Chapter 20

The sun reluctantly peered through the clouds, drawing crooked strips of light over the ground and rooftops. A light breeze on the edge of cold and warm carded through the trees, the leaves breathing with quiet contemplation. Nazz balled her hands into fists and lifted them above her head in a long, trembling stretch. Reluctant warmth sunk into her tank top and gathered along her ribcage. Delicate fingers laced beneath her soft hair. She gave a loud yawn, closed her eyes, and let herself drift.

Minutes collected until they became uncountable, broken up by the shadow of sleep. The sound of the wind and the occasional, distant car faded into a rhythmic rise and fall beneath the unfaltering thump of her own heartbeat.

"Psst."

Frowning, Nazz shifted, a sharp pang of obligation rising through the thick shroud of contentment. She meant to open her eyes, but the chair was so comfortable and heavy beneath her.

"Pssst."

Nazz frowned and sat up.

A pale hand rose over the fence and wiggled around. There appeared to be a blinking eye peering through a particularly large knothole.

"Dude."

"Pssst!"

"What?"

"Let me in!" Nat hopped up and down, his hair appearing over the fence in iridescent flashes.

Huffing with annoyance, the blonde placed her palms behind her and leaned back on them. "Why?"

"Because-" a loud crash erupted, spraying small leaves and what appeared to be tiny flower petals into the air. The blonde grimaced. "-dammit. I hafta tell you something!"

"Okay! Geez, dude…" The blonde stood up, smoothing her hair where she'd been sleeping on it, and unlatched the gate. She was reclining once again by the time Nathan had entered the yard.

Immediately there were sounds of scrabbling - the male was undoubtedly flipping through the magazines she'd brought outside with her. He whistled at something - she had no idea whether it was a bikini ad of something in National Geographic - but her eyelids felt heavy and the sun was starting to chase away the chilly edge in the breeze. He cracked her sunscreen open, sniffed, then gagged loudly. Nass resisted the urge to frown.

"I know who Kevin's dating," he announced nonchalantly.

It took a moment for his words to sink in. She popped up in her seat. "What?"

Ignoring the cheerleader, Nat peeled open a perfume sample and inhaled deeply.

"Nat."

The pale boy peered over the edge of the catalogue. "You heard me."

"Did you- how?" Nat's face disappeared once more behind the pages. "Did he tell you?"

"Pssh. What kind of third-rate detective do you take me for?"

The blonde let out a short sigh. "If he didn't tell you himself, I don't wanna know."

Nat put the magazine down. "You're kidding me."

"Of course I wanna know who it is, but spying on him? That's really immature."

"You're just jealous." The wealthy kid flopped back in the grass. "I can spy on you too if that'll make you feel better…"

Nazz's stare was hard enough to pull the male's attention from the sky. "Dude. I know where my dad keeps the key to his gun case. I will end you."

The teal-haired boy puffed his cheeks out. "Fine," he pouted. "But I'm telling you … I neeever would've suspected. It's just … oh my God."

"Uh huh."

"Like, oh my God."

"…yeah."

The return of the relative peace was broken almost immediately by Nat squealing gleefully.

"Nat."

"IT'S SOOO CUTE."

The blonde cracked an eye open without moving. "Is it someone we guessed already?"

Closing his eyes against the sun's potent warmth, he shook his head, the grass rustling audibly beneath it. "Nope."

Nazz frowned thoughtfully. "How cute is it again?"

"Like…" Nathan wriggled around. "A basket of flying squirrels wrapped in tiny quilts cute."

"Wow. That's pretty cute."

"Damn straight."

The well-dressed boy exhaled, finally calm. Agitated, the cheerleader blinked at the swaying treetops. A semi roared by in the distance. The chime of a child's voice rang out from the direction of the playground nearby.

"Want me to tell ya who it is?"

"No."

"How 'bout now?"

"No, dude."

"Noooow?"

"Yeah."

"Really?!"

"Uh, no."

Nat huffed. "Fine. More secret for me."

The whisper of khaki pants and the crunch of the grass alerted her to the fact that the neon-haired boy had gotten up. When he reached the gate, he stopped, turning to face the blonde once more. "Your sunscreen's expired, by the way."

When Nazz pushed herself up into a sitting position once more, he was gone. She reached for the bottle of sunblock, turning it in her hands.

"Oh. Her nose wrinkled. "Gross."

Ugh. D: Sorry this update took forever.

I'm housesitting/dogsitting for my professor, so I've had a lot of time lately to write and plan some of my fanfics. The next chapter is partially done already, so the wait shouldn't be too long.

Also, Nat is an adorable character and probably one of the only OCs ever that I really like.

Until next time!

:3