Everything Blue

||One||

Axel Diaz

"I can't believe you didn't give that girl your number," my friend, Matt, stated in awe as he trailed along beside me, his shaggy, brown hair blowing with the wind. I shrugged in response, diverting my gaze as I readjusted the shopping bags in my arms.

Matt and I had been friends since we were at least fourteen. We attended the same schools and even played the same sports. We were completely different though and still had different views on some topics.

For example, I loved photography and he loved soccer.

I loved the country my people came from, Spain, and he hated people that couldn't speak English in America.

And I was a raging homo and he hated the LGBT community.

I had no intentions of telling him of my secret and I kind of just hoped that I could convince him not to be such a hater towards the community because Matt was probably one of my closest and only friends. If I lost him, I would have nothing left outside of my family.

My legs strained slightly while we made our way down the usual hill to my home. The hill had a small road that cut through it and it overlooked the rest of the city, showing off the other beautiful roads and woods that were scattered here and there.

We were close to the bottom of the hill where the road merged with another one but that road was always empty and slightly run down. It was the same road that the boy who loved to run would go for his too early morning jogs and midnight runs. I never learned of the mysterious boy's name but sometimes in my head, I would refer to him as Chris because he looked like a Chris.

I glanced at my watch, the one my grandfather had given my father before my family went on their voyage to America, our new home, while I was safe in my mother's womb. It told me that it was about six in the evening and an alarm seemed to go off in my head.

Ignoring Matt's rambling about some new soccer player on his team, I looked over the railing of the hill, holding onto my groceries in my hands. Just like I had expected, the boy- Chris- was positioned in the middle of the old, run down road, his butt sticking in the air as he ducked his head.

I knew the exact face he was making at this point and I possibly knew what his next move would be. He would look straight ahead, determination and fear in his eyes. And then there would be two possibilities of what came next: he would run, faster than the time last or he would freeze and have a panic attack.

I begged he wouldn't have another nervous breakdown and he would just let his heart run free.

But to my dismay, he stayed in his running start position for a few seconds before giving up and collapsing on the ground. He wasn't crying this time but instead, he just flipped over onto his back, his arms and legs stretched out as he stared up at the starless sky. I wanted to know what he was thinking about and if he was thinking about running.

Suddenly, his eyes shifted and we made direct eye contact. The world seemed to move slowly as I stared distantly into his eyes, noticing the blank expression on his face as if he wasn't looking at me but through me. Realization dawned on his face before he began to sit up, a look of confusion on his face.

My cheeks warmed and I realized how much of a creeper I must've look. I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly before giving him a shy wave that only seemed to confuse him even more. With an awkward chuckle, I turned back towards Matt, who had the same confused countenance.

"Dude, that was weird," Matt stated. He moved to look over the railing as well but by that time, Chris was off running, a new look of determination on his sweaty face. "Why were you staring at him for so long?"