From Me to You [Complete]

25

We walk for another block in silence. It's a comfortable silence, and I'm happy we've reached this point. I wasn't really sure what it would be like to be with Michael in person, but it seems so comfortable, so natural. All of the things we've written to each other, our history, isn't really up for discussion or anything, but it's always there to go back to in case I'm feeling like we need a conversation topic or something.

The wind has picked up slightly since we left, and my legs, bare from the knee down, are feeling it. I tug the sweatshirt closer to my body, and shiver involuntarily. I hope wherever we are going, we get there soon. We cross the road and Michael stops on the other side, with me a second behind. For some reason this looks different from the cottage scenery we have been passing, and at first I can't put my finger on why. There's pure darkness for a long way in front of us, and my eyes haven't adjusted to it, even though we've been walking through the night for a while. Wait a second... why are there no cottage lights? I am suddenly quite curious, and spin towards Michael.

Michael, unaware that I've been processing this information, spreads his arms in a gesture of triumph and says confidently, "We're here!"

I giggle a little bit at his melodramatic display. "And where is...'here', exactly?"

He glances over at me. I can see the excitement shining in his eyes. "Follow me," he urges, and touches my hand lightly as he steps into the grass beside the curb.

I follow him, wondering what on earth we are going to find. Beneath my feet, the grass is a little wet from dew. I hear a stick crack as Michael steps on it, and I hope we aren't in a forest or something. With my luck, I'd probably run into a tree.

"Are you ready?" Michael asks excitedly.

"I dunno," I reply, thoroughly enjoying seeing this side of him.

"You don't know!" he says, continuing the dramatic voice he put on earlier. He takes my hands and spins me around in a little circle. I feel a little dizzy after only one go round, but I'm laughing at the goofiness in Michael's behaviour. He stops spinning me. "Are you ready now?" he asks, his voice serious.

I let go of one of his hands and hold my head for a second, wondering when it will stop looking like there are two Michaels in front of me. He laughs, probably thinking I'm following along with the drama. "I might be a little dizzy," I say sincerely. "But I am still excited to see whatever it is we are going to see."

"Hurray!" he cries. He turns away, and I take a second to exhale and inhale deeply, feeling my vision return to normal. "Now, it's harder to tell in the dark. But I believe the rock is right over here."

I perk up with curiousity. "A rock?"

He spins back toward me, grabs my hand, and begins to pull me along. "Well, maybe you saw it on your way in." He looks back over his shoulder. "There's a park here, really close to my cottage."

Ah, no, I was a little busy on the way here, thinking about you. "I saw no park," I say, smiling to myself.

"Here it is," he says and stops, letting go of my hand and groping in front of him at his chest level.

"Uh, big rock." I say surprised.

With him able to touch it at chest level, it must be huge. I wonder what it looks like in daylight. Did kids graffiti it? What colour is it? Why is it even here in the first place? Once more olivious to my thought process, Michael hoists himself up on top of it and stands up, rather clumsily due to the dark. He poses like Hercules and I laugh as I feel my own way up to the top of the rock.

After I manage to scurry up the rock somehow, although it's clearly three or four times the size of me, Michael and I sit with our feet dangling off the side. He pulls me toward him, resting his arm on my shoulders, as I rest my head on his. I'm thankful of his body heat, as a brief wind passes by.

"So, how come there's a rock here?" I ask.

I feel the soft rumble of laughter in his chest. "Well, there's a playground over there," he points to our right. "So maybe it's like an added feature. But I don't know really know why it's here exactly."

"Did you come play here when you were little?" I ask curiously.

I feel his nod, "Yep. This is the biggest park in our area. Of course, at that time the rock seemed a lot bigger than us, since we were only about three feet tall."

"Just three?" I ask sarcastically, not bothering to mention how big it still seems to me.

"Just three," he says, trying and failing to sound sincere.

"I have a theory that the Lyon boys all came out of the womb tall. Otherwise how did you get to be this big?" I tease.

He laughs. "Well, for your information, I had a growth spurt starting in seventh grade."

"And I assume you never stopped growing in the last five years?" I reply. "I think grade seven is the year I stopped growing altogether."

He laughs again, and I take that moment to snuggle up closer to him. His arm tightens around me which helps ensure his body heat will keep me warm. "It's okay, I think you're just the right size."

I put my arm around his waist in a sort of hug, thanking him silently for the compliment. I've been shorter than most everyone for such a long time. Well, three years seems like a long time to me, when everyone else at school continues to grow taller. "So what did you bring me here for again?" I ask. "Not that the rock isn't cool or anything. I am a big fan of rocks. I even have a rock I like back home. But..."

He chuckles listening to me chatter on. "Look up," he says.

When I look up, the view takes my breath away. The stars shine brilliantly against the black sky. There isn't a cloud in sight, and there aren't any cottages around to block the view. No light pollution around here either. If only I knew the constellation names, then I could point them out to Michael. But, judging from our conversation last night he has a much better understanding of the constellations and where to find them. "I've never seen the stars so bright," I say.

"Mhm," Michael murmurs, finding my belly button with his hand and tickling me lightly.

"Aha!" I cry at his touch. "You know you're much more ticklish than I am. Don't start something if you don't want to get what's coming to you," I warn.

"Alright, alright," he says. His hand tickles me one last time, and I inhale sharply. He laughs. "I'll stop. For real." His hand settles comfortably on my hip.

We sit in silence for a few minutes. I gaze up at the stars again, watching them twinkle. This night has definitely been fun so far. Michael's surprise was different from what I was expecting but still exciting. And I've never seen Michael acting so happily before.

"Hey Michael?" I ask softly.

"Yea?" He tilts his head down to gaze at me with that intense look he seems to reserve only for me.

"Thanks for the surprise," I say. My lips curve up at the silliness of the statement.

"I'm glad I got to give you one," he says softly. I feel dazed, staring into his eyes in the dark. Like there's nothing around for miles. Slowly he presses his lips to mine, and I close my eyes.

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