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Description
She nestled her body into the warm green of the grass. With utmost care, she grazed the blades between her fingertips. Her feet had brought her here as if unable to resist the call of this place that had finally brought meaning into her life. Had it really only been seven months, she wondered? Those four days seemed as distant as a dream now.
She sighed and scanned her eyes over the town below. She remembered the first time she came here:
The paper mill stands tall and ugly to the right of the town. Though it’s far away, the stench still fills the air like burning plastic. The houses look small and frail from up here. I wonder where the park is. Where is the church? The YMCA? The house with the brand new wheelchair ramp and the house with the new wall of paint? The comic book shop?
Her eyes squinted as she looked for them now. A kind of nostalgic smile grazed her lips as, just like last time, she couldn’t find them.
“You’ve come to remember the old times too, huh?”
She jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. She knew who it was behind her without having to turn her head, though she did so anyway to convince herself she wasn’t going insane.
“The paper mill still smells like crap, I see,” the boy said.
She smiled the genuine smile only for him and said, “It wouldn’t be Chillicothe without it, now would it?”
He grinned. “I suppose not.” He ambled over to her and laid in the grass beside her. “Due to the fact that this is a cemetery we are lying in, there’s an ugly paper mill directly in front of us, and the town looks even more run down than it does down there, you would think one would hate it here. But…I kinda like it. Do you hate this place?”
Her eyes softened lovingly. “No…I don’t hate this place,” she said. She lifted her hand to her face and examined an ant crawling along it. “The only thing I hate is the bugs.” She shuddered and flicked it out of sight.
A nostalgic silence crossed between them as they dove into memories of their time in this town. The girl turned her head towards the boy to see him already watching her. She grinned and, with courage she’d almost forgotten in the past seven months, raised her hand to the top of his head. Slowly and gently, as if savoring every last detail, she began to stroke his hair.
“…I remember,” she began, “I remember the first time you let me do this on my birthday…And I remember the second time you let me do this the day after my birthday.” She took in a deep breath and slowly let it go. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this since then.”
“If I remember correctly, you did do this once during the second week of school.”
There was just the faintest trace of a blush on his cheeks and she loved it. “This is true…but you totally just brushed me off. That wasn’t very nice. I spent the rest of the day freaking out because I thought you were mad at me, you know,” she said pouting. She began to pull her hand away but he caught it with his own and held it back atop his head. He moved her hand up and down, side to side, guiding it with his hand.
“I wasn’t mad,” he said. “In fact, I was really…But I didn’t know what to say, so I left. You make things so awkward sometimes,” he grinned.
“Why does everybody say that?” she mumbled innocently.
“If it makes you feel any better, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted you to do this since them,” he said with his eyes closed contentedly, still guiding her hand through his soft, brown hair.
She sat up on her elbow so their hands weren’t disturbed. Her face was deep red and her pouting lips quivered from trying not to smile. “You’re tempting me, aren’t you?”
He smirked and opened an eye to look her in the face. “Tempting you to what?” he asked.
Her blush deepened, but she wasn’t about to back down. It’s now or never, she though, and pressed her lips to his.
He responded almost instantly by wrapping his free arm around her waist and flipping her around so she was below him and he was on top. “Just for the record; yes, yes I was tempting you.”
She tried to say something but his lips came back and very effectively silenced her. She could feel her heartbeat strangle her as his lips moved and played with hers. Her fingers entangled themselves in his hair as she felt his warm, wet tongue glide against her bottom lip. She responded to the silent question and his tongue slid inside her mouth. He slowly caressed her tongue as he took his hand away from hers to encircle the back of her neck.
Just as she was sure her brain was going to turn into pudding, their lips parted.
“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do that,” he grinned down at her.
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted you to do that,” she said, returning his grin.
The boy rose from the ground and helped the girl to her feet after him. “Not only do I like this place, I think I love this place,” he said.
“I think I love it too…” She looked down and examined an ant crawling along her foot. “Maybe even the bugs,” she smiled.

