spilling colors

intro

Late. I'm always late. It's the worst thing about me. I always spend too much time in my head. I curse myself for this as I race down the street barely keeping balance on my dad's oversized bike. Why didn't I just grab my own? It was right next to my dad's! It doesn't matter, Abel was waiting for me. Her house soon came into view and I could see her gardening in the front yard with her mother. Her slick black hair pulled into a tight ponytail, and with a tank top on. An unusual occurrence for Abel. I was lost in thought again until the ground interrupted me. I didn't even see the pothole in front of Abels's neighbor's house. The next thing I know my elbows and knees sting and my hair has escaped the bun it was in while I sat idly in the pothole. I saw Abel's mother, Mrs.Charlie jogging towards me in a hurry.

" Oh, my stars Frankie! Are you ok?" she said in a hurried tone while ushering me to my feet. I felt my face go warm. Shit, my clumsiness embarrassed me again. Thank goodness it's only the Charlies, they've seen my trips and tumbles since I was six. I took in a sharp hiss of air as Mrs.Charlie grabbed my elbow and hoisted me up out of the pothole.

"Yea I'm fine, just one fall before many more I'm sure." I managed to make her giggle, and I couldn't help but join in. It's no question that Abel got her voice and gentle nature from her mom. In the corner of my vision, I saw Abel jogging towards us with a first aid kit in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"Get lost in your head again Frankadoo?" she said while chuckling not so subtly.

"It seems I did." They led me to the front yard, in front of the flower bed they were working on only seconds before. The sweet smell of chrysanthemums and poppies delighted me as much as the beauty of them did. Mrs.Charlie sat me down in the grass and opened up the first aid kit. It was stock full of bandages, epi-pens, and cleaning supplies. My eyes widened and I made a loud whistle.

"Damn you guys don't need all of that! I'm sure it's just a scratch." my tone faltered a little and Abel took notice. Her jaw dropped a little and her eyebrows curved in.

"You're bleeding, we need to clean the wound!" she said straightening her back a little more, knees tucked in neatly below her. It's times like these where I see how different we are. On one hand, we have me, Pale, unruly orange hair, freckles, and some Zits, along with bad posture. On The other hand, we have Abel. Blushed skin with a clear face, shiny straight hair, endless brown eyes, and a voice as soft as a cloud. Yet somehow we found each other and became the best of friends.

"Oh come on, you're gonna make me feel like a queen," I said, quickly snapping myself out of my trance. Meanwhile, her mother was just finishing up taking care of my elbows and was moving on to my knees, which for the most part, looked pretty gnarly.

"At least queens are known to be late." Abel sighed. A smile rested upon her face and her dimples showed ever so slightly.

" and fashionably..." I replied in the best Elvis impression I could. I swung my arms out to the sides of me to show off the outfit for today, a Hawaiian button-up and worn, blue jean shorts.

We both giggled, it was always a nice time with the Charlies.

I walked into the Charlie's house and was immediately hit with the best smells. Candles with citrus and lavender are the most common scent around here. And damn was it delightful. As we rounded the corner into the kitchen I felt the heat first, then the smell of macaroni and cheese filled my nose. If my mouth wasn't watering before it definitely was right now.

"Sorry there's no lunch at the moment, we only put the mac & cheese in the oven a few minutes ago," Abel said, leaning against the marble counter next to the fridge.

"Ah don't worry about it, it smells delicious though!" I say through my efforts to swallow my mouth watering. Settling myself into one of the cushioned stools lining the island counter.

"Can I have a juice box?" I asked, laying my chin on the warmed countertop and stretching my arms in front of me. With a bright smile, Abel reached into the plentiful fridge and pulled out a grape-flavored juice, my favorite. With a quick close of the fridge, she swiveled to face me and leaned down so her face was on the same level as mine. My eyebrows cocked in curiosity as I looked at her. Trying to figure her out. Her hand grabbed the back of the juice box and moved it side to side. Her eyes squinted as the tip of her tongue rested on her top lip. Pressing my mouth into a flat line I realized what's going on. Her face could have had mischief written all over it if it could because that's how it read. How it very clearly read.

"Abel, dude. You know I have no ability to catch ANYTHING," I said lifting my head off the island and sitting up straighter than I usually do.

"Oh no, I do know that," she whispered with a tone of trouble.

"Abel..." my hands readied themselves. If I wasn't gonna catch it, I could at least slap it back in her direction.

"You ready Frankie?" she said a little louder hand moving the juice box a little more feverishly.

"Abel N-" I was barely able to finish my sentence before the juice was sliding in my direction. Biting my tongue and smiling I hit it...from the side... into my face. As soon as the juice hit the ground We both cracked into maniacal and confused laughter. How did I do that? I have no clue. Was it worth seeing the bright look on Abels's face and seeing her laugh so hard she had to steady herself on the island? Hell yes. Everything is worth sharing these little moments.

In a fit of laughs, I hopped off my stool and sat on the ground. I didn't trust myself not to fall off the stool at some point. Abel walked around the island and joined me on the floor. She laid down next to me still laughing. We both calmed down after a while and just sat together on the floor. I laid down next to her as we both stared at the ceiling.

Sometimes I feel weird around her. Not insecure or out of place, I actually feel more like myself around her than when I'm with myself sometimes. Not out of place by a long shot. No, sometimes I feel my heart flutter and my fingers twitch as I wonder what holding hands would feel like. It's not like we've never held hands, I just think it would be different sometimes. Other times I want to just look at her, for no real reason in particular. It's weird. And it makes me a little nervous or scared sometimes.

"So how have you been?" I jumped a little. My head was drifting off into itself again. Distracting me from the present. I looked over and noticed she had turned over and propped herself on her elbow. She looked at me levelly and kindly.

"It's been ok, I guess. Dads still mopey for no reason. It's like every time my birthday comes it's a burden for him.'' I answered in a huff.

"Maybe he's scared of aging?" she said with curiosity in her voice. Maybe she's right. What if he is scared of aging? Specifically, me growing up. It would make sense, most parents hate the idea of their kids growing up. But they don't let it be expressed as strongly as my dad seems to. Sometimes he doesn't shower for up to a week giving the motor home a smell that even air freshener can't fully cover. He sits at his end of the home and watches tv nonstop and I can't remember the last time he went to work. It's almost like he's coming apart at the seams. Abel knows this and when things get hard and he isolated himself further, she's always there. Therefore me to talk to, there to give me a home and attention, there to be my friend. The weird feeling started to come back again.

"I have no idea, but I'm going to be driving in less than a year, there's not much you can do about that," I said, shoving the feeling back down again. I don't need the confusion when I'm here.

"Oh damn, I would be surprised if you passed the driver's test. Knowing you I would bet you would run into a stop sign," she said jokingly. While chuckling to herself she laid back down on her back. My eyes wandered to her profile, taking in how pretty she looks in the afternoon light.

We sat there for a very long time talking and talking. It was wonderful, to put it lightly. Too soon did the sun start to set and we had to get up. Mrs.Charlie sent me off with half of the cold macaroni we forgot in the oven hours ago. Giving Abel a quick hug, I got my bike and struggled to get back upon it in a hurry. Pushing the pedals as fast as I could, I rushed back to my home before it got dark. Yet of course I was late. Very late.