The Past is Only the Future with the Lights On

I hadn’t prepared myself for what I would say to Skyler at this point. I wasn’t expecting I’d have to talk to him so soon. I figured he’d just approach me at lunch or something. And my mind was still all jumbled and weird in result of being mad at Frank, then apologizing with Frank, and then thinking about Frank.

Dear lord! Stop it already!

Letting out a small, angry growl at myself, I brought my hand to my face, lightly slapping my cheek and cursing at my thoughts.

Realizing what I’d just done in front of my friends, I looked up at their confused and startled faces, obviously not expecting me to do something like that simply because Skyler was walking over here, and then proceeded to laugh at myself. They soon joined in, though their faces were still contorted in an unusual manner. They probably only went along with it because we now had two extra bodies in our circle by the bench and they didn‘t want to scare them away or anything.

Our group grew silent, no one quite sure what to say to break it. Surely these two boys must have come over here for a reason, though. I really didn’t believe that they came all the way over here just to stand in an awkward silence with us.

The sound of Camden yelling at one of his friends, whom happened to be passing us, to wait up for him was what finally ruined our quiet record; twenty two seconds. I’d been counting. He walked off with his friend, instantly engaging in a conversation once they were in step.

With a slight sigh, I turned my head to the guy now standing by his lonesome to our right. “Hey, Skyler.” I smiled and rose from my seated position next to Frank, walking over to him and wrapping my arms around him in a small, friendly hug.

“Hey, Kelly…guys.” He shyly waved with his free hand, his other carrying his skateboard, to the rest of my friends, receiving more smiles and waves in response. Then he turned to me. “Uhm…I was wondering, could I talk to you for a second?”

I shot him a pleasant smile and nodded. “Sure. I’ll see you guys later in homeroom, mkay?” I told my best friends. Frank and Mikey nodded, though Mikey at least gave me the thumbs up and an encouraging grin, and Dahlia, beaming from ear to ear, shot me a mischievous wink.

I walked silently alongside Skyler, towards the front of the school. “Do you need to go to your locker or anything first?” he asked me, motioning towards the large front doors.

I thought for a second, then shook my head ‘no’. We continued our walk to a deserted lunch table outside the side cafeteria door. Kids were now scattered around the campus; meeting up with their friends, getting ready for the start of a new school day, or, like the few that waited farthest away from the school for the bell to ring, smoking or dealing weed and other assorted drugs.

We each took our seats next to each other on one side of the table. All was noiseless between us, then he cleared his throat, gaining my awareness.

“So what’s up, Skyler?” I asked, turning my body towards him to show that he had all of my undivided attention. He seemed to be having trouble saying whatever it was that he wanted to say, so I figured I’d make things a bit easier for him.

He appeared to notice this, and shot me a thankful smile.

“Erm…well…I know we don’t really know each other that well, and I kinda suck at these types of things,” he started, scratching his neck nervously. It quickly became aware to me of what he was doing, and I mutely scolded myself for not catching on earlier when he’d said he wanted to talk to me, and now had me alone. “But I really like you, Kelly. And I was wondering if, maybe, you’d like to try giving us a chance…” he trailed off, looking down sheepishly, his cheeks now a deep shade of red. Aw, how cute. He obviously didn’t do this very often.

“Us?” I repeated. I knew what he meant, but I just wanted to hear him say it.

He finally looked back up at me, biting his lip nervously. “Yeah, like, be my girlfriend.”

I smiled and watched the little, uneasy movements he made, anticipating my answer.

Skyler was no Frank. In fact, personality wise, he was the complete opposite of Frank. Skyler was quiet and shy over the simplest of things. Frank….wasn’t. However, over these last few months, Frank had made it clear to me that he wanted nothing more than friendship from me. And as much as it hurt to know that he didn’t feel the same, there was only one thing I could do. And that was what he did.

I’dtry to move on.

A boyfriend would help me get over this little bump Frank had put in my road. And I don’t think I could have chosen a better person to help me with it. Skyler was kind, easy to talk to, and an all around fun guy to be around.Plus, he was really cute.

“So, what do you say?” he asked once more, noting that I’d been stuck in my thoughts longer than I’d intended.

I smiled, and lightly nodded my head. “I say I’d loved to.”

He let out a sigh of relief, now allowing a huge grin to cover his face.

The bell went off, signaling we had seven minutes to get our asses to class before it led to a tardy.

“I’ll see you at lunch, right?” he queried, rising to his feet as I mirrored his actions.

“Of course,” I told him with a smile, which he generously returned.

“Okay.” Reluctantly, he leaned in and left a kiss on my cheek. His lips lingered there for a second, then he pulled away. I smiled once more, then began to walk off to catch up with my friends. Dahlia would definitely want to hear about this! I couldn’t speak for anyone else though…