He read the words in his book, but their meaning was lost as his mind kept going back to that last weekend. He remembered how silent the way home had been, and how red Jamie’s eyes had been since he walked out of the study. Of course he had tried asking his friend how he was feeling, but the green-eyed boy had only replied by saying “I’m alright” with a hoarse voice.

Letting his book down on his lap, Elias slid back on his couch until he was staring at the ceiling. No point in continuing reading if he’d have to read it again later on. He was just too distracted.

He had to get out, maybe walk a little. There shouldn’t be too many people at the park, or at least he hoped so. Determined, Elias sat up and left his book on the tea table, trying to remember what was the last thing he had actually read to come back to it later.

“... His sister went to see the elder and almost lost to the rat beast along the way.” He nodded to himself, making a mental note of what had happened before the words he read stopped making sense.

Going outside, he squinted as the bright light of the sunset hit his eyes. Long summer days were the best, except for when the sun insisted on blinding him. It was still better than feeling the freezing air in winter…

It was already past 7pm, but it was still bright enough as he walked down to the park. Before even crossing the street, he noticed a familiar figure that sat on the steps of the gazebo. 

“Mia?” He wondered out loud.

The girl simply sat there, her eyes on the ground, her hands mindlessly playing with her phone. She pursed her lips, then turned them slightly, biting the lower one once in a while. As Elias walked closer, he carefully watched her.

“So this is what she looks like without her mask.” He thought, getting closer to her.

She shut her eyes tightly, closed her hands around her phone until her knuckles turned white, bit her lip until it trembled under the pressure. It wasn’t until she released a deep sigh and her shoulders relaxed that he stood in front of her.

“Hey there.” He called out softly.

Mia looked up to meet his eyes, as always hidden by his bangs and glasses. She drew a breath, feeling a small smile take over her lips.

“Hey.” She answered. “I didn’t think I’d see you out here.” She patted the spot next to her, prompting him to take a seat.

“True, I’m not the outdoor type, but I wanted some fresh air.” He sat next to her. “What about you? No work today?”

“Nope.” She leaned back on the step behind her. “I’m bored out of my mind.”

“Well, I don’t think just sitting here is any fun either.” Elias laughed, earning him a glare from the girl next to him.

“What was I supposed to do? I usually go to the swings but they beat me to it today.” She pointed to the family swinging their kids in the playground.

“There’s one free though.” He looked at the empty swing at the edge.

“No way.” She waved her hand. “I don’t want to interrupt their family time.”

Mia leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and cupping her chin in her hands. “What about you? Bored without Jamie?”

“Wished that was the case, but things are still so awkward between us that it doesn’t really matter if he’s with me or not.” Elias shrugged, slumping his shoulders right after. 

“Maybe you should try talking with him…”

“If that worked, I would have done so ages ago.” Elias sighed. “He’ll come to me when he’s ready, but I’m just not used to him taking so long…”

“I’m sorry… I’m to blame for this too…” Mia breathed, just loud enough for him to hear her voice. He shook his head.

“Of course not.” He reached for her head, ruffling her hair gently. “Maybe at first we both messed up, but now Jamie’s just trying to make sense of things himself. He'll come around.”

She looked up at him from the corner of her eye. He was smiling softly, so tenderly. She wondered if… He was smiling for her or for Jamie.

Turning her gaze away, she cleared her throat. “Guess all we can do is wait then.” 

“Guess so.” Elias withdrew his hand from her head, leaning back with one arm while holding his phone with the other. “Say, since either of us want to go home, how about we go to the movies?”

“Oh? Is it a date?” She smirked.

“Pff whatever.” He laughed. “Do you want to go or not?”

“Is there anything interesting to watch right now?”

“Well, there are some action ones that I’ve heard are decent, but what do you feel like watching?” Elias moved his phone so that she could see the screen.

Mia leaned in closer, resting her head on his shoulder to have a better view of his phone. It hadn’t been that long ago since they met, but Elias found himself comfortable with the lack of personal space, unlike their first encounter in the bus.

“Well, we do know each other a little better now.” Elias thought. “And she’s not wearing see-through clothes.”

As soon as his mind brought back the memories, he pushed them away, but not before his cheeks colored. Thankfully, Mia had missed the change of temperature on his face, still focused on his phone, scrolling down the cinema’s app.

“How about this one?” She pointed to a poster, clicking on the image that led them to more details.

“I thought you didn’t like horror movies.” Elias commented, containing a sigh of relief as she backed away, but feeling a cold gust of wind where she had just been pressed against him.

“Well, vampire movies nowadays aren’t really scary. Besides, everyone at work is going crazy about that one. Apparently the male lead is good looking.” She winked.

“More than me or Jamie?” Elias raised a brow, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses.

“Bold of you to assume you’re handsome.” She laughed.

“Rude.” Elias interjected with a pout.

“Jamie…” She thought for a moment. “He’s adorable, but not really my type.” She laughed nervously.

“So what’s your type?” He asked as he stood up, offering her a hand.

Looking from his hand to his face and back to his hand, Mia felt a blush creep up to her cheeks. “W-Well.” She cleared her throat, taking his hand and standing up with his support. “Good looking for sure. Kind, gentle…” She pulled her hand away from his. “Just a decent guy, you know?”

“Not very ambitious, huh?”

“Just realistic.” She stuck out her tongue playfully. “What about you? What’s your ideal lady like?”

“Just a decent girl, you know?” He shrugged.

“Ah yes, I totally get you.” Mia giggled, following him before realizing she didn’t know where exactly they were going. “Um, why am I following you?”

“Oh.” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, I assumed we’d go in my car?”

“Oh, well, yeah.” Mia looked at both sides of the street. “Your house huh?” She crossed, walking by his side.

“You can wait outside if you want, I just need to take the car out.” He suggested, pointing to the house with the black railing.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” She smiled.

He patted her shoulder, his own lips twitching to a half smile. He went ahead until he was at the edge of the railing, unlocking it and sliding it open.

“Ah, I can close after you take the car out.” Mia offered.

Elias looked at her, processing her words. He smiled wider at her, handing her the lock. “Thanks.” He walked inside his garage, entering his car and starting the engine.

While waiting, Mia peeked at the inside of the front yard, a little dusty but clean in general. The grass that grew on the opposite side of where the car roared was in clear need of a trim, but it wasn’t particularly unkept, and it looked so green and soft that she felt tempted to lay down over it. Between the grassy area and the car, was a path that led to the door, a welcome mat right before it and a flowery wreath that decorated the area around the peephole. Somehow she figured that had been Jamie’s idea.