"Hey babe."
A smirk played over Mark's sharp features. His bright blue eyes sparkled as he grinned in his lopsided way and threw an arm over her shoulder. He gave a gentle squeeze as Onya flashed him a shy smile in return.
"Hey you."
She giggled. It was nothing more than a small, quick intake of breath, but his heart pumped just a little faster in response to her happiness. It had been four years. Four years of waiting, wondering if they'd ever have a chance together. He'd seen her fall in love and he'd seen her when she was completely crushed from heartbreak.
But she could be mine. If only she were mine, then I would never let her be sad again.
She nudged him, and his arm slid off her shoulders in a smooth movement cultivated from years of practice. They started their walk. "I've missed you." -A falter in that small smile.- "It seems like forever since we last talked. How've you been?" Mark laughed. His chest rumbling and the noise reverberating in the chilled air.
"I've been better, college can be a pain in the ass. But I made some new friends, found some new interests. You know me, I'm always looking for something new to do." He glanced over at her and instantly recognized her lost in thought expression. "Hey, are you alright? I know you've been going through some stuff...but you seem really out of it today."
"It's fine, just a bit scatterbrained. Ya' know?" Onya's mouth twisted up into a tight smile, but her eyes looked off into the distance without focus. Arms crossed over her small chest, she shook a lock of long auburn hair out of her face. As the pavement beneath their feet gave way to the rich dirt that was so common in the woods around their neighborhood, she took a deep breath in.
"You know you can tell me anything, right? I've always been here for you, I always will be here for you." He kicked a rock out of the path with the toe of his thoroughly worn sneaker.
I'm always here for her. I'm always going to be here for her. Please know that. Please tell me what's wrong so I can fix it.
"I broke it off with Halen." Her voice cracked. A small tear trailed its way down her face. "He just kept pushing for sex. I'm not a prude or anything. You of all people know that-I mean, hell, you were the first person I told when I lost my virginity." A snuffle, then another tear. "He didn't want to wear a condom though. And I wasn't willing to do that. God, Mark. He was so angry. Then I got angry, and he started apologizing...I was too far gone though." She stopped as they came to the bottom of the path they were hiking on. It had been a sharp incline at first, but after that all that was left was a gentle downward slope. The path ended in a copse of birch trees, standing uneven and yet comforting to both of them. This was where they would come to escape the wrath of their parents. This was where he'd first held her when she thought her world was going to end. This was where she's first hugged him in the pouring rain as they danced together out of the giddy happiness that only comes with being next to your best friend.
"It sounds like you did the right thing, Onya." He looked right, then left, and seemed to have reached a decision when he looked right again. Taking her arm, he high-stepped over a patch of nettles and swept a low hanging branch out of her way.
"I have no doubt I did the right thing. I just. I-" She stopped. Her brow furrowed over her large green eyes. "-I don't feel bad. I don't even miss him. Does that make me a horrible person? I don't miss him, and I don't feel anything for him." She pushed past him and broke into a clearing. A flowing creek cut its way across her path. Mark stumbled over a fallen log and into the clearing behind her.
"That doesn't make you a horrible person. It just means you've fallen completely out of love with him...I hate to even say this, but, maybe you weren't in love with him at all?" He rolled up his pant legs and slipped his feet from his shoes. She lightly tapped his shoulder.
"You know you shouldn't do that. The weather is cold today. You'll catch the flu. Or hypothermia. You could die. Then who would I have to tell all my problems to?" She playfully chastised him.
"I'm only doing this so that you don't have to, babe." He winked. She sighed with an exaggerated breath.
