Still Here.

Leila was at the park, sitting upon an elegant bench with her sketch pad out. She stared at the boy she was attempting to draw. Trying to get the angles just right, which seemed to be a lot harder than she had imagined.

---

It's was the beginning of spring break and Mason was so excited about it. He and Leila had agreed to meet at the park today so he hopped on his skateboard and headed that way. When he arrived her nose was in her sketch pad doodling away. I leaned over to look at what she had been drawing, and met the face of a stranger. He looked around to see if she could spot who she had been drawing and didn't see anyone.

@ NauticalNonsense;;

(What should I do about Lily because there really isn't a place for her at the moment..?)

Steven shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he walked around the park aimlessly. After a while, he settled onto a bench with a sigh as people walked past without making any eye contact. It seemed like people were just becoming more unfriendly by the minute, not even sparing a smile. Ironically, he felt completely invisible. He leaned backwards slightly, staring up at the sky, completely unaware of the girl who was silently drawing him a little ways away.

Leila and Mason spent 30 minutes or so together before he had to leave. His mother had texted him and it was urgent. She waved him off as he left the park.

She looked around to see if she could find the boy he ha been drawing earlier.

---

Apparently Jason, Mason's older brother, had pulled another stunt and they were arresting him. Of course his mother wanted him to come home and help her with that hassle. He sighed out in frustration. He was starting to get really sick of Jason and his theatrics.

@ NauticalNonsense;;

After some time, he found the sun setting for the night and figured that it was time to return home. Where was home though? Steven stood for a moment, trying to think of where it was. He couldn't quite remember for some reason...

--

Lily was home, leaning against the headboard of her bed. Her sister was probably out with Mason which left her home to do practically whatever the hell she wanted. Therefore, she was taking the opportunity to play music loudly without a care in the world.

Leila watched the boy as a puzzled look crossed his face. She got the sudden urge to approach him. "Hi," she said shyly. "My name is Leila, is everything alright?"

---

After everything cooled down at home, Mason headed over to Leila's in hope that she would be home. She and Mason had met in first grade and hadn't really been separable since then. He approached the front door and rang the doorbell.

@ NauticalNonsense;;

(Hey! Just don't forget to hit the reply button so I know that you responded :D )

After a moment, he was pulled out of his thoughts by a girl who seemed to be just around his age. Finally, someone who was willing to at least offer him some of their time. "Oh, hello. I.. was just trying to get home, but.. I couldn't remember where it was," Steven gave a puzzled look still trying to remember before continuing on,"My name is Steven. Pleasure to meet you."

--

Over the music, Lily almost didn't hear the sound of the doorbell going off. She silently cursed thinking that it may have been her parents coming home early or possibly even the cops complaining about the noise. Nonetheless, she turned it down slightly before making her way to the door. "Oh.. Mason." She let out a sigh of relief seeing that it had just been her sister's best friend.

"Hm.. Well, would you like to walk around until you remember? I'm just heading home myself." She grinned at the beautiful boy.

---

"Just 'Oh. Mason.' Huh? That's real nice of you." He rolled his eyes at Lily. "I was wondering if your sister was home." He pushed into the house and made his way into the kitchen; he was starving.

@ NauticalNonsense;;

He looked around thinking that there was no place he had to be anyway,"Sure, why not." Glancing over at the girl, he appreciated that she hadn't just ignored him like the rest. He was a real person too and everyone else was just ignoring him. It was rude. "I don't know why I don't remember. It's odd, you know, I have a pretty good memory."

--

Lily just rolled her eyes right back at him since they had this annoying relationship with each other, moving over as he came inside of the house. "Nah, she hasn't been home so I've been blasting music. I thought you had been a cop or something." Closing the door behind him, she followed him into the kitchen already knowing that Mason would be cleaning them out.

"Well.. What do you remember?" She giggled and smiled at the boy. She couldn't get over how attractive she found him. He was like an angel standing in a crowd full of mere mortals.

---

"Too bad. Do you guys seriously have nothing good to eat in here?" He groaned and rubbed his rumbling tummy. "I'm dying!" He glanced over to see if Lily found his theatrics amusing like he did.

@ NauticalNonsense;;

What did he remember? Well, that was a pretty hard question to answer, too. The only thing that came to mind was his name and how old he was but nothing more. It was just as if everything had vanished. "My name and how old I am. Everything else.. it's like poof." His hand motions mimicked his words, popping his fingers out from his head.

