The next day, at lunch, all of us were sitting at our usual spot by the tree. It was a peaceful day, one of the days that could automatically get you in a happy, dreamy mood.

"Stop singing Neil, you are ruining the mood," I mumbled, and Neil stopped to give me a look.

"What mood? Besides, if anything I am making the mood."

"Oh please. You sound like a dying walrus," I said.

"Rude," Neil snapped but stopped singing. And I noticed he was unusually happy today.

"Anything you want to share with the class, Neil?" I asked.

"Yeah, you are in an awfully good mood today." Avi grinned at him, watching him with narrowed eyes.

"I'm just happy we won our last game. It was a big one for us." He shrugged.

"And?" I prodded, sensing that there was something more than just that.

He looked at me for a while, then broke into a huge smile. "Well...and I think I am in love," he announced, his cheeks a little flushed.

"Finally!" Ash squealed.

"About time," Avi said, patting his shoulder.

"Aww, have you told her yet?" I grinned.

"Yeah, we sorta confessed to each other last night."

"Oh my God, I need every detail. It's been a year since you guys got together, right?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, almost." Neil laughed. "Although, it's been only 6 months since we made it official."

Just then I heard someone yell, "Veronica!"

When I looked around, Tyler was striding across the school ground to the patch of grass we were sitting on. Being his usual confident self, wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans, messy hair, and an easy smile.

Suddenly, I sat up straight as all of yesterday's memories came back to me. His distraught condition, tear-stained cheeks, and his cold behavior. I could not take that image out of my mind, nor could I ignore the contrast between the boy I saw yesterday and the one I was seeing, right now. But I had promised myself that I will not pry anything out of him unless he wanted to share it with me. It was his personal life and I respected that. So I acted normal as if nothing strange had happened.

"Hey, Tyler." I smiled up at him as he came over and stood towering over all of us.

"Hey! Um...can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked, looking a little uneasy.

"Yeah sure," I said and got up, following him towards the campus building.

"So about yesterday..." He started before I interrupted him.

"You don't have to explain anything. Yesterday didn't happen," I assured him.

He blinked in surprise at my response and said, "Wow, okay. Thanks, and I'm sorry for being kinda rude to you."

"No, it's fine. I understand."

"What were you doing there anyway?" he asked.

"I go there often when I need to think or get away from everything. Just a little inside the woods, there is a beautiful spot I had found a few months ago. So since then, it's like my hideout... like my happy place."

"Oh." He nodded. "Maybe you can show me that place sometime?"

I looked at him, a surprised smile taking over my face. "Sure."

We aimlessly walked around the campus for a while, until the bell went out and it was time to head back for the next classes.

"Hey...it'll be fine." I stopped walking and turned to look at him. "Whatever it was, it'll be fine. And if you ever need anything or anyone to talk to, I'm here."

"Thanks." He raised his eyebrows for a second and then smiled. "That means a lot." 

"See you later. Bye, Ty." I waved at him and rushed back to my friends to get my backpack.

"What was that all about?" Ash asked.

"Nothing he just needed some help with...Math," I said, fumbling for a good enough answer.

"Math? Really?" Avi questioned, obviously catching up on my lie.

"Yeah, gotta go I have literature now." I hurried past them.

"Hold up, little demon, we have the class together!" Neil called out, catching up to me.

***

My car was at the garage for servicing, so I was supposed to be walking back home after school. I really liked walking so I didn't bother to ask any one of my friends for a ride.

While I was making my way home there was this young boy probably around 13 years old, walking a few feet before me. He had a pair of glasses and a heavy-looking backpack slung over his shoulder, while he was looking down and kicking random pebbles. His overall body language screamed boredom and defeat. It was just so...depressing. I quickened my pace to catch up with him.

"Rough day?" I asked.

He looked up at me, his brown eyes confused under those glasses. "Do I know you?"

"No you don't, I am Veronica," I introduced myself.

"Julian," he said and offered me a smile. "Yeah, rough day. It seems like a rough life sometimes."

Whoa! Intense kid. 

It was odd to hear that from a thirteen or... fourteen-year-old.

"Huh? Wait, how old are you?" I asked.

"Fifteen," he answered.

Okay, so maybe not thirteen, but still very young to think that he is having a rough life.

"Bad grades? Failed a test?" I asked, failing to understand what's gotten him so dejected.

"You see a sad, nerdy-looking guy and you think all his problems might be academic-related?" He asked, giving me a pointed look.

Snap! Intense kid with a smart mouth.

"Sorry, my bad," I muttered, feeling guilty for being such a judgemental ass without even knowing him.

He could have bigger problems that he was struggling to deal with. Financial problems or his loved one might be sick and dying or he could be dying for all I know. Wait. Was he? 

I looked at him properly, trying to find any signs of sickness. His overall body looked fine, skin tone was normal, although he looked very tired–

"I'm not dying if that's what you are thinking," he said, interrupting my thoughts.

Too obvious with the staring, V!  I mentally smacked myself.

"That's not what I was thinking," I mumbled, looking away.

"Do you always make a habit of talking to strangers, trying to figure out what their life is about?" he questioned, after a while.

Rude. I shot him an annoyed look and muttered, "I was just being friendly since we were walking down the same road. I'll leave you alone now." 

I really should learn to shut my mouth sometimes.

We walked a few minutes in silence until he stopped at a right diversion and said, "I have to take the right turn now."

"Uhh...okay?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"And I'm sorry about earlier, you caught me on a bad day," he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's fine. I was being nosy, anyway I have to go straight up. So it's a bye then." I shrugged.

"Bye. It was nice meeting you." He smiled.

"It was nice meeting you too, I guess?"

He chuckled and then turned to walk away.

I plugged in my earphones and walked the rest of the way humming to my playlist.

I got home to find my parents quarreling and it was really bad. And Loud. 

Just another normal day.

I tiptoed up to my room, threw my bag in there before leaving the house again. Since I was too tired to walk again, I took my dad's car and drove around town for a while. Later, I got some ice cream and went into a nearby park.

It looked deserted and quiet, and I sat down on an old, squeaky swing, eating my ice cream and lost in my thoughts when I heard someone call out my name. I turned around to find Julian.

"So we meet again." He smiled and I grinned.

"Yes, we do."

"Looks like you are having a rough day too." He walked up to me.

"Yeah, just feeling a little lost."

"You and me both," he said, taking a seat at the swing next to me.

***