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The leather jacket group all leaned up against a wall, smoke rising from their smoldering cigarettes.
Kimmy passed them, boredom weighing heavy on her posture. The pizza in her backpack seemed to pull on her shoulders as she could practically smell the potent drug-like effects it held over all teens across America.
Pushing the dumpster to the wall, she picked up a lidded metal trashcan and placed it on top. Climbing up on the wobbly contraption, the brick edges dug into her hands as she pulled herself the rest of the way up.
Good, it was empty.
A quiet and empty peace filled the space, covering the puddly roof of the grocery store as steam rose out of the sporadically placed pipes.
Kimmy crossed the dark roof in a few strides. Throwing her legs over the side of the building, she pulled her coveted pizza out and took a slow and delicate bite.
The silence was interrupted by a popping metal noise.
Kimmy looked over her shoulder, finding the youngest looking member of the pompadour group, in all of his leather jacket and shiny black hair walking over to her, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
"Cute set-up," he commented, his voice sounding younger than she expected.
Her eyes were settled on him as she continued to eat her last slice of heaven. He sat down beside her, his hands propping him up.
She studied them, noticing short, silvery scars dotting the backs of his fingers and knuckles.
Unimpressed, she turned back to the scenery of bustling cars and pedestrians crossing the streets with their grocery bags full of those granola bars that went on sale for the week.
"Got a name, sweetheart?" Mr. looked-older-than-he-really-was asked.
"Nope," she sighed, that annoying boredom making her pizza taste not as good. It was probably the company. Should have kept Christmas, at least he knew how to keep a conversation.
"I'm Toby but friends call me T." Toby Smiled, probably thinking it was the most attractive look he was capable of.
"Hmm, kay." Kimmy licked her fingers, wondering why she stared at that group so much at Vinny's. This boy reminded her of a piece of cardboard, wearing a leather jacket. Noel had the right idea to get away from such a dry, crusty crowd.
Toby lifted a leg up to set it on the edge. The hem of his pantleg rode up just a tad to show delicate flower petals inked into his skin.
"You have a tattoo?" Kimmy couldn't help herself but ask, a newfound interest in the lifeless character next to her.
Toby rolled his pant leg up to reveal a sunflower right above the ball of his ankle.
"My favorite flower." His eyes scanned the dark designs on her arms, coming to stop on one positioned just above her elbow. "Are Daisies your favorite?" He pointed to it.
"My mom's," she answered, shrugging. She glanced down at the swirly shape, no bigger than the width of her thumb. A few petals tumbled down to the tip of her elbow from the flower, reminding her of the reason of its permanence.
"Why your mom's?" Toby queried, tilting his head to land on his knee.
"Don't know," she shrugged again, knowing the reason all too well.
"You seem like the type of person that would only get something that means something to you, though." Toby squinted at her as if trying to read between the lines.
Kimmy swallowed, attempting to cover it with a scoff.
He caught her off guard. He saw through her mask. And as strange as the new sensation was, she couldn't lie, it felt good.
"Maybe." But they both knew he was right.
Toby only smiled, turning back down to watch the busy street with Kimmy. They didn't say anything after that. And that was all she could ask for because it was something she didn't know she wanted.
Toby. He was kinder than she thought.
That was their first meeting.
...
The next day, her eyes found Noel without much effort. She walked over to his locker, watching him shove a thick textbook onto the shelf.
The strangest of inclinations brought her to the conclusion that this short and shiny boy wasn't like the rest of them. Her mind kept running back to his actions at the pizza parlor, the way he grabbed her hand and brought her outside only because he wasn't going to let her go to the taunting group in black. Why did he do that? No one had ever done that. Most everyone just assumed she could handle anything because she was made of steel or ice or something unbreakable like that. She could almost still feel the demanding clench of his hand.
Feeling a little bashful for no reason, she glanced down at her hands. She hadn't done much of this friendship thing so the whole situation felt wrong.
"Hey, uh, thanks for the pizza yesterday," she mumbled, turning red for again, no reason.
"You're welcome," Noel nodded, unphased but avoiding eye contact. He was phased though. On the inside. His combed hair made his ears stand out further and maybe more red than usual.
