[Rosemary and Thyme]

[ 23 ]

     "I won't be staying long. I need to visit Donald after this." Kingsley stated and sat on the bench, beside Lotus and providing her shade from any rays of sun that slipped through the trees around them. 

     She sat straighter, and quickly looking to him, her brows and the corners of her lips raising slightly—of which didn't fail to escape his notice. The books on her lap bounced with one of her legs, rattling back and forth between the still one and the moving one. 

      The movement may have seemed reckless, but she kept some attention on the books to make sure they didn't fall into the ground. Only one wasn't her's so she wanted to make sure that at least that one didn't get dirty. 

     "You like him a lot, don't you?" Kingsley questioned after a second of letting her calm down, not that he surprised her. 

     "Hmm?" She hummed in thought before biting the inside of her cheek and inhaling the air that was fresher than that of her cramped room. 

     "I, uh, um...Donald?" She rose a brow, tilting her head nervously. 

     "Who else would I be talking about?" He questioned. 

     "I do—" Her eyes widened upon overthinking her choice of words and quickly continued, "Wait, but I like him a lot as a friend, I mean! Buuut I doubt he sees me as one because you know, he's...He's him. Distant and all. And, uh, well, uh..."

     She began to sweat as he blankly stared into her soul. 'I think I might be over-explaining to death. And doing it badly. Aha...This is so embarrassing!'

     "...Let's read!" She chirped, holding up the books she brought along, "You don't mind mystery, do you?" 

     A book was thrust out to him by the girl who held a strained smile, not doing a good job at hiding the awkwardness she felt. The cover wasn't doing anything for her. Especially when it wasn't a mystery novel. From what he could see, it had nothing to do with mystery. A cover of two characters from a shoujo, who were clearly hinted to have some type of relationship from the way they were posed in the cliche back-to-back way to the title, was what gave it away. 

     He said nothing as he accepted the book she held out before cracking it open. His gaze lasted on her a second longer before he began reading, and when his gaze was off of her, she relaxed. 

     'Good, finally. Agh, if that kept up any longer my stomach may have just embarrassed me further.' She thought to herself as she opened the cover of her novel. 

      One would think the ambience of nature mixed with the soft chatter of passerbys would make one relaxed enough to get engrossed into a thrilling story of cat and mouse, but that wasn't the case for the over-active mind of Lotus. Try as she might, she couldn't focus, leaving her to skim the same words over and over again. 

     'Darn it...Just forget what happened!' She internally purses her lips before looking to the tall boy from the sides of her eyes, 'Please don't think anything of that, Kingsley! I like both of you two! Not just Donald. As friends...Agh! Why are you doing this to me, mind! Stop the over-explainiiiing!'

     She had to fight the urge to slump, 'This day is going kind of bad...Maybe I should cut this short and go back home to sleep.' 

     Sighing, she looked up at the trees. They were still, no breeze to sway the leaves. Poking through the greenery was some yellow, hinting at cooler days. 

     "It's so beautiful," She murmured, hands resting on the open book, "If only I could come here more often without becoming overwhelmed."

     Kingsley spared a look around them, not too interested in the...book he was given. The scenery was a welcomed view. He couldn't deny it was aesthetically pleasing.