Fixing his hair by looking at the rearview mirror, Reese turned to look at the house in front of which he parked his bike. The walls of the two-storied house had a peach tint. This was the address given to him and the description suited it very well. 

Hoping that he had come to the right house, he pushed open the white gate and stepped his foot on the gravel. Looking around the front yard, he saw a lot of green, along with certain other colours jutting out. 

Two white pots were hanging on either side of the door, the green leaves dangling out from those pots were moving slightly due to the light breeze. The same breeze was now swaying the hair that Reese just fixed.

The house looked more homely than any house he had been to. Hoping that he had come to the right place, Reese's hands tapped on the wood as he inhaled the fair scent of the flowers.

Looking around he studied the pots lining the side of the house. All of them dead as if it hadn't been watered for months. The leaves were brown and brittle, threatening to crumble down with the slightest increase in velocity of the wind.

Reese decided to knock again, but as his hands were about to hit the wooden surface he saw the switch beside it.

"I can be really dumb sometimes." He muttered to himself.

The sound of the bell ringing was heard as his fingers pressed down on the switch. Within a few seconds he heard footsteps approaching the door. As the doorknob turned, Reese took a step backwards to greet whoever was on the other side, and also to give them a better view of himself as he was standing a bit too close to the door.   

"Hey, you are finally here."

Reese stood there, a small smile forming on his face as he looked at Heather who opened the door wider for him.

Reese half expected the person answering the door to be a family member, which made him a little anxious. How was he supposed to introduce himself? Meeting up with unfamiliar adults sometimes made him nervous, especially the old ones. They have been in this world for too long, and therefore they know the sassiest retorts. They can be savages too, not everyone will be pleased with the black motorbike parked in front of their homely homes.  

But seeing Heather eased him. "Come in," said Heather, moving away from the entrance. "Don't you just love Saturdays?"

"Yeah, but I love it more when I sleep in," said Reese as he stepped in and looked around the living room which seemed cozier than what he expected.

"Don't complain when it was all your idea," said Heather as she closed the door behind her.

"Coming to your house in the morning and studying was my idea?"

Heather walked past him and shook her head, "No, but making me tutor you was your idea."

Heather led Reese into the kitchen. "What do you want to drink?"

"Nothing." Reese shrugged.

"I didn't ask if you wanted something to drink, I asked what you wanted to drink."

Reese laughed, "Water is enough."

The house seemed really quiet. Nobody other than Heather came up to the door to discover the person ringing the bell at ten in the morning. "Isn't anyone home?"

"Oh, my mom went to the store, she'll be back in a few minutes," Heather said as she was washing a glass. 

Turning the tap close she continued, "My brother works at a cafe on weekends, he need those extra bucks for stuff you know."

"Stuff?" Reese asked surprised.

"I mean university stuff. He has scholarships and all, but still it's expensive."

"What about your dad?"

Heather felt her breathe hitch in her throat. 

No, she wasn't going to let it affect her again. She made a promise to herself, a promise that she wasn't going to break.

"He passed away a few months ago," said Heather as she poured the water into the empty glass.

There was a few seconds of silence between them which Reese broke before its intensity could get any worse.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Sadness lined his voice.

Heather turned around. With a smile, she offered him the glass of water in her hands. She leaned on the counter as he was ravaging his thirst that didn't even exist in the first place.

"Your hair looks good today."

He almost chocked on the warm liquid he was drinking. "Did you just compliment me, freckleface?"

Heather rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What did we say about that nickname, huh?" 

"I can't control it, your freckles are that adorable."

Heather's cheeks flushed to a colour similar to her hair. She turned and walked back to the living room, blocking Reese from seeing her now red cheeks.

"My room is upstairs. Leave the glass near the sink and follow me."

Reese obeyed Heather's words and followed her up the stairs.

As soon as the two entered the room, Reese could see what Heather meant by her being an artist. 

The walls all were all plane white, except one side. There were many figures painted on it. On the corner there was a guitar painted in dark purple. Then next to it was a pretty huge cherry blossom illuminated by a crescent moon. On it's right a silhouette of a couple dancing as the stereo beside them played music. Flower paths leading to a lady, all green as if a mythical mortal playing a green harp whose strings were decorated with tiny pink and yellow flowers.

