The Artist | #3✓

Chapter 6

"It's too fucking hot," Ben complained as we walked about the park, his hand covering his eyes. We'd gotten here about an hour ago.

"Are you talking about me?" Felix laughed, nudging his boyfriend's shoulder, and in turn, Ben rolled his eyes as he adjusted the face cap he had on. Ji-Hun and Wyatt had already disappeared, and Aiyana was enthusiastically talking to Xander who didn't seem to feel the same way. He looked a bit thrown off by the attention and seemed like he was looking for a reason to end the conversation.

I trailed behind them, feeling a bit out of place. I'd said yes when Wyatt had suggested that we all hung out together, but everyone seemed to be in pairs while I was left alone. I couldn't blame them really. The few times they'd tried to talk to me I hadn't had much to say.

I was simply boring.

Uninteresting.

However, you'd like to put it. 

"We're going to get ice-cream, are you coming along?" I heard Felix ask. I blinked, realizing that he'd been talking to me. I turned to find him smiling. He had his hand laced with Ben's while using his free hand to scroll through his phone. I thought about his question for a while before shaking my head. I was done with just trailing behind them.

"You can go ahead. I want to look around. Wyatt has my phone number so you guys can just call when you're about to leave," I said, squinting a bit as the harsh rays of sunlight that seemed to suddenly appear due to a cloud moving.

I watched Felix nod that that. "Okay then, see you later," he said as he and Ben along with Aiyana and Xander headed for the ice-cream stand that was a little while away, and crowded with kids and their parents. I turned away from them, looking about the park and noting that it was a lot busier than usual. It made sense though, seeing as it was summer vacation after all.

I wandered towards the shallow stream that cut across the large playground. The sound of kids laughing filled the air as they went off slides and got thrown in the air by swings. I smiled a little bit, realizing that I haven't been to the park in two months. I rarely went out, and when I did it was usually with my parents and they liked the quiet lake that was a two-hour drive from our house, not the park.

Walking about the shore of the stream, I kicked stones in my way into the water, watching the splash and eventual ripples they made. I was in the middle of my walk when I heard a familiar voice — soft yet firm. It was singing along to a monotone song that was being played and could be faintly heard amidst the noise from the children in the playground. I looked about until I spotted a person sitting down on one of the park benches positioned a little distance away from the stream — the person was sketching into a drawing pad. They were wearing a pair of plain blue jeans and a red polo shirt. I squinted, trying to make out their face. I walked forward, my eyes widening when I noticed who it was.

Toby.

I stopped walking forward, wondering if it was okay to go up to him, or if the best option was to turn and act like I hadn't seen him. He hadn't noticed me after all, and he seemed too focused on what he was doing.

I stood there for a while — just staring until I heard a bark that made me look away from him briefly before looking back. The bark seemed to catch Toby's attention as well because he'd turned his gaze towards the bushes. A greyhound soon made it way out, barking again as it wagged its tail.

"Duke!" Toby said with a laugh, putting his drawing pad aside on the space beside him on the bench as the dog came up to him, sniffing his jeans. "Just one more hour, and then we can go home. I promise."

He has a dog? I thought to myself as I raised a brow in confusion. Well, it seemed like it from the way he was interacting with it. The dog soon settled by his feet, still wagging its tail and beating the ground with it. It took another bark to get me out of my thoughts, and it was only then I realized that the dog and Toby were looking at me.