Five

I tap my fingers against the railing on the bed, the rhythmic sounds my nails make against the metal calms my nerves. Twenty minutes I have been waiting here, twenty minutes since they said I could go home, and twenty minutes I have been stalling leaving. Getting dressed as slowly as I can, tying my shoes three times each, and finally giving up on appearances, just plain sit and wait. Finally I hear the door open and I am wrenched to my feet with anticipation. Dark hair pokes its self through the opening, followed by green eyes and the rest of him. Him.

“You know a month is a long time to wait for a consult.”

“Well you said if I wasn’t feeling well to call…so here I am.” I smile at his goofy grin.

“Yes I saw your chart that was quite a fall. We need to stop meeting like this.” Theo closes the door behind him and walks to the window to pull open the curtains.

“That was far too cheesy…” I joke as I watch him walk. Honesty he can be as cheesy as he wants I won’t care. Hell he could start telling knock-knock jokes and he would still look mighty fine doing it.

“Yes well, it’s also true. You always addled, me always tongue tied.”

“If this is you tongue tied I would love to see you being charming.” Do I have another facial expression other than smiling? I don’t remember. Suddenly he’s in front of me, and for a moment I let myself analyze his eyes, green, rimmed with a gold circle, before diverting my stare to look at my scuffed shoes.

“Look at me please.” He requests.

Gladly!

A small light shines in my pupils and I try to blink it away. He’s so close; I can feel his breath on my cheek. The light disappears and for a moment I can’t see anything except the imprint the light has left.

“Can you stand?” Theo asks. I grab his wrists as I nod. He hoists me to my feet and I lean on him a little more than necessary seeing as the only thing making me dizzy is him. I feel the rough material of his wrist wrap under my fingers and reality slaps me in the face, I let go faster than I thought possible. Taken. He is taken.

“Do you have a way home? I don’t think you should take the bus in this condition.” Theo looks at me expectantly, with the stupid half smile still plastered to his lips. “Can I call you a car?”

“Uh…What?” I need to get my head on right, like now. “No I called my friend, she will come get me.”

“Shall I walk you to the front doors then?” He offers.

“No, I can walk.”

“Never doubted it for a second, just trying to be a gentleman.” His green eyes gleam before he raises his eyebrows, obviously awaiting a snarky comeback.

“Well it’s been fun but I should go.” I start towards the door before looking over my shoulder. “Thanks for playing doctor with me.” And with a wink I leave; mentally patting myself on the back because of his dumbfounded expression. That and the fact that I slipped my card into his pocket.

 

-Eleven Years Ago-

 

“You are gonna get in trouble!” Luka exclaims as he continues to hunch farther over his paper than necessary… or healthy.

“No, I am not; just be quiet.” I warn as the teacher struts past our table.

“Teran, why aren’t you drawing anything?” Mrs. Carson asks as she notices my empty construction paper.

“I uh, I don’t wanna.” I stutter out, suddenly very scared of being reprimanded for it.

“Do you understand the assignment?” I nod. “Well then I am going to have to ask you to draw.” I shake my head and the teacher lets out a sigh of exasperation.

“I drew! I drew her, see Mrs. Carson?” Luka, always the show off, held up his picture.

“See Teran, Luka drew his idea of his match. It’s not too hard; just draw what you think that person will look like.”

I nod to get her to leave, still unsure of my next move. As she leaves I glance over at Lukas art. Which now looking back, looks a hell of a lot like Meg; even though she was just a distant glint in his eye when we were ten. That assignment had been given to kids in year three of school for years before I did it, or didn’t do it. Little me admired Lukas art skills before gazing back at my own paper. I don’t know why I didn’t wanna do it. I could have just draw some hypothetical dream man and call it a day, but I didn’t. I don’t know why, maybe it was just because I was a rebellious a*s of a child.

 

“Why didn’t you draw anything?” Luka asks as he swings past me on the monkey bars. I shrug and eat my lunch in silence, thinking about all my classmates proudly running home to show their parents their art. Each receiving a smile, maybe they will even tack it to the wall. My thoughts turn to my return home, clutching my little brother’s sweaty hand as we walk from the bus. Turner will run ahead into our mothers waiting arms as I lag behind, holding a blank sheet of paper and a note from my teacher.

“I didn’t feel like it…” I mumble with a mouth full of sandwich.

“You always do your work, you’re never in trouble. Why didn’t you just draw me or something?” Luka giggles as his feet hit the ground. I laugh and shove him as he walks towards me.

“Draw you? Maybe in your dreams, pretty boy.” Snatching his tough off his head I run, under the monkey bars, past the swing set until we tumble to the ground in a fit of laughter.

 

-Current Day-

 

“So wanna go to the theatre tonight?” Meg asks as we sit in the back of the car she called to take us back to her place. “Or maybe the museum?”

“I think I should just rest.” I gaze out the window as the demerit who drives the car takes a corner sharply and Megara stares at me. Only the wealthy take private cars, the rest of us peasants are stuck on the bus. But I’m with Meg, aka the wealthy, so here I am. 

“Well wanna tell me what you were doing at the hospital?”

“I had a…follow up.” I smile at my own personal wit.

“Everything okay?” She asks.

“Ya, it is.” I realize that I am not lying and smile to myself. “I met a guy…” Meg lights up, before I the words have even fully left my mouth she is squealing with joy.  

“I knew you would come to your senses! Luka is always worrying about you being all alone all the way across town but I told him “She will sign up when she is ready.” But he never believed me…”

“Wait, signed up? No I met him in a coffee shop!” I correct. Her face drops.

“Oh, I thought you meant a guy-guy” She says with air quotes. “Not just met a person in a coffee shop.”

“Well I did meet a guy-guy. His name is Theo and I met him, in a coffee shop. Only problem is he has his Match…”

“Here will do” She cuts me off as she speaks to the driver and he pulls to the side. Meg slides her card into the slot to pay for the ride and then exits the car, pulling me to the curb with her.

“Are you insane? Talking about someone else’s Match like that in public. What if that driver decides to report you? You know what happens when people go against the system.” Meg manages to make her whisper wound me more than a scream would as she pulls me down the street towards her home. The block is lined with tall trees, casting shadows over the road. I always marveled at these streets as a child, me and my brother would ride our bikes through this neighbourhood and gaze up at the leaves or crunch on the dead ones in the fall, before the city came to clean them up of course. I asked my mother once why these streets were allowed to have trees that served no purpose and she told me that they had to make the streets look pretty to encourage people to work hard at their jobs and earn a bigger home. My parents never really climbed the ladder in their fields, so my street as a kid was sadly treeless.