With Me

Clutching her notebook in her hand, Katie walked along the pathway, flecks of silvery moonlight lightening her way. The breeze was frigid against her arms and she shivered, mentally scolding herself for not bringing a jacket.

The sounds of birds filled her ears and a small smile fluttered onto her lips, her green eyes darting around the area, searching for a place to sit. A small groan left her lips when she noticed that her usual spot was taken by another person, but she continued on anyway.

When she came to a stop beside him she cleared her throat, causing him to look up at her. Sapphire eyes stared into her face, slightly darkened and swollen along with his red cheeks. He seemed hesitant and embarrassed to look at her, and he rubbed his eyes vigorously before darting his eyes away and pushing his auburn hair so that it was blocking his eyes.

“Can I sit here?” Katie asked softly, pushing an errant strand of hair behind her ear and giving him a soft smile. Glancing up at her through his hair, the boy gave her a tight smile and nodded before focusing his eyes onto the ground again.

Nibbling on the inside of her cheek, Katie hesitated slightly before walking towards the opposite side of the bench and sitting down, as far away from the boy that she could. Opening her notebook, she lifted her pen to the page and tapped it against the paper, her face slightly scrunched up as she thought. An idea popped into her head and she smiled briefly, bringing the pen to the paper and scribbling down a flurry of words.

It was silent for a moment, save for the staggered sound of his breathing and the sound of her pen moving against the page. But then he spoke up, his voice slightly croaky and so quiet that she barely heard him. “Are you a writer?”

Pushing her hair behind her ear, she flushed slightly as she met his eyes and nodded. He smiled at this, his blue eyes seeming to lighten a little as his eyes travelled down to her notebook. “What sort of things do you write?” he asked softly, his leg tapping up and down as he sat there.

Tilting her head slightly, she thought for a moment. “Whatever comes to me, I guess. I have a bit of a wild imagination,” she said, laughing slightly at the end. Giving her a smile, he nodded.

“What brings you here?” she asked quietly, placing her book on her lap and tilting her head to look at him. Sighing, a frown formed on his face as he dropped his eyes to the ground. “You don’t have to answer,” she amended, giving him a soft smile, “but just think of it this way: I don’t know you and you don’t know me. Hell, we don’t even have to exchange names and we’re probably not going to see each other again. It might be good to talk to a stranger.”

The corners of his lips tugged up and he nodded, looking at her through the corner of his eyes. It was silent for a moment before he spoke again, his voice soft and timid. “It’s just my parents. They fight all of the time, and when I try to make things better they both turn on me. They say all sorts of things, and it just-“ he stopped, shaking his head slightly. “It just gets to me, I guess. So I come here to escape them.”

Wanting to comfort him but not knowing what to say, Katie nodded. “If it helps, I think you look like a nice guy,” she said quickly, and he grinned at this.

“You only just met me,” he laughed, the sound coming out croaky but bubbling.

She smiled at this, tugging at the end of her top as she looked at him. “I’m good at perception.”

It seemed as though hours had passed as they sat there, exchanging small pieces of information as the night slower began to lighten as dawn approached. The air was becoming colder but Katie didn’t notice, and her notebook lay forgotten on her lap.

It was only when she let out a yawn that she realized how long it had been, and how tired she really was. “I should probably get going,” she said reluctantly, her eyes trailing across the park that was slowly becoming lightened by the sun.

He nodded slightly, a grim smile on his lips as he lifted his eyes to meet hers. “It was nice meeting you, stranger,” he smiled, the blotchiness gone from his cheeks and his blue eyes now alight.

Katie grinned, pushing her hair behind her ear as she stuck her hand out at him. He laughed at the gesture, placing his larger hand in hers and shaking it mockingly. Pulling away, her smile dropped a little as she looked at him. “I hope everything works out for you,” she said kindly, pushing herself up, her notebook and pen in her hands.

He smiled at her, muttering his thanks. “I don’t get to read what you’ve written?” he teased, his eyes crinkling as he looked at her.

Laughing, she shook her head. “I didn’t get anything down with you there anyway,” she laughed, her green eyes sparkling as she looked at him. She looked at him for a few silent moments before clearing her throat and turning to walk away. “Bye,” she called over her shoulder, sending him one last smile.

“Later,” he returned, lifting his hand up to wave.

****

It was two nights later that she returned to the park, her heart fluttering at the thought of him being there. But the seat was empty. Sighing slightly, she took a seat on the left side, opening her notebook and bringing her pen to the page.

Time went by and not a word was written on the paper, her mind agonizingly blocked in a way that frustrated her to her core. Letting out a groan, she shut the notebook, resting her head on her closed fist.

“Having trouble?”

