Life Without the Tree

Chapter 10

Connor's POV

Brring!

The bell rings and I walk out with Ava.

"So why do we need to go to the paint shop?" she asks, kicking rocks on the sidewalk.

"The poem. Remember what the next lines said? The first to paint the leaves with white, will lead on into the night. So I was thinking, maybe it means it literally?" I explained.

"So you think if we paint the leaves with white paint, we can bring back it's powers? I don't know..." Ava replies

"Well, its worth a try right?" I say, walking into the paint shop.

"Could we have one can of white paint?" I ask the guy behind the counter.

He had messy dark blonde hair and quite a tan for this time of year. His muscles bulged out of his striped green v-neck, and he looked around 20. Nobody else was here, just him.

"What shade?" he asks. "Just plain white," I say. He leads us to a section in the store filled with identical cans of white paint. "Okay, well we have cream, ivory, chalk..." he says. "Er, I guess that one," I say, pointing to a random can. "Sure," he replies, picking up the can and walking back to the front of the store.

"So what do you guys need this for? Not to nosy or anything, but just wondering," he asks. I pull out my wallet and when I look up, Ava is staring at him in awe. Her head then snaps out of her daze, and she says, "Sorry, what?" "He just asked us what we need this for," I say, laughing. She turns red, and replies, "Um, just this project we're doing." She reaches for her pocket and pays her half.

He just nods and says, "Well hey, I'm Evan. Nice to meet you two. Good luck on your project." He hands us our bag and I notice he's wearing a dark green wristband. Something about it seems familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. "Thanks," I say, as we walk out.

"Omigosh, that guy was so hot! His hair...his face...and you could even see his abs through his shirt!" Ava exclaims the moment we get outside. I laugh and say, "You're such a girl." "Oh, shut up!" she replies, also laughing.