8
Sun filtered in through an open sliver of my curtains, beaming me in the eye the next morning. I had been awake for a while, opting to stay in bed, unmoving instead of bothering to get up and start a day that held no plans.
Knox had driven me home right after the ice cream parlor and thats what I laid thinking about now. I hadn't truly expected him to be so nice to me.
No boy had ever really been that nice to me.
Not a single boy other than ... not that it mattered now as it didn't end well anyways.
Knox was nice to me though. He even agreed to be my friend and lord knew I had no others I'd never been good at making friends.
I moved houses too much for too long. I didn't stick around long enough to make a lasting impression on anyone.
I didn't even really learn the skill of keeping friends - bonding like that.
I learned to form quick attachments - even if they weren't always the best or healthiest for me.
I rolled over to face away from the sun beaming at me. I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep, steady breath. In through my nose and out through my mouth.
I hated remembering my childhood. I was tired of reflecting on it. I spent too much time in my own mind, and I didn't want to waste my Saturday thinking about every bad thing that happened in my life.
Kicking my legs over the side of my bed, I stretched out my arms far above my head.
I may have slept in a few hours later than usual but I still felt sleepy.
I had gone to bed quite a bit later than intended.
After Knox had dropped me off at home, Serena and I spent the night zoned into our favorite reality tv show - binge watching it well into the night.
Once we started, it felt impossible to stop, and so we didn't.
Deciding to get a head start on my homework, I pulled out my binder from my backpack and started sorting through all the papers I had collected throughout the week.
There wasn't that much to do but I wanted to get it out of the way before I did anything else so that I could truly just focus on relaxing.
It was noon by the time I had finished. Serena had popped her head in an hour ago, bringing me a sandwich and fresh lemonade. She truly was the kindest person and I was immensely grateful for her.
She did have to leave right after that though as she had a bunch of work she still needed to catch up on.
I admittedly felt pretty bad about that considering I made her leave work early multiple times this week.
And no matter much she tried to reassure me that it wasn't my fault, it was hard not to feel like I was at least partially to blame.
"It's a beautiful day, Annie. Why don't you go to the park, walk in the sun and get some fresh air." She had suggested before she left.
And looking past my now open curtains through my window, she had been right. It really was a beautiful day and now that I was done with my work, I couldn't see a reason not to go outside.
The only thing was that I knew I didn't want to go alone.
Pulling out my phone, I texted the only person's number - besides Serena - that I had in my contact list.
Knox replied back in an instant, agreeing to meet me there.
With my heart racing, I rushed to pull on one of my favorite baby-blue sun dresses. It was still summer time and if I wore anything else, I knew I'd be sweating ridiculously. Slipping on some white sandals, I headed out the door.
The park was only a couple blocks from my house. A short, easy walk with just enough nature along the way that it felt thoroughly enjoyable.
The nearer I got, the more jittery I could feel myself getting.
The anticipation of seeing Knox was for some reason affecting me differently today.
I was starting to get used to seeing his face not only everyday but at almost every moment throughout as well.
It was already beginning to feel weird getting this far in the day without seeing him.
I spotted him leaning against his car, parked under a giant shaded oak.
He was looking down at his phone, typing away. He hadn't noticed me until I was a couple steps away, his eyes then burning into mine.
"Hi." I breathed, smiling as I stopped before him.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he shoved his phone back in his pocket.
"I brought a blanket." Knox said, turning around to open his back seat and pulling out a yellow checkered picnic blanket.
"Oh, perfect. Thank you." I gushed, smiling brighter now.
I hadn't really had a plan when I invited him here with me so I was grateful that at least he had thought of something.
Together we walked out through the grass, it's length tickling my ankles. Dandelions were growing sporadically and it was becoming a struggle to resist picking one.
Knox laid out the blanket under another tree, farther away from the parking lot and the playground which was active with small children. He laid down before me, looking back up at me expectantly to which I followed by plopping down next to him.
It was if he could tell that another 'thank you' was on the very tip of my tongue, threatening to slip out, because after prolonged moments of silence, Knox finally broke it.
