He looked in their direction, she could tell his gaze was fixated on their house.

Her father walked over to meet him halfway, and all she could see was a hug between the two. They spoke for a bit, and now that he was a bit closer, she noticed the boy looked exhausted. The wind picked up and she shivered.

'Hurry up so we can go inside' she thought, keeping her eyes glued to the two.

The sun was shining but it was mid-September. The leaves on the tree were dying, but they painted the world so beautifully. The boy seemed to bring with him gloominess, as her father also seemed a bit down. The reality of the situation must have set in for both of them. They approached the front doors, indulging in conversation.

She was still fixated on them.

Suddenly her eyes met his. A deep brown that pulled her in. His stare lingered for more than she liked. Marielle felt her face heating up.  

Suddenly she felt embarrassed about just standing there, and brought her hands up to her chest, fidgeting around as if there was nothing more important at that moment. She still looked at him, but he had long since looked away. With dark brown hair that was alluringly fluffed up, he seemed in shape, but the wear on his face was noticeable.

They were right next to her now.

"This is my daughter, she's around your age so I hope you guys will get along," her father said hopefully.

She finally snapped out of her daydreaming and looked at her father. He made a gesture at her.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she said with a smile. It was an awkward one.

"Hi" he smiled back. 

The silence after that indicated the conversation was over, and her father ushered them into the house.

She retreated to her room right after her father took over the conversation, somewhat embarrassed that she was hiding away. Her father was touring the guest around the house, and they were bound to stop by her room at some point. For now, though, she was alone with her thoughts. She stared holes into the ceiling but she couldn't stop herself from engraving every small detail of him in her mind.

He was a bit taller than her, maybe 5'8? He had a kind face and the way his hair fluttered in the wind was mesmerizing. He carried himself with confidence although if anyone in the world was allowed to be at their worst, it was him. 

'I don't get bad vibes from him, so that's a good start' she thought. she was laying on the floor once again. Her romantically-inclined mind was forcefully suppressed for today. It felt weird to imagine a future together when the situation was sensitive, so she didn't. 

He was pretty though. And that was that.

Her thoughts had now wandered off to the realm of tomorrow's lunch and were interrupted by the expected knock on the door. She got off the floor and shuffled towards the source of the sound, hesitation in her steps.  She opened it slowly and was greeted by her father's weary face.

"why'd you wander off so fast?" He hurriedly whispered to her before he cleared his throat. The boy—no, the young man, as she noticed upon having a better look, stood beside him. He was smiling a bit. It had been around an hour since he had arrived, and he looked a bit better in complexion.

"I still have some work to do for today, so could you show him around the rest of the house? Take him out to the garden as well, it's a nice day out" He asked.

"Okay, I can do that" she beamed. It didn't seem as if her father was doing it intentionally, she knew he was a busy man. She pushed her glasses up and quickly glanced at the stranger, he was also looking at her. It caught her off guard.

"You'll be in good hands, she'll be able to answer any other questions you have" her father looked towards him with a reassuring smile.

"I'll see you both at dinnertime". He turned to leave, waving a hand as he did. They both watched as he walked away. It was now just the two of them. The silence felt heavy, she never was the extroverted type, but she knew she had to be the one to speak first.

"Sorry I didn't really introduce myself," she said, "My name is Marielle, I think we're the same age"

"Nice to meet you, Marielle. My name is Seren." It rolled off the tongue.

"Did my father show you the room you'll be staying in?"

He took a second to respond, "Not yet"

"I'll take you there then. We can check out the garden after that". She smiled at him, and he smiled back. She left her room and began the journey through the hall.

He didn't talk much in between rooms, but she didn't mind anyways. She mentioned the annoyingly creaky doors of the dining room, the one flickering light on the hallway that always caught her off guard, the part of the carpet that her foot always got caught up in—"be careful of that, I fell victim one too many times" she added in.

The little things that made her home. 

He listened to her rambling though, she appreciated it even though she was aware enough to realize she was being awkward. She stopped at a room that was 3 doors down from hers, the one her father had designated last minute to him. Marielle gestured for him to go ahead and take a look.

She peeked over his shoulder as he opened the door. It was nice and cozy, with a bed against the wall and a large enough desk to study on. A nook was on the other side, something that her bedroom didn't even have. Accompanying it was a window that looked out towards part of the garden and beyond the gates. The perfect place to silently brood under the moonlight. She could imagine him doing that.

His suitcase was near the bed, unopened. She looked towards him, hoping to find a reaction on his face to the room that he would live in. He had a sad look. 

She knew where it came from and let his eyes wander across every detail that made the room. He seemed to like it. 

"Would you like to continue the tour? We can stop here if you want". She didn't want to talk his ear off if he was already on the verge of sleep.

"No, please continue. I'd love to see the garden" he quickly replied, eagerness in his eyes.

She smiled at his enthusiasm, "follow me"

and they were off.