"So, why... why did you pull me out of the parlor yesterday?" It sounded even stranger coming out of her mouth, it made it all the more real.
"I don't know..." He shrugged, looking down between their shoes. "Well, actually I do know." His eyes rose to hers. They were already watching him carefully. "You don't-you don't deserve that kind of treatment from anyone. They were looking at you like an object and I hate-hate it when people do that." He mumbled it out, all in a slur, half-hoping she didn't hear him at all.
"Oh." Kimmy glitched. Someone, an insignificant cog no less, saw that she was just a girl who had fears and hopes like everyone else. He saw that she wasn't made of stone. Was he more than a fearful cog? Did he see past what she showed to the world?
There was only one way to find out.
"So anyway, I like your style, Christmas, the way you shine your shoes or something. Let's ditch this place for lunch, yeah? I'll pay this time."
"Okay, sure."
And just like that, a friendship blossomed. It was odd, they understood each other, they respected each other, and there seemed to be an underlying jealousy towards what the other had; perhaps it was unconscious but neither could ignore her care-free nature and his flawless report card.
...
The roof of the grocery store became a regular event. Without fail, Toby came to meet her at the same time every day. He came and for some reason, she had found herself there. Every day. It was like clock work.
Clouds hanging heavy over the length of the sky, the gray light shined on his tanned face. Their legs dangled over the ledge, heels knocking the brick wall. Piles of pebbles lay next to them, supplying their amusement as they dropped them on people on the street below.
"Four..." Toby counts, dropping a pebble into a woman's grocery bag as she stands talking to a friend. "Five." He smiles victoriously at Kimmy. "New record."
Kimmy had already dropped three pebbles on the other women's head without her notice.
"This lady must be wearing a wig," she comments, bored with the lack of response from her target.
Toby was staring at her with a big smile, one that became more than his meager attempts to charm, one that grew familiar and felt like it was saved just for her.
"Kimmy, I really like you."
She looked over at him as he just stared.
"Don't say things you don't mean," she mumbled, unable to contain her flustered surprise. The pebble escaped her shaking fingers and Toby grabbed her hands.
"No, I mean it, I really do." The earnest expression in his eyes caught her off guard.
"But-"
"You know, the day we met, I planned to kiss you." Toby's hand squeezed hers.
"Really?" One word was all she could manage.
"You don't believe me?" he smirked.
"No-I-"
Toby leaned across the pebbles in one motion and pressed his lips against her cheek.
Kimmy froze.
"What about now?" he whispered and turned her head, kissing her lips as if he was a professional. He knew how to kiss. Slow. A little firm, and just the right time.
It was perfect. It confirmed the growing feelings in her heart.
He liked her. And she reciprocated his feelings.
With a little smile, she leaned against his chest and resumed dropping pebbles.
...
Plastic bags rustling, Noel's energetic chatter and the shuffling leaves of trees above Kimmy brought her back to reality. She found herself staring, a sandwich somehow in her hand, and Noel waving his hand in front of her face.
"Hey, I thought honey peanut butter sandwiches were your favorite," Noel chuckled lightly. "What are you thinking about?"
Toby flashed through her mind at the question. His kiss from the day before clouded her thoughts. She waved it away instantly.
"Nothing much, just worried about the exam coming up." Kimmy shoves a huge bite of sandwich to avoid further questions.
Noel gave an unimpressed scoff.
"Yeah, right. Fat chance, Icy Kim would worry about school."
"Well, I, um, had a change of heart?" Her big bites of food didn't seem to do the trick in deflecting Noel's intuitive glances. She was digging a hole. A very deep one.
Noel was the very definition of unconvinced as he looked at her. He saw her attempts of avoiding his question with all she could, he saw the panicked chewing, and avoided eye contact. She didn't want to tell him.
He sighed and dropped the topic completely, knowing his friendship was not her priority. It stung.
===============Mar-20-22===============
Pub, Jan-15-23
you know what? life is not funny. like, at all. most of the time, it feels like licking a wet sock. i hate being an adult T_T
confused with the scene shifts? yeah, that's too bad, isn't it? can't be helped, i'm sorry.