Whoever She Is

Thomas sips lightly at his coffee as he glances around.

It was a beautiful day. Sun was shining, birds were singing, sky was blue, clouds were white and fluffy. But Thomas was barely paying attention to any of it. His eyes were trained on the entrance of the park to his left, his arm stretched across the back of the bench he was sitting on, waiting patiently.

It happens everyday. At exactly 8:03 every morning, a girl runs under that medal arch, her earbuds plugged into her ears, sweat glistening on her body. She was perfection.

Thomas doesn't know her name.

He began coming to the park a few months ago, where he first discovered the running girl. At first he paid her no mind, only vaguely staring as she ran past him, her arms pumping in time with her legs.

But after watching her for who knows how long, he became attached.

He memorized how she moved as she sprinted, how she breathed as she switched legs to run on, and how she stopped every few minutes to change the song on her iPod.

He never had the guts to walk up to her and say hi. What would he say? He never knew what to say. She's like a dream. He only catches small glimpses of her before she was sliding away. Momentary blurs that he wishes could go on and on forever.

Cassandra breathes out heavily as she turns.

Her morning run was starting to weigh her down, just like it always did once she came up to the park. But she always pushed herself, if not to get the exercise then to just feel accomplished at something in her life. She always made herself sprint faster and harder as she ducked under that medal arch.

She always saw the same guy sitting on the park bench under the fifth tree down. She noticed a new thing about him everyday. For example, last Tuesday she saw that his eyes were green with a fleck of hazel.

And the Monday before that she realized that his hair turns into a lighter brown when he's in the sun. When he's in the shade, it's a darker brown.

Cassandra didn't know his name.

She only ever saw him at this time everyday. Only for a few seconds before she was zooming past him on her way through the rest of the park. He was just some guy that she glanced at regularly. It didn't matter that he was good looking.

There were so many times that she thought of stopping to talk to him. But what would she say? She doesn't know what to say. He's just a guy in a park.

Today, she could see him in his usual spot, the usual cup of coffee in his hand.

As she passed by, she took note of how his nose crinkled as he gazed at the sun, little freckles showing over his cheekbones. But he was removing his eyes from the sun now, looking over to where she was jogging up the path in his direction.

Thomas holds in a sigh as she passes by, the sun glinting off the perspiration that trailed down her back. Cassandra sneaks a glance at him before she couldn't see him any longer.

The next day it was raining outside.

Cassandra groaned as she saw the sight when she woke up. She was dressed and ready for her jog. She was hoping to see the strange boy on the park bench; she was going to force herself to stop and at least wish him a good morning. But who would go drink some coffee in the rain? Not that strange boy.

So instead of going out running, she opted to go grab a muffin from the Starbucks across from her apartment building. She pulled her hood up as she went outside.

Thomas sighed as he viewed the fat droplets pouring from the sky. He was so eager to go to the park, and now he couldn't go. Who would go jogging in the park when it's raining? Not that gorgeous girl. So he decides to go get some coffee and sit in the coffee house.

Cassandra walks up to the cashier lady ready with her order.

Thomas walks into the shop, shaking the water from his hair.

Cassandra thanks the cashier after taking the tall frappucino, leaving a small tip in the jar sitting on the counter. She heads to a table, sitting in the chair facing away from the window.

Thomas grabs a newspaper off the counter, shaking it out to the front page. He reads the headlines as he walks toward a table, barely noticing a girl in the table beside him, her back to him as he sat down in the chair facing toward the window.

Cassandra hears the chair behind her screech across the ground as someone sits in it. She pays it no mind as she sips through the straw of her drink.

Thomas hears the girl in the chair behind him sucking on a straw. He turns slightly in his chair to see long brown waves cascading over the shoulders of the girl. She was wearing a navy blue hood, her hair slightly damp from the rain.

Cassandra could feel eyes on her, and she turns in her chair on instinct.

Eyes lock.

"Sorry," Thomas smiles politely. "I didn't mean to stare. I just heard a noise." He folds his paper up, tucking it under his arm as he uses his free hand to run it through his wet hair.

"It's okay," the girl before him shrugs. "I'm Denise Hampton, by the way."

He nods, taking her outstretched hand to shake. He cocked his head to side as he looks at her pale blue eyes, noticing how prominent they made her face look. "My name's Thomas," he answers, "Thomas Walker."

Cassandra blushes at the stare of the man before her. He was grinning as he gazed at her, his smile blinding. "Sorry," he shrugs. "I just...you're eyes are beautiful." Cassandra blushes deeper at the compliment. "Pardon my manners," the man clears his throat. He had an English accent. "But my name is Darian. Darian Lucas."

Cassandra smiles back, aware of how red her face was. "I'm Cassandra. Cassandra Livingston."

"Well, Denise," Thomas says, retracting his hand, "how would you like to accompany me for a walk in the rain? I feel like getting wet." He grins, placing his wrinkled newspaper on the table beside him.

Denise grins, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "It would be my pleasure."

"Darian?" Cassandra questions. "What a nice name." She bites her bottom lip as he grins back, closing his newspaper that he had been reading. "Would you like to go get some breakfast with me? I'm in the mood for some pancakes."

Darian chuckles, and she noticed how well the laugh mixed with his accent. "Sure," he smiles. "I could go for some of those too."

The two newly-acquainted couples stand from their spots and head outside, linking arms.

As Thomas steps out of the coffee shop, Denise's arm paired with his, he looked to his right to make sure there were no cars in the street so they may cross it. As he does, he sees the Starbucks that was a few buildings down. Coming out of it was a blonde man, his arm attached to a girl's.

Thomas raises an eyebrow as he sees it's his running girl from the park. She was laughing at something the blonde man had said, her brown eyes sparking with life.

Thomas shakes his head before returning his attention to Denise.

Cassandra looks behind her as if a magnet had propelled her to, and she catches sight of a couple walking the opposite direction of them. But before they completely turned around, she saw that the man beside the short dark-haired girl was the mystery man who's always sitting on the bench in the park.

Her eyes widen at the sight of him. He was smiling at the girl beside him, his hazel flecked eyes glued to the face of the woman he was linking arms with.

Cassandra shakes her head and returns her attention to Darian.

The two couples walk away from each other, never knowing what could have been.