Like Real People Do

20. When The Party's Over

Tore my shirt to stop your bleedin', but nothin' ever stops you leavin'. -Billie Eilish

Wednesday, June 23rd

Since the flower dance, Rhiannon's feet had hardly touched the ground. She swore to herself that whatever she had with Shane was nothing more than a passing infatuation, but he had not left her thoughts once in the days that followed. It was a crush, that was all. A big crush, maybe, but still just a crush. Rhiannon was a little smitten, but she'd get over it soon. It was completely harmless.

The flower dance had been fun, or so Rhiannon thought anyway. They danced together and chatted for a while before breaking off to say their goodbyes for the night, but that was it. Nothing felt out of the ordinary, it was just a nice moment between friends. Perhaps she'd selfishly indulged her crush on him a little bit in the process, but she didn't think that it had done any harm. It was just a crush, after all, and she was an adult who knew how to handle herself.

But why hadn't he called her?

Walking through town, Rhiannon shook it off and kept her pace forward. It didn't matter. She hadn't called him either, and it had only been a few days. It wasn't a date despite how carefully she picked her words to tease him. It was just a nice, fun day that she played on repeat in her head. No reason why. It had nothing to do with the sparks that ignited under her skin at his gentle touch, his chin rested on top of her head with his arms wrapped firmly around her, the wistful look in his eyes when she pulled back to smile at him once the song ended. Shane had no business being as cute as he was, and it drove Rhiannon crazy.

What gave him the right to occupy her thoughts at all hours of the day with his rare smiles? The way he always looked down and shook his head to hide the uneven grin that started on the left side of his lips and his crooked bottom row of teeth? Or his awkward hesitancy betrayed by the intense red flush in his cheeks around her while she flirted and joked? How his heart raced when she laid her head against his chest? It was entirely unreasonable how much free real-estate Shane had in her head, but she could explore the forest of his unkempt, black curls and the meadow of his green eyes for days.

Lost in the daydream, she continued blindly on her merry way through town. Normally, she would have driven, but the weather was so nice and Rhiannon's mood was high today. The walk to town was only a couple of miles from the farmhouse, and the things she needed from the store were small enough to carry home. Summer brought with it the sinking fear of hot days and smaller clothes, but it also brought Shane, and Rhiannon never felt lighter. She was so lost in her own head that she hardly even noticed when those green eyes leapt from her imagination into the real world. Shane was shuffling through town with a miserable look on his face, and Rhiannon almost crashed into him in her haze.

"Oh, shit! Look at that, he lives!" She said with an excited smile and gestured towards him with both hands outstretched. She hadn't seen him nor heard from him in days, and found herself more giddy than she expected to be running into him. Shane, however, was far less thrilled about the encounter. His tired eyes shifted to her, then quickly away.

"Hey," he mumbled under his breath, then quickened his pace. Rhiannon furrowed her brows and jogged to catch up. She hadn't received such a cool welcome from him in months, but she shook it off and told herself it was probably nothing. They were friends, after all. Sometimes friends didn't talk for a few days. Sometimes friends just needed time to themselves. Sometimes people were just in bad moods.

"Hey, wait up!" She called out after him, but Shane only stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked faster with his head down. Was he avoiding her? No, of course he wasn't. She had a tendency to read too much into things and overreact.