--

She thought for a moment before shrugging since her mother cooked, meaning she didn't even bother to look at the refrigerator. "Probably not. It's been a week or two since we went to the grocery store." Lily just shook her head at the overly-dramatic famished boy.

"Hm.. That's odd. Were you abducted by aliens?" She joked as the walked towards her house. She bit at her lip as she glanced over at the adorable boy. I wonder what he'd say if I asked him out for coffee or something, she wondered. Leila was pretty sure that boys didn't like to be asked out first but she didn't really have any experience in that department.

---

"Well that sucks," Mason replied as he made a face and moved towards the pantry. Clearly she hadn't found it quite as amusing. Not that it should matter what Lily thought about him but as he glanced over at her, he was kind of curious. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of those thoughts. He had watched her grow up, thinking of her in anyway besides Leila's younger sister was odd.

@ NauticalNonsense;;

He laughed a little because that was a little bit ridiculous on her part but knew that she was just joking. Aliens didn't exist, at least from what he thought and his previous experiences. "I hope not. The idea of aliens taking my memories doesn't sound too pleasant." Steven explained with a laugh.

--

It really did suck because it meant that she couldn't snack whenever she wanted. Her mother made sure that the two girls wouldn't gain any weight on her watch. "Yeah, it sucks. The pantry only has uncooked pasta and baking stuff," She explain, coming up behind him to peer over his shoulder. It was useless trying to find food inside of the house.

"Yeah, I don't imagine it would be to fun. Especially with probing and all." She giggled and gnawed at her lip. "What would you say to hanging out tomorrow?" She questioned the odd boy.

---

"Baking stuff! I could totally make homemade brownies!" He grabbed a couple of things off of the shelf and turned quickly. Lily was a lot closer than Mason had anticipated. "Whoa," he said dropping a few of the boxes in his hands.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ NauticalNonsense;;

Even if he had plans the following day, it wouldn't have been like he could have recalled anyway. As far as he was concerned, he was completely free for the rest of his life. "Sure, I would love to hang out with you." He agreed with a small smile. She seemed like a nice enough girl.

--

"Brownies?" She gave a small laugh since she couldn't imagine Mason making brownies in her kitchen. Not expecting him to make a turn so quickly, she didn't have enough time to back up, almost colliding right into him. "Oops, sorry. Lemme help," Lily bent down to help pick up the stuff he had dropped.

"Well.. Should I meet you at the park?" Leila tugged at her hair nervously.

---

"Well, yeah. You've heard of them, right? Brown, gooey, absolutely delicious?" He questioned as he picked up the items from the floor. When he looked up, Lily's face was only inches from his own.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ NauticalNonsense;;

"Yeah, I could meet you in the same spot. I will remember where it is, I promise," He laughed at his own problem.

--

"Can't say that I have heard of brownies before," She sarcastically replied while picking up the box of mix that he dropped, looking up to hold it out to him. Woah.Lily backed up slightly realizing how close they actually were, feeling her heart beating.

"That sounds wonderful! I'd invite you to stay at my house but I don't think my parents would enjoy me having a boy over that isn't Mason. Not to mention, I don't really know you." She grinned up at the boy.

---

"Uh.. Hi." Mason grinned sheepishly, unable to move from his postion. From here he was able to see how pretty her eyes were, how pretty she actually was. It kind of startled him. He'd hung out at this house all his life and never really noticed that Lily had also grown up with him and Leila. She wasn't the same little girl he imagined her to be.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX

@ NauticalNonsense;;

Steven laughed knowing that any parent wouldn't be pleased to see their daughter bring home a stranger, nevertheless a boy. Giving a slight shrug, he grinned over at her since he understood,"Don't worry about it. Maybe I'll just... I don't know... sleep underneath a tree for the night or actually figure out where my home is." The outdoors never really bothered him anyway.

--

Looking over at him, she couldn't help notice every feature on his face right down to the prominent jawline. It was odd viewing Mason in this light considering that he had always been that older brother figure that teased her about everything. "Hi," Lily responded back with a small giggle since it seemed like neither of them were able to back away from each other.

Leila looked at him worriedly, "I really wish there was a way I could help." She but her lip. "I hate the idea that you might have to sleep outside."

---

A strand of dark hair had managed to fall in Lily's face and Mason reached forward to brush it behind her ear. His hand lingered on his cheek and he blushed, drawing it back to him. "S-Sorry," he stuttered, suddenly nervous.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX