Serendipity

Not as down

"Sorry I'm wet," I say after a long moment. He snorts.

"That's what you get for coming here in the pouring rain," He mumbles. "Weirdo."

I smile.

I glance over his head, slide my hands down, then lift him up so I can walk into the room. He lets out a little yelp, and I put him back down once I get into the middle of his room.

He takes a step back. "You didn't have to come."

"I wanted to," I shake my head, sending water droplets flying. He sits down on his bed, rubbing his arms.

"Well, I guess I should tell you what I was going to say, since you cut me off before I could finish," Sydney sucks in his cheeks.

I run a hand through my hair, soaked from the run in the rain. I should bring an umbrella the next time I do something like this. "Go on."

He inhales deeply. "I'll go with you."

"What?" I frown. I definitely wasn't expecting that. Isn't going with me the whole reason he cut himself off?

Sydney bows his head, his hair falling in front of his eyes. "I'll go with you." He repeats.

"Who says I'm going?" I say. I crouch down in front of him as he looks up.

Now it's his turn to say "What?" and tilt his head.

"I don't see why I should go," I chew on my lip and rest my forearms on his knees. I look up at him. His eyes are wide. "Even if you weren't in the picture, I'm not sure I would have fun anyway. You know how jerky those guys get, even when they're just kidding."

He nods.

"So," I swallow and adjust myself so I'm in a more comfortable crouching position. He shifts closer. "If anyone should apologize, it's me."

"But you didn't do anything wrong," Sydney protests.

"I might not have," I shrug. "Doesn't mean I'm not gonna apologize though."

He stares at me for a long while, then smiles.

"You're so... weird," He says, letting himself fall back onto the bed. "Like, in a good way."

"How so?" I snort and push his knees closer together so I can rest my chin on my interlaced fingers. I see his cheeks turn pink as he quickly sits back up.

"I dunno," He says, shoving his hands into his lap. "It's just...I can be all down and whatever, and it can even be because of you-" He shakes his head slightly. "But all you have to do is give me a hug or look at me with your pretty eyes and suddenly I'm not as down anymore."

I try not to focus on the fact that he just said my eyes are pretty and instead focus on words that won't make me blush.

"'Not as down?'" I repeat. "You mean you're still feeling down?"

He shrugs. "It's better when you're here."

I lick my lips, contemplating chewing on them while I try to come up with a good response. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sydney smiles sadly and shakes his head. "I'll let you know the second I come up with a good idea."

"A hug, maybe?" I offer, holding out my arms and flexing my fingers invitingly.

"Maybe after you're dry," He snorts. "Go get a towel from the bathroom or something."

Oh, yeah. I'd almost forgotten. Aaand now I'm freezing cold. To think I'd almost managed to ignore my dampness.

"And I'm sorry," Sydney points at my feet as I stand. "But what're those?"

I lift a heel and glance at my shoe. "Crocs?"

"I never would've pictured you as someone who wears Crocs," He says, sounding amused.

"Well, after I ruined the ones I usually wear everywhere, I had to resort to these."

"How did you ruin your shoes?"

"Poop pile?"

"Ohh."

"Yeah, ring a bell? I still have the pictures."

"Why?"

"I dunno, they might come in handy one day," I shrug.

"I cannot imagine a scenario where pictures of a squashed poop pile will ever come in handy," He informs me.

"Well, maybe you just haven't imagined the right scenario," I say simply, then kick off my Crocs and walk over to the door. "Be right back."

He nods, and I quickly go get a towel from his bathroom. I return while scrubbing my face with the towel.

"It's mostly your hair and your clothes that need drying," Sydney tells me.

"Unless you're planning on doing it for me, I'll let my hair dry naturally."

"C'mere."

I snort. "You're actually going to?"

"Yep," He nods. He points at the ground in front of him. "I had to do this while you brushed my hair, and now you get to let me dry your hair."

"What about my clothes?" I ask, lowering myself down in front of him. I watch his face flush.

"Um," He swallows. "I'll let you dry those off yourself."

I snort. "Hang on, then." I scoot away and stand, then grab the hem of my shirt. I'm starting to pull it over my head when he lets out a yelp. I tug it off the rest of the way and look at him "What?"

His face has gone nuclear. "Just...uh... keep your pants on, okay?"

I feel my ears heating up. "Yeah. Uh, will do."

I drape my shirt over the back of his chair, then slide back onto the ground in front of Sydney. He snatches the towel from my hands and quickly gets to work.