The Cynical Bookworm

The stars shined down on the pair that lay in the grass, staring at shining constellations that were light-years away. The warm summer air created a confinement for the pair, which one could neither enter nor leave.

"Do you like summer?" The boy asked the girl.

"I have no care for a time when all I do is sweat." The girl answered.

The boy smiled to himself. Sometimes he was positive that she was being so rude and sarcastic in an effort to merely push him away. Unfortunately, nothing she did would ever let him leave.

"Freya, sometimes you're so sarcastic I'm convinced you must be acting." He said, giving voice to his own thoughts.

"You need not worry, Alec. There's no such thing as acting involved. I'm just that sarcastic."

Alec laughed at the girl's honesty.

"If you hate summer, what time of the year do you like?"

"I lived in Florida. There isn’t much of good weather aside from blistering heat and unexpected rain therefore I enjoy no time of the year."

"There has to be something you like."

"Well, what about you? What do you like?"

"I'm from Vermont. I'm kind of obligated to say winter." Alec said with a laugh.

"You're not obligated to say anything."

"You just killed my joke." Alec said with a good-natured laugh.

"I didn't kill anything."

"Anyone ever tell you you'd be perfect for the role of an ice queen?"

"If this is how you plan on getting me to like you, you're going at it the wrong way."

"I don't plan on anything. It's our parents who made the plans."

"Don't remind me." Freya said with a frown. The actions of their parents were not capable of being forgiven or forgotten.

"Don't frown. It doesn't suit you."

"See that's something a guy trying to get it in would say." Freya’s lips curled upwards, creating the ghost of a smile. Alec took this as a victory.

"I don't really need to try." He said, sending his signature, infuriating smirk her way.

"I'm glad you're so confident." Freya gave the boy another frown.

"I don't need to be. Your parents paved the way for me."

"Alec!"

"Freya, calm down and enjoy the night sky."

Freya quieted down and inhaled. The stars looked exceptional tonight. They twinkled and soon the only thought that occupied her mind was the predicament at hand. Freya shook her mind of even that and enjoyed the Maine sky for what it was, a wonder of nature. After a while, Alec turned to the girl who had an actual smile on her face, a genuine smile.

"What are you thinking about?" Alec asked.

"The night sky is so beautiful.” She said breathlessly, as if the sheer beauty had taken her breath away.

“Almost as beautiful as you.” Alec said with a smile.

Freya turned her head to the boy and locked her green eyes with the boy’s blue ones before sending him a smile. He had his moments of genuine amiability. “You know, I wonder what would have happened if we met under different circumstances."

"I'd hope we'd still be here, lying under the night sky staring into the vast openness of the universe with you being a sarcastic cynic by my side."

Freya smiled at the boy but stayed silent. The stars had captured her attention again.

"If I told you that I wish I could stay here, in this moment forever, what would you say?"

"I'd say you're an idiot for thinking one moment can suffice for eternity."

Alec smiled. "I wasn't expecting you to say anything different."