All I Ever Knew Was Your Name [Nick Robinson]

ELEVEN

paris by magic man

Ice cold droplets impales the skin on my neck and legs as I run quickly through the beautiful grass Nick and I were just laying on. I hold the blanket over my head to shield whatever sprinkler water I can, but it's really no use. The sprinklers are everywhere, and it takes only moments for the both of us to be drenched.

We run all the way to the car and rush inside as if it's raining or something. It's not, of course, but the two of us sure make it look like it has been.

"Fucking rich people and their sprinklers," he mutters, starting the car.

I laugh nervously, wondering if he's just as upset about our interrupted kiss as I am. It seems like all of the energy I just had has been wiped away in a second. I feel drained, yet riveted at the same time.

"Here," he reaches in the backseat of his car, supplying me with a second blanket when he notices that the one I have is soaked. "That one won't keep you warm."

He takes the wet one from my lap, then wraps the new one around my shoulders in an attempt to help. Though I'm still rattled from a few moments ago, I can't help but admire him as he does what he can to make me comfortable.

Nick then begins driving, and I notice that it's already after 11:00. By the time we get home, it'll be midnight. It's much later than I'm used to staying up, but I'm okay with it. I'm more than okay with it.

Although I can nearly feel the tension in the air between us from our almost-kiss, our conversations do not cease. As someone who never really leaves her bedroom, I find myself with a lot more to talk about when I am with Nick than I ever have with anyone else. Perhaps it's because he's so curious to know me. He's always asking questions. He makes me feel like he cares.

The drive seems short. We're home before I know it, and I'm deeply saddened by it. His company is one that I've quickly come to adore.

"I suppose I should go in and dry off, huh?" I ask when the silence between us begins.

He nods, pinching the fabric of his dampened shirt. "Yeah. Same."

I nod my head and we both get out of the car, and then slowly walk towards the ladder he insists I use to enter and exit my bedroom.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," I say, my hands buried deep in the pockets of the sweatshirt I'm wearing. "We didn't need that party to have fun."

He chuckles, biting his bottom lip. It's that moment I realize I could stare at him for days. "Will I see you around?"

"We're neighbors," I tease, my fingers wrapping around one of the bars. "Of course you'll see me."

I climb up, wishing desperately that he would call my name, and the night wouldn't be over.

He didn't.

Graduation passes by.

My grandparents are on my mother's case about everything, as usual. I do my best to take the heat off of her, but I can only do so much when I'm on the stage and she's in the crowd.

Nick and I steal a few glances when possible. He sits nowhere near me, as our last names are so far apart, but I do see him a few times. I smile softly when our eyes meet.

He smiles back.

We haven't seen each other since the night of the party. Things have been quiet; I've been lonely.

Tyra and Katherine say hi to me after the ceremony and leave quickly after. It makes me sad that they'll never be in my life again (probably at my own expense), but I'll move on. People don't seem to stay very long.