Keep Away

“I'm home!” I called, opening my front door. No one was home as usual. Dad was gone. Mom was gone. Who knows where they could've gone? I let out out a huge sigh and threw myself, along with my backpack, on the couch. I was gonna be alone not matter what. At school and at home. You're probably thinking how can one survive like this? Especially a sixteen year old kid? I don't know. I don't ever remember time where I was actually happy, to be honest. Well....if you didn't count my writing.

“Oh Shamin,” I hugged my notebook. “You're so lucky that Edward comes along and meets you. What a strange turn of events huh? You sneak out of the hospital one day and he's standing right there.”

What am I doing? I was resorting to talking to a fictional character, my fictional character! The ones I'm planning all the events for! Why is it a strange turn of events? I'm the one who decided it!

Ugh. I'm getting weirder and weirder. I thought angrily to myself.

I needed to clear my head badly. There was one place in the neighbor hood that helped calmed me almost immediately. It was a place that I found just last year. No one seemed to care about it at all and that was the good part, for no one from school could possibly come across and make it their own private clubhouse. After all, I found it first.

It was only ten minutes from my house, the tree. It was large tree, with branches easily portable and sturdy to climb on. If you sat up there and snuggled into the branches, you'll feel absolutely comfortable. It gave off a strange aura that made you forget everything.

After ten minutes, I reached my secret tree, looking brighter than usual. I was just about to host myself up on a branch, when I heard a voice from within the upper branches.

“Whoa! Tree is occupied, sorry.”

“What do you mean occupied?” I fumed. “This is my tree!”

“Your tree? Really? You were the one who planted this beauty here?”

“Well....no,” I admitted. “But I found this tree first. This is my comfort spot!”

“Too bad,” the person sneered. “You should've came earlier or I wouldn't have taken it.”

“No seriously. Please get out. This is my tree.”

“Yeah I know, I heard you. But since you didn't plant it, you don't technically own it. Just because you got it first, doesn't mean it's rightfully yours. So I'll stay up here, and I'll get down whenever I feel like getting down.”

“And when will that be?”

“Dunno.”

“Who are you anyway!?” I squinted into the branches, but his face was being blocked by leaves.

“Someone you don't know.”

I bit my lip. The mysterious boy in the tree was getting me really irritated. I came here for some peace and quiet, not some annoying and pointless bickering with some random stranger.

“Fine, you know what? Stay up there? I'm just gonna sit and wait for you to come down. And when I finally see your face, I swear I'm gonna beat you to a pulp.”

There was silence, before he answered in a smug voice, “See? Now I don't even wanna come down anymore, knowing that I'll get beat up.”

“Try it. Try waiting up there. Let's see how long you're going to last.”

“Hmph. Same goes for you too. Let's see how long you'll wait.”

Then I realized, there was no longer battle to see who gets the tree. It was a battle of wits. Never in my life have I ever met someone who could keep up with me, nor even talk to me. Maybe if he saw my face, he would shut up or just start calling me names.

“You go to Edgewater High?” I inquired.

“Yup.”

“So you know your peers then?”

“I don't really pay attention.”

“But you must know Trinity Whestly right?”

“Trinity Whestly?”

“Surely you know her. She's infamous, you know.”

“Are you her?”

“Yes and now that you found that out, you wanna get down for me?”

The boy seemed to think for a few moments, before responding with a long, “Nah.”

“What!?”

“Look Trinity, I got nothing against you, okay? I just like this tree as much as you do.”

“You can't be serious.”

“If I were joking, I'd smile, say just joking, and laugh my butt off.”

“I mean, you're not disgusted my presence or anything? I mean, aren't you afraid what people think, if they even see you talking to me? At least once?”

“Nope. I don't really care what they think. And you shouldn't either.”

“Who are you to be telling me how to live my life?” I cried out, clenching my fist. “You know nothing about me! You're insane for not hating me!” With that, I stormed off, not even waiting for a sarcastic reply.

What the hell was wrong with me? For the first time in my life, someone tells me that they're not afraid to be seen with me. What if this is was the beginning of my possibly love life? Maybe this is the start of my love and hate relationship? Wait no, I'm crazy. I've been reading way too much fan fic. But wait...I never hang out with anyone. Suddenly, my skin started to boil. That liar! How could he say that he's not afraid to hang out with me, if he's never even done it!? I bet he was just saying that to make me go away.

Even so, I rejected his kindness, regardless if it were a lie or what. I had already accepted my sad fate of being alone. I just didn't want anyone to tell the same tragic story of my life.