"Sometimes we love in fingertip touch...and it's just as close as we can get."

~ Butterflies Rising

I was irritated to say the least. My feet were sore, I was sweaty and it was the first time I had the pleasure of being seated all day. Mother dearest had decided to set up a stall at the Summer Fundraising Carnival and Jonah and I were practically forced to be her helper elves. Meanwhile, Stacy got a free pass for absolutely no reason. I had made the wise decision of dragging Emily Henrickson and Daniel James Carter, my two closest friends, into the mix.

I mean, that's what friends are for, right?

Emily and I had been friends since the 4th grade. At first, I hadn't really liked her but then I realized just how alike we were. Not a lot of friendships make it past high school but Emily and I pulled through. Not only did we pull through, we managed to get accepted to the same college, SAIC—School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she was majoring in interior design while I pursued fine art.

On the other hand, Dan, who I had known since diapers, was unable to attend college because of his parents. His father forced him to stay in town and manage their local brewery business. Dan being the self-sacrificing idiot he was, complied with their demands. He didn't like talking about it though. The three of us had been inseparable ever since middle school.

I remembered once when we were younger, this kid made fun of my skin color. It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time in front of Emily and Dan. They practically dragged the kid around the playground, each of them tugging on one of his arms. Dan ended up suspended when he gave the kid a "double wedgie-punch combo". I didn't condone the violence but the memory just always stuck with me.

An eight-year-old me sat near the red and yellow slide, tears cascading down my cheeks. Emily joined me, wiping away my tears.

She said, "Don't ever let someone make you feel lesser than you are. Your skin is beautiful, okay? Plus, I know a lot of Mommy's friends who actually spray paint themselves to look like you, Ari."

"It's called a spray tan." I hiccuped, giggling between my light sobs.

"We're going to kill anyone who messes with you, okay?" Dan reassured me, patting my back.

"No." I wiped my nose. "You both always end up in trouble because of me."

"It's worth it." Emily smiled.

"Totally. Did you see how awesome my double wedgie-punch combo was?" Dan added proudly.

The two of them were my kryptonite, as annoying as they could be, I cherished them. They gave me the strength and confidence that I lacked but sometimes even that wasn't enough.

"Ariel, get off your ass and tend to the customers. You've been lazing around all day." Mom said in a condescending tone, yanking me out of memory lane.

Are you fucking kidding me?

The audacity of this woman had never ceased to amaze me. After busting our asses all morning preparing, cutting, sorting, and selling sushi rolls, I was hanging by a thread, and her remark cut me loose. I hadn't returned to be her rag doll again.

Oh, and I fucking despise sushi.

"You know what Mom, why don't you get off of yours and do it your goddamn self?" I scoffed while grabbing my things. I untied my hair from the ponytail it had been in, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders in the process. Jonah's eyes lit up with a mixture of shock and amusement.

"Unbelievable! Is that any way to speak to your mother?" Mom huffed, her face turning red.

Mother, my ass.

"Whatever," I replied while side-stepping through the small pathway between the counter and the stall.

"Yeah...fuck this. I'm going to hang out with my friends." Jonah drew courage from my words, tearing his apron off and exiting the stall as well.

Fortunately, I located a less crowded area. Propping onto the fence, I pulled out my sketchbook and diverted my attention towards my sketch of the horse; not being able to forget how gracefully it galloped. I began shading the silhouette atop the horse, making sure to get each and every detail right by closing my eyes and reliving the moment.

Admiring my surroundings, I felt overwhelmed by the contrast between the night sky and lighting. I gazed at the breathtaking arrangement of lights which twinkled as the electricity flickered through them. Despite the fact that there was so much noise emanating from the food stalls, rides, and crowd; I zoned everything out. Each time my eyes caught the arrangements, my inner artist exclaimed thinking about how she would recreate them.

"There you are! We've been looking all over for you." Emily's bright green eyes met mine. I immediately hopped off the fence, sketchbook in hand, and hugged her tight. She was a few inches taller than me with beautiful pale skin which contrasted with my naturally light brown complexion.

"I know we see each other every waking second but I missed you, Em." I smiled as we did our hug-dance. It was our thing. We always hugged each other and then swayed side to side, circling around a few times before letting go.

When I heard someone clear their throat dramatically, I chuckled, "Don't worry, I missed you too, Dan." I reached onto my tiptoes to embrace him.

"Come on, I'm starving." Emily looped her arm around mine while Dan draped his arm over her shoulder, and the hunt for food began.

After eating practically every single edible item available we finally took a breather. I was sipping on my peach ice tea when Emily's shriek startled me, causing me to sputter out my drink. "What the hell, Em?" I frowned, wiping my mouth.

"Isn't that Duke? Andy's dog?" Emily pulled me with her, her black hair flying onto my face as she ran towards the German Shepherd. The charcoal and bronze furred animal was quite a sight. Emily turned to Dan and sheepishly grinned, "You're so taking our pictures with him!"

Oh, great.

"Of course I am." Dan chuckled at how excited Emily was getting and nodded. Andy Decker was one of our closest friends from high school. "I don't see Andy though, hold on." Dan seemed curious as he sliced through the ocean of people towards Duke, gesturing for us to stay where we were.

"That doesn't look like Andy," Emily remarked.

I noticed someone holding onto Duke's leash with their back towards us, "Must be one of Andy's friends."

