It was getting late now. The night grew darker as time passed on. Crickets started their song as the fireflies began to dance along. You didn't know how long you were out there, sitting rocking on the abandoned swing set. But you didn't care.
You were quickly snapped out of reality after hearing the crunch of mulch. Shooting your head up towards the sound, a tall figure in a black hoodie stood there.
"Reagan?" The figure called out to you, stopping short not alarm you any further.
You wiped your teary eyes, unblurring the familiar figure, "Santana?!"
A few feet from you stood Santana. His usual messy bun was now let loose under a black hoodie he used to hide his long curls. Paired with some grey joggers and slides, it looked as though he had just woken up and decided to take a stroll. In his mouth held an unlit blunt, pearled with a wood.
He glanced you up and down; eyeing the pizza first before moving to your attire. Going out without thinking, you had left in what you were wearing in bed all day. Your bright pink Hello Kitty pajama pants clashed with the duck slippers you had grabbed on the way out and your hair was messily tucked underneath your bonnet.
However, the part that caught his attention was his hoodie that rested over you. Left on your bed from the night of the party, you had quickly grabbed it to throw on before going downstairs earlier. Now the large hoodie engulfed your body as you rocked gently on the swing.
His eyes lingered on the hoodie before moving to your tear-stained face. You attempted to hide your eyes, putting your head back down, "My bad... I ain't mean to wea-"
"What's wrong?"
"Huh?" Your head shot back up. Usually, he wasn't the type to pry. Noticing, but never asking any questions. It had caught you off guard. "Oh, nothi-"
He took a step closer, the mulch crunching under his slides, "Reagan... This the second time I've seen you like this. I kno it's nothing. Now what's wrong?"
The two of you remained eye contact, his eyes compassionate with a tint of anger. You turned away again, directing your head towards the playground. "I really did like him..." You finally broke down, tears streaming again. He took place on the swing next to you, keeping his head forward to avoid watching you cry.
"Ion kno, it just seems like we- I gave my all. And for what? All that arguing, all those fights, all those breaks. I was tired of it. My mind was tired... And now I'm being told I'm doing the wrong thing," You ranted, "It's just like I try my hardest to be this perfect girl everybody wants, but it feels like all I'm doing is fucking up."
"And who says you gotta be perfect?"
"Everybody! My family, the school, this town. And my friends... I know they don't say it, but I know I'm just bothering them like some little girl who got her heart broken. I'm supposed to be the one they go to when they have problems. The one who can take care of everything, but... I don't even know how to take care of myself."
"Did they tell you that?" He asked back.
"No, but..."
"So, you don-"
"I can't be weak..."
"Rea-"
"I gotta handle this on my own..."
"Reagan, listen!" His hands clasped your face, drawing you only inches away from his. His eyes held onto yours, growing serious.
"Ma, you can't keep making these decisions on your own. Did your friends tell you all that?"
His hands blocked the tears from streaming down your face as you shook your head no. They were warm, tightly squeezing you as though he was never going to let you go. It comforted you, almost like a hug.
"Ight, so don't assume that they are. They're your friends for a reason, ma. They're there to listen to whatever you gotta say no matter how stupid it makes you feel or how many times you gotta say it. You just can't keep holding everything to yourself. I know they worried about you."
The two of you held that position for a bit. His eyes traveled across your face as if he was trying to take in all of you. His scent traveled through your nose as you breathed it in. It had you into almost like a trance, observing every movement he took. First to your eyes, then your nose, then your mouth.
His thumb caressed your cheek, wiping the left-over tears from your face. He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then closed it, removing his hand to give you a flick on your forehead.
"Ouch!" You yanked your face out of his grasp, rubbing your forehead, "What was that for?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "For being stupid." A small smile appeared on his face as he dug into his pocket. He pulled out a black lighter, sparking it before bringing it to the tip of his blunt. He took a breath, pulling the blunt before exhaling the smoke into the air.
He then turned to you, motioning the blunt your way. You accepted, taking a deep breath before exhaling. "Thanks," You said quietly, passing it back to him.
He did another small smile as the two of you passed the blunt back and forth. The night was quiet, only crickets filled the silence. You watched as a streetlamp flickered. Bugs swarmed around it, disappearing when it dimmed.
You glanced back over to Santana who sat looking at the starry sky. The moon reflected off his face revealing his beautiful features. Each complimented each other perfectly. His bushy yet tame eyebrows highlighted his deep brown eyes. His full lips paired with a freshly cut goatee. His curly hair was now let free from his hood, falling perfectly around his face.
You held your stomach, attempting to calm the butterflies that swarmed in there. Why does he have to be so fine?
"What?" His voice kicked you out of your trance. However, you kept your low red eyes staring at his profile. Your attention entrapped by his presence.
"So... what you doing out here anyways?" You spurted out, attempting to distract yourself from staring, "Stalking me or sum?"
"Nah, nah I stay over here," He laughed, "I come here to smoke, sometimes draw. You just happened to be here this time."
"I didn't know you stayed over here. Look, that's my house over there," You pointed to your house that rested a few blocks away from the park, "I come here all the time with Nelly and them. I'm surprised we haven't seen you before."
"You always come with pizza?" He pointed to the pizza that remained in your lap. The box had soaked up all the grease leaving a dark circle along the rim.
"Oh shit! I forgot I had this," You opened the box revealing the cold untouched pizza. You grabbed a slice passing it over, "You want a slice? It's [favorite topping]" He laughed before accepting the slice. You took out another for yourself, biting into it.
"You always eat cold pizza in the park at night?" He asked.
"No, sometimes it's [favorite snack]," You joked back. He laughed again, taking a larger bite into his slice.
"Y'kno we can't keep meeting like this," You said, finishing your pizza. You grabbed another slice not satifising your munchies.
"Youn like meeting me?" He smirked back.
"You kno I don't mean it like that," You pushed his shoulder causing him to rock in the swing, "It just seems like every time you see me I'm in distress or sum."
"Well... promise next time I see you, you'll have a smile on your face," He held out his pinkie towards you, wiggling it for you to accept. You did the same with your pinkie, intertwining it with his, "That's if... I do see you again."
"What you tryna get rid of me or sum? I thought we were friends now Santana. I mean we should be with how many times you've seen me cry," You rolled your eyes making a fake frown.
"Don't friends usually have a way to contact each other?" He pointed out, "Unless you want me to be knocking at your door."
You gasped, realizing your mistake. Of course, Rea. You would forget something like that. All this time you've been asking him to hang out without even giving him your number. You slapped your forehead before pulling your phone out from your pocket.
"Ugh, I feel so stupid. Why you ain't let me know before?" You said, handing your phone over to him.
"I wanted to see how long you would go without noticing," He shrugged laughing.
He typed in his number and handed the phone back to you. "Tana," You read, "That's your nickname or sum?"
"Well, that's what my friends call me. My family call me Nana."
You busted out laughing, "Nana? Like a grandma?"
He rolled his eyes, sucking his teeth, "It's not like I chose the name. What yo family be calling you?"
"Yana. It's my middle name."
"Reagan Yana..." He looked over for you to finish.
"Reagan Ayana Hudson," You corrected, giving him a sly smirk, "And you, Nana?"
"Santana Malique Johnson."
"Johnson..." You repeated, typing onto your phone.
"What you doin?" He attempted to look onto your screen, but you pulled away, hopping off the swing set. He quickly followed, eager to see the screen.
"Just signing you up for the military. Social security number?" You peeked from behind your screen, flashing him a grin.
He attempted to swipe your phone out of your hand, but you quickly dodged, making a dash towards the exit. It wasn't long before he caught up, scooping you into his arms. He held onto your waist, tickling your stomach.
"Alright, alright I give," You said between your laughs. You turned your phone to him revealing his contact: Nana👵🏾, "I got everything right sergeant?"
"Mmcht... Ight Yana," He laughed, tickling your stomach again. You attempted to squirm out his grasp, but he stopped you, holding you to face him. His hands on your waist kept you still as he again dissected your face again. Your eyes, your nose, your lips.
Your breath felt frozen as the two of you stood in the park together. The crickets' lullaby the only sense of time moving.
"Thank you again, Tana."
"Anything for you, ma" His eyes held onto yours as he replied in a low voice. He let go of your waist, setting you free, but you remained still. Almost as if he put a spell on you that you couldn't break.
"Make it home safe Reagan," He stepped back, breaking you from the spell.
"My house is right there," You joked, slowly coming back to reality.
"I'm serious." He spoke again, "Don't fight to be this perfect girl you was talkin bout. You're already perfect in my eyes."
You gave him a soft smile in which he returned.
"Bye Tana."
🌙: 𝘪 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘷 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩😫🖤
𝘪'𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘮𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘴 𝘪'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦💋