𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 - Matt Sturniolo

sᴇᴠᴇɴ

"Not even Ben?" he asked and somehow it made me sad that he thought I could like Ben more than him.

"Oh no, I would never bring him here. He would be hiding his weed there." I said jokingly.

I parked in the middle of the forest and Matt looked at me critically.

"Is this supposed to be this special place?" he asked.

"Matt be patient, we have to walk another 10 minutes and then we'll be there."

We walked through the forest for a short while when we finally arrived. On a small mountain stood a ruin.

"There used to be a small castle here." I said and saw how he looked at this place enthusiastically.

The sun was still shining between the walls and the place looked magical.

The castle had a tower whose roof was no longer there. In the tower was a staircase attached to the wall that could still be used.

"Are you sure you can use the stairs? They look a little precarious." Said Matt when I had run up a few steps.

"Oh yes, believe me. Sure, every now and then a step is missing, but the stairs are made of stone, they can take it. I've used them many times and nothing has ever happened." Explained him but looked at me uncertainly.

He wouldn't give in so at some point I took his hand and pulled him behind me. When we got to the top and he saw the view, he started to glow. It was almost as if his face was shining.
And his smile was more beautiful than the view, and he didn't even know it.

He looked at the view while I just stood there and watched him.

The sky had already turned orange and it wouldn't be long before it was completely gone. We sat down on the wall and ate our food while watching the sun go down.

"You were right, this place is beautiful." He said and looked at me.

"Yes it is, isn't it? This is where I always go when I need time for myself." I told him.

"I'm so grateful to you for showing it to me."

We talked a bit and I enjoyed the time with him very much.

"Aurora, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything."

"What's going on between you and Benjamin?" he asked, looking at me in a pleading way.

I had never really thought about this question myself. But there was nothing, I felt absolutely nothing romantic for Ben.

"Friendship. Nothing more."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, one hundred percent, I could never imagine anything with him." I saw that he was suppressing a smile, which confused me.
Could it be that Matt was jealous?

"Does he know that? Because I'm pretty sure he sees more in you than just a friend." He said and I laughed.

"What? No way. He's never into me. It would be so stupid to fall in love with me really." I said and again I regretted my choice of words.
Why could I never hold back with Matt?

"Why would it be stupid to fall in love with you?" he asked, i was looking at him.

I thought for a moment about how best to express myself.

"Falling in love with me would be like holding your hand in the fire even though you know it hurts," I sighed and looked down.

"Why?" I heard him speak.

"Because I'm not able to fall in love right now and I should be concentrating on other things."
I looked up again and noticed on his face that he knew I would like to change the subject.

"Like spending time with me here?" he asked and I smiled.

"Exactly."

"But seriously Aurora, you should really talk to Benjamin. He has the worst crush on you." He said and laughed.

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does. Believe me, I know how guys act when they have a crush and he definitely is. Have you seen the way he looks at me and my brothers when you rather spend the break with us than with him?"

"That's not true. I'll prove it to you, I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"You'll see that I'm right." He said confidently and I rolled my eyes.

We went home and somehow I felt different. Better. I think I recovered from my pain and finally started to heal.