The day had quickly turned to night time, the window that once poured the fading light in, was now dark. Mya had her lamp turned on, the same essence of the warm light of the sun danced around the room. It was nearing ten oclock, mom still hadn't wondered where I was but just asked if I was enjoying myself. I still sat on the same bed, watching Mya as she sang along to the song playing from her records.

I allowed her the time to start her nightly routine and I watched very eagerly the entire time. Besides, when she was showering, because that would have been weird, but everything else was surveillanced by me. She started with applying creams to her face, expressing that they were just moisturizer as I watched her with confusion. Her hair fell in wet ringlets, flatter then when dry, upon her shoulders as she began drying it with a shirt like she had done days before.

She applied more creams and sprays to her hair, not really caring what the product was, but more intrigued in the process she had. She put lotion on the visible parts of her body and combed her hair out, placing it in two braids before wrapping a silk cover over them, tying it at the base of her neck. Finally, she walked back to the bed and rejoined me. She smiled softly, that smell of vanilla radiated off her body. It was the lotion.

"Sorry i tried to be quick." She pushed out, looking at me as she sat criss cross directly in front of myself. I smiled, kindly.

"You're fine, do your thing." I said softly. This time she laughed, looking down at her lap but then quickly replacing her eyes on my skin.

She didn't say anything, not that there was much to say anymore. We talked all evening about music, school, and anything we could think of to avoid the most important questions at hand. I knew she had questions for me, about skipping out on school today, and I knew that sooner then not, her questions would come out and I would have to talk about them. But, if I could ignore it a little longer, I was going to. I wanted to just enjoy her presence without the feel of tension as she waited for the truth from me. I never wanted to lie to her, but saying anything that held truth was hard for my mind to do around her.

"You can go home whenever you need to, don't feel you have to stay for me." I shook my head

"Trust me, I wanna stay for you. Plus, ain't nothing special going on at my house." She nodded her head. "I was there all day, needed an escape anyways."

This time she laughed, her eyes scanning my face for an emotion that I felt right now. But, what I felt inside, which was pure bliss, somehow did not show on my face in the moment. I just looked back down at her with a blank look. I was always good at hiding my emotions. Even when she made me feel all giddy inside. She pursed her lips at me with thoughts racing through her head, and I waited for them to spill out. Instead, she sighed, bringing her knees to her chest and lowering her chin atop the two. She bear hugged her calves and swayed softly, still humming the music that played softly in the background. My eyes danced around her face, finding it easy to take her features in without feeling shame or embarrassment. I think she enjoyed it, or hoped she did, the thought of me checking her out without caring what she had to say about it. Her eyelashes were still wet from her shower, and seemed to stick out more as the dark shade rimmed her eyelids. A small curl had escaped the braid and was peeking out from the scarf on her head, dropping in a damp coil against her temple. She didn't seem too worried to fix it, but it was adorable watching it swing along as she rocked back in forth with the music.

"What is Charlie thinking about?" She asked suddenly. My eyes stopped taking her in and stared into her brown eyes. I furrowed my brow before shrugging my shoulders.

"Nothing, honestly." I said but it was a lie. I was thinking about hours ago, when she had flipped out on me for telling her everything that was in my heart. How she shut me out for a split second before letting me back in just as quickly. How she had me wrapped around her finger in fear again because I didn't know what to make of the situation, but it was hard for me to come up with a probable solution to that question because I was in her presence. And it was hard to think about anything around her, if it wasn't how happy I was to be in that moment. "What is Ms. Mya thinking about?"

This time she shrugged and her body slowly halted to a stop before me. She reached over the frame of her bed and pulled the needle of the record player up, placing it in its resting spot. She quickly looked to face me again, exhaling loudly. "Why did you skip school today?"

There it was. I knew the question would come sooner and I willingly opened the door for her to ask me. I should have said the truth, about what I was thinking, avoiding the conversation about me. I shrug again and stare at her. She shook her head roughly. "No Charlie, no." She started. "You need to be honest with me, no more shrugging and I don't know's." Her voice wasn't harsh but it was serious, stern even.

I fought the urge to do exactly what she asked me not to. "I just don't feel like talking about, really."

"Then just be honest and say that." She said softly. I could tell she felt like I was hiding things from her. It wasn't that. But I was embarrassed for how this morning had went. I hated when my built up emotions turned to pure anger quickly, and I lose control. How did I tell her I cried to my mom? How I punched her dash and made my already swollen knuckles worse again? Or how I was 10 seconds away from expulsion, how I got kicked out of class because of Ross? I knew it seemed like such a simple task, to tell the whole story to her, but my mind wouldn't let me. The parts I left out would be missing pieces and I would get confused in the lies I told, or the truths I didn't, and it would be a more fucked up situation in the end. So I choose to stay silent in times like this. "You don't have to tell me everything, or anything from that matter, but just be honest that you don't want to tell me so I am not worried about it."