Looking up, she grinned when she saw that it was him. His blue eyes were lighter than they had been the time before, although there were slight bags adorning his cheeks. His auburn hair was hanging in front of his eyes, and there were slight dimples on his cheeks as he looked at her. Smiling, he dug his hands into his pockets and walked over to sit beside her. “I can’t seem to get anything down,” she groaned, tugging at the ends of her hair.

He chuckled at this, his hand brushing against hers as he pulled her hand away from her hair. She froze slightly at the touch, and a blush filled both of their cheeks as they dropped their hands to their side. “I thought we weren’t going to meet again,” she laughed, looking at her through strands of her light hair and a cheeky grin sitting on her face. He grinned, shaking his head softly and looking at her through sparkling eyes. “Did you have another fight with your parents?” she asked, wondering what had brought him to the park.

Flushing a deep scarlet, he shook his head and focused his eyes onto the floor. “I just wanted to take a wal-“

“You wanted to see if I was here, didn’t you?” she teased, a blush adorning her cheeks as her heart warmed at the prospect.

To her surprise, he nodded. “Yeah,” he admitted sheepishly, tilting his head to look at her before darting his eyes away.

Her stomach twisted as she grinned, her cheeks slightly warm as she turned away, allowing silence to overcome them. “This is going to become some sort of ritual, isn’t it?” he chuckled, turning to look at her.

Biting her lip, she nodded. “Probably. Which means that we’re both going to be very tired,” she laughed, looking up at him through her eyelashes. “Do I get to know your name now?”

His face contorted in thought, and he slowly shook his head. “That would ruin the fun.”

****

Months passed, and every second night they would meet in the park and spend the night talking quietly to each other about everything in the world. It came to the stage that whenever Katie would see him her heart would flutter uncontrollably, and her stomach would twist and churn until she could barely breathe. She looked forward to meeting him each time, and every time it got harder to control her oncoming feelings.

He grinned crookedly at her as she sat down, their knees almost touching as she moved her notebook onto her lap. Her heart was beating erratically in her chest, her palms sweating and her stomach swarming with butterflies. “I want to read you a story I wrote,” she said softly, and at this he grinned widely.

“It’s taken you long enough to show me something, Stranger,” he laughed, nudging her knee with his.

Flushing, she opened her book, her hands shaking slightly with nerves. She could feel his eyes on her and it made her shake, her hands struggling to hold onto the book. “Once upon a time, there lived an average boy,” she started quietly, and he smiled at her in encouragement. ”His parents were assholes.” He laughed at this, seeming to realize where the story was going. ”The boy was at the park one day when he met a girl named Katie. Despite the fact that her laughter sounded like a whale crying and the fact that she always had a habit of adding random tumblr references into her sentences, he seemed to like her a little.”

His eyes were watching her intently as she spoke, her voice coming out in a quiet croak. ”Katie liked him a lot. In fact, she liked him so much that whenever she saw him she would sweat unattractively like a pig and her cheeks would flush so red that she looked like a talking strawberry.” He laughed and she paused, breathing in deeply to calm herself before continuing. ”The boy made her feel happy. So happy, in fact, that she neglected her writing and found time to talk to him instead. She was always tired but it didn’t matter to her, because she liked him a lot and he always made her smile.”

“And that’s all I’ve got so far,” Katie said, laughing awkwardly as her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet. Her hands were clenched in fists as she lowered her eyes to the floor, her leg tapping against the ground in anxiety as she waited for him to speak.

“You ruined the game,” he said quietly, and she frowned, looking up at him in confusion. “You told me your name.”

Slightly hurt, she flinched away, closing her notebook. “Sor-“

“Garrett,” he said softly, smiling at her. “The boy’s name is Garrett.” Biting on her lip to stop herself from smiling, she looked up at him through hooded lids. “And Katie makes him very happy too.”

Her face broke out into a grin as her heart jumped in her chest, her stomach flipping repeatedly as she looked at him. Hesitantly, he leaned forward, and her breath became caught in her throat as he gently placed his lips against hers. The kiss was short and chaste, but it made her heart flutter all the same and her cheeks flush darker than they ever had. “I liked your story,” he smiled, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.

Chuckling, she nudged his knee with her own. “I wrote it in about five minutes,” she laughed, grinning up at him. At was silent for a moment before she spoke again, her voice breaking out across the park. Light was beginning to seep through the trees and fall upon them, but they took no notice of it. “I guess I’m not a stranger anymore,” she smiled timidly, keeping her eyes on the ground.

Her heart jumped as he grabbed her hand and curled his fingers through hers, squeezing her small palm affectionately against his. “Nope,” he started, smiling down at her. “You’re much more special.”