Within the Flowers

Chapter 5 - Flower Garden

Mateo stares at Alejandro and I as we're pressed against each other in the shower. He squints his eyes, "What are you guys doing?" Alejandro turns towards him, "Playing around." Mateo looks both of us up and down, "...In the bathroom?" I chuckle and scratch the back of my neck, "That doesn't matter. What are you doing here anyways?" Mateo grabs Alejandro and pulls him out of the shower, "I was looking for him." Mateo turns towards him and whispers something in his ear. Alejandro smacks the side of his head, "Oh shit! I completely forgot. Thanks for letting me stay over, Serenity. I'll take out my hair on my own, but I gotta go." I wave goodbye as he scurries out of my dorm.

I walk out of the bathroom and sit on my bed. "So," I say as Mateo walks towards me, "Why are you really here?" He sighs and tries to lean on me, but I put my hand on his forehead, stopping him. I'm still mad at him for last night. He frowns, "You're not still mad, are you?" I fold my arms and stare at him. He pouted, "We didn't do anything, though." "Then why did you look so guilty?" He tenses up.

I already know why he feels guilty. Alejandro told me what happened while he was there. But I also want to know what happened after we left.

Mateo looked down, "We were watching a movie and she got all touchy. I kept ignoring her, but she kept going, so I eventually just gave in. Then you knocked on the door and left with Alejandro. After that she tried to kiss me, but I pushed her off and kicked her out." I squint my eyes at him, "Hmm.. I guess you're forgiven, then."

He smiles and rests his forehead on my shoulder, "Now.. What were you and Alejandro doing in here?" I roll my eyes, "We watched a movie and fell asleep." Mateo raised his head and looked at me, "That's it?" I smirked and he frowned. "We also cuddled." His eyebrows furrowed and I mashed him in the middle of his eyebrows, "You can't get mad. You were cuddling with Azaria." He rolled his eyes.

I jump off my bed and start to grab my towel, "I need to shower, so you can go back to your dorm." Mateo puts his hands over his eyes and smiles, "I won't look." I mash him in his forehead again and push him out of my dorm. "We can hang out later tonight, okay? I have things planned today." Mateo steps out of the doorway and turns around with one of his eyebrows raised, "And what's that?" I roll my eyes, "You know Sundays are usually the days I spend alone. I'll tell you tonight when I see you." He chuckles and starts walking towards his dorm, "Ok ok. Have fun, though."

I close the door, grab my towel and slippers, and go into the bathroom. I brush my teeth, put my hair up in a bun, and shower. 15 minutes pass before I get out of the shower and I dry off. I wrap the towel around my body and pick out my outfit. A white tube crop top with light blue jeans, along with a gray zip-up sweater and gray sneakers should be good. I put lotion on my body and moisturizer on my face and neck. I put my clothes, lip gloss, eyeliner, and mascara on and look in the mirror.

I look good; I just need to do my hair.

I have 3b hair, so I lightly brush it and put oil on it so it's hydrated. I put it in a tight bun and started to pack my bag. I pack a sheet, a water bottle, my book, and my portable charger. I put my bookbag on and head to the store on our campus. I buy a few snacks and shove them in my bag.

I take out my phone and look at google maps. It's a 20 minute walk from here, which isn't bad. I put my airpods in and start walking, taking small sips from my water bottle as I go. I continue walking until I come across a gate with a glass dome surrounding the inside. It's here.

I walk through the gate and see beautiful flowers. Tulips, roses, orchids, daisies, and more. There's a dirt road in the middle with light posts and benches scattered around. There are also wide patches of grass, about 40 feet wide and 20 feet long, that are surrounded with flowers and connected with small dirt paths that connect to the main dirt path. There are lanterns attached to the branches of beautiful cherry blossom trees. It's a gorgeous sight. I take a picture of it as I stand at the gate.

I walk along the dirt road as I take in the sight of flowers and the smell of nature. There's no one here, which is perfect for me because I wanted to be alone. I walk towards one of the grass patches and set up my sheet, snacks, and book. I enjoy reading in private; it makes me happy and I feel at peace.

I take off my sneakers and lay down to get comfortable. I'm reading and listening to music on my headphones for an hour, when my phone signals that it's on 10%. I take my portable charger out of my book bag.

Great, I wasn't planning on using it yet.

I reach back into my book bag and dig for my charger. I don't feel anything, so I turn my book bag over and dump its components onto the sheet. There's no charger. I must've forgotten to pack it. I flip my book over and lay on my back, sighing. I don't want to have to go back yet, I was enjoying my time.

I sit up and take my headphones out my ear and look around. It's about 2pm, so a few people are here, sitting in their sections and minding their business. There's another person here with me on the grass patch, but he's on the opposite end. He has a camera with him, and is taking pictures of the river in front of us and the flowers hanging from the trees. He looks so serious and mysterious.

He has a book bag on him, so maybe he has a charger. I should ask him, but I can feel my body tense up at the thought of it. If Mateo were here with me, it would be easier for me to ask him. But I have to learn to do it on my own.

Ugh, why is life so damn hard?!

I stand up and dust myself off just in case anything is on me. I don't bother putting on my sneakers because walking in the grass is relaxing and helps calm my nerves. The guy looks at me with a blank face as I walk towards him.

"Hey", I start, trying not to stutter or seem nervous. "I apologize for bothering you, but do you happen to have a charger on you? Specifically an iphone charger?" He thinks for a second and then nods his head, "Yeah, I have one. I'll let you use it if I can just rest for a few on your sheet, I didn't bring anything to sit on."

I think to myself. I don't know how to feel about his request. But he doesn't seem sketchy and he looks to be around my age. Plus, I need more friends.

After thinking, I finally came to a conclusion, "Yeah, you can. Thank you by the way." He nods and we walk over to my sheet. I sit on one side, and he takes his bag off and sits down on the other. He gives me the charger and I use it to charge my phone. He stretches and lays down.

Now that I get a good look at him, he's really tall and good-looking. His feet go past the end of the sheet while he uses his bookbag as a pillow. He has thick, dark eyebrows and from what I saw before he closed his eyes, he has hazel eyes. They look so nice.

"Is there a reason you keep staring at me, amore?" He asks with his eyes closed. It takes me aback and I stutter, "I- I just don't know your name and age. It's only reasonable for me to be curious." He opens his eyes and looks at me, "Well my name is Leo and I'm 18." I lean on one of my arms, "Well, thank you." I pick up my book and start to pick up from where I left off, when I notice that he's still staring at me. I look at him and raise my eyebrows. "Now it's your turn, bellissima." Leo says as he closes his eyes again. I put my book down, "What do you mean?" He sits up and leans against the tree behind him with his knee up, "Your name and age. It's only reasonable for me to be curious."

I furrow my eyebrows and he smirks a little. I playfully roll my eyes, "Well if you must know. My name is Serenity and I'm 18 as well. And what are these words you keep saying at the end of your sentences?" He chuckles to himself and shakes his head. He puts his hands behind his head, closes his eyes, and mumbles, "That's a nice name."

Word Count: 1598

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