Summer Nights

1. The Meeting.

The smell of dandelions and a fresh summer rain fill the room as you open your window. The night is young, yet the darkness is overwhelming. You check one more time just to make sure everyone's asleep; the coast is clear. You slip out of the window. Gently, gently, gently. Slower, slower, slow down or you'll slam into th--*CRASH*. Great. Quickly, run around back and make sure no one woke up from that. Good, no one heard.

You start to walk; slowly and inconspicuously at first, making sure no bystanders out this late get suspicious. You're almost to the turn off point, almost to the railroad tracks! Finally; time to run. You break out in a slow jog at first; faster, faster, faster, full speed now. You can feel the rocks piercing your feet with each stride you make; should have worn thicker shoes. Bushes seem to disappear; you're running faster and faster.

You see headlights approach as you near a crossroad. You duck behind a bush. Something looks familiar about this place. The leafy smell, the rusty rail, it's all too familiar. Could you be nearing your final turn off?

The car passes. You wipe the sweat from your brow. You run up a little farther and things seem clearer. You're there. You look around for theface you long to see. Is he here yet? Wait... You see a light shining. Could it be? Could it possibly be him? You check your phone for the time, 1:43am; perfect. No one will be out this late.

Wait, why is your phone ringing? Is he calling? You look up at the growing silhouette and see its arm is at its ear. This person is calling you. You pick up.

"Is it you?" He says. His voice is unmistakable. It's him. You haven't seen him since school let out, almost a month went by but now you two are together, yards apart. And by now you're running towards the him. When you finally meet he grabs you in his arms and hugs you. It's not long now before you two are side by side, hands interlocked, walking down the railroad tracks, looking for the perfect spot to see the stars.

Something rustles in the bushes. You flinch, he holds on tighter. "Must have been a bat; they're always out at this time. No one is out this late, don't worry. We won't get caught." He says. Reassuring. Everything is fine.

You look to your left and it looks like there's a perfect spot; two trees, overlapping and making what looks like a dome. The dark colors blend together in a way that fits perfectly with the night. Making your way to the spot, you can't help but think about this... Are you actually doing this?

You and him lay down next to each other. You look up at the stars; the infinite stars, they seem to go on forever. You wish you could have something infinite. When you look over at him, he's looking at you.

Blushing, you break the silence, "Look at the stars, aren't they beautiful?". As he agrees he slips his hand out of yours, and rolls over. Farther away and squinting, he points to the sky. "Do you see that bird?". "What bird?" you respond, confounded. All you see are the stars, clumping, crowding. So many, in an ever-increasing space.

He rolls back over to where you are, raises his arm, pointing to where the "bird" is. He tries to show you how the stars group just so. They make a bird? Jokingly, you tell him "Now, all I see up there is an airplane. See? Two plane wings, and the tail.". He tries to point out the bird, taking your hand, tracing the outline of the shape so free in the sky.

You close your eyes. Everything feels right. Your hectic world slows down and you drift into a world of peace. Your hand in his. You can hear the smile in his voice as he looks over at you and whispers "I don't suppose you would run away with me, would you? I never want to leave this."

This night is perfect. He'll be there for you, always. You know it. You look at him. "Definitely. I would. I'll never leave you.". But you both know tonight isn't the start of your beginning together. You will have to wait.

There's something he wants to say, you know it. He's never this quiet. You ask him to tell you. Something is...Different.

"I just... I don't want to lose you. You mean a lot to me. This last month barely seeing you or tlking to you has driven me crazy. I can't get you out of my mind. You're too important. I don't want to lose you.", he says. Is he serious? Is this really happening? He can't be serious. No one could be saying this to you I mean...You're...You. Quirky, weird, you.

You look at him. His capturing eyes. You don't want to look away. You see his frustration and worry in his eyes. But you also see his hope, his love, his faith. You know he's telling the truth.

You roll over, closer to him now. You're in his arms. You and him just laying there, together. It couldn't get any better than this.

But out of nowhere, your phone goes off. What could that be? Not a call, couldn't be. Who would be up this late? You pull out your phone, oh! Your alarm! You need to get home before dawn. It's already 3:19am. Time really does fly when you're in the perfect moment.

You move closer, he knows you have to get up and go. He gets up. Holds his hand out to help you up. You take it, and your body rushes with his warmth. He says, "I'll walk you halfway home. Can you make it the rest of the way?" Nodding, you take his hand and begin to walk.