FAME│s.m

six

Once he arrived back at his table, I was quick to take the opportunity of sitting directly in front of him, almost tripping myself in the rapid process. He looks up, a light smile forming on his face from my clumsy way of stealing a chair.

"You alright?" I ask, pushing the thought of how embarrassing I was out of my brain.

His smile is morphed to a bothered frown, and a ray of guilt bleeds into my stomach. "Just... business," he replies.

"Oh," is all I could reply. I suddenly felt stupid, watching horrifically as I had lost my train of thought. My palms press into the table, my lungs feeling as if someone was pouring a bucket of some thick liquid into them.

"I think the real question is," he starts, gently settling his hands on mine, "Are you alright?" he asks.

My stomach is now lit ablaze at his touch, my heart pounding, my palms sweating- oh god, I'm just staring at him like some crazed fan, I thought, slipping my hands out of his in a smooth fashion, then placing my forehead into my moist palms. I was disgusted with myself.

"Maybe you should get some rest-" he stopped talking when I slammed my hands back onto the table, afraid he's said the wrong thing. I shoot a polite smile his way, then lace my fingers together and hug them toward my chest.

"Wanna go to the park with me?" I blurt out. "I-I just need to think," I quickly add.

"I'd love to join you," he chuckles. He reaches for my hand, but I pull it to my side reluctantly.

My teeth shine as I show an awkward attempt of a smile. "It's not you," I explain. "My hands are just very warm and clammy today," I add, lying to save myself a little bit of humiliation.

"Mine are cold- maybe that'd help their issue?" I glare at him with a smirking expression, shaking my head slightly.

"Whatever, suit yourself," I say as we stand, clapping our hands together.

"Jeez, did you soak these in a bucket of warm water?" he teases. I release our hands, his frown returning.

"Just walk with me, Minter," I order, stepping a little in front of his posture and guiding us to the park that was nearby.

Once we stepped on the green grass, I seated myself in a shaded area; under a thick, overhanging branch of leaves.

Simon sits next to me, both of us leaning our backs against the bark of the trunk.

"So all we really talked about last night was me," he says, draining the silence that was drowning my eardrums.

"Yeah... I'm a better listener," I reply.

"Now you're gonna have to be a better talker," he responds, scooting his body in front of mine, our eyes meeting again. "So tell me, how did you end up here? Your car break down as well?"

A soft smile gives way onto my face, and I look down at the grass, picking out the tallest pieces and ripping it into halves. "Uh, it's a family thing, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yeah, just something the female generation has passed down to the next." I see him nod at the top of my eyesight, still looking at me as if I hadn't ended my response.

"Have any siblings?" he questions, dropping his eyes to watch my grass-picking process.

"Nope- only child," I reply.

"Where's your mom?" he asks. I stop, my whole body freezing. "Oh no, I'm sorry for asking. You don't have to-"

"She's gone," I reply, no trace of emotions found physically or emotionally. "Not the strongest fighter, I guess."

"Cancer?" he softly asks. I nod, dropping the fragments of grass that were in my hands, allowing them to float away with the wind. My eyes glance up, hunting for a group of clouds to let my eyes wander on.

"She passed away when I was 6," I start, not moving. "She was watching the sky change into its morning colors."

"I'm so sorry, Amari," Simon whispers, placing his hand on mine once again. This time I responded to his gesture by letting my hand do a 180 until our palms touched. We both gazed at our hands in amazement as they fit almost perfectly together.

In slow motion and in sync, our heads lifted, our irises greeting each other again.

"I wish I could just stay here," he mutters, retracting his hand and gaze. He spins around so his back was facing me, then delicately lays his head in my lap, in the hole where my legs didn't cross as I sat criss-crossed.

His chin lifts, and the iconic moment happens yet again. It made me wonder if our relationship would be similar to this- our eyes always meeting, then all contact was broken, mended together before being too long apart.

"You really deserve to be happy, Amari," he says.

"Why do you think that?" I quiz, a toothless smile placed along the bottom half of my head.

"Because your smile is absolutely stunning," he answers. I look at him, a soft yearning for a kiss to be planted on my lips.

"I feel like I've known you for ages, Simon," I say as I look straight ahead of me, my eyes traveling slowly amongst the blades of grass and playground.

"Same with you. I feel as though I could tell you anything without being judged," he responds.

I grin as I notice a bunch of purple anemones, swiping one from its group.

With one swift motion, I settle the stem into the golden quiff that was melted on my lap. His eyes scan my face, an innocent smirk appearing at the sight of my smile.

"You look darling," I giggle with a posh accent.

"Thanks," he chuckles as he sits upright, the flower remaining.

"Race ya to the swings!" I call out as I stand on my feet and sprint for the playground. I noticed as he ran to catch up to me, the anemone drifted away from the many strands of his hair and gracefully floated back into the grass, as if it were playing a childish game of hide-and-seek with its friends.