Not That Perfect

“Well, I apologize,” I said sarcastically, glaring over at Gwen, “But I have no clue who Connor is?” I turned my attention back over to Dylan, who had mentioned Connor first, “Did he do something to you guys?”

Dylan shook his head, “No, he hasn’t.” He said, still watching as Connor ran through the park.

“He’s just odd,” Morgan whispered, pushing her blonde bangs out of her face, “I mean, he doesn’t talk to anyone. He has no friends, like, at all.” She looked over at Gwen as she explained, who had rolled her eyes again.

“Not like he has a choice though,” Gwen said, “Who’d want to be…” She didn’t say anything Connor came closer. He looked down at the group of us for a moment, his eyes lingering on me before he ran by, “Who would want to be friends with that?” Gwen finished, playing with one of her earrings.

I looked over at Gwen, my eyes wide with disbelief. How could someone possibly say something like that? Sure, I admit that Connor isn’t the most attractive guy, especially when you have someone like Austin to compare him to, but that doesn’t mean that everyone should hate him. If anything, Gwen didn’t seem to deserve the friends that she apparently had wrapped around her fingers.

“Interesting,” I whispered, disapprovingly shaking my head as I stood up, “Well, I probably have to go,” I said, “I’ll see you guys later.” I bit my lip as I started to walk home, ignoring all of their goodbyes.

I slowed down my pace once they were all out of sight, running my fingers through my hair as I came to a full stop. I didn’t realize that I had stopped walking at first. Not until I sat down on one of the park’s benches, dropping my head into my hands as my thoughts clouded my mind. I couldn’t think straight. My thoughts were jumbled up in me head, wrapping around my brain and preventing me from moving any further. Today’s events were too much for me to handle. Meeting new people, moving across the country, exploring the house that my father had owned; I couldn’t handle anything else.

It was then that I felt my tears start to fall, rolling down my cheeks and staining my tank top. Thankfully, not many people were on the street. No one was around to watch me breakdown.

My sobs started to grow louder, echoing against the empty street, “Um,” I heard someone mumble, “Hey, are you ok?” I shut my eyes, trying to dry my face before I'd look up. There, before me, stood Connor, who was still holding onto his dog’s leash. I stared up at his scarred face for a moment, remembering what Gwen and Morgan had said about him, “You ok?” He said, repeating his question.

I nodded, wiping away a couple of stray tears, “I-I’m fine,” I hiccupped, smiling up into amazing, olive green eyes. It definitely wasn't the first thing that you saw, especially since one of his eyes was covered in the white-ish scar, but they were still stunning, “I’m sorry that you… saw me like that.”

Connor shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. You’re ok though, right? No need to call 9-1-1?” He asked.

“I’m fine,” I answered, looking down at my hands as he smiled at me. We were quiet after that, watching as the few cars drove down the street, passing us in a matter of moments. Morgan was right about one thing. He was extremely quiet.

But he also seemed rather sweet.

“Awesome,” He whispered, “You had me worried there.” I smiled at him, shaking my head softly. After a minute or so, Connor sat down besides me, making his dog lie down besides the bench. I blushed as Connor looked me up and down, seeing his eyes watch over me from the corner of my eye, “Did you just move here?” He asked, “I haven’t seen you around Little Falls before?”

“Yeah,” I answered, “I moved here today, actually.”

He nodded, “Awesome. Little Falls is always excited to have someone new,” He started, “Probably because we’re all so sick of each other.” He laughed as he spoke. Cleary there was a hidden meaning to what he said. I watched as a glazed look flashed across Connor's eyes and as he lifted his hands absentmindedly. Quietly, Connor touched the burned part of his face, giving away what he was thinking about, “Anyways though,” Connor said, finally breaking the silence, “What house did you move into…” He paused for a moment, “If that doesn’t sound too creepy?”

“No, no. It’s not too creepy,” I said jokingly, “I moved into the honey suckle covered house a couple streets over?” I pointed towards the direction of my house, looking back at Connor as I spoke. He nodded, his eyes following my finger as my phone started to buzz:

You need to come home, my mom had texted, Dinner’s ready

I looked back up at Connor, an apologetic look apparent on my face, “I have to go. I’ll talk to you later?” I stood up as I spoke, wiping my hands off and started to walk back home.

“Wait,” Connor called out after me, “What’s your name?” He asked.

I looked over my shoulder, yelling a quick, "Rae! It's Rae!" Before I turned the corner of the street.