It was a beautiful sunny day. Samuel and Antonia were outside at the park in her neighborhood. They decided to wind down after a hectic day of school. They were waiting for Nicole and Joseph to soon join them for their picnic lunch. The girls wanted to have a little tea party and were dragging their boyfriends along. Samuel was making fun of the kids that were struggling climbing across the monkey bars. "I could beat those kids in a heartbeat." "Sam, they're like ten years old." "Exactly," he gave her a smug look and broke out into laughter when she squinted her eyes at him. She adjusted her skirt as the gentle breeze blew past them. Many kids were found running around the playground as their parents watched them. A family nearby the teens were setting up the park grill to make food. Samuel watched the children run up to their father, giggling and tugging at his shorts. He wasn't able to make out what they were saying, but they all seemed happy.
Antonia began playing with her hair as they continued talking about the other things that were going on. "I have a question," those were the last words anyone wanted to hear. "What's up, love?" Samuel's expression became serious as he was previously in a good mood, "You seemed really uncomfortable the other day when you were hanging out with us." She shifted her eyes and began, "Well, it seemed kinda crazy when Seymour and Angel were ready to start smoking in the car. I didn't want them to do that." He tilted his head slightly and smiled, poking her arm, "You know they'll stop if you tell them." "Yeah, but I didn't want them to get upset." He scoffed rolling his eyes, "You say that as if you care about others' feelings." She slightly gasped, he laughed at her reaction, and she lightly slapped his arm. She smiled at him worried that he was going to judge her for what she thought about her experience with Angelita's house. "I can tell that's not everything." He looked at her, noticing her fidget with her hands. "Well, it was awkward when I went inside Angel's house. Like it was different." "How do you mean?" He looked at his shoes waiting for her response. "Well… When I walked in, she barely talked to her mom, and I'm pretty sure her dad was drunk on the couch." His eyebrows got close, "Mkay… Is that all?" She felt hesitant to continue but added on, "Her house was dark, and it seemed like her mom was already in a bad mood. Angel was acting in a bad mood too." "Well, her parents fight a lot, and they take out their emotions on each other, including Angel. I saw it once and I honestly can't blame her for trying to stay away from them." He played with the grass, ripping the blades apart as he explained the issue to the goth. "Well, it was just different. And something just seemed off…" "What seemed off? If you had a problem with something, then say it." He didn't like people holding back on saying things. He wanted her to be direct. He wanted Antonia to not hide anything from him. "I don't know… It just seemed dirty." His lips slowly parted and he leaned back. "Dirty? Do you think she's dirty?" She blinked a few times, realizing that her wording made it sound worse than what it really was. "No Sam, that's not what I meant-" "Then what do you mean?" He cut her off before she was able to say anything else. "There was just clutter everywhere in the house. It was so gloomy and just depressing to look at. And it was like her parents didn't even like each other." His eyes widened at what she had to say. "You honestly can't say shit because you don't know what she's been through. Toni, I'm not trying to be mean. But you need to have an open mind when it comes to hanging out with people. I get that all this stuff is new to you. You have everything you want at any moment that you get. Some people will never experience that." She stared at him quietly, eyes beginning to water. His face was now red with frustration, he was very disappointed with her.
They sat quietly, waiting for the couple to arrive. It was eating her alive that he didn't say anything else after what just happened. Antonia was anxious that Samuel would not want to talk to her, even be done with her. She glanced at the snacks they were eating and opened the basket to grab a bottle of water. She saw that there was a red envelope with her name written on it. She looked at Samuel and thought to herself if he had intentionally put it there. He was looking out at the sky as the sun was beginning to set, "What is this?" The punk smiled lightly as he saw the item in her hand, "Open it…" She tore it open to see a grey card lined with silver decorations. "Sam, what is this?" "Open the bloody card." She opened the card and began reading the message written inside. She slowly closed the card, blushing at him as he stared back. "So?" The punk softly questioned the girl, "So what?" She teased him, pretending not to know what he meant in his letter. He smacked his lips together, "What do you mean, so what? Are you going to be my girlfriend or not?" She shrugged her shoulders avoiding eye contact with him until he leaned toward her. He pouted slightly to get her attention which she responded by kissing him. "So, is that a yes?... Or..." "Yeah… I guess I'm stuck with you now," she grinned trying to get a reaction out him but all he did was kiss her back. Being the rugged person he was, he was so gentle with the girl. He slowly pulled away from her and she broke the silence with her question she was holding onto. "You're not mad at me for what I said. Right?" He looked at her fondly, playing with the trim on her skirt, "No, I'm not mad. Just upset that you would be so critical of Angel." She took a deep breath glancing to the side, "I just wasn't expecting that." "No one does." He was then again serious at that moment. It was almost like a standoff until the goth rest her hands in his. Samuel kissed the back of her hand which made her giggle. He then kissed her on the cheek before making his way to her lips. "Eww! Are you guys kissing in public?" Nicole walked up behind the two. "Sorry we're late. Joey was getting gas but the machine wasn't working. The cashier was a total jerk too so it made things worse." The blond set down a tray of cookies they had gotten from the store. He looked at Samuel making sign, he laughed and caught himself before the girls noticed.
The group decided to stay later in the park to look at sky turn dark. "I wish I could go to space," Nicole gazed up looking at the star. "Wot..." The punk was thrown off by what the girl had said, "I want to go to space. Ya know? To see if aliens are real and stuff... So I can prove to people that there are real living creatures outside of the plant." Joseph looked at the girl confused but nodded along to what she had to say. She continued rambling about the universe and how she thought hybrid alien people already existed on earth. Antonia laughed at her theory but did agree on a few things her best friend said. "No I swear, when my dad used to work at the last place, he saw some freaky stuff." Samuel snorted trying not to laugh at the girl. "Nicole, I think you've said enough," Antonia put her hand on her shoulder but the other girl continued. "No I'm not going to stop. I'm never going to stop. Like... People think the earth is flat. It's outrageous!" The three laughed which made Nicole feel , their little party ended as they weren't able to stay after security kicked them out.