𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚡𝙱)

Track 34 | 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁

As I jumped onto my bike while simultaneously throwing my backpack over my shoulders, I suddenly had the idea to visit Ari outside of his house and offer to ride with him to school. It was a delightfully calm morning and a brisk ride with my special Aussie friend would've been fairly pleasant. I mean, it's still pretty early and I have nothing better to do before first period begins, so why not?

With that same smitten, goofy smile, I pulled out my headphones, shoved them into my ears, and tapped the shuffle button on my music app. Matching my bright attitude, the classic, melancholic 'Never Meant' by American Football poured into my ears, filling my head with sweet, euphoric melodies to aid my short trip to Ari's. I began pedaling forward, not needing a map or directions to point me in the right way toward Ari's foster home since I already memorized where in town he lived. I now knew it like the back of my own hand.

The glee and thrill bubbling inside of me kept making my stomach turn as I pedaled down the dawning streets of Cloverland. The enticement of being able to see him again after last night's success was making me dizzy. I focused my attention on the world around me that passed by, getting my mind off of the excitement.

The song really elevated my bike ride experience. Only a few early-bird townsfolk were out and about on the neighboring sidewalks, collecting their mail and newspapers off their front porches, going on morning runs, or even heading out for work. There were also students going to school, just like me. I rode my bike down the empty, damp roads, flying over the cracked asphalt pavement, colored with slivers of golden sunlight. The world seemed so much brighter when I was in a good mood.

God, I love this feeling...

I'm so pissed I only got to experience it near the end of my senior year. I wish every year of high school was this enjoyable. 

As my smile grew wider, making an effort to flash each and every tooth, I stood up on the bike and pressed my feet hard against the pedals, zooming even faster down the road. 

As much as I was excited to see him again, I was also kinda nervous, but not in a bad way, no, not that kind of nervous, more like a nervous-to-see-someone-you-really-really-like-because-they-give-you-butterflies kind of nervous, the kind where you have this urge to be perfect and cool and chill all the time in front of your crush just so they don't think you're an idiot, but also Ari never made me feel that way, at least he'd try not to, and he did try a lot, but I do still feel like an idiot sometimes, but that's more of a 'me' thing and, thankfully, he likes that side of me, or at least he thinks it's cute, or maybe it means I'm not an idiot after all—

With the wheel of my bike squealing as I planted my foot down onto the road, stopping the bike dead in its tracks, my eyes zeroed in on what stood out in front of Ari's foster home.

Oh, I'm an idiot...

"Harvey?" Eden called out my name, noticing me as I came biking down the street earlier, too distracted by my own thoughts to notice her presence. I immediately yanked the headphones out of my ears, abruptly pausing the song midway through.

She was sat there, on her own bike, patiently waiting outside of Ari's house in her black and silver souvenir jacket, cropped black tank top and dark brown cargo khakis. We were about two cars apart in distance, but the sudden tension in the air immediately took out all the empty space between us, shoving us together into this thick block of awkwardness. 

"H-Hey, Edie," I called out in response. I just sat there, not getting any closer, forcing the two of us to talk loudly at a distance, which, of course, made things even more awkward. "...Good morning?" That shouldn't have been a question.