"Why would you be worried about me leaving school early?" My question came off rather dry, not intentional but that just seems to be the pattern with me lately. So I tried to rephrase it. "Like, why does it matter?" Again, mission failed.

She stared at me dumbfounded. "Every time I feel we make a step forward, we instantly move two steps back." Her voice was soothing, even when she was unsatisfied. And I knew, my response had unsatisfied her.

My heart raced, say something right for once Charlie. "Explain?"

"Like—" She paused, wiping her eyebrows against her forehead roughly. I noticed she did this when she felt overwhelmed, like it was a tactic to avoid pulling her hair out. "Like, we sit here and express how much we like each other and how much we care about each other. I feel we should be well past this now, but here you are asking why I care about you?" Her soft accent came out stronger when she spoke fast, usually when she got worked up. She shook her head. "I can't understand. I don't understand."

I felt a loss of words. I mean she was right. We have spent days addressing our feelings with each other, but seemed caught on this stage. And maybe it was because I was too scared to move on, or maybe it was because I loved hearing her thoughts about me. "I know you care about me, Mya. I just, don't know why me leaving school early matters right now." Once again, mission failed. Abort. I shifted on her bed. Scooting a little closer to her, my hands found hers. "I don't want you thinking I dismiss what you say to me, especially when it has to do with me."

She withdrew her hands from mine and wrapped them back around her calves, hugging them close to her chest. I felt a pang in my heart, almost as if my touch repulsed her now. "I just don't get what's so hard about being honest with someone you supposedly care about, that's all." Her voice remained soft, almost too quiet to hear. I shook my head.

"So now you're questioning if I care about you?" She didn't say anything, just lowered her eyes to the sheet that laid beneath us, wrapped cozily around her mattress. "I do care about you Mya, I don't understand what's going wrong again? I don't understand why you are upset with me, again?"

"I'm not upset with you, Charlie. I just feel like you shut me out sometimes. But, I get it. But I feel like we should be past that now." Her eyes finally met mine. "Not once have I laughed at you for anything you've tried to tell me about."

"It's not that I am shutting you out. I am not scared you will laugh at me. I just don't want to keep having depressing talks with you when we are together and have our good ones over the phone." I stare back at her intently, noticing the furrow in my brow never left.

"Because when it's in person, I can at least comfort you better than on the phone."

"How." I state dryly, more as a statement than a question. She finally lowered her legs from her chest, stretching them across my own and scooting closer to me.

"Like this." She said, putting each leg on either side of me, letting one fall off the edge of the bed where I sat awkwardly. She scooted even closer, keeping her eyes on mine as she did so. She made her way nearly on my lap, her face inches away from mine. "I can watch your body language up close, and really get a feel for how you feel. And I can tell you everything's going to be okay." Her hand met my shoulder, rubbing smoothly up and down against the material of my T-shirt. "I could wipe your tears if you cry, and let you lay your head on my shoulder if you wanted." She paused for a great while, letting me take in the closeness of her. The scent of vanilla filled my senses, making my mouth water to the smell.

"I can't do that over the phone." She said with a quiet giggle, going to pull herself back. But I found my hand reaching up to her back, keeping her body in place, entangled with mine. The feeling of her comfort felt good, even better than the comfort my mom provided me just this morning. Not that I needed comfort right now, but I could easily cry on command if it meant she stayed sitting exactly where she was. My eyes glanced around, taking in our position carefully. I made the next move, placing both my hands on the side of her small torso and pulling her closer to me. She was now straddling my lap and her wide smile grew on her face. "See my point now?"

I nodded robotically, my face kept a blank expression but, soon felt a smile creep on my face. Her hands reached up and wrapped on both sides of my cheeks like they did earlier when I kissed her. The warmth made my skin ignite in a fire that I felt in my stomach, something that was new to me. "Ross just started in on me first thing this morning." I started. "Glass sent us out of class even though, it was Ross who started everything. I was just pissed off, and he tried to get me to go smoke with him. I told him he was worthless like his family, and I regret it." Her eyes never left mine as I spoke, but her fingers made warming circles on my cheeks. "I basically told him to get fucking lost. And I don't know if that was just the fucking icing on the cake that set me off but I was just mad. Madder than I was at the party. I just felt overwhelmed and I just asked my mom to come get me."

