𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊

|18| This is really not my day

"Hey." His voice is a bit distant, it's not like we're that cheerful together usually, but this morning he seems a bit off again, like yesterday.

"Hey." He bends down to pat Nala and starts to play a bit with her as I simply watch the two of them.

"Ready?" He asks me, sorting me from my thoughts, I didn't even realize he was looking at me in the eyes.

I must look like a creep now.

"Definitely, you?" He nods and we start running peacefully, letting Nala choose the way sometimes.

The atmosphere is chilly, it's definitely colder than last week, and I'm definitely going to take a hot chocolate when I come home. There are not many people there this morning as usual. The only sounds are those of our breathing and Nala's little barks. This one decided she wanted to take a break, but since it wasn't our time, she made sure we had to stop. This little demon started to run in completely different ways in weird manners, barking and stopping from time to time to jump on us. We laugh, and as she wanted, stop to take a little break next to the lake.

"Damn, I'm sorry. If you want to continue you can, I'm staying with her." He sprawls on the floor, Nala coming to play with him, asking for him to throw her the branch.

"No, don't worry. It's nice here, plus I like playing with her. You know I came here mostly to get fresh air, so I don't mind not really following a special exercise or timing." He watches Nala playing with some animals, barking and jumping everywhere, as he smiles.

We stayed silent for a long time, just enjoying the moment. He's lying down on the grass, his eyes closed, his hair a bit sweaty, while I'm sitting next to him thinking I must smell like shit.

"You should take a picture-"

"Oh please no, don't act like James." I thought it must have made him laugh, but the smiles that were originally here when he started talking is now replaced by a slight frown.

"Yeah, James," he whispers as he tears the grass out, a conflicted expression on his face.

"Are you ok? I mean you were kind of off yesterday." Why the fudge does I need to say and ask him this, it's not my business and I don't care.

"Oh, really? No, I was normal," he replies a bit nonchalantly, not really putting any emotion in his talk.

"Ok." Then we stay silent again, the atmosphere a bit tense, after some time Nala came back to us and we started running again, as it was needed to break off the tension.

"Look, I'm sorry for earlier. I did have something yesterday but that's not important. Everyone has some moment where they don't feel like pretending right?" He says as we're about to part ways, his hazel eyes looking intensely at me, the sun putting just enough light in them to look shiny and really beautiful, yet right now they look sad, the brightness in them only caused by the light.

"Yeah..." This is something I can obviously understand, but why is he telling me this right now? And why would he be pretending to be happy, why was he sad in the first place?

"See you tomorrow Avalon." He pats Nala and then runs away, leaving me with this uneasy feeling. I don't care about him, we're not close or anything, but the way he said my full name, usually he only says 'Val', here it was weird, I just can't explain it.

I get this feeling all morning, even way after taking a needed shower and doing all my homework, so I decided it was the moment to call Emma. I need her help and I just need to talk to my best friend.