The Break

The next morning comes in the sight of sun raining down on bare back, messy bleached locks of blonde hair sprawled across soft, sweaty skin; eyelids were slowly, unsurely, open, and green pools of grass were bathed with beaming rays of sun cast upon them. It was a warm morning, and, before the boy could fight it, the corners of his lips shot upwards, forming a tiny smile.
Just as it appeared, though, the expression was gone; as soon as Landon's eyes fell on his bedside alarm clock and saw the time - a little past midday -, his body jolted upwards and he was on his feet, untangling his body from his bed sheets so he could get ready for his day. He was a complete mess as he ran to his closet, pulling out his dark grey skinny jeans and a black button-up that he dressed rather quickly. He was rapid to snatch his grey beanie from the top of the drawer where had put it, and to rest it on his head, as he slipped his feet into his old black vans, which he never tied or untied anymore, as they were already perfectly adapted to his feet.

As soon as he was done, he took fast steps to the lateral of his bed, picking up his cell phone and keys from the bedside table, and then moved in the opposite direction, his intentions being to leave the house. As he reached the door, however, and was putting on his leather jacket, he decided to check the time on his cell phone, wanting to know if he still had a minute or two for breakfast; as he did so, he groaned loud, having a desire to punch himself - it was Saturday.

While Landon had a really outlined routine on the weekdays, his weekends were never planned – much like a blank page in a book, waiting to be filled. However, the university student never did fill those voids properly - he would watch a few movies, at most, but, otherwise, stayed in bed all throughout the two days in which he didn't have work or school; it was his definition of Heaven.

Today, however, he figured he wouldn't do that. Not that he felt particularly willing to go out, but having gone through the trouble of getting dressed, he was not going back to bed; he was going go, at least, have breakfast in one of the small cafés nearby his house.

Landon never quite understood why he had bought a two-story house to live in. There two rooms, besides his own, that he did not give use to, and the main bathroom was in the same situation, as his bedroom was a suite; the kitchen was big enough for two people to cook at the same time, and the dining room large enough to fit an entire family; the living room was slightly bigger than all of the other rooms, in the house, which the boy appreciated, as he, then, could have a home cinema system of his own. Another thing that escaped his mind, too, was why he had let his mother decorate his home; it looked like it had come straight out of an Ikea catalog, with too many fancy appliances and furniture that he ignored, on a daily basis. It was not that he was discontent with the house he had, since it was so much better than having nothing at all, but he just ended up feeling lonely, most of the time; he was just a boy, while the house had space for so many.

Having been lost in his thoughts, the blonde coffee shop worker had failed to realise where his feet were carrying him, so, as he felt his body crash onto a very solid wall, head first, he winced loudly, not only in pain, but also in surprise.

"It'd be easier if you watched where you're going," someone said, in an amused tone, and, instantly, Landon's eyes moved to the figure beside him.

As he saw the person smile softly at him, a funny tint to their blue eyes, the first emotion he felt was guilt, at how normally he was being talked too, and only after did the embarrassment come from how much of a fool he had made of himself.

"I was thinking about something," came Landon's voice, small and shy as he licked his bottom lip, nervously.

"I could tell," the same person from before said, tucking away from their face a lock of red hair. "You always do that, whenever I'm not around to guide you."

Landon, who had taken back to look at the ground, as a blush rose to his cheeks, trailed his eyes up to the curvy girl's face. He felt horrible for having ditched her for so long, having preferred to be on his own and dwell on his sadness rather than bothering her with his stupid problems; now that she was in front of him, however, he felt that imperative need to let her help him, but he knew she probably wouldn't want to hear.

"You don't have any obligation to guide me," the boy voiced out, shrugging as he looked away from the shorter girl; he was taking up her time unnecessarily.

"No, I don't," she confirmed his suspect, although Landon could see a grin on her face as he looked at her through his blonde fringe, "but that's what best friends do, right?"

Landon knew that his best friend's intentions weren't aimed to make him feel bad, as the genuinity of her words could be seen in her wooden eyes, but they did. Her honesty and naturality as she said them were rather soothing, but they also made his heart ache at how much of a bad friend he had been; he didn't deserve such a good friend.

"Scarlett, I'm--"

"Don't apologise," said the girl with bright red hair, interrupting the blonde before he could finish his sentence. "I understand, Landon. Everyone needs a break, sometimes," she added with a tender smile, despite the soft spark of sadness that the boy saw in her smile.

