Southern Charm (Scomiche)

two - a friend.

Dear journal,
Alex was super nice to me, I'm really glad I met someone so early on to help me through this school. I didn't sit with him at lunch, though. I was too embarrassed to walk over to him and his friends, so I sat alone. Turns out, I have a few classes with him. I didn't sit next to him in all of them, but if I was close, he'd talk to me. He made the shift from Hollywood to Texas a little bit easier.
-M

--

"I can save you a seat at lunch," he says randomly. I look over to him, smiling. "It's not that big a' deal. I saw you sit alone, I felt bad for ya'," Alex tells me. I purse my lips. "I'll introduce you to my group of friends, if ya' want. They ain't that bad." He chuckles.

"Are you sure?" I ask. I didn't want to make him go out of his way for me to have a seat at lunch. I'd be fine on my own. "I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Nah, I'll just kick Jaiden out. Ain't one of us like him that much anyway," he says with a smirk. I chuckle a little. "Plus, he got other people he can sit with. We're ain't that important to em'."

"He's not liked at your table?" I question. Alex shrugs.

"Depends on the day," he says. "He's an ass a lot of the time and makes fun of us, but other days he is just quiet as hell. Sometimes he don't even sit with us," Alex chuckles. "You're completely welcome at our table."

"I don't want to take his spot-."

"Mitch," he interrupts. "Shut your damn mouth and come sit with me at lunch, got it, city boy?" I nod with a tiny smile.

"Got it," I answer shortly.

"Good," he replies. "Now don't argue with me no more, I ain't a good fighter."

"Thank you," I answer with a smile. He smiles back at me. My second day of school, and I had already made myself a friend.

--

My fifth period was an art class. I wasn't an artist, not even in the slightest. They put me in this class because I couldn't fill out an elective. I didn't really mind, it was funny looking at the shitty work made by others. I did find a painting that was hung on the wall. I took the time before the bell rang to admire it. It wasn't finished yet, but it was stunning. The drawing was so abstract, I could form anything from it, and that was kind of the beauty of it. I didn't look away from the unfinished painting until I felt a hand tap my shoulder. I turn around to see a boy, and I swear he was almost as beautiful as the painting.

"You like the drawing, huh?" He questions. I didn't know that an accent could get more southern than Alex's, but he definitely beat him at it. "It ain't done quite yet, I gotta paint the rest and add on them final touches and all," he smiles, his teeth bright. "I've been working on it for about two weeks, thoughts?"

"It-its stunning," I answer honestly. He seemed taken back when I spoke. "What?"

"Your voice," he answers. "It's so northern, so high-pitched," he says. "I wasn't expecting it from ya'. You from up north?" He asks.

"I am, West Hollywood, actually," I answer. "Is my voice a problem?"

"Nah, rich kid," he answers. Rich kid? Where did that come from? "I like it, fits your body type."

"And that is?" I ask, a smirk playing my lips.

"Cute," he answers smoothly, causing me to blush a little. "Come sit with me, yeah?" He says and motions for me to follow. He sits down and I take the chair next to him. "So you really like it?" He asks and starts to add little lines of paint to the painting.

"It's really amazing. You have a talent, for sure," he chuckles slightly.

"Can you tell what it is?" He asks. I waited a moment before awkwardly shaking my head. "Me neither," he chuckles. "I kinda just drew some lines and shit and this came out. I call it perspective, you can see whatever you wanna' see," he smiles.

"I think it's amazing, I was drawn to it almost immediately," he smiles and chuckles a little. "What?"

"Your northern accent is damn strong, you could totally tell you ain't from down here," he laughs. "I like it, though. We need some city boys down here," he says. "Hell, we need at least some more damn population in Arlington!" I chuckle. "West Hollywood is a big place, what takes you to such a small town?"

"My dad wanted a change, that's really it," I say with a shrug. He nods. "What else can you draw? Can you draw realistic things?"

"I can, but I never want to," he says. "I ain't that good at it, honestly."

"Can I ask your name?" I ask randomly. He nods.

"Only if I can ask yours," he answers with a smile. I nod. "Scott Hoying, now what's the name that this pretty face owns?"

"Mitch Grassi," I answer.

"Grassi?" He questions. He thought for a moment before speaking again. "What's that? Italian?" My mouth dropped a little.

"Yeah..." I answer, shocked. "You knew that just from my last name?" He chuckles and nods. "You're like, crazy smart."

"Not smart, just aware of different cultures and such," he says with a smile. "You ever been to Italy?" I shake my head.

"No, but I've been wanting to," I reply. He smiles. "It's been a dream of mine since I was little, like...five, actually."

"It's gorgeous," he says. "And the people are wonderful, helpful too."

"You've been to Italy?" I ask. He nods.

"Italy, Germany, Portugal, Canada, Spain...you name it, I've prob'ly been there," he answers with a smile.

"Peru?" I ask with sass. He nods. "Why do you travel so much?"

"Scenery," he says. I tilt my head to the side. "I'm an artist, I need different motivations and inspirations. Nothin' is better than seeing something in person," he says, reaching into his backpack and pulling out a notebook. He opens it and hands it to me. The first page had a tower, I immediately recognized it. "That's the Eiffel Tower," he says. "I've been to France about three times, it's great." I flip to the next page and see a picture of the Taj Mahal. "India is...weird. A good experience, though." I was shocked at all the places he had been and drawn. I continued to flip through, to see things like the Statue of Liberty, the pyramids in Egypt, and even buildings that resembled a cathedrals.

"You really have a talent," I say. "And I'm extremely jealous of all of the traveling you've done. I'd love to travel a lot. It's a dream of mine."

"You have many dreams, huh?" He questions. I shrug. "That's a good thing. It keeps ya' determined and inspired. And remember, feelin' inspired is a great feelin'." He smiles. I couldn't get over how strong his accent was, how did he get such a strong southern accent after traveling all around the world? I turned one more page to see a picture of some coral. "That's the Great Barrier Reef. You know, before it died." He chuckles. "That was stunnin' too, the ocean is vast and wide, and beautiful." I smile. "Do me a favor, city boy?" He asks. I nod. "Why don't you sit your pretty self with me at lunch?"