Ashley Breton
I woke up to my routine morning. I tediously brushed my amber
wavy locks staring back at my tired reflection, wanting
something new in my life. I slid on grey leggings, a black tee,
with black Docs & a pea coat to match. School wasn’t always
something I looked forward to; being a loner didn’t make it
easier.
The walk from my house to school was long but I used that time
to listen to my favorite tunes and think about the day ahead.
Today London Grammar serenaded me as my satchel
bumped against my thick thighs and I watched the light
snowflakes dance to the music around me.
Lost in thought I failed to notice someone
crossing paths with me, we collided. My
dark eyes met a pair of piercing mint green
ones. My gaze scanned down the new face
to see his mouth moving, I spastically
unplugged my headphones to hear the
striking strangers voice.
“Sorry?” I spoke up.
“Just apologizing for running into you.” He
smiled as he ran his hand through his
medium length brown curls. The boy
retrieved his cotton beanie from the white
floor and dusted it off.
Being my-usual-awkward-self, I smiled back
a small smile at a loss for words. I shifted on
my feet uncomfortably, ready to continue
my walk.
“Where are you headed?” the stranger
began to walk in the direction I was
originally headed. I started after him and
timidly explained that I was on my way to
school. He didn’t say anything after that; he
just walked along beside me. My mind was
spiraling into a pool on possibilities… I wasn’t
in my element. People rarely ever kept me
company and something about this boy
filled me with both excitement & anxiety.
Courage took over before I finally
asked, “And you?”
“She speaks,” he laughed making my
cheeks flush and warm.
“You’re British?” I tilted my head
somewhat to the side to get a better
look at him, only now noticing his light
accent.
The stranger chuckled in amusement.
“I am, and I’m also headed to class.”
He said as he looked and pointed
ahead. Following his gaze I realized we
arrive to school, and that we would be
seeing a lot more of each other.
“You go here? Are you new? When did
you transfer?” I blurted, excited to
have maybe found someone I could
talk to.
The stranger smirked and just replied
with “I’ll see you around,” as he walked
backwards towards the door so he was
able to look keep his eyes fixed on me.
What just happened? With in the span of fifteen minutes a boy just waltzed into
my stagnant existence and sparked it to life. I sat in class all day thinking about
the boy with no name & kept replaying his laugh in my head like it was #1 on
the Billboard charts. The day went by without a trace of him; at this point I
considered the whole situation a hallucination. I couldn’t tell you what was
taught in class that day but I could tell you how cute the mysterious boy looked
in a beanie with his cheeks pinched red from the cold weather.
----- Later in the week
It was a Saturday afternoon in the
middle of January; there was a
black out so my heat wasn’t
working, leaving me curled up
with my dog, Lady, on the couch
to keep warm, when there was a
knock at my door. I rolled my
eyes and flung my blanket over
my shoulders like a cape. I
cracked the door open not
wanting the frigid weather to
creep in and that’s when I saw
him again. He was looking down
at this snow-covered boots when
his face slowly rose to meet mine.
“We meet again,” a small smirk
was playing at his lips.
“Hi.” Shit, I sounded like he took
all the breathe out of my lungs.
He looked picture-perfect, his
were lips the perfect shade of
pink; I wanted to feel them. His
eyes were a clear green and my
twisted mind loved the thought of
him looking down at me. His hair
was chestnut brown and the way
the heavy snow made a mess of
his curls just… I was mesmerized.
The sound of him blowing into his hands snapped me out of my trance.
“S-sorry, please come in” now noting how freezing he must have been.
He didn’t hesitate, he took his boots off before he walked inside and smiled a thank you. Once he was
fully indoors I became aware of my rapid heartbeat and had no idea what to do. I stood there selfconsciously and played with my fingers. I heard him laugh from the other corner of the room and I
dipped my head up in confusion. He bit back his lip to keep himself from laughing again and just stared
at me.
“Don’t be shy, not around me” he stepped closer.
“I don’t know you,” I countered.
“Yet you let me into your home” he tsked.
I reddened not knowing how to respond.
“Evan”
“What?” Again he left me puzzled.
“My name’s Evan” He chuckled, “And your name is…?”
I laughed because I didn’t even realize we weren’t even on a first name basis yet.
“Teagan” I said between giggles. Evan smiled adoringly “I’ll call you Tea”
We spent that whole afternoon
talking and getting to know each
other.
He’s a dog person like me and Lady
quickly warmed up to him, which
was bizarre because she was afraid
of everyone besides me. When I
gave him the tour of the small house
he noticed the band posters I had
and praised me for my amazing
taste in music. I made Mac &
Cheese for lunch and he said he
almost died from how much we had
in common.
At about 6 that night we laid on my
couch still talking but about nothing
in particular, just nonsense and in the
back of my mind I took note of how
great it felt to not feel alone.
I turned over to look at him, “Why
did you come here today?”
Before he could answer there was a
sound like a surge of power and
then the lights came on. He was still
looking up at the ceiling as a smile
spread across his face then he
turned and looked at me and said
“To see why the lights went out.”
He slapped both hands to his upper thighs
before he stood to leave, I laughed but didn’t
move.
He leaned over the couch and pressed a
chaste kiss to my forehead, as he did so my
eyes fluttered close in appreciation. When his
lips disconnected I looked up at him.
“See you around Tea”
He let himself out and right before he closed
the door he looked back at me dropping his
eye into a wink and laughed.
I smiled like crazy shaking my head, once the
door was fully shut I pick up the nearest pillow
and bit into it, screaming out my excitement
for that mysterious boy, Evan.