꧁ Cʀᴏᴏᴋs: Bᴇᴛʀᴀʏᴇᴅ ʙʏ Bʟᴏᴏᴅ ꧂

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 11

"How long have you been living here?" I ask.

He looked back at me, almost embarrassed for some reason. "I actually just moved here a few months ago. Why do you ask?"

"It's pretty obvious." I say, glancing at the slice.

"I'm still getting used to the city and their ways. I'm just trying to blend in, which I guess I'm not doing so well at."

He's new to the city, that means I can show him around; like Lucy did for me! Well, if I had money, but I can still make it work. Oh, this will be fun. Although, for only being here for a few months, he seems to be fairly comfortable so far. I mean, he knew the way to Washington Square Park and Joe's by foot, which is impressive.

"Oh, hah, don't worry about it, I was just teasing you."

"Well, since you seem to be quite the city girl, you can be my tour guide." He jokes, tossing pieces of the crust to the crowds of pigeons.

"I'd be more than happy to, country boy."

"Hey, I'm from San Francisco, don't get too ahead of yourself."

He playfully nudged my shoulder, and he seemed to be loosening up. We have only known each other for about a month, yet it feels like it's been way longer.

We continued to make our way there, passing by both very interesting and very questionable sights we pointed out along the way. When we finally made it there, I felt a weird sense of nostalgia. People riding their bikes and skateboarding around, couples sitting by the fountain, and even more god damn pigeons that I'm pretty sure followed us there.

I glimpsed at a young girl with her mom and dad cheerfully playing by the fountains. Why do I feel jealous? Not that I'm not happy for them, but I can't help but have an ache in my heart. I was still longing for that, a family, even after all of these years. I know I should get over it, but how can you blame the girl who never had a childhood for wanting that? I can't really tell if my mom even actually loves me, or is just grateful to have someone rather than herself. Why am I pitying myself?

"Are you okay?" Michael put a hand on my shoulder, startling me out of my delusion.

"Oh, erm, yeah- I was just staring into space."

He observed me for a minute before giving a slightly concerned face. "You can talk to me if you need to."

"No, I'm fine, I'm okay."

He gave me a nod, and we went to sit on a bench surrounding the fountain. I tried to steer him away from being concerned, keeping the conversation positive.

"So, how did you know the way here so easily if you're new?" I questioned, forming a grin on my face.

"I just started university, New York University, so I come here often with friends, you know?"

New York University? Damn, so he's smart too? Ugh, I can't.

"Actually, speaking of friends, I've got a volunteer event at a local animal shelter in about two hours. Would you like to come? It's open for anyone."

So, he's cute, kind, smart, AND loves animals? How much better could this get? The more I get to know him, the further I fall for him. Duh, I want to come with you.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

He seemed eager about the fact I said yes, and he started to tell me about his time in New York so far. He had met a lot of new people at university, and they all volunteered at this shelter as well. He said he thinks I would get along with them well, but we'll see about that.