A Pause In a Rewind

Chapter VII : Moment

"Uh...I do like foods that are chill. I also like being alone all the time, so I can think. But mostly I just look at the time and watch it as it passes by," the words that Perry said that marked on Nil's mind the most. She then crossed her arms and told him that Perry was quite pretty weird and unique.

Perry just laughed on it and continued to eat. He then looked above the sky and see snow falls along with the air. He raised his hand to fix his hair in shy, but as he puts them down, it lands on Nil's hands. Perry quickly pulled his hands away.

Nil just apologized and chuckled. The lad just smiled away and tells Nil that it was fine while eating some of his biscuits. His voice was muffled when he was eating, so Nil can't understand him. She then moves a bit closer to Perry for them to hear each other easier.

*Gulps*

The boy said, "It's fine, Nil. Sorry if I talked while my mouth's full." Perry then tries to stay cool, even though he's feeling a bit shy towards Nil. He then looks around and tried to move a bit away from her.

The time was almost to be at  5:00 o' clock. Perry stands and asks the girl if she could come to walk around with him. Nil just nods and holds Perry by the hand. Perry frowned in surprise. He then began to stammer words to ask.

"I-Is it okay, if your b-boyfriend sees us?" Perry asks. The girl loosens her grip and glances towards Perry. "What? W-What boyfriend? I...don't have a boyfriend," Nil said with a sudden pause. Perry thinks about what happened in the storage room.

After some time thinking, he remembers using the pocket watch. He then puts his free hand into his pocket to check it. He almost completely forgot about it. He then stared on Nil's hand and saw that she is shivering.

He stopped and took off his comfy jacket and asked Nil to wear it. The girl refused and said, "No, thank you, Perry." Perry felt the gloom in Nil's face. He then wrapped his jacket around Nil and told her to wear it for him. The two then walked and chatted for some time around the park.

They went through several parts of the park talking about things about themselves. The two gets along with each other by the time then. They listened to some music, ate some street foods, and watched the sky turn red as they walk around the land.

Later then, Perry then tried to think about Nil's despondency earlier. "Did they broke up with his boyfriend? I...mean, are they even couples in the first place?" He asked himself. Suddenly, Nil stops walking and looks at Perry with her smile suddenly turning into a frown. She asks Perry to answer her question. 

"If you have a lifelong friend, that suddenly just changed. They became someone else. I mean, what do you do then? What should I do...w-with him? I-I don't...Ah," Nil complains in sadness as she walks ahead of Perry. The boy can already see through the problem that Nil is facing.

He then tried to catch up with her and holds her shoulder. Perry apologizes, but the girl said he must not. She then just sat on the nearest bench and looked down. Perry walks slowly towards his now known friend. Stepping closely in a shy manner.

*Footsteps*

He then sat beside her and moves a bit closer. he then whispered, "Well...if you are really good friends, then you should know how to accept changes. I know time gives progress, but it also causes change. Which can be bad, but as a friend, you need to remember that it's part of life." 

Nil took some time to recover from her sadness and to be able to respond to Perry who is just sitting with his charismatic smile. She felt a warm embrace just from the sight of his smile. She stopped her cries and his face glowed with joy.

She glanced at Perry and thank him for his support. Perry sighed and smiled. "Not everything stays forever, so always enjoy the time right now that you have," Perry said while struggling to keep his mouth from slipping his feelings.

Nil's eyes sparkle and glitter with emotion. She sobs quietly in her arms. The lad tries to comfort her and tries to say sorry if he has hurt her feelings. Nil just smiled with her tear-stained face. Perry then puts his hand on Nil's shoulder and smiled back.

Perry lends his hands on Nil and the two continued their walk around the park. Perry comforts Nil of her problems and told her that things are going to be fine. As soon as Nil was about to come back home, Perry told her to keep his jacket to keep her from freezing in the bitter cold.

"Time thought us not to live in the past, but to live for the future," Perry said as his eyes started to get in tears. Nil thanked Perry before she leaves. As the Nil is about to leave Perry's side, a loud sizzling was heard. Just right before Perry's tears drop down his face, a bright and colorful blaze from the sky interrupted them.

*Shimmers*

The skies went from a dark abyss into an elegant display of dashing colors. The sky went on fire and it rekindled the hearts of the two teens. The falling sparks lightened their dark emotion. With all their tears dried up in happiness.

It was about time for the fireworks show to start. Perry checked the time and it was about 6:30 in the evening. The fireworks show came in unexpectedly. Nil halts her walk as she saw the beautiful show from the skies. Perry wipes his eyes and walks close to Nil.

"Beautiful isn't it, Perry?" Nil said to the boy. Perry just nods and agreed to her. Everyone in the park watches the gorgeous display and everyone is very happy. While Perry enjoys the fireworks, Nil looked around them. Perry also watched around and saw that there are couples around them.

People present at the center of the park seems to be a couple, except for the Nil and Perry. Perry asks Nil, "I think we should be not here. Maybe a different place to be?" with nervous laughter. Nil holds Perry in the hand tightly and said, "Don't worry about it, I got you. We're in the right place."

Nil holds their hands together. With intertwined fingers, Nil then slowly leans on Perry's shoulder. The lad got all red all over his face. His heart throbs and pumps hard and fast. His chest feels like it wants to burst out.

But he couldn't do anything. He then holds Nil around his arms with the warmth of care. Nil started to blush and closed her eyes while the moment lasts. They hold each other while sitting under the sparkly skies.

----- Hand Struck to VIII -----