The way the setting summer sun frames her pink hair makes the way she tosses her head back to laugh at my terrible pun seem that much more beautiful. A soft breeze blows over the pond and tousles her hair gently, bringing the scent of honeysuckles with it.
"You know," She says, her voice still light with laughter, "I don't understand why you stay by yourself so much. You're so kind and funny."
I want to tell her that I'm only like this to her. I want to tell her that I cherish her and I love her, and her patience in getting to know me and allowing me to open up on my own terms made me love her all the more. I want to tell her that I feel trapped and claustrophobic when I'm around too many people. I want to tell her that I stutter over the simplest of words when I have to go to a fast food chain and order a burger, and the anxiety gets so much worse when I'm around people I want to impress. I want to tell her I'm not confident enough speaking English yet to subject myself to the ridicule I fear I'll face if I mess up in front of someone I don't trust; someone who isn't her.
"I just get scared in crowds," I say instead. I feel the emptiness of the truths left out, and I'm sure she does too, but she doesn't press.
"You don't have to throw yourself into a crowd. You could just sit with me and my friends at lunch when school starts back up."
Her offer means so much more than I'm able to tell her. "If we have the same lunch block, I will... Thank you..."
The smile she gives me lights up the whole world, even through the sunset.
"You're going to get along great with Jasper; he's been working on a D&D campaign all summer. He's been texting Katherine worldbuilding ideas the whole time. Oh-! If you want to make quick friends with Katherine, ask her about her novel WIP! And..." She talks on and on about the interests and hobbies of her various friends, and I fall just a bit deeper in love with her the longer she talks with such passion.
I find myself dreading school starting back up less and less the longer she talks. I'll miss nights like this - nights where we spent the better half of the day exploring a new part of the woods until we found a good place to settle down, enjoy the new scenery, and talk each other's ears off until our parents yelled at us to come home and get cleaned up for supper - but maybe next summer, we can have more friends to share these experiences with. Maybe, once we get through this school year, I'll feel comfortable enough to call someone other than Samantha Grace my friend.
I guess I must have been staring off into space, because she puts her hand on my shoulder with the spoken reassurance of, "Don't worry, Pietro, I promise you'll fit in. We all feel like fish out of water, and none of us will judge anyone else for needing a little extra reassurance or time, okay?"
My body moves faster than my mind, and I hug her. "Grazie, la tua pazienza è apprezzata..."
She hugs me back without question. "Yeah, and ravioli to you too." She playfully teases me.
I scoff in amusement as I let her go. Fireflies dance over the pond, looking a bit like twinkling stars. It's a beautiful night to end summer vacation on.
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