Blue-Eyed River

    I was sitting on the bench at the park just like any ordinary day. Ever since I checked out, "The Lone Girl and Him", I've been going to the park after school and sitting down to read the novel. I would read a chapter a day and one day, I was on the twelfth chapter. I had gotten very invested in it. It was about a shy, adolescent lady who finds peace in isolation. Then she meets a boy just like her and he changes her whole perspective on isolation. So far, it had been very breath-taking.
    But on the days I would read, "The Lone Girl", it would get very hard to concentrate on it because a boy sitting under a tree far from the left of my bench would take glances at me. He would smile at me and I would smile back to be polite. Then he would look down and focus on the notebook on his lap. It became very distracting and one day, I decided to approach him to see what all of the fuss was about. I sat my book down, got up and walked over to him.
    "Hi," I said.
    "Hi," he said back with a shy smile.
    "I've been seeing you looking at me and I just want to know what's up."
    He chuckled nervously. "Sorry, I-I have a problem. I'm so sorry."
    "It's okay. Why do you keep staring at me?"
    "I don't know. It's just hard to take my eyes off a beautiful girl sometimes."
    "You think I'm beautiful?" I asked with a smile.
    "Yeah. Very."
    "Thank you."
    "You're welcome."
    "Can I... sit with you?"
    "S-Sure. Okay."
    I dropped myself next to him under the tree. "I'm Trish," I introduced myself.
    "I'm River."
    "Cool name."
    "Thanks. My mother named me that because she used to travel and found peace in rivers."
    "Very interesting." I noticed some on handwriting on the page of his notebook. "What are you writing?"
    "A poem."
    "You write poems?"
    "Yeah, sometimes."
    "Can I read it?"
    "Sure. Why not?"
    I took his notebook and began reading aloud the neat words on the page:

The light was hitting her just right
On her tan skin, shining bright
Bouncing off her raven curls
And her wrist covered in pearls
Her body was an hourglass
Mesmerizing, time would pass
She had chocolate gems for eyes
And ears to hear white lies
She must fulfill her daily duties
To be this place's only beauty

    "It's good," I commented. "Really good."
    "You like it?"
    "Yeah. What inspired you to write this?"
    "Oh, uh, it just came to me."
    "Well, that's neat."
    "Are you going to read your book?" River asked, pointing at the bench where I left my book.
    "I can finish it some other time. I wanna hang out with you."
    "Okay."
    "Do you do other things than write?"
    "I draw a little."
    "You do? I draw, too. Are you good?"
    "I don't think so."
    "That can't be true. Do you have any drawings with you?"
    "No, not right now."
    "Oh, then maybe I should see your art sometime."
    "Maybe you should."
    I smiled as he looked down at his black wristwatch.
    "Hey, I'm sorry but I have to go," he said.
    "Oh, it's-- it's okay."
    "Um, talk to you tomorrow?" he asked, taking back his notebook.
    "Yeah, definitely."
    "See you."
    "See you."
    River got up and left the park with his notebook. I still sat under the tree for a while before getting up and sitting back on the bench. I tried to continue reading my book but I was too distracted. This time, from thoughts inside my head. I liked River and all I wanted to do was to spend time with him.
    The next day, I was back at the park. I was sitting on the bench, not reading my book but waiting for River. He wasn't at the park as usual. He would usually be there right under the tree before I arrive. But this time was different. I was just staring at the tree, hoping he would stop by and sit under it. After looking at the tree for half an hour, I decided to concentrate on "The Lone Girl". As I was on the third paragraph of the thirteenth chapter, I heard a gentle voice say, "Hey" from behind. It startled me enough to make me drop my book.
    "Oh, I'm sorry," said River. "Did I scare you?"
    "A little bit," I responded, "but it's okay."
    River walked around the bench and kneeled before me. "I'll pick that up for you," he said, dropping his notebook. He picked up my book and brushed away the dirt that got on the pages. "I usually don't come to this park so late."
    "It's okay."
    As River brushed the last of the dirt off, I noticed that a piece of paper slipped from his notebook. I bent down and took it out. River looked up with a frantic expression. I examined the piece of paper; it was a portrait of me drawn in pencil. It looked exactly like me. It was perfect; my breath was taken away.
    River shot up with my book. "Trish, it's not what it looks like," he tried to explain himself. "I mean it is what it looks like but I can explain--"
    I cut him off by standing up and smashing my lips onto his lips. It was the most magical thing I ever done. I quickly pulled away and looked into River's smoky brown eyes. Boy, he was shocked.
    "I'm sorry," I sheepishly apologized.
    "No, it's okay, Trish," River immediately said. "Look, I've had these feelings for you ever since you came to this park. You are literally the most beautiful thing I ever seen in my life. I didn't know how to approach you so I just expressed my feelings through poems. And I would draw pictures of you because you're insanely beautiful. I know I sound crazy but I didn't know what else to do."
    I chuckled softly. "River, do you want to go out with me?"
    "Yes! I mean yes. Trish, you have no idea how badly I wanted you to make the first move. When you walked up to me, it was like a miracle."
    I smiled and brushed the bangs of his black hair out of his face. He smiled so sweetly at me, making me feel like a pure goddess. I leaned in and brushed my lips on his because I knew that we both wanted that to happen again.