Description
She nestled her body into the warm green of the grass. With utmost care, she grazed the blades between her fingertips. Her feet had brought her here as if unable to resist the call of this place that had finally brought meaning into her life. Had it really only been seven months, she wondered? Those four days seemed as distant as a dream now.
She sighed and scanned her eyes over the town below. She remembered the first time she came here:
The paper mill stands tall and ugly to the right of the town. Though it’s far away, the stench still fills the air like burning plastic. The houses look small and frail from up here. I wonder where the park is. Where is the church? The YMCA? The house with the brand new wheelchair ramp and the house with the new wall of paint? The comic book shop?
Her eyes squinted as she looked for them now. A kind of nostalgic smile grazed her lips as, just like last time, she couldn’t find them.
“You’ve come to remember the old times too, huh?”
She jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. She knew who it was behind her without having to turn her head, though she did so anyway to convince herself she wasn’t going insane.
“The paper mill still smells like crap, I see,” the boy said.
She smiled the genuine smile only for him and said, “It wouldn’t be Chillicothe without it, now would it?”
He grinned. “I suppose not.” He ambled over to her and laid in the grass beside her. “Due to the fact that this is a cemetery we are lying in, there’s an ugly paper mill directly in front of us, and the town looks even more run down than it does down there, you would think one would hate it here. But…I kinda like it. Do you hate this place?”
Her eyes softened lovingly. “No…I don’t hate this place,” she said. She lifted her hand to her face and examined an ant crawling along it. “The only thing I hate is the bugs.” She shuddered and flicked it out of sight.
A nostalgic silence crossed between them as they dove into memories of their time in this town. The girl turned her head towards the boy to see him already watching her. She grinned and, with courage she’d almost forgotten in the past seven months, raised her hand to the top of his head. Slowly and gently, as if savoring every last detail, she began to stroke his hair.
“…I remember,” she began, “I remember the first time you let me do this on my birthday…And I remember the second time you let me do this the day after my birthday.” She took in a deep breath and slowly let it go. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this since then.”
“If I remember correctly, you did do this once during the second week of school.”
There was just the faintest trace of a blush on his cheeks and she loved it. “This is true…but you totally just brushed me off. That wasn’t very nice. I spent the rest of the day freaking out because I thought you were mad at me, you know,” she said pouting. She began to pull her hand away but he caught it with his own and held it back atop his head. He moved her hand up and down, side to side, guiding it with his hand.
“I wasn’t mad,” he said. “In fact, I was really…But I didn’t know what to say, so I left. You make things so awkward sometimes,” he grinned.
“Why does everybody say that?” she mumbled innocently.
“If it makes you feel any better, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted you to do this since them,” he said with his eyes closed contentedly, still guiding her hand through his soft, brown hair.
She sat up on her elbow so their hands weren’t disturbed. Her face was deep red and her pouting lips quivered from trying not to smile. “You’re tempting me, aren’t you?”
He smirked and opened an eye to look her in the face. “Tempting you to what?” he asked.
Her blush deepened, but she wasn’t about to back down. It’s now or never, she though, and pressed her lips to his.
He responded almost instantly by wrapping his free arm around her waist and flipping her around so she was below him and he was on top. “Just for the record; yes, yes I was tempting you.”
She tried to say something but his lips came back and very effectively silenced her. She could feel her heartbeat strangle her as his lips moved and played with hers. Her fingers entangled themselves in his hair as she felt his warm, wet tongue glide against her bottom lip. She responded to the silent question and his tongue slid inside her mouth. He slowly caressed her tongue as he took his hand away from hers to encircle the back of her neck.
Just as she was sure her brain was going to turn into pudding, their lips parted.
“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do that,” he grinned down at her.
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted you to do that,” she said, returning his grin.
The boy rose from the ground and helped the girl to her feet after him. “Not only do I like this place, I think I love this place,” he said.
“I think I love it too…” She looked down and examined an ant crawling along her foot. “Maybe even the bugs,” she smiled.