Ashley Breton

I woke up to my routine morning. I tediously brushed my amber wavy locks staring back at my tired reflection, wanting something new in my life. I slid on grey leggings, a black tee, with black Docs & a pea coat to match. School wasn’t always something I looked forward to; being a loner didn’t make it easier. The walk from my house to school was long but I used that time to listen to my favorite tunes and think about the day ahead. Today London Grammar serenaded me as my satchel bumped against my thick thighs and I watched the light snowflakes dance to the music around me.

Lost in thought I failed to notice someone crossing paths with me, we collided. My dark eyes met a pair of piercing mint green ones. My gaze scanned down the new face to see his mouth moving, I spastically unplugged my headphones to hear the striking strangers voice. “Sorry?” I spoke up. “Just apologizing for running into you.” He smiled as he ran his hand through his medium length brown curls. The boy retrieved his cotton beanie from the white floor and dusted it off. Being my-usual-awkward-self, I smiled back a small smile at a loss for words. I shifted on my feet uncomfortably, ready to continue my walk. “Where are you headed?” the stranger began to walk in the direction I was originally headed. I started after him and timidly explained that I was on my way to school. He didn’t say anything after that; he just walked along beside me. My mind was spiraling into a pool on possibilities… I wasn’t in my element. People rarely ever kept me company and something about this boy filled me with both excitement & anxiety.

Courage took over before I finally asked, “And you?” “She speaks,” he laughed making my cheeks flush and warm. “You’re British?” I tilted my head somewhat to the side to get a better look at him, only now noticing his light accent. The stranger chuckled in amusement. “I am, and I’m also headed to class.” He said as he looked and pointed ahead. Following his gaze I realized we arrive to school, and that we would be seeing a lot more of each other. “You go here? Are you new? When did you transfer?” I blurted, excited to have maybe found someone I could talk to. The stranger smirked and just replied with “I’ll see you around,” as he walked backwards towards the door so he was able to look keep his eyes fixed on me.

What just happened? With in the span of fifteen minutes a boy just waltzed into my stagnant existence and sparked it to life. I sat in class all day thinking about the boy with no name & kept replaying his laugh in my head like it was #1 on the Billboard charts. The day went by without a trace of him; at this point I considered the whole situation a hallucination. I couldn’t tell you what was taught in class that day but I could tell you how cute the mysterious boy looked in a beanie with his cheeks pinched red from the cold weather.

----- Later in the week It was a Saturday afternoon in the middle of January; there was a black out so my heat wasn’t working, leaving me curled up with my dog, Lady, on the couch to keep warm, when there was a knock at my door. I rolled my eyes and flung my blanket over my shoulders like a cape. I cracked the door open not wanting the frigid weather to creep in and that’s when I saw him again. He was looking down at this snow-covered boots when his face slowly rose to meet mine. “We meet again,” a small smirk was playing at his lips. “Hi.” Shit, I sounded like he took all the breathe out of my lungs. He looked picture-perfect, his were lips the perfect shade of pink; I wanted to feel them. His eyes were a clear green and my twisted mind loved the thought of him looking down at me. His hair was chestnut brown and the way the heavy snow made a mess of his curls just… I was mesmerized.

The sound of him blowing into his hands snapped me out of my trance. “S-sorry, please come in” now noting how freezing he must have been. He didn’t hesitate, he took his boots off before he walked inside and smiled a thank you. Once he was fully indoors I became aware of my rapid heartbeat and had no idea what to do. I stood there self- consciously and played with my fingers. I heard him laugh from the other corner of the room and I dipped my head up in confusion. He bit back his lip to keep himself from laughing again and just stared at me. “Don’t be shy, not around me” he stepped closer. “I don’t know you,” I countered. “Yet you let me into your home” he tsked. I reddened not knowing how to respond. “Evan” “What?” Again he left me puzzled. “My name’s Evan” He chuckled, “And your name is…?” I laughed because I didn’t even realize we weren’t even on a first name basis yet. “Teagan” I said between giggles. Evan smiled adoringly “I’ll call you Tea”

We spent that whole afternoon talking and getting to know each other. He’s a dog person like me and Lady quickly warmed up to him, which was bizarre because she was afraid of everyone besides me. When I gave him the tour of the small house he noticed the band posters I had and praised me for my amazing taste in music. I made Mac & Cheese for lunch and he said he almost died from how much we had in common. At about 6 that night we laid on my couch still talking but about nothing in particular, just nonsense and in the back of my mind I took note of how great it felt to not feel alone. I turned over to look at him, “Why did you come here today?” Before he could answer there was a sound like a surge of power and then the lights came on. He was still looking up at the ceiling as a smile spread across his face then he turned and looked at me and said “To see why the lights went out.”

He slapped both hands to his upper thighs before he stood to leave, I laughed but didn’t move. He leaned over the couch and pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead, as he did so my eyes fluttered close in appreciation. When his lips disconnected I looked up at him. “See you around Tea” He let himself out and right before he closed the door he looked back at me dropping his eye into a wink and laughed. I smiled like crazy shaking my head, once the door was fully shut I pick up the nearest pillow and bit into it, screaming out my excitement for that mysterious boy, Evan.