"no it's perfect"

Suddenly, I felt two large and warm things brush my shoulder and I shrieked. I dropped my pencil immediately and spun around to push off the chair, simply to find a towering figure over me.

I placed a shaking hand over my rapidly moving chest and leaned against the desk for support. "Carson!"

The boy's mouth stretched into a grin.

"W-What are you d-doing here?" I stammered only because the shock hadn't worn off yet. I did keep my promise and I didn't stutter much. My hands worked behind my back and I shoved a random piece of paper and a few loose sheets over my sketchbook and pushed all the pencils into the middle so it created a pile of mess so he couldn't see.

I turned around and fixed the pile so it was neat and then pushed it in the corner.

Carson moved closer and leaned his head on my shoulder. "What were you drawing?"

"N-Nothing," I spluttered stupidly. "Some random sketches."

Carson's hot breath left my neck as he turned around and he walked around my room, examining the walls where photographs were arranged neatly in patterns. My breathing slowed down but he continued to wander around.

"I thought we agreed on no stutters," Carson remarked teasingly as he picked up a picture frame. I recognised that straight away; it was my fourth birthday and that was when I was first gifted with a small sketchpad.

I raised a brow. "Well, you're not the one who was jump scared."

Carson held his hands up in fake surrender and then plopped himself down on to my bed and his grin merged into a smirk. "What's that new attitude?"

I shrugged. "I sort of... told my mum off? I guess."

Carson chuckled. "How? And what happened? Come sit." He patted the bed next to him.

I let out a breath and walked over. 

Still after the confessions, I couldn't believed that he liked me. I wasn't popular or pretty. I was just average. 

"So... What happened?"

"She kept warning me to stay away from you and I just raged at her," I mumbled and looked down at my hands. "It's not awkward now though, but I just feel so guilty."

Carson's arm wrapped around my shoulder. "Don't be. It's your life."
"I know but I still feel bad. She's the one who raised me and I can't help it."

Carson nodded understandingly. "She needs to learn to let you go and accept your decisions."

I nodded. "I guess so."

Since his right arm was wrapped around my shoulder, he used his left hand to pull my chin up so I was facing him. "Don't you want to know why I'm here?"

I nodded. "That's the first thing I asked you."

He laughed again. "I climbed through your window."

"But what if my parents were here?" They had left to visit that sick friend again after dinner so I stayed home and sketched. Apparently she was getting much better now.

"Then I would've waited in the car and texted you," Carson asserted victoriously.

"All right then," I concluded. "But why are you here?"

"Remember that day when we worked on the assessment and you asked about my car?"

I nodded slowly.

"And I told you I had won money from writing competitions?"

I nodded faster this time.

"And I wrote a poem about something that inspired me."

I furrowed my brows but nodded anyway; not knowing where this was headed.

The warm abruptly left my shoulders as he pulled away. Carson then dug into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook; smaller than the size of my own palm. He opened it up to a page in the middle and handed it to me. 

My breath got caught in my throat and my heart beat a hundred times faster

Iris, it was titled.

"You inspired me."

I looked up at him with my brows creased. My head spun dizzily and my stomach twisted with anxiety. "W-What?"

"Again with the stutters?" He smiled and pointed to the tiny book. "I want you to read it."

I looked at him expectantly to see if he was sure and he gave me a curt nod in reply.

My thumb traced the thin and crinkled paper as I read his messy writing.

Her purple and blue hues sparkled lifelong.
Under the rising sun forever new;
Through the water droplets and morning dew.

Her stem stood strong.
Through the ground,
And withstood the thundering sound.

Her leaves were plenty.
They reached out,
And touched those without

I could stare for a century.
She wouldn't know.
She simply joined the flow.

And yet she emerged.
She stood taller than others;
And thought she did no wonders.

Her petals submerged.
She thought she made nothing different;
And took no interest.

But she made me different.
She made me believe, 
And I did.

I slowly lowered the book into my lap and leaned my head against Carson's shoulder. "That is amazing."

Carson's chest vibrated and his shoulder shook as he let out a few laughs. "Thank you."

"When did you write this?"

"Two years ago," he answered reflectively.

I handed the notebook back to him but he shook his head and pushed it back in my direction. "I want you to have it."

"I can't take it," I squeaked and tried to push it back to him.

"Yes, you can," Carson insisted, enveloping his hands around mine and pushing them back towards me. "They're all the poems I've ever written and I want you to read them."
I hesitated and glanced at him one last time before losing the grip I had. He felt my hands weaken so he let go as well.

"Please read them when you have the chance," he requested gently.

I nodded my head. "I will."

"Now, since I showed you my poems, do you mind showing me your sketch?"

I opened my mouth but didn't speak and bit my lip instead. I stood up and walked to my desk. I dug through the mess of papers until I found my sketchbook.

I wrapped my arms around it and pulled it to my chest as I walked to my bed where Carson was. I doubtfully turned the book around so he could see my sketch.

"It's me..." Carson whispered in awe.
I had been working on the sketch for a couple of hours today and yesterday so it was almost done. It needed a few more touch ups but that was it.

The boy I was drawing turned out to have the same round eyes, the same thick arched brows, the same tall nose, the same warm lips and the same ruffled hair as Carson.

I didn't know who I was drawing until I started shading and outlining the features. My cheeks flushed red once I realised that it was Carson, but I was quite proud of it so I continued sketching.

"It needs more work but-- "

Carson's eyes roamed the page and I bit my lip harder as I felt the heat rushing up my neck and ears.

"No. It's perfect." Carson's voice was filled with awe and surprise.

"...Do you like it?" I asked quietly.

"Of course I do. It's incredible."

"Thank you."

Out of nowhere, he suddenly leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on my cheek and gently left my sketchbook on the bed. "I have to go. I snuck out to see you so my dad's going to kill me. I'll see you tomorrow."

Before I could reply, he stood up and walked to the window. He had his arms above his head; they hung to the window frame and his feet were still inside my room.

He faced me and waved. I waved back and he disappeared.

I heard a few noises of his car engine the noise gradually softened until nothing and he was gone. 

It took me a long time to register what had happened. Once it did, my lips flipped into a warm and bright smile. It was like a bucket of glitter was poured over my head and I suddenly felt exhilaration coursing through my body. I touched my cheek and sighed.

I had nothing to do now so I flipped open his small notebook and read every single page from start to finish.
Once I reached the end, a folded piece of paper fell out.

I slowly crouched down and picked it up from the floor.

I unfolded it and flattened it out.

Go on a date with me?
- Carson

My mouth started hurting from smiling so much but my excitement and happiness blocked out the pain.
I jumped off the bed and almost fell but I ran to my desk and grabbed my phone.

I had to type in the passcode three times because I was so ecstatic that my fingers couldn't type properly.

I clicked on Carson's name.

Yes.

a/n: vote and comment x