The Girl Who Wished To Fly..

Ari read the sign and turned to her mother. "Could you please bring him some of the roast beef and mashed potatoes? He's been out there all afternoon." She said. The mother looked slightly surprise after hearing how long the boy was out. Of course, Ari understood why. She knew her mother would find it odd and frankly quite silly for a boy to spend his afternoon out there. So Ari waited patiently for her mother to reply, but to her surprise her mother began to laugh. A real laugh, one Ari hadn't seen for a long time. "How adorable..! You wait right here Ari I'll bring that boy food right away." Her mother said with a bright smile.

The mother leaned close to Ari and kissed her forehead, reminding her to take her medication before she left the room. Ari watched her mother leave for one slightly confused moment before she smiles and turns to her notebook. Flipping to a new page she decided to draw a picture of what was for dinner for him. She didn't bother making it look fancy, she only added enough detail for him to identify what it was.

She checked over her little art work a few times before she looked at him. She tilted her head, not bing able to see the boys face. She was slightly disappointed but she thought he just held it that way so her mother could read the sign as well. So Ari continued to smile at Arin even though she couldn't see him as well as she wanted to and held the sign up of the drawing for him to see.
 
Now isn't the time Arin. Knowing she has some illness shouldn't affect me in the slightest. He looked down to the grass, noticing it’s darker shade from the light fading. Still… No. Not still. He got angry with himself slightly, his obvious displeasure with his indecisive mind showing through. Yeah. Ok. He smiled to himself, still staring at the grass. It seemed to appear slightly lighter as his mind was forcefully removed of it's self inflicted burden.

He lowered the notebook, feeling slightly foolish at it's simplicity and hoping he didn't come off as selfish. His feelings towards the message were quickly disregarded as he saw Ari holding up a drawing of sorts. He’d not yet looked at the sketch in detail, rather feeling guilty with himself. How long was she holding the sign I wonder? And yet, she still smiles. The thought brightened his spirits. He looked back with the regular look of joy in his eye, the sign that he truly had recovered from the effects caused by his bizarre mind.

It looks like some form of meat, and a big glob of something. He easily picked up on what it was, an age old favorite. Man, I haven’t had beef and mashed potatoes since…. for a long time. His mind quickly veered his train of thought down a different path. His smile seemed to widen further staring back at Ari.

Although his mind did pester him with another question, this one oddly enough a question of reputation, What would people think if they saw me eating a meal on someone’s front lawn? He simply laughed this one off, With my reputation, probably not any less than they already assume. He picked up the notebook and decided to clarify something that he’d noticed earlier. He held up the paper, a single word question placed on it, “Sister?” He hoped it made sense enough. That girl that was beside her just then, that had to be her sister. She certainly looked like it. He thought.
 
Ari read his sign and began laughing. It's been a while, but she has been asked that question a lot so she knew he as referring to her mother. Typically boys asked that question, but girls too. And she kept laughing until she was forced to stop so she could try and fill her lungs with air. She quickly took her pills and water off the tray beside her, tilting her head back and dropping the pills into her mouth then took a swallow of water.

She turns back to his sign, then looks looks down an wrote down her one word answer. Once finished writing she held the sign up saying "Mother." at him and forced herself to hold back her giggles for the sake of her need to breath. As she held it up her eyes studies his face awaiting the usual shock and disappointment she say when she told guys who she was to Ari. She usually found it amusing though somewhat annoying but this time she didn't. She just wanted to see how he would react to it.

As she held the sign and watched him, her mother emerged from the front door of there house with a tray of food and a cup of water. "Here you go. If you want more feel free to ring the doorbell and just ask." Her mother said with a with a smile as she walked over to him. "I'm always happy to help a friend of Ari's." Her mother said with a small chuckle. She set the tray down next to him, still having a bright smile of her own on her face.
 
Wow. That smells good. Arin's mind was sidetracked from looking up at the window awaiting Ari's answer to the aroma that wafted from the door. His face changed expression from one of relaxation to one of frigid nervousness when he caught sight of it's source though. He didn't say a word as the women who was beside Ari a moment ago approached him.

