The -perfect- day for a walk.

[Jay]

Today, was a very good day. In fact, it would have been possible to make the venture that this was truly a perfect day. Though perfection has always taken many forms, the one that was on display today was a lightly breezy sunshine sort of perfection. The kind where you can’t just stay indoors. It was for this precise perfection that, regardless of any science test the next day, James found himself walking through the park. He had shoved any memory of tests or assignments to the side for two reasons. One being the weather that had graciously showed up to distract him, and the other because, well hey. It was his seventeenth birthday; he should be allowed to do whatever the fuck he wanted. Even if that ‘whatever-the-fuck’ involved forgetting completely that school existed by any means necessary..

At the moment, though, his particular method for completely banishing all idea of work from his mind was walking Charlie, who was pulling furiously on the leash, silently begging his owner to walk faster.

James, however, seemed to have a leisurely walk in mind, and no matter ho much his massive dog tugged, he refused to walk any faster. After his arm began to hurt with the effort of holding his dog in place, he finally took the leash off of him, and the great dane bolted, dashing ahead to go play with the other animals of the park. Which in this case meant chasing pigeons.
James kept up his relaxed pace, and eventually found a bench to sit down on just a ways out of the sun. One of the main problems of having nearly white skin was how easy it was for him to burn, regardless of sunscreen. A fact he’d only ever learned through trial and error. Sunburns were hardly the best thing to have.

The young man watched his dog from behind his dark sunglasses, a small smile creeping up his face like an infection. Happiness was a disease, and apparently he’d caught it. Be it the park, the weather or the reckless bounding of Charlie, there was something about today that was undeniably…
Perfect.

“Charlie!” he yelled out to his dog, who seemed to have wandered a ways out of his vision, and not moments later he was at James’ side, panting crazily and wearing a smile that would put a glee club to shame. A quick scratch between the ears, and Charlie was off again, bounding across path and grass alike leaving frightened birds, children and parents in his wake.

James laughed dispite himself. He really loved that damn dog.

He felt a sudden tremor of worry pas through him, and his hand shot to his side. He breathed out a long sigh of relief as he pulled out the two things he hated being without (four, if people bothered to look at in technical terms) his sticker-laden cellphone and three perfectly round aspirin tablets. He checked his messages quickly, and then put his life-blood back into the pockets of his altogether too-short-for-a-man-shorts.

He was prepared to call Charlie back once more when he felt more than saw someone sit down on the bench beside him.

[limbo]

His feet were in control again. They hated to be stuck in narrow shoes all day - hot and cramped - so in retaliation, they took over his mind and carried him where they wanted to go. He didn't mind, as long as he had a pack of cigarettes in one pocket and a lighter in the other.

Almost immediately after school had ended, Adam found himself gravitating toward the Octagon Park. The lush greens were calling his feet. It was a surprisingly slow walk from Cloud Nine to the park, which Adam savored. How often was he able to saunter through town without being bothered or forced to make conversation? When was the last time he was allowed to just observe the curiosities of the peculiar city Monomonon? He walked by a couple whose ages combined probably added up to 250 years, and noted the simplicity of their co-existence. They merely sat hip-to-hip, watching Adam as he walked. The man clutched his cane and nodded to Adam while his wife stared without moving her eyes. He flashed them a smile.

Something puzzled him. Why was it when he laid eyes on an old married couple, all he could do was envision him and Anna sitting on a bench feeding pigeons? He had never concocted ideas like this about a girl before. It was refreshing. He liked the feeling. Though in some way, it also frightened him a little. Did it mean he wanted to be with her for more than a few weeks, or months, or years?

Adam shook his head and shrugged. Gah, all day. All day she’d been on his mind! Well, actually, all week and any time he tried to sleep. Now…now he just had to…just…clear his mind…

He paused by the fountain. He bent down on the pebbly sidewalk to take off his shoe. Tiny rocks had somehow found their way in to his shoes. After a few moments, the thought to just take his shoes off struck him. So, with his converse shoes in one hand and a cigarette in the other, he felt rather pleased with himself and continued his stroll through the park.

Avoiding pigeons and ignoring the disturbingly tame squirrels, Adam found a bench vacated by a familiar looking boy. He recognized him from school though he couldn’t remember if they had ever spoken before. No name was hitting his tongue at the moment. Jeffrey? Paulo? Boris?

Adam held the cigarette between his teeth and rubbed the back of his neck. What would be the harm in joining the guy he hardly knew on the bench? Last time he had sat down with a stranger, he had found a new friend… And he liked having friends…

The other Cloud Nine student looked up at Adam as he lowered himself to the bench. His toes reveled in the grass. Adam smiled and flicked the end of his cigarette on the ground. He set down his shoes and slid into a slouch.

“The smoking thing doesn’t bother you, does it?” he asked.