"I used to play soccer on this field as a kid." He said, glancing slightly behind his shoulder.
I grinned, "That's a cute memory to have."
Knox shrugged, deciding to move on. "You keep staring down the dandelions. They'll all shrivel up if you look at them any harder." He joked.
I blushed, not realizing I had made myself so obvious.
"The first place I lived had a million dandelions in the cracks of the sidewalk leading up to the house.
My favorite pass time was making wishes on them.
" I paused, smiling down at my hands. "There were almost none left by the time I moved away.
I had picked them so much, most of them stopped growing back. "
"What'd you used to wish for?" Knox asked curiously.
A frown tugged at the corner of my mouth as I mulled over my words, searching for the best way to put it.
"That every step would be better than the last." I finally settled on.
Knox picked a dandelion that had been near the edge of the blanket before twirling it between his fingers. Shifting his eyes from the dandelion to me, he held it up in front of my lips. I glanced between him and the flower before blowing on it, making a new wish.
"What'd you wish for now?" He asked, throwing away the stem.
"I can't tell you. It's a secret." I laughed.
Knox snorted at my words, rolling his eyes.
We didn't stay at the park for too long. Eventually it had become unbearably hot outside, the air thick and still from the lack of breeze. Slick with sweat and growing tired and sluggish, we both decided it was time to leave.
Walking back to Knox's car was slow, our pace reflecting the feel of the heat.
I was still grateful to have spent this time here with him regardless of the heat though.
It felt like now his shell was starting to crack and I honestly felt myself growing far more comfortable in his presence than I would have ever expected.
I was become really glad to be his friend.
Knox had offered to drive me home to which I couldn't refuse. That little bit of A/C was an irresistible thought, especially when the alternative was walking several blocks.
Maybe it was the heat exhaustion, maybe it was genuine curiosity, or it could have even been a bad slip of the tongue but on the ride back I found myself breaking our comfortable silence.
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" I asked, a blush quickly rising at my words.
Knox chuckled slight, taken a bit by surprise.
"Yeah..." He laughed, "a couple but never serious." He answered nonchalantly.
The desire to smack myself in the head became very strong. Of course he's had girlfriends before. What kind of question was that? A guy like Knox was bound to have a few. I should have expected that. I was embarrassed I even felt the need to ask.
"Oh, right." I mumbled, turning my head to look out the window. "You don't want to know if I've ever had a boyfriend?" I asked, the words yet again tumbling out of me. This was a nightmare. It had to be heat stroke at this point, there couldn't be any other excuse.
I watched as Knox's eyebrows rose quickly, even more taken aback than before. He seemed to be trying his best to suppress the amusement that wanted to overtake his face and he was not being very successful.
"Well, my innocent little Annie, have you ever had a boyfriend before?" He asked to appease me.
Blood rushed to my face even faster. Obviously he knew the answer. It was obvious even in the way he had phrased the question. I don't know why I was forcing him to ask me when I didn't actually want to admit it to him now. I wish I would have swallowed my words.
"No." I forced out quietly.
"Do you want one?" Knox pressed, fully grinning now.
"I don't know." My cheeks burned with the regret of bringing up this entire conversation.
"You don't know?" He questioned again.
My embarrassment was turning into anger which quickly turned into sorrow.
"Stop teasing me." I whined, tears burning at the back of my eyes from frustration.
I was completely mortified, the feeling seeping out of my every pore. I couldn't stand this conversation any longer. Grateful my house was in view, I was desperate to escape the car.
"I'm not teasing you, Annie." Knox said, his tone growing more serious as he realized the state of my emotions. "Annie, baby, don't cry. I wasn't trying to upset you." He said, pulling up to the curb of my house and parking.
I wiped at my eyes, doing my best to stifle my cries.
"I'm sorry." I whispered, hiccuping slightly.
"No, I'm sorry. I was being an ass. Forgive me, please?" Knox asked, leaning closer as he brushed away my stray tears.
I nodded an 'okay', looking at him through my wet lashes before bidding him 'goodbye' and stepping out the car to head into my house.