**Currently untitled**, Shannon Jade [love books to read .txt] 📗

the house when I came in, but a car horn sounded and I decided that I hadn't been looking for it, so I probably just hadn't seen it. "Don't wait up, and don't fall asleep on the sofa again, as light as you are, I don't think your dad can manage carrying you up the stairs again. Love you!" Before I could reply she was out the door and Nippy was meowing  at me.  

 "Yeah, yeah, get eating Puss". I did the same, too lazy to actually make something and instead settling for a simple sandwich.  

It was 7:37. I couldn't think of anything to do, so I took my sketchpad out of my bag and walked up stairs. After carefully tearing out the Sketch of the tree I picked up some blue tack and stuck it carefully to my wall next to my bed. After showering and doing my usual routine of brushing my teeth and getting changed it was nearly 8 o'clock and I decided to read in bed for a for a few hours. Thankfully Nippy chose to sleep in her cat bed instead of next to me where I would disturb her; and before long I could hear her purring in her sleep. I rolled my eyes and turned the page to finish the chapter I as reading. 

Chapter 3

I didn't finish at that chapter. Instead I read the whole book and then got half way through another. I couldn't help it. I'm sure you know what its like when you're in the mood to read. You flip the pages without thinking and every hour is the equivalent to a second in your mind and a day in the life of the character who's story you are following more closely than if it were your own. 

It was 4:13 am when I finally slept, I had heard my parents come in a few minute before, both poking their heads in my room to see me, but was way too tired to get up and see them. Instead I slept. And heavily as well. By the time I came to it was 3:07 pm. I got up and the first thing that I saw was the sketch from yesterday it was exactly the same as yesterday and yet it felt different, I couldn't explain it, I chalked it up to having just woken up and having a slightly different view on the world through tired, slightly blurry eyes. The tree was calling to me. So I decided to give it a visit, I had nothing else to do that day. So I did exactly the same as the day before. But this time, an apple wasn't going to fill my hunger. Instead I put some bread in the toaster and waited for it to pop up while putting some cat food out for Nippy, giving her a slice of ham because I know hoe much she likes it. When it did, after what felt like an eternity but in reality was about 2 minutes, I smothered it in chocolate spread and went to leave the house making sure that I grabbed my key and also locked up on my way out. 

The walk seemed shorter than it had the previous day, but that was probably because Nippy wasn’t with me stopping at every road and I was concentrating pretty hard on not getting chocolate spread all over my face.   

I climbed the branches easily, surprisingly more easily