Paralysed

He sits on the cold bench in the middle of the park, eyes closed, head titled back as he listens intently to the music flowing into his ears. An old walkman is clasped tightly in his gloved hand; duck taped and scratched all over, it’s a miracle that the thing still works. He bobs his head slightly to the beat of the song, his lips curling into a content smile; the music is soothing, the familiar beat pounding in his ears as he plays the song over and over again.

No matter how many times the song plays, he never grows tired of it.

Squirming slightly in his seat, he tries to find a more comfortable position on bench, his legs going numb from being out in the cold for too long. Glancing at his watch a frown makes its way across his calm features –he never realized how late it has gotten.

He sighs softly, his eyes scanning the semi empty park, searching intently. He contemplates about leaving, the cold finally becoming unbearable as a gust of wind causes him to shiver slightly. In the end he decides to wait it out, the need to stay just too strong for him to leave.

So he continues to sit and wait, head bobbing softly to the beat of the song as he tries to ignore the feeling of dread quickly filling him. It isn’t until he feels a familiar presence beside him that he begins to breath easily.

He doesn’t say a word, making no indication that he has noticed the person who has taken a seat beside him, their breathing reaching his ears through the music still playing from his head phones. His lip twitches in amusement as he hears a huff of indignation beside him, his companion obviously upset that she’s being ignored –good for her, she’s late, she deserves this.

He opens one eye and looks at her. “You’re late,” he says, after a couple of minutes of silence.

“Sorry,” she smiles apologetically, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Without a word, she hands him a steaming coffee cup, “Um…consider this a token of apology.” He eyes the cup wearily, his gaze going up to meet her smiling face and then back to the cup in her hand. “I didn’t poison it or anything,” she deadpans, the smile gone and replaced with a look of irritation.

Chuckling, he throws her a grateful smile as he takes the cup from her hands, wincing slightly as some of the hot liquid sloshes onto his hand. Taking a sip of the hot drink, a content sigh escapes his lips as the warmth quickly spreads through out his body.

She laughs, an odd twinkle in her eye. “Ha…indirect kiss.”

He gives her an inquisitive look, staring down at the cup. “Er…what?”

“Oh…nothing,” she replies in a singsong voice, smiling slyly.

He looks away, embarrassed as his cheeks begin to colour slightly. “W-whatever, it’s not like I care or anything,” he grumbles.

“Sure you don’t.” She gives him a knowing look.

“You’re right, I do care,” he gives her a sidelong gaze, grinning. “I might have gotten some STD or something from you now. Who knows where your mouth has been.”

She shoves him playfully, the jerking motion causing more of the liquid to spill onto his hands. “Idiot, don’t say things like that.”

He laughs, pulling his soggy glove off and stuffing his hand into his pocket. “We should probably get going, if we hurry we can catch the movi –um…what are you doing.” He turns his head to face her, finding her sitting way closer than before, way too close actually.

She reaches out with a gloved clad hand, her fingers grazing his cheek as she plucks the ear bud from his ear and places it into her own. They sit together in silence, the song flowing into their ears. Her eyes are closed as she listens intently to the song, his are open as he watches the subtle changes in her expression as the song reaches its climax.

The walkman clicks, the tape ends, she opens her eyes.

It takes a moment for him to catch his breath.

Removing the ear bud from her ear, she smiles and places it back gently in his. “Come on, if we hurry we can make it,” she says as she gets to her feet, adjusting her scarf and hat.

“Uh…yeah.” He reaches for his back pack beside him, brushing off the thin layer of snow that settled upon it. He rises to his feet beside her, his legs slightly numb from the cold. The feeling of her hand slipping into his startles him; he gives her a questioning look in response.

“Thanks for coming with me,” she says shyly, “Ken was busy and I didn’t want these tickets to go to waste so I thought –”

He smiles and shakes his head. “Its fine I understand.”

She grins back, squeezing his hand as she tugs him forward. “You know, you’re always listening to that song, why do you like it so much?” she asks, walking slightly ahead of him in a slow and steady pace.

He stares down at their clasped hands, allowing himself to be led by her through the deserted park. Why did he like the song so much? He had a reason, a damn good one too, but he wouldn’t tell her, he couldn’t tell her.

He smiles sadly, glancing at her longingly from the corner of his eye. “That…is a really good question.”

Squeezing her hand, he subtly rewinds the tape and presses the play button. The only sounds reaching his ears are the rapid beating of his heart, the crunching of the snow beneath their feet and the steady sound of her breath.

And in the background, the song plays again once more.

-x-

He sits alone in the empty hallway, legs stretched in front of him as he leans back against the lockers. His hand rests listlessly on his lap, clutching a battered up walkman as the unfamiliar beat of a slow song flows through his ears. “Damn it, I should’ve changed the tape,” he grumbles to himself, eyes closed as he contemplates about taking a quick nap before third period.

Struggling to keep awake, he lets the song lull him into a state of peace –that is, until the sound of approaching footsteps catches his attention.

“Crap.” Fearing that it is a passing teacher he hurriedly gets to his feet, snatching his back pack off the floor, preparing to jet back to his second period class. The very idea of getting away escapes him when the person makes their way around the corner.

He stands paralysed when his eyes meets hers. The girl stares at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. He rubs the back of his neck nervously, his palms sweaty as his heart beats faster.

Opening his mouth, he tries to find something articulate to say, to break the deafening silence that surrounds them. He cringes slightly when no noise comes out from his parted lips.

A huge grin makes its way across her face. “Hi,” she says cheerfully.

He wonders how someone can be so cheerful towards someone they just met. Clutching the walkman tightly in one hand, the other gripping the strap of his backpack, a small awkward smile makes its way to his lips. “Hi.”

The song continues to play in his ears.

-Fin-