Remember

Remember

A soft breeze ran across the ground, shifting leaves and gentling moving grass out of its way as it slithered across my legs and rustled through my hair. The distant sound of rumbling thunder faintly floated through the park, causing the few people in it with me to question whether they should stay. Some of them called their dogs in, deciding to head home before the storm hit. Others stayed; enjoying the last rays of sun before the clouds inevitably blocked out the warm light.

Personally, I wouldn't be going anywhere. Sunshine or rain, I was right where I wanted to be, and nothing was going to move me. The checkered picnic blanket I was sitting on, however, thought otherwise, as it began to get caught up in the stronger wind that had rolled in with the dark clouds overhead.

The sudden change had caught me off guard, and as the blanket whipped up and wrapped itself around me, I groaned.

"One day. I wanted one day in the Goddamn park," I muttered, trying to untangle myself from the menacing picnic blanket, which was seemingly sticking to me like a spider's web.

"Do you need a hand?" A voice came from behind me, carried on the harsh breeze, and I could feel my face begin to heat up. No doubt, I looked like an unfathomable idiot.

"No, thanks. I already have two," I responded, not wanting to receive help from a stranger to get out of a picnic blanket.

I can fight my own battles. Especially if it was against a thin bit of fake wool. A fifteen dollar bit of material would not defeat me. Not today.

"Well, the offer is there," he said with a chuckle, and I wished he just walked away. I don't need to have an audience while fighting the inanimate monster beneath me.

Before I had the chance to shoot the offer down again, after managing to finally free my face from the blanket; a strong gust of wind rippled across the ground and shot underneath my picnic blanket, causing it to whip up in my face, plunging me into darkness once again.

"Okay, I'll take that hand now," I mumbled, hoping he hadn't walked away. I didn't get the chance to see before I got mauled by the blanket for a second time, and it was difficult to tell when you couldn't see a thing.

"Don't move."

"Oh, no. I was going to use my magic carpet to fly away. Don't stop me now!" I joked, sitting completely still as the stranger untangled me from my picnic blanket.

"Oh, a joker. Does that mean I'm Batman?"

"You want to be my arch-nemesis?" I questioned as the blanket was pulled from my face and I was met with the soft, slightly chubby face of the stranger who was helping me.

"Well, no. I wrote myself into a corner with that one," the stranger said with a smile, and I felt my heart rattle in my chest.

"W-well, maybe we could be a different pairing?"

"How about I'll be Jack, and you be...?"

"Why Jack?"

"That's my name." Jack laughed, and I felt my face heat up.

"Of course," I mumbled. "Well, I'm Clarke."

"Nice to meet you. You know, your blanket won't get caught in the wind if two people were sitting on it," Jack suggested, gesturing at my picnic blanket.

"You want to join me?" I asked, looking into Jack's light brown eyes and feeling myself being drawn into them.

"You're asking if I want to join a cute guy in the park?" Jack asked, not waiting for my response and sitting down beside me, evening out my blanket.