"Yeah, he basically knows the entire town." Emily joked.

"I still can't get over the fact that Andy's going to ask Mel to marry him," I spoke.

"Tell me about it. Mom's been on my case too. The second I got back she was all like 'you better find someone respectable or else I will'. I'm so done with her," Emily imitated her mom and then sighed.

"Parents are just weird. Don't even get me started on my mom." I rolled my eyes.

From the distance, we spotted Dan signaling for us to join him. By the time we reached him through the buzzing crowd, Andy and Melaine came into view.

"Hi, there you little fluffy baby." Emily didn't waste any time, kneeling to greet Duke. "You like that, don't you?" She continued to pet him.

Dan and I shared a look after which I greeted Andy and Melaine. I was standing on Duke's right, petting his furry back with my hand. As I leaned forward to fluff the top of his head my arm caught onto his leash. Whoever had been holding it was clearly standing behind me.

"Hey, um, could you hand over the leash?" My tone was rushed but polite as I looked over my shoulder, gripping the middle of the leash.

My breath hitched when my eyes connected with a pair of amber-colored orbs. I gently trailed my fingers along the leash, all the while maintaining eye contact with him. It was one fleeting moment but it felt eternal.

Breathe.

When he didn't respond, I assumed he hadn't heard me. "Uh, the leash?" My voice came out more unsure and shaky than it was supposed to. I unconsciously turned around while clearing my throat and repeated myself, this time far more composed, "Hand me the leash?" I tugged at it to get him to understand.

When he finally snapped out of it, his gaze faltered to his hand. He caught my stare one last time before handing the leash over to me, our fingers touching briefly before he turned away. His features appeared sharper under the artificial lights, but before I could admire them, Duke tugged on his leash and my attention was unwillingly diverted. An unfamiliar feeling bubbled in the pit of my stomach and I couldn't quite shake it.

After Dan snapped photographs of Emily and me with Duke using her Polaroid, we decided that we had hijacked the poor dog for long enough. Of course, I had used my side pose and my hair to hide my face in all of the pictures.

"How are my favorite lovebirds?" Emily chirped.

"We're great, better than great actually," Melanie replied in her Scottish accent, her vibrant hazel eyes complimenting her dark skin.

"I mean, why wouldn't we be great? She's dating me!" Andy boasted, his shoulder-length hair wrapped up in a top-knot. He had both his arms curled around Melaine from behind, his chin on her head. When Duke sniffed around Melaine's legs, she screamed, her dreadlocks bouncing erratically.

"Melon, you can't seriously still be scared of him." Melaine shot me a frightened look and I gasped before adding, "Oh my god, you so are!" I pulled her from Andy's embrace, "You live with the poor thing. You're gonna pet him, come here." I urged her to come closer to Duke, but she was seriously terrified.

"I've already tried Ariel, trust me. It won't work." Andy let out an amused laugh.

The closest I managed to get her was near Duke's tail before she yelped in fear. Regardless, I reassured her, "You were very brave."

"Yeah fucking right!" Melaine sassed.

Emily and I shared a look before we burst into giggles. It was an uncontrollable, heartwarming, and contagious kind of laughter that ended with all of us in tears.

————

Emily and I were sitting on the hood of Dan's truck, letting our shoulders sway with the music. A few cars were scattered in a circle with their doors open. A handful of us decided to gather at our old high school spot after the carnival. Dan claimed his place between Emily's legs, his back towards us. Emily instantly leaned forward to wrap her arms around his neck.

Dan seized the opportunity to yank her forward by grabbing both her thighs and picking her up. I threw my head back and felt my shoulders rumble as my laughter spilled. Dan spun round and round to make Emily dizzy, she was screaming and giggling without a care in the world. I had always wanted them to embrace their feelings for each other but Emily's mom was unfortunately too strict and Dan knew that.

Suddenly, the music changed, and Let Me Hold You by Cheat Codes started playing. When Emily and I locked eyes, I jumped to my feet and jogged towards her enthusiastically.

Showtime, baby.

She hopped off Dan's piggyback and extended her arms. I crossed mine to hold hers as we spun, my mustard-colored dress fluttering in the process. We chanted the lyrics, enjoying our moment, "For the longest time we jamming at the party, and you're whipping on me, pushing everything on me. We got Silentó on repeat. But if you think you're gonna get away from me, better change your mind. The Hen—"

We were interrupted by Dan who stole Emily from my arms and twirled her around, singing off-key, "The Henny got me feeling right. You're going home with me tonight."

I heaved, my breathing was flustered from spinning at such high speeds. It felt exhilarating. As my vision readjusted and my breathing softened, an unfamiliar feeling overcame me. Gingerly, I peered up through my eyelashes to find the gaze which had been stalking me. When my eyes zeroed in on the stranger, I shuddered.

Breathe.

One of his legs was straightened out on the concrete floor while the other was propped onto the edge of Andy's BMW. He sat sideways with the passenger door open, phone in hand.

It was the amber-eyed boy. Again.

When he caught my gaze, he averted his own, looking down at his phone. His jaw moved faintly as if he was chewing something while his visage remained expressionless. As he fiddled with his phone, the speakers began blasting a Tomorrowland beat, cutting off one of my favorite songs.

Huh. 

————

Your flaws make you special. Perfection is overrated.

Please don't forget to vote, comment, and share if you enjoyed this chapter.

Love, Ari