Status: Hope you like it! :)
Bus Affairs
1/1
“Best friends means I pull the trigger..” Taking Back Sunday tunes me out of this agonizing bus ride. Just a few more stops, I told myself, and then I’d be home, free to just lounge about and relax. The bus was nearly empty, only consisting of a timid elderly woman with a death grip on her purse and a young boy in the back.
The bus came to a halt, jerking my body to the side, forcing me to grasp the grimey pole for support. As the doors swung open, frigid November wind hurried in to chill my bones and along with it came a lanky, dark haired man. He was adorned in a white button down, a skinny black tie, and slim dress slacks. His nose was a bit big but it suited, if not complemented, his other adorable features such as the stubble that made my knees weak. His entirety was simply captivating; begging to be encased in the most glorified art museums, demanding his details to be memorized and dreamt of.
His thick eyebrows furrowed as he struggled to put the change in the slot. The bus driver emitted an annoyed sigh, closed the doors, and continued on. The man stood at the entry, scanning the seats for a spot. His big doe eyes caught mine, trancing me for a second before he breaks it with a friendly smile. He started making his way over and I tried to distract myself with my phone. My finger scrolled mindlessly through Instagram, failing to entertain me from my newfound interest, and to make matters worse, that certain someone’s pants were brushing dangerously close to mine.
My head shot up and I looked at him, masking my slight panic with the more reasonable confusion.
Why did he sit here? Next to me? Out of all places? My subconscious rambled, panted almost.
I was never one with a calm mind, always overanalyzing every moment, thought, or move until I had a headache. I was swallowed into my pensive thinking, so much that I couldn’t snap out of it until I gentle hand tapped my shoulder. I took out my earbuds and turned to him, nerves bubbling all over again.
“Do you happen to know what time it is?” The man asked. I stammered just to click the screen to life, his voice having seemingly crisped a layer of frost within my ligaments. It was heavenly, though.
“It’s 8:33,” I answered, squirming slightly with anxiousness like a school girl. He smiled again and nodded, granting me with a hushed “thank you.”
The curiosity of his decision to sit here started to itch at me. It was almost annoying but some part of me encouraged it because I knew it would lead to hearing his voice again. That part was fighting a battle against playing it safe, and safety was not winning. “Excuse me,” I blurted, maybe a tad too loud.
An alluring pair of eyes flickered up to me from his dark fringe, wordlessly signaling to continue. “I, uh..” Damn those beautiful browns. “Was just like, um, wondering why you chose to sit.. here? No no no, shit no, that came out mean, like I don’t mind you here at all but I don’t know I’m just.. the bus is so empty I’m just...curious.”
The look on his face sent me to hell and back sixteen times. He was so confused, and my demons summoned the thought of a possible flash of hurt across his face. But then, he smiled, and I swear I think a flower grew in the cracks of my heart. I was still concerned, I surely offended him som-
“This seat’s got the best view,” he said within the spur of my emotions, looking me dead in the eye.
He makes my lungs ache and I hate it.
He winks, obnoxiously content with his obvious effect on me. I sit there, physically stiffened but mentally frenzied. This man, this mystical, divine creation from the heavens flirted with me.
Correction: He makes my lungs burn and I love it.
My mouth becomes agape, and my voice delays words my mind hasn’t even approved of. Suddenly the doors swoosh open, and the man begins to stand. “S’my stop,” he announced, then extends his arm out with a small white slip.
“My name’s Jack, call me sometime,” he grinned, softly embedding the little paper into my hand before striding to the exit.
“It’s Alex!” I bursted, immediately regretful of how idiotic I probably looked to him. If my mouth was a person it’d be six feet deep by now.
There was a pause. He smirked over his shoulder, and I could vow that he gave me asthma and cured it within the same second. “Alex,” he tasted the sound of my name on his lips, apparently satisfied with it. “Ring me,” he finalized, then stepped off and walked away.
The bus came to a halt, jerking my body to the side, forcing me to grasp the grimey pole for support. As the doors swung open, frigid November wind hurried in to chill my bones and along with it came a lanky, dark haired man. He was adorned in a white button down, a skinny black tie, and slim dress slacks. His nose was a bit big but it suited, if not complemented, his other adorable features such as the stubble that made my knees weak. His entirety was simply captivating; begging to be encased in the most glorified art museums, demanding his details to be memorized and dreamt of.
His thick eyebrows furrowed as he struggled to put the change in the slot. The bus driver emitted an annoyed sigh, closed the doors, and continued on. The man stood at the entry, scanning the seats for a spot. His big doe eyes caught mine, trancing me for a second before he breaks it with a friendly smile. He started making his way over and I tried to distract myself with my phone. My finger scrolled mindlessly through Instagram, failing to entertain me from my newfound interest, and to make matters worse, that certain someone’s pants were brushing dangerously close to mine.
My head shot up and I looked at him, masking my slight panic with the more reasonable confusion.
Why did he sit here? Next to me? Out of all places? My subconscious rambled, panted almost.
I was never one with a calm mind, always overanalyzing every moment, thought, or move until I had a headache. I was swallowed into my pensive thinking, so much that I couldn’t snap out of it until I gentle hand tapped my shoulder. I took out my earbuds and turned to him, nerves bubbling all over again.
“Do you happen to know what time it is?” The man asked. I stammered just to click the screen to life, his voice having seemingly crisped a layer of frost within my ligaments. It was heavenly, though.
“It’s 8:33,” I answered, squirming slightly with anxiousness like a school girl. He smiled again and nodded, granting me with a hushed “thank you.”
The curiosity of his decision to sit here started to itch at me. It was almost annoying but some part of me encouraged it because I knew it would lead to hearing his voice again. That part was fighting a battle against playing it safe, and safety was not winning. “Excuse me,” I blurted, maybe a tad too loud.
An alluring pair of eyes flickered up to me from his dark fringe, wordlessly signaling to continue. “I, uh..” Damn those beautiful browns. “Was just like, um, wondering why you chose to sit.. here? No no no, shit no, that came out mean, like I don’t mind you here at all but I don’t know I’m just.. the bus is so empty I’m just...curious.”
The look on his face sent me to hell and back sixteen times. He was so confused, and my demons summoned the thought of a possible flash of hurt across his face. But then, he smiled, and I swear I think a flower grew in the cracks of my heart. I was still concerned, I surely offended him som-
“This seat’s got the best view,” he said within the spur of my emotions, looking me dead in the eye.
He makes my lungs ache and I hate it.
He winks, obnoxiously content with his obvious effect on me. I sit there, physically stiffened but mentally frenzied. This man, this mystical, divine creation from the heavens flirted with me.
Correction: He makes my lungs burn and I love it.
My mouth becomes agape, and my voice delays words my mind hasn’t even approved of. Suddenly the doors swoosh open, and the man begins to stand. “S’my stop,” he announced, then extends his arm out with a small white slip.
“My name’s Jack, call me sometime,” he grinned, softly embedding the little paper into my hand before striding to the exit.
“It’s Alex!” I bursted, immediately regretful of how idiotic I probably looked to him. If my mouth was a person it’d be six feet deep by now.
There was a pause. He smirked over his shoulder, and I could vow that he gave me asthma and cured it within the same second. “Alex,” he tasted the sound of my name on his lips, apparently satisfied with it. “Ring me,” he finalized, then stepped off and walked away.
♠ ♠ ♠
This is my first work I've put online. Special thanks to my best friend for being my beta reader and making this possible. I hope you like it!! Comments and criticism are welcomed :)