Potion

Sunset meeting

Happy almost new year :D I'm going to Florida and I'll be writing a lot when I'm there!!! Enjoy <3

~Audrey out

•••••••••••••••••

I slept peacefully that night. Rain pattered on my window, creating a lullaby. A few faint thunderclaps could be heard in the distance. The storm comforted me for some odd reason. It made me feel safe. Protected. My dreams were filled with images of gray nothingness. A vibrant green tinted the edges. It tugged at a recent memory. I couldn't place it. Oh, what was it? Then it dawned on me.

It was the depths of his eyes.

Jesse's eyes.

I jerked up in my bed to find sunlight streaming through my window. My bedroom was bathed in light, a strange difference from the night before. I ran a hand through my tangled hair and got up wearily. I grabbed my shower towel and headed for the shower. When I felt the soothing heat touch my skin, I allowed myself to think about him. I remembered his skinny build, which held strong muscles underneath. The way he grinned at me. How his hair was effortlessly styled sideways. I felt a blush crawl up my face. I don't even know the guy! And yet I'm thinking about him and having dreams about him. I mean what the heck! My brain tumor must be worse than they thought.

Suddenly, as if on cue, my head throbbed violently. Pain lanced through my skull, and my eyes burned. I bit my lip hard to keep from screaming. Black spots dotted my vision. I grabbed the edges the the shower to stop myself from collapsing. The fiery pain continued, an then died down to a low throb.

What had just happened?

I finished my shower, taking time to carefully massage my head with shampoo. I didn't want to set whatever that was off again. When I was out of the shower, I pulled on a huge sweater and skinny jeans. Then I added purple converse and a messy bun. I went to the kitchen and found my mom watching the TV. I was about to tell her what had happened, but decided against it. She would just flip out and start bawling. Maybe even take me to the doctor. But I was curious. What if this pain meant that my tumor was getting worse? How much time do I have left? Last time I checked, I had close to a month left.

It's nothing. I reassured myself.

I walked into the living room and plopped down next to my mom on the couch.

"Morning." I said naturally.

"Hey honey. Is there anything I can get you? I can make waffles, or we could go downtown to this new cafe?"

I suppressed a sigh. Things were definitely not normal. My mom never wants to go out for breakfast.

"I'm ok mom. I think I'll just stick with cereal."

She looked at me with a smile that was so sweet it made my stomach heave.

"Ok sweetie."

As I was getting my Lucky Charms, I came to a conclusion. I couldn't stay here. I had to get out of the house, at least for today.

"Hey mom, I think I'll go down to the creek today. You know, just to walk around. I haven't been there in a while." In case you haven't noticed, the forest is my favorite place.

My mom eyed me carefully and brought back her sickening smile.

"Of course darling. Be safe ok?"

I nodded and gave a reassuring smile.

With that, I went to the deck and ventured outside.

The sun and the cool air mixture made the day pleasant. Leaves crunched under my feet as I went deeper and deeper into the woods. I couldn't believe I was doing this. He won't be here again! That was just a coincidence yesterday. Yet I couldn't stop myself from peeking around every other tree. Hoping against hope he would magically appear. Of course, my dreams were crushed. I never saw him. As the sun sank lower in the sky, I reached the small creek I had originally planned to go to. The creek had rocks piled on the bottom, with water spilling across them. Moss grew everywhere, coating everything. It was beautiful. To me at least. Others would say it was gross and slimy, but I'd never thought that way. It was a masterpiece to me.

"Willow?"

I never thought I'd love to hear my name that much. I looked towards the end of the creek, where a cluster of trees stood together. And there he was, leaning causally against one of them. He wore a navy hoodie and jeans. His face wore a grin.

"What are you doing here Jesse?"

I tried to hide the excitement in my voice.

"I thought we went over this already." His grin slipped into an easy smile. "I come here all the time."

"Uh huh. No fireworks?" I asked doubtfully.

He chuckled and raised his hands. "None." Then his eyes locked with mine. "I promise."

Somehow, his words seemed to have an edge. A double meaning. I looked at him uneasily and realized he was trying to gain my trust. Pshhh. Like that would happen. I've never trusted anyone, ever. Not even my mom, who seems like a different person now.

He motioned me over to him.

I walked forward without thinking, ending up beside him. He looked down at me, something strange filling his eyes. Then he sat down in the grass , and patted the ground beside him.

"You have to see this." Jesse's voice whispered.

Hesitantly, I sat down beside him and waited.

It was odd being this close to him. I could almost feel his warm gaze. Touch his flowing hair. See myself in his grayish green eyes. But I couldn't. Jesse turned around one of the trees we were sitting under, and showed me something I would never forget. The sky was a deep magenta. The sun set it ablaze with orange flames. When the colors where dipped in yellow, it created a flawless painting. I couldn't stop staring. I couldn't stop my mouth from hanging open. No amount of photographs or pictures could compare to this. It was beautiful.

I felt eyes on my face and looked over to Jesse, who was watching me intently. The sun made his face glow, and I felt my breath come in short. He looked like a guy from a magazine. Perfect. Way too good for me. Yet here he was. Staring at me.

"It's beautiful." I said, secretly making the statement about two things.

"I know what is." Jesse said.

I straightened up and couldn't believe it. Had he just called me beautiful? "Alfredo, my dog. Now that's a cute dog."

My heart dropped to my knees. Wow. Just wow. His dog is prettier than me. How nice.

I looked back to the sunset and watched it slowly go down. The silence between us wasn't awkward but it wasn't compatible. It was the kind of silence you have when you both want to say something. I looked back to his face just as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Listen, Willow...." I braced for impact. "I think I'm going to come back here tomorrow. You should come too. Same time." Jesse finished with a grin, and my heart skipped a million beats.

"Yeah. Sounds good. And tomorrow I would like to get to know you. Like the real you. Not the one who randomly shows up in the woods with firecrackers."

Jesse laughed, his muscles tightening in his stomach. It made me laugh too. And soon, we were both laughing, gasping for air from the effort.

"I'll see....you tomorrow.... Jesse." I announced in between laughs.

Jesse stood up, taking my hand and pulling me with him. It was an easy gesture, but it made me flush all the same. As we parted ways, I couldn't erase the smile on my face. No one could. Because for one night, I was a normal girl again. No brain tumor. No debating about life and death. I was me.