Wh-what do I say?
He struggled to think of words. Once the plate was placed next to him, he managed to think of a response, "Th-thank you." Smooth. Way to stutter. Real proffesional. He mocked himself. Hey, it's not like I'm exactly used to these acts of kindness anyways. His expression lightened, as he seemed to relax slightly, Yeah this is all foreign to me. It feels... kind of nice. He smiled as a warm feeling washed over his body.

I should really start sticking to one emotion. They must think I'm crazy, frigid and hardened one moment, than relaxed and calm the next.
He knew the thought was meaningless. Of course I don't have complete control of my emotions. I can only choose what I show. He looked up to the woman, smiling back at her. It felt weird to look directly at someone, and he felt like he might get scolded for doing so, but he didn't stop anyways. "Thank you. Although, I don't think I'll be having more." The change in his tone was noticeable. He scratched the back of his head, looking down for a moment, "I really wouldn't want to impose."

He looked beyond the woman, up to Ari. He nearly fell back as he read the sign. Hurriedly, he flipped over the notebook, hiding his question from Ari's mother, which had been exposed the whole time, "Your her mom?" He felt shocked more than anything. He looked up to the woman, almost immediately averting his eyes as he grabbed the pencil and quickly wrote on the paper the exact same question he'd asked, "Your mom?" Followed by an arrow pointed to her. He still had a half grin on his face as he looked up to Ari.
 
Ari couldn't really hold back her laughs from how Arin reacted. So she began laughing so long and hard that she had to start gasping for air all over again as she tried to contain herself. Once she settled down a little she began nodding as she looked down at him and began writing down "Yep. My mom." On the page and showed it down to him just in case he couldn't see her nod. She had a big goofy grin on her face as she looks at him, still giggling a little at Arin.

Her mother, who was always oblivious to how young she looked and other things like that, gave him a slightly confused look. "Of course I'm her mother. Who else would I be? A dad?" She smiles at him. Even though her mother was clueless, she as always asked that question too. Though it's been a while so she gradually forgot about them. Her mother was a bit of a forgetful airhead. She would always make silly mistakes like putting a white sock in with a load of whites while doing the laundry and turn everything pink or forget to put gas in her car. She was always like that. But Ari didn't mind. She usually made up for her mothers mistakes by fixing them. "I'm sorry, but I was never told your name. Do you mind telling me?" Her mother asked with a smile.

Ari smiles down as she watched her mother. She knew her mother must be confused by the question. But oh well. She looks over at the boy happy to still see a smile, even if it was only half of one, on Arins face. She thought he looks better when he smiled. He looked kinder and more relaxed. Though she could tell he didn't look like he as use to such kind things, and that worried her. Is he wasn't use to kindness what was he use to? What was it like to live his life and what did he have to go through? If Ari could, she would change that life for him and make it better. She wished she could.
 
Arin, still with a look of utter disbelief on his face thought to himself, That’s impossible! How could she… His thoughts trailed off as he slowly came to terms with the bizarre fact that the woman in front of him was Ari’s mom. The tracing amounts of disbelief on his face were wiped off as he looked to see Ari laughing and smiling, which brought a grin to his own face, then to her mother who looked at him with such kindness. This feels… strange. He began to brush his hands across the grass, still staring at her mom, Is this what normal families are like? He let the thought brush past him, feeling guilty that he thought of himself around Ari. She’s in a much worse situation than I am. At least I can walk away from my problems.

His eyes shifted through a volley of emotions while he was staring at her mom, the final emotion on them being shock before he hurriedly averted his eyes, looking down to his hands that brushed lightly over the grass. His hands had little green grass stains on them as he was using them before hand to relax, leaning back on them, as he did then. “My name is Arin ma’am.” He felt proud of himself upon completing the sentence without stuttering, though the formality felt odd to him.

He reached down to the plate beside him, stabbing a piece of the meat with his fork before shoving it into his mouth. Thankfully, after he’d managed to fit the entire piece he had on his fork in his mouth, his common sense kicked in and he nearly smacked himself on the head, What kind of etiquette is that? Who would eat so ravenously in front of another?