Those where some of the numerous works which Heather's artistic mind had created.

"Wow, you weren't joking when you said you could draw," said Reese as he walked closer to the wall to have a better look at his friend's skill. "You are better than I thought."

He kneeled down on one knee, examining the colours covering the off-white wall. 

"Thanks, maybe I will do the favour of drawing you." said Heather as she bend down near her drawer taking out her books, "If you finish that song about me."

Reese turned around, his knees still on the floor.

"You didn't forget that?" 

Closing the drawer, Heather stood up. Placing the book on top of her hips like she is holding a baby, she said, "A guy I met just a few weeks ago told me he is writing a song about me. Do you think any girl would just forget it?"

A smile formed on his lips as Heather turned around after giving him that answer. What Heather said was true, a girl would never overlook the fact that a boy is writing a song about her. Furthermore, that day in class, Reese didn't mean to say it out loud. Those words just slipped out of his mouth even before he could process it. And the moment those words left his mouth, he regretted it.

But seeing Heather take it assuringly, relaxed him. She wasn't awkward about it, neither did she make him feel that way.

Sitting on the soft bed, Heather motioned Reese to come sit opposite to her. "I don't have an extra chair."

Hoisting himself up with one hand, he walked towards the bed. Hopping onto the mattress, he peered down at the books opened in front of him. 

The next few hours passed with the two going through multiple subjects. The only time they took a break was when Linda returned from the grocery store. Heather had to rush down to the garage to help her mother carry all the bags to the kitchen. 

Other than that, the puns Reese made up with weirdly long biological terms were the only thing that lagged them.

"I find this humerus," said Reese pointing at the picture of the humerus bone in the textbook.

"Really? Please stop," breathed Heather scratching her scalp annoyingly.

Reese placed his hands on his hips looking at her, "What's stomata with you?"

Heather bowed down, planting her face on the book. "God no!"

Reese laughed again, preparing himself to say another of his puns that would drive Heather to insanity. But he was cut off by a voice calling out to them from downstairs. "Heath, come down with your friend, I made lunch."

The two were greeted by Linda as they made their way to the dining table.

"You must be Reese," asked Linda with a friendly smile.

"Yeah..." Reese shifted nervously, this wasn't exactly his scene.

"Have a seat." Linda said as she was bringing in the food to the table.

Heather arranged the plates and her mother served the food, all while Reese sat there like a puppy waiting to be fed. 

He felt awkward. He wanted to help but what was he supposed to do?

"Thank you for the food," he paused thinking what Heather's last name is, "Mrs. Daniels?"

She gave him yet another smile before sitting on one of the chairs. "No problem, Reese."

Soon the three started digging into their food.

"So, how is the group studying going?" Linda asked as cut through her tuna.

"It's going great, we covered up a lot of Chemistry and Biology," Heather said.

"Yeah and next we are going to learn Physics and French," Reese concluded for Heather, with both of them sharing a glance.

Even though their little conversation went to different places it never touched the topic of Reese's family. Heather had warned her mother not to ask Reese anything about it. Seeing how uneasy he was at the cafe while talking about his mother, she knew that would be the last thing he would want to discuss with someone he just met. And Heather was more than happy that her mother kept her word.

"This may sound weird but I feel like I have met you before, Reese." Linda questioned as her thoughts raced, trying to discover the image of this young boy in her inattentive mind. 

Reese gulped down his food, "I don't know, even I felt like I have seen you before. I just don't know where."

"I mean you guys literally live in the same town. So yeah it's possible that you have met before somewhere, somehow." Heather interfered.

After finishing their lunch, Reese and Heather cleaned up the table and washed the dishes.

"You know we have been studying for a long time," Heather said as she was wiping the plates dry. Reese looked up from the utensil he was working on, giving Heather a part of his attention. She continued, "Maybe we should take a break."

"What exactly is in your mind?"

She kept the final plate back into the stand. "I don't know if you are much of a nature guy, but we have a great garden in my backyard and there is a swing."

"What?"

"Come on, let's go."

Opening the backdoor, the two walked out, to Heather's father's garden. Benjamin Daniels' garden.

____________________________________________________________

Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did please vote and comment what you think about it.

Now that Linda and Reese know each other, what is gonna happen?

Stay safe and enjoy the little things in life.

Thank you for reading. Bye!