Naturally

After school, I waited by my locker nervously, hoping this wasn't all a big joke. To my relief, Connor came striding down the hall not long after the final bell rang.

"Hey Venny!" he greeted cheerfully. I smiled and grabbed both of my bags. "What's with the two bags?"

I held up my paint bag. "My paints." Connor seized it and looked inside.

"Woah! Spray paints, huh? Are you some kind of delinquent?" he teased. "I don't think I can hang around such a bad influence!"

We both laughed and I followed him to his truck. I figured it would be some old peice of junk, like most of those in the lot, but it was really nice.

"Do you like it?" he asked, and for some reason, he seemed anxious.

"It's great!" I assured. I walked around it a bit. It was big. Or at least, it was to my five foot two inches. Luckily, my uncle has a bigger truck, so I knew how to get in.

"Is it too big for you?" Connor asked, smirking. I rolled my eyes and expertley climbed in. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?" He climbed in the driver's seat and the engine roared to life. I grinned. When it comes to trucks, the bigger and louder, the better.

We sat in silence for a while, but it wasn't really awkward.

"So, what do you use all those paints on?" Connor asked as he turned into a neighborhood.

"I'm painting a mural," I stated, blushing. Connor raised an eyebrow.

"Where would this mural be?" I told him about the tunnel and he grinned. "Will I be able to see this mural one day?" I shook my head rappidly, making him laugh. "How come?"

"Cause it's not very good," I stated quietly. Connor rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right! If it's anything like those sketches, it's got to be amazing!" I'm sure by now, my cheeks were like tomatoes. "So when do I get to see it?"

The truck pulled into a driveway and I scrambled out, trying to avoid his questions. I met him at the front of the truck and looked up at the house. It was pretty big. A little smaller then mine, but still pretty big. I looked around and almost gasped. Connor lived just around the corner from me! How did I not know that?

"Raven?" Connor said. "What's up?"

I looked at him and smiled. "I live just around the corner from here!"

Connor laughed. "Are you serious? That's awsome! Come on inside, I think my dad's home."

He led me inside. The house was very elegant, but at the same time, it looked cozy and lived in.

"Welcome to the Mason Manor," he said, in a very posh english accent. I giggled and we went furthur into the house. "Pops! I'm home!"

"I'm in the den!" a gruff voice yelled in reply. Connor grinned and pulled me down a flight of stairs. At the bottom was a big game room. It had pinball, fooseball, an air hockey table, a giant plasma screen, state of the art electronics, ect. Perched in front of the screen in a recliner was a man around thirty-five.

"Pops, this is Raven," Connor introduced. The man stood up and smiled. I could tell that Connor took after him exactly. "Raven, this is my dad, Andy."

The man stepped forward and shook my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Mason," I said shyly. Mr. Mason laughed.

"Please, just call my Pops. All of Connor's friends do!" he said in a booming voice. "I'm glad to see that Connor's finally found a nice, polite girl to bring home."

I looked down, blushing furiously.

"Alright, Pops! Raven and I are going upstairs to work on our project." Connor grabbed my hand and dragged me upstairs.

"Hope to see you again soon, Raven!" Mr. Mason yelled after us.

"Sorry about him." Connor said, leading me up another flight of stairs.

"I like him, he's nice," I said. Connor took after his dad in not only looks, but his personality.

We walked down a hall and into a room. By the looks of it, and the clothes on the floor, this would be Connor's room.

"It's a bit of a mess, I was running late this morning, so I didn't have time to tidy up." Connor swiped some clothes off the bed and offered it as a seat. I nervously sat down, and he took the desk chair. "So, you're the art genius, where do you think we should start?"

"I was thinking of a painter from the seventeenth century, Pierre Subleyras. He was active during the late-Baroque and early-Neoclassic periods." Connor looked at me blankly. "How bout I do the information, you work on the pictures and presentation?"

Two hours later, Connor was walking me to the door. "Are you sure you don't need me to walk you home? It's pretty dark out."

I smiled. "Connor, I'm fine. It's just around the corner!"

"Alright. Then I'll see you tomorrow." He opened the door for me and I walked out. I got to the corner and looked over my shoulder. Connor was still watching me from the door. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have him as a friend.

When I reached home, I wasn't at all surprised to see Taya and Mom waiting for me.

"How'd it go?" Taya demanded. I gave her a 'why do you care?' look and ran upstairs.

Today was a pretty good day.