    I realized my eyes stopped focusing on her but was now focused past her, watching the events of this morning all over again in my head. I shook it away but still couldn't meet her gaze. "I got in my mom's car and was so mad I just began punching the fucking dash board, a lot." I held up my right hand, the hand that was red all over again after it just began to fade from Friday nights frenzy. I felt her eyes glance at my knuckles but soon reconnected with my face, watching every twitch in my eye and word that left my mouth. "I think it was just the rush of emotion of everything going on in my head, coming out all at once. But I just spent the day with my mom, kept me distracted, caught up on homework, and now I am here." My voice stopped speaking but my mind didn't stop trailing, reliving the events that led me to here. Mya's bedroom. With her gracefully sitting in my lap.

    Her fingers never stopped drawing circles on my cheeks, causing the friction to rush to my brain and cloud my thoughts. But I shook them away quickly each time the circle restarted. She stayed quiet a moment, sucking in every last word I said and letting it soak. Her eyes read mixed emotions that I could not decipher, that I was not willing to read. I just needed her soothing voice to fill my ears. "I'm sorry." She said softly. "I know you didn't want to talk about it, and I am sorry for pushing you to do that."

    I shrug my shoulders. She pushed me past the limit I set for myself, yes. But was that so bad? She was helping me feel comfortable with talking with her, with talking about what was going on inside my head. I could fight it all I wanted, but deep down I knew, she was right. Talking with her in person, was way better if meant I got to hold her this close to me every time. To have her full attention for my two minute rant about 'Why does Charlie's life suck today?'.

    "I feel better, actually." I nod my head. "Truly, honestly." She smiled at my words.

    "I'm sorry the day was rough. And I am sorry Ross is still continuing to weasel his way into your head."

    "The day ended with me being with you, so it's no longer bad." Her smiled widened, reaching up and planting a kiss on my cheek. But I longed for more. We weren't dating yet, I didn't even know if we were in the universally declared 'talking stage', but I felt it was bad to kiss her more than once in a day. I had a good excuse with being drunk but, not today. I felt the sensation of her lips long after she already pulled away from my cheek. Every muscle in my body fought the urge to squeal like a little girl on prom night.

    "We should go to Spring Fling together." I caught her asking. Reading my mind again, I suppose. I stare at her, longing to be the one dressed up with her, walking in to our school holding hands, and slow dancing all night. But, a school dance? I've never been to a Spring Fling. I was asked by a junior when I was a freshman but I told her no, more embarrassed to be caught at a school dance than full of pride that a junior asked me.

    But, I found myself nodding my head. "I'd like that." I said softly. She grinned happily, this time leaning up and meeting her lips with mine. I was surprised now, but fell right in track of kissing her back. I was fully aware it was getting taken away, as her tongue was leading the way and sliding along my lip. But I didn't want to stop her, I wanted her to have control. I was scared of her freaking out on me again. When she didn't stop there, continuing to allow our tongues to tease each other, she swarmed hers against mine, like it's been forever since they last met. I felt my heart race quicken, the fire in my stomach grew powerful, almost as if I would ignite into a wild flame. I didn't stop though, pulling her body closer onto my lap where our chests met, my hands guiding up her back as I trace over the bra underneath her shirt, causing the flames to only grow. My hand reached the back of her neck, using it as leverage as I gently pushed her lips against mine more. Her hands danced around my face before running through the curls on my own head, sending chills down my body quickly. She pulled on a handful lightly, as I bit down on her bottom lip gently. I heard a gasp escape her lips through the kiss, sending my body into a mild panic. I was eager for more but only if she allowed it.

    My phone began to ring loudly, causing our lips to separate just as quickly as they collided. I felt my soul leave my body as Mya let out another gasp, shock this time, and looked at me with wide eyes. Her face was bright red, from fear or thrill, I didn't know. I reached my hand in my pocket to retrieve my phone, my eyes never leaving her with a smile on my face. "Stop blushing." I whisper, looking at my phone screen to see my mother FaceTiming me. I hesitantly answered it as Mya pulled herself off my lap, wiping her hands across her face in hopes to rid the red. "Hello?" I called as my mother's face popped onto my phone.

    "What you doing?" She asked, chewing through a handful of popcorn. I saw my face in my own box on the screen, seeing my hair sticking up crazily, and my lips looked swollen as well. Fuck. My mother stared at me intently waiting on an answer as I tried to, nonchalantly smooth my hair out with my hand.

    "Nothing, just watching a movie with Mya." Mya peered over the top of the phone, making her nostrils and forehead visible.

