3 A special kind of love

The Girl

I am on my way home. Outside a fevered, hazy sunset is slowly hiding after the lofty constructions.

"Mackenna!" someone called my name. I don't have to turn around to know it's Matisse.

"Wait up, Mon Canard!" he stopped running when he finally was on my side.

"Don't use 'mon' on me, Oreo." I can feel his smirk. "What do you want, Matisse?"

"Do I need an excuse to walk home with my friend?"

"Yes. Yes, you need one." He giggled.

"You got me. I need to take something from your aunt's place."

"That sounds wrong!"

"It isn't! I forgot my ink and sharpeners in class. Miri texted she took them for me."

"Be more careful with your things. She is busy as she is, she doesn't have to worry about you too." I know that he loves her, in a motherly way. He feels like family for both of us.

"I know, I know! I just had a lot of things to do and forgot them there, you know how hard university can get. I am thinking of going there the whole summer and practice more. Your aunt said she'll let me use the Beta class, you should come too. It will be fun!"

"I'll think of it…" Truth to be told, I knew, I knew that the answer is no. He knew the answer is no. Maybe, he is wondering why he even asked. Maybe he is not. Usually, people ask things even if we know the answer. And I don't understand it. Or maybe I don't understand men. Maybe…

Matisse

I've known Mackenna since secondary school. I was a transferred student and didn't really knew English. I had to move in another country and as my grandmother was the director at a school there… You understand the situation.

Mackenna wasn't the one that proceed me. But she was the only child that knew French very well and that gave us no choice but spend more time together so she'd help me in school.

My grandmother was very busy and I never liked any of my English teachers, so I was just skipping the supplementary English lessons.

And instead, I was learning with Mackenna. She used to say that it was good for her to practice teaching someone, she wanted to become a teacher. It's sad that she hadn't yet develop her dream. She was very good.

And when I met her aunt, oh Miri dear! I really just found myself a new family there. She was always so kind to me, they both were. We once went skydiving together. I felt like dying, but Miri… We knew that she could do that over and over again. And so, she did! Every year on her birthday she does something dangerous and adventurous.

When Mackenna introduced me to Benedict, we soon became close and we were like an unstoppable trio. Except that people never really knew about us. I was the only one from the group that had people skills at that time. With time they both start socializing more. And I think that was the time the trio was destroyed. Benedict went in another country to study. We are still in good touch, though. With Mackenna too, but I don't understand what happened between them. They don't seem like they ended on good terms.

I just really hope that, when Benedict will come back, we will be all friends again, like in the old days.

And talking about that, I hope that Benedict will come back…

The Girl

I was looking for my keys, when Matisse took his and opened the door.

"How about, you too take care of your stuff, yeah?" He is looking at me with an irresistible face.

He's got some big and honest gray eyes. His hair is of light brown, he has it messy most of the time, but there was a time when he was wearing it curly. He also has a strand of hair white and one black. I used to have a black and brown one once, but I dyed them white back.

I enter the house and he follow, closing the door behind us.

"Any idea where she left them?"

"Try the living room's desk, if not, the office."

He nodded and went to look for them.

I go to the kitchen and start washing some veggies and other ingredients for our sandwiches.

"It's not in the living room! I am going into the office!" he yelled after a while.

I put the sandwiches on a plate and go with him in the office, putting the plates on the desk.

"Is this your newest piece?" he pointed at the big painting that was hanging on one of the walls. It was showing a woman, who was holding a pair of hands. Around her some other hands were trying to hold her, but couldn't.

"Yeah, it shows that even when you're with someone, there will always be people that also desire you. And we can't change that and sometimes we even have no option but cut ties with the ones that desire you the most…" he started at the painting for a while.

"Nice picture." He finally said "Are you going to sell it? Or is it just for your aunt?"

"It was a special request for someone. I will give them the painting soon." He was still looking at it, with a neutral face.

"Hmmmm, nice. I'll start looking for my things."

Today he was wearing a pink hoodie, with some black pants and a pair of socks that had bananas on them. The last one, we bought together and surprisingly, we are matching today.

"Found them! And I also found this!" he showed me a box, I knew what was in the boxes, it was full of photos and notebooks.

I take it and open it "Oh my Gods, I thought I've lost it!"

He was smirking at me, I knew what he wanted. My phone buzzed in my pocket, he took his sandwich and eat it slowly.

I looked at my phone, it was Ernest!

I already had 2 missed calls from him?!

He hadn't texted me after we met, I thought he was never going to! And now he is calling me? Should I call back?

I hand Matisse the box and call him back

"Hey Mack"

"Hey Ernest!" I giggled and I could feel Matisse's glare.

"I have finally got a day off, so do you want to meet at the same park tomorrow? Around 12 o'clock?"

"I'd love to! What about a picnic?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay then… I have to go now. See you!"

"Yeah"

-Call ended-

"Who is he? And you forgot about me… I want to come too."

"Oreo, Oreo, ahhhhh. His name is Ernest, we've met a couple of days ago."

"Can I meet him too?" it was hard to say no to this little brat… He was always overprotective when it was about boys that he didn't knew.

"Yeah, okay…" he jumped on me and hugged me tight "But that's only, because I love you egghead!"