"I..."

The coffee shop worker wanted to say something, anything, to make her certain that it hadn't been her fault, but he was short on words. How to explain to her what had gone through his mind? How could he tell her that he felt tired of his perfect life? It sounded futile even just in his head, especially when he knew how many obstacles the girl had lived through; he was really selfish, at times.

Out of ways to explain himself, the tall boy slowly pulled the girl onto his embrace, his thin arms wrapping around her slim enough waist, as her busty chest collided against his, just a few inches lower; he could feel her arms closing in around his torso, an her head rest on his shoulder, so, without a hesitation, he kissed the side of her head that wasn't covered by the black beanie she wore.

He was aware that the strangers passing them would look at them almost in awe, thinking that they were tight lovers, but he could care less about what they thought; the girl in his arms was his best friend. She meant more to him than anybody else he knew, but not in a romantic way; in Landon's mind, Scarlett was the sister that he never had, even if their blood diverged. Besides, she was his brother's fiancee; he'd be damned if he couldn't call her a sister!

"I missed you," blurted out the blonde boy, not really caring anymore if the girl was worth way more than his friendship.

He could feel the girl's smile as she kissed his cheek for a second, pulling back to reveal a strain tear running down her face, which she made sure to clean as soon as her arms weren't around him. He couldn't blame her for crying, though, as he knew she had been abandoned one too many times, in the past, and always feared it could happen again, in spite of how much she had developed from ever since the boy first met her.

"I missed you too, Land," said the girl, her face now clean as she flashed him a sad smile. "Everyone does, actually; they're worried about you, darling."

Another pang of guilt shot through the blonde's chest when he heard that, as he realised, once again, how stupid and selfish he had been; having everyone be concerned about him, when he was just having a middle life crisis at twenty-one.

"I'm okay," he said to the girl, wanting to reassure the both of them as to that. "I was just being dumb," admitted Landon, passing it off as nothing.

The boy knew, however, that the girl wouldn't be calmed that easily; he had been a victim of her caring vein a lot of times, in the past, and he had always been very grateful for it. This time, it was no different.

After Scarlett suggested, in a slightly more chirpy voice, that the two of them went inside the small café that Landon had crashed against so he could explain to her just how dumb he truly was, she led him through the humble café, into a few comfortable seats in the back.

Just as they sat down, the redhead's cell phone rang, and she excused herself, although she never left. Landon watched, in utter silence, as she spoke to who he assumed to be her fiance, his own brother, and said she had run into an old friend and wasn't going to be able to bring him breakfast; he felt so amused about her apologies as he felt guilty that she was wasting time on him, instead of being with her soon-to-be.

"Sorry 'bout that," said Scarlett, chuckling softly as she put her elbow on the table, sustaining her head in her hand, lazily. "So, spill it out - what's gotten in that pretty head of yours, Landon?"

The boy sighed slightly as he, too, leant his head on his hand, looking down at the table as he mumbled what he had been thinking, these past few weeks; it all sounded pathetic, to him, but as he dared to glance at his best friend, he could see she held no judgment in her light brown eyes.

"Jeez, blonde people really are dumb," she commented, as soon as he had finished, making Landon widen his eyes, as she rolled hers, carefree and playful. "It's normal that you feel that way, silly goose. You need a boyfriend," stated Scarlett, shrugging her shoulders as she smiled at him.

The girl in front of him had been, unintentionally, the very first person that Landon had come out to. Being in the same course, in university, they had several classes together; in one of those, she caught him staring too intently at their teacher, who had bent down to grab something that had fallen , and so he had given himself up. She didn't say anything at first, but when he asked her on a date, as he thought she was an amazing girl, she confronted him about it; they did go on that date, but more as two friends hanging out.

"I do not!" He replied, shaking his head almost too furiously. He knew his skin was getting red, as he felt heat on his cheeks, but he tried to hide it feebly. "Why would I need a boyfriend? Pfft, I'm doing very well on my own..."

"Yeah, sure," Landon's best friend laughed, making him huff as he realised there was no use in fighting what she had said; both were aware that it was true. "But don't worry - when you least expect it, love will come bursting through the door!"

As if on cue, there was a loud crack as the door to the small café was open suddenly, in coming someone that Landon had not expected to see, again. He was quick to duck his face downwards, hoping not to be seen, but as Scarlett whispered to him that a blue-eyed beauty was coming their way, he knew he had been found.

"Hey, grumpy-pants!"