    "Hi, Annabelle." She said shyly. My mom smiled at her.

    "Hi sweetie." She called before turning her attention back to me as Mya removed herself from the frame. "Don't you think you ought to come home soon? It's a school night, Charlie." She shoveled another handful of popcorn in her mouth, chewing obnoxiously into the mic. I glanced at the time, seeing as it was already 103o and this was the latest my parents willingly let me stay out.

    "Yeah, I'll head home soon, I promise." I said softly, rubbing the top of my forehead.

    "Okay, well, please try to be home at least by 11. And lock up after you do, dad and I will probably be upstairs then." I nodded my head. "Okay, Love you Charl, bye, Mya. Be safe." She said, sending a wink through the camera. I felt a blush creep on my face.

    "Bye love you." I said quickly before ending the call and tossing my phone back on my bed. I sighed deeply, my eyes meeting Mya who only just laughed at my embarrassment.

    "I love your mom." She said through laughs, staring at me with admiration.

    "I love when she's not trying to embarrass me." I said, meeting her laugh. Without hesitation, I pulled Mya back on top of me, lying down and dragging her with me. She laid on my chest, staring down at me. My arms around her lower back that arched as she pushed herself closer to me with my touch. She smiled widely. "Now where were we? Is the moment ruined?"

    She chuckled at this, sending chills across my body as I felt her laugh rumble across my chest. "I think we were at the part where your mom was calling you home, after catching you making out with a girl." I sighed. Leave it to Annabelle to ruin the moment. "We always have tomorrow, and the next day. And the next."

    I smile up at her and nod. "And hopefully forever." I found myself saying rather casually, but once the words left my lips I felt the blood in my body warm.

    "Hopefully." She whispered before planting one last kiss on my lips, pulling herself off of me and to her feet. I did the same, standing up and looking down at her. Her shortness made my heart melt. "Will you come back tomorrow?" I nod my head.

    "Of course." I say sweetly, gathering the small amount of things I brought, and getting ready to head out of the door. Mya led the way, walking back down the same hallway and passing Sydneys room which now had the door opened. "Bye, Sydney." I called to her, sending her a wave, resulting in excitement across her face.

    "Bye Mya's boyfriend." She said loudly. This time I didn't feel embarrassed. I knew the statement was not a reality, not yet at least, but I enjoyed getting a glimpse of what it would be like to be Mya's boyfriend. I send a smile her way.

    Without denying her statement, I laugh. "You can call me Charlie." She didn't say anything else, continuing to smile as she finished coloring a picture on her sketchpad, similar to what Reese does frequently. I looked back at Mya as she rolled her eyes, turning away to walk down the stairs, I follow. Her house was quiet, her parents still not returning home from their evening adventures doing god knows what. We reach the front door and I placed my shoes on my feet slowly, stalling to engulf the presence of Mya fully before I left her for the night. She opened the door and my bare arms met the chilled air outside, enough to send goosebumps up my arm. I step out as she stayed in the doorway.

    "Are you sure you don't want a ride?" She asked softly through the light breeze blowing. The porch light lit half of her face as she spoke to me, glimmering off her gold hoop that perched on her nostril. I shook my head.

    "Nah, could use the exercise anyways." I said. She rolled her eyes at me again. I took a step closer to her and wrapped her into my arms, her warmth calming the chill that laced my body. I felt her body completely relax against me, almost like mine does to her touch. As if there was no better feeling in this world, and I could test that that was true. I pull back, keeping my hands on her lower back, her arms were wrapped around my neck. I peer down at her lovingly. So much to say, but one action that came across my mind. My lips met hers once more, just one, slow, passionate kiss. I pull away hesitantly, her eyes meeting mine. "I can't wait to do that again tomorrow."

    She laughed, slightly slapping the back of my shoulder blade with her palm. Sadly, we pulled away from each other. "Let me know you made it home safely."

    "I will, little lady. I'll see you tomorrow." I turned around regretfully when I should have just stood there, continuing to bask in her beauty in the moonlight. I heard her front door close as I walked down the pathway and to the sidewalk, the breeze picking up and blowing my crazy hair around on my head. I felt the smile grow wider with each step I took, the cold air drying out my mouth. But it never went away. Even after I reached my own house, as I walked upstairs and laid down in my bed. And it grew even wider when I texted Mya I was home, her replying with a heart. I'm glad to hear, love. Thank you for a great evening;) I didn't reply right away, but instead laid my phone on my chest as I stared up at my dark ceiling. My smile was still there and god I knew it would still be there in the morning.