Not That Perfect

Connor and I stayed at the river for hours, talking about anything that would come to mind. I was stunned by how sweet Connor was, how sensitive he could be. It seemed like he got everything that I were to tell him, a quality that you can’t find in many people. He took every word that I said to heart, feeling my pain if I were to say something sad or laughing if I were to tell a happy story. Connor was a fantastic person to be around, so easy to talk to and to smile with. I enjoyed being with him more then I had with anyone else for a long, long time.

Eventually though, we grew silent as we watched the sunset together. The orange and red sky looked magnificent against the small stream and field behind it. I had never seen anything quite so beautiful in my entire life.

“Wow,” I whispered, my eyes glued to the disappearing sun.

I saw Connor nod out of the corner of my eye, “Part of the reason why I like to be out here so much,” He whispered back, pushing his jet-black hair out of his stunning eyes, “I almost always stay to watch to the sunset, then I drive home when it gets dark.”

“You’re planning on driving me home this time too, right?” I asked playfully, grinning as I spoke. He nodded again, looking over at me as he returned my smile.

The sunset made his scar glow, the brilliant colors reflecting against the white mark. I couldn’t look away from his deformity, and, unfortunately, he caught me staring. Quickly, he turned away, brushing his fingers against the scar as he did so. I watched as his smile quietly disappeared, regretting instantly that I was staring at him.

I was tempted to apologize to him, but I ended up not saying anything at all. We watched as the sun disappeared completely, the sky quickly changing to a shade of black, “Well,” Connor said, standing up from where he sat, “I guess that’s that.” He held a hand out to me as he spoke, offering to help me up.

Without hesitation, I wrapped my fingers around his own, using his strength to pull myself up, “Thanks.” I whispered, wiping the grass off of my jean shorts.

He nodded, waiting for me before we walked back to his comfortable car. And that was that. The end of the perfect night.

Connor drove me home a few minutes later, dropping me off in front of my house and leaving when I got to the front door. I smiled as he drove away, feeling genuinely happy. I was incredibly thankful that I got to meet Connor. Being his friend made moving to Little Falls even more worthwhile.

What made everything a bit more difficult, however, was that my friends despised him so much. They all shuddered whenever his name was mentioned, though no one explained what they disliked so much about him. The never said anything specifically bad about him, other then the constant, “He’s so odd. He never talks to anyone. Why would anyone even want to be around him?”

I ignored the most of what they said, never nodding or talking whenever they started to talk shit about him. But, I felt guilty about not telling them that I liked having him as a friend. I felt like not only was I betraying my group of friends, but that I was betraying Connor too.

“Hello?” I called out as I walked into the warm front hall, kicking off my shoes as I waited for an answer. No one yelled anything back, and, when I walked into the living room, I was only greeted by a note:

Liv and I went out to see a movie. There's soup and bread in the fridge if you’re hungry. We’ll be back in a couple hours.

I slowly reread the note, smiling when I realized that I had the house to myself.

Quietly, I walked up the stairs and towards my room, lighting a few of the candles when I was safely inside. A few moments later, after the last lantern was lit up, I noticed my phone blinking, signaling that I had a text message:

theres an end of the summer party going on at the park tonight. please come. itll be fun.

Morgan wrote, followed by a few other messages from Austin and Abby telling me the same thing. I nodded, writing back that I’d be there as I walked towards my wardrobe to choose a new outfit.