.."

I think I played with her hair for about twenty minutes.

And then we talked about our birthdays. Her brother in college. My loud neighbors. Her love of Ghirardelli chocolates. My asthma. How she wanted to go to Yale and become a Pediatric Nurse.

As she was checking my pulse, I noticed drops of water coming from above us.

"Quick, come over here." Kai said as she sat right under a tree with many leaves.

I followed and sat beside her.

"We can wait out the rain." she nodded her head.

"Wait, what time is it?" I asked. She pulled out her phone. "10:14. Why?"

"Oh shit." I said quickly standing up.

I didn't realize how late it was. Shit, it's even dark out here. I was super caught up.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked standing up too. "I gotta get home. My grandma doesn't want me out past ten." I replied, taking off my jacket to cover our heads.

"W-well, I wanna make sure you get home safely." she said grabbing my hand.

I looked down at her reassuring face which had a smile plastered on it.

All I remember was your motherfucking face..

The walk to my house was a short one. We're standing on my porch with the sound of rain all around us.

"Do you want me to walk you home? I can borrow my grandma's car if-"

I was interrupted by her placing my lips onto mine.

I can't remember exactly what happened after that.

But I remember when it happened.

I felt this tingling sensation in my ears that traveled through my neck and my arms all the way to my toes. I'd never felt that feeling before then. It was a newfound feeling.

That I crave everyday.

(hi. so the girl in the mm is @kyleerussell and portrays kai. i do not plan on making every girl in my books lightskin but i couldn't find a girl that really matched the description of the girl in the song. and ive been wanting to put her in one of my books for a while.)