He hurriedly began to chew and swallow the food, hoping the act would go unnoticed but having an itching suspicion it wouldn’t. Maybe I could avert their attention. He turned to the notebook on the ground, his previous emotions welling up inside of him as he rethought of the message Ari had sent him. He began to scribble down a question, erasing it a few times before holding it up. "Does she not know?" Although he'd come to terms with it, he still found it odd that this woman was old enough to be Ari's mother, yet was unaware of how young she looked.
 
Akari chuckles a little at how quickly Arin caught on. Her mom must've made another clueless comment again. She looks down at her un uneaten food. She smiles, it certainly smelled delicious but she wasn't hungry. She hadn't had much to eat today and knew she should eat something but she simply wasn't hungry. She began writing "Nope" and held the sign up to him.

She thought it was amusing how he caught on so fast. She thought he must have figured that her mother was an airhead. Ari chuckles a little and smiles brightly as she's looks down at Arin. She realized this was the happiest she's been in forever. This boy did a simple thing and it made her overjoyed. And just the thought of that simple action made her even happier. At the moment she laughed how she kept just getting happier and happier as the day went on. She couldn't ask for anything more.

Her mother looked from Arin to Ari, then back at Arin. Her mother understood that that boy was the one making her daughter happy and she knew she wouldn't be able to find a way to make it up to him. So her mother smiles brightly down at him. "Arin, would you like to come inside..? I'm sure Ari would enjoy the company of someone else talking to her other then me." Her mother said with a chuckle. The mother certainly found the little sign game her daughter and the boy playing to be a very adorable thing. She continued to giggle just at the mere thought of there game.
 
Arin laughed a little as he read the sign held to the window. Of course she doesn't know how she looks. What she would act like if she did.... he allowed this thought to carry on to a dead end, not overly wanting to see where it would lead. He was quite content with the kind demeanor she addressed him with now, and he had a feeling she would act more vain if she was more self aware. He looked up to her, he himself missing the question, but his mind registering it for him while he was off on his other thought.

Go inside? The idea sent him through another flurry of emotions and questions, and he stared at her mother with a blank expression abstaining from answering while he thought it over. Go inside to talk to her? It would certainly be a lot easier that way... yet the thought of leaving their sign game brought his spirits down, enjoying the exchanging of messages between them. He absent mindedly began to play with the grass once more as he thought, brushing his hands over it a few times before grabbing a strand and plucking it out of the earth, running his fingers along the edge.

It is getting late. It would be better to be inside then to sit out here. He noticed the temperature had decreased as the sun faded and night approached. But still, it doesn't feel right... finally after a long moment thinking over it to himself, he did what felt right to do with him. "Er, just one second." He held a finger up to her mother, then turned to the notepad writing down a message.

This time when he'd finished, he stood up and held the sign above him. His legs felt sore from sitting on the ground for so long, and there were a few pieces of grass sticking to his leg and to his shorts. He took the moment to stretch his legs out, grateful for the relief. On the sign was the question "Would U mind if I came in?" He felt the need to stand so it was more visible, since the question was long and he used a smaller font. It only feels right to ask her what she wants he thought, not wanting Ari to feel uncomfortable.
 
Ari looked at his sign. Heron must have suggested if he wanted to come in or no. Her eyes glance over to the clock then down at her notebook. He may have to leave soon any way and besides, it wasn't like she was contagious. It wasn't that kind of sickness she had. And it must be getting cold so she might as well let him. Though Ari was a little disappointed she and Arin won't get to play this any more today. She just hoped she wouldn't look more sick up close or like a ghost.

So Ari smiles at him and writes down on a blank page "Nope, Go ahead." Them showed it to him with a bright smile. Besides, what was the worst that could happen? And it was the polite thing to do. Though at that minute she frowned a little at her thoughts. It made it sound as if she really didn't really want him in here, but she did. She wanted him to be comfortable and warm and it would be nice to be able to talk to him. She took her glass of water and took a big gulp so her voice would be strong enough so he could here her.

She then stood up and propped the sign against the window, turning to her food. She took two bites of the roast beef and a few spoon fills of mashed potatoes so her mother wouldn't make her her eat later today. She then pushes it away and looks around her room. It was fairly clean and she certainly knew the rest if the house was. She may rarely leave her room but she knows her mother would never let the home be dirty. Her mother tried her best a lot and Ari was thankful of that. She looks back to Arin and smiles hoping he wouldn't find there home too awkward or uncomfortable.
 
His face brightened upon reading the sign, and he thought joyfully to himself, I was hoping she'd say that. Something about her just makes me want to be closer to her. Like some supernatural force or something. He shrugged the thought off as he'd already done to many that came to his mind. He lowered his sign down, and closed the book, wondering if it would be opened again. He nodded silently to himself, It was too much fun for it not to be opened. He'd no idea why the simple game of passing notes to this girl through a window had provided him with such joy, but he didn't think too long upon it. Instead he turned to her mother, a grin plastered onto his face, "Well, if it's alright with her, I'd be more than happy to come in."

He shivered, the cool air of the night pressing down upon him. I hope she didn't see that. As much as he appreciated her kindness and generosity, he'd feel guilty if she were to worry about him. After all, she shouldn't be the one to worry about me. he thought bitterly to himself, the thought of eventually having to go home encroaching upon his mind. But it's best to enjoy momentary feelings of belonging. His thoughts were reflected heavily in his aqua blue eyes.

His hand slowly reached down to his pocket, and he gripped one half of the broken stone he'd initially been using to write. He turned around, his grin fading as he looked to the message it'd left imprinted onto the sidewalk. "I can" He scoffed. Seems more like a cruel joke now than anything. Yet he didn't want to go and erase it, I mean, her mom is going to let me into their house, so it'd be a little rude to go off and start kicking a sidewalk to erase a message. But he felt another reason beyond that as to why he didn't want to erase it, one he couldn't place his finger on. So, one hand in his pocket gripping the stone, and the other holding the closed notebook and worn pencil, he turned back to her mother, ready to head inside.
 
The mother smiles warmly as him, picking up the tray she brought out with what food was left on it and with her hand she motioned for him to follow her. She lead him across the lawn to the front door. The mother balenced the tray with one hand and opened the door with the other. After the boy walks in she followed after him. "Ari is down the hall. You should be able to find her easily her door is the only one closed." Her mother said as she made her way to the kitchen.

Ari, though, stood up and slowly made her way to the door. She figured she and Arin could talk in the living room since she knew her mom would go work in her room. Besides, her room was stuffy and she though he would feel awkward at the sight of various pill bottles and medical equipment that was scattered around her room. And frankly she as embarrassed of the medical things.

So once she was out her room, she leaned against the wall to catch her breath. She made a slight wish in her head for her body not to quit until she got to the living room. So once she got a stead flow of air she continued down the hall putting on her best act to look healthy, her hand on the wall to keep her up and steady.
 
Arin felt a little guilty at completely ignoring his food when he went to enter the house, but didn't have the nerve to offer help, eventually finding refuge as he saw that she seemed to have it under control. Upon entering their house his jaw nearly dropped, It's so... clean! Where's all the junk? He gave a small smile of self-pity against his better judgement not to after seeing Ari's condition, I guess it's just my house that's a mess.

He nodded to her mother, watching as she disappeared around a corner, presumably into the kitchen. "What an interesting women." He marveled. I wonder why Ari's door is the only one that's closed? He shook his head, That's not really that important. Some people want privacy after all. He knocked the thought out of his mind before it could be added to his long list of questions, which was fading from his memory. He turned and began to make his way towards the hallway, his eyes looking around the house and gawking at the cleanliness of it.

He'd gone a few steps into the hallway before stopping dead in his tracks, staring down the hall with a look of happiness in his eyes and a grin on his face. "H-hello" He managed to get out as he stared at Ari who was making her way down the hallway. Realizing what she was doing, he shook his head and eagerly went down the hallway to meet her, extending his left arm so she could use it as support, opposed to the wall she'd been using, "Here, you can lean on my arm if you want." He offered, fully accepting that she could decline it, I mean, the wall probably would give better support. But I don't know... He felt the same feeling he had earlier when he'd politely asked Ari if he could come in, Acting chivalrous feels kind of... nice.
 
Ari glances to him, smiling. "Hello." She said and reach for his arm. Once she got a firm grip on his arm she moved away from the wall and leans on his arm. "I though we could, uh, go to the living room.. It's down the hall to the left.." She sad quietly and a little hesitantly, pointing down the hall with her other hand. "If you want. It's pretty comfy in there.."

She hasn't really gone to the loving room much, but she knew it hasn't changed much from her last visit to it. And she thought it would be a more acceptable place to visit. She use to talk and play games in the living room with her friends before. She thought it must have been that weird feeling she got when she wanted to relive things of the past that made her want to visit with him in the living room. She sort of hated that feeling because she knew she couldn't do most the things she wanted, but at least this was one thing she could do.

She glances over to him. She had questions she wanted to ask, like what was school like? Were the teacher boring? What was it like in his home? What was his favorite subject? What's his favorite past time? Did he have to go far for school? She had so much she wanted to know about what it was like to do normal things. She had memories of her normal things, but she wanted to know his. She wanted a different perspective in the normal everyday things people did.
 
He smiled as she took his arm, happy that she decided to accept his offer. He'd shocked himself at how much he'd actually wanted her to use his arm as support opposed to the wall. Warm feelings rushed through his body as he felt the delicate touch of her hand upon his arm "OK, to the living room it is then" he agreed, slowly taking her down the hall towards the living room.

The thought of why they couldn't talk in her room flashed briefly in his mind, but he ignored it, agreeing that it would be more comfortable in a living room than a bedroom. Plus, if my assumption about her illness is correct, she probably has some medical equipment in there... He personally would've had no troubles seeing it, but he knew that she would probably be embarrassed by it. He couldn't help but to smile as he heard her talk however, finding her voice to be oddly cute. He wanted to glance over to her now that he was closer, to get a better view of what she looked like, but the itching suspicion that he might trip on his own feet and fall over prevented him from doing so. So, instead he simply looked forwards with the same grin on his face.

I have to admit He thought to himself, It feels nice to be in a house that isn't so... He struggled to think of a word that accurately described the state his own house was in, instead letting the thought run null. He was careful not to go to fast down the hall as he wanted to, instead keeping a steady pace so his arm would provide steady support. He was shocked at how light she felt on his arm. It hardly felt like she was putting any pressure on it at all.
 
Once the two got to the loving room Ari sat down in a giant over stuffed chair that made her look smaller then she actually was. Though she didn't care much, it was her favorite chair. She looks up at Arin and smiles at him. "Feel free to sit wherever you want." She said a little shyly, speaking as politely as always.

She thought of which questions she would ask first. She felt like it was her turn since he was the last to ask a question when they were still going the sign game. She wanted to ask a question that wouldn't make Arin uncomfortable or make him feel like she was too informal. She briefly though of asking what his home life was but she figured that was a too personal question and decided to dismiss that one. So the second thing she thought to ask was hobbies. Besides, she knew that was always the safest rout to go when asking questions about someone and could help if she could relate interests.

So Ari politely waited until Arin found a comfortable place to sit and when a pause of silence went by before she opened her mouth to speak since she didn't want to overwhelm her new friend. "S-so.. Um, do you have any hobbies?" She asked, though she was a little mad at herself for being nervous enough to stutter and starting the question with 'um'.
 
Alex had been observing Arin for a while now, a smirk on his face as he watched the lonely idiot talk to some stranger in a house. "What a loser." he chuckled to himself as Arin walked into the house. Alex had been bullying Arin for a long time now and Alex liked it that way. But as he saw Arin walk into the house, his smirk vanished and was replaced with a frown. "You're not getting away from a beating." he growled, as he stomped outside the window view. Watching the two talk almost made his jaw drop as the girl looked pretty cute even though she looked weak. He waved his hands frantically, before quickly getting impatient and chucking a small rock at the window to get their attention.
 
Arin couldn't help but to smile as he heard her voice drift into his ears. He took a seat on the couch, sitting as close to Ari as he could. He watched her intently noticing how odd she looked sitting in the large chair that dwarfed her in size. He leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his thighs. Her question entered his ears, making him smile even broader.

He leaned back on the couch, slouching slightly as he always tended to do when he sat down, "Your a little nervous aren't you?" He laughed, then added, "Don't worry about it. Your pretty cool." He tried to reassure her, before actually replying to her question. Hobbies? He thought deeply to himself, Heh, sitting on the couch doing nothing pretty much. He shook his head, feeling somewhat upset that his life was so bland. He knew he couldn't tell her that, even though it was the truth, so he tried to scrounge up a half suitable answer to reply. Finally finding something that was decent, he opened his mouth to answer, not looking her in the eye since he knew that even though it wasn't a lie, it was a stretch, "I used to play basketball, and I was in drama for a little while in elementary school." He focused on the things he did in the past, not mentioning that currently he did absolutely nothing.

"Oh and I used to play a little-" He heard a noise come from the window in the living room, and his eyes quickly darted to it to see a rock flying away from the window, as if it'd bounced off the glass, Strange. He thought, vaguely recalling that while he was thinking up an answer he saw some movement out of the corner of his eye. He figured it was just the wind blowing a tree or something. "Did you see that?" He asked Ari, wondering if he was the only one to see the rock.
 
Ari blushes a bright red on her pale face when he noticed she was nervous, but she smiles a little any way. As he continu talking she wondered briefly why he stopped playing basketball as she listened to him. Unlike Arin, she saw the rock flying to the window before he did, and she had a clear view of the boy outside. She tilted her head to the side a little. "Yeah.. Who's he? A friend of yours?" She asked and motioned for Arin to come by her so he, too, could see the boy.

She stare at the boy an squinted at him a little. She recognized him, but only because she's seen him walk past her house a few times but he never saw her. But that was as far as her knowledge of the new boy went. She's never spoken to him and she's never made eye contact with him. Well, she's never made eye contact with him till now. So she thought Arin might know who this person was.

She smiles at the boy outside and waved to him before she looked up at Arin. "Should we go see what he wants? Since he apparently wants our attention?" She asked Arin. Besides, why should she miss out on such a rare opportunity to make two friends on the same day? She was sure this will only the the only time in her life for her to get so many friends in one day so might as well be friendly.
 
Arin smiled as he saw some form of color come onto her pale face, even if it was her blushing. He was curious to see who it was Ari was referring to, curious to see who'd thrown the rock at her window. He got up off of the couch and made his way over to her, not moving too overly fast. He already felt his back hurt from the slouched position he'd been sitting in, and it was evident by how he put his hands on his lower back to stretch as he walked closer to her. He didn't look at the window, keeping his eyes on Ari and watching the small traces of red vanish from her cheeks.

He stood beside the chair, then leaned down so he was eye level with Ari, using the arm rest as support, placing his arm next to hers. He was shocked at how pale she looked even compared to him. His skin had always been rather pale since he rarely ever went outside, only leaving his room on the off chance that he went to school, and occasionally to do some other things. He shook his head, his suspicion that her sickness was severe being confirmed. He followed her eyes out the window, where his gaze ran cold.

He cringed slightly upon first seeing him, standing there in the darkening night. He quickly turned his head back to Ari and hurried back to his seat, hoping he'd not noticed him. He looked to Ari and her question. He sighed, She's so innocent. What should I do? There was no chance he would ever go and willingly see what Alex wanted, yet at the same time he didn't want to be rude and deny Ari's chance to meet more people. He rested his elbows back onto his thighs, this time placing his head in his hands to cover his eyes, showing distress. "Do what you want." He muffled under his hands, a sinking feeling setting deep into his stomach. Today was going so well too.
 
As Alex saw Arin, he quickly put his middle finger up at him, making sure he saw but also making sure the pretty girl didn't see. She was nice enough and Alex reckoned he had a shot with her.
So, Alex then picked up the same rock that Arin used to write on the pavement and wrote;
"ARIN, IT'S YOUR BROTHER, ALEX. MOM HAS BEEN VERY WORRIED. COME OUTSIDE NOW."
Obviously, Alex wasn't Arin's brother but it was a pretty good story to make up. Just to make sure though, he gave Alex a dirty look and mouthed, "You better come outside or let me in." Again, making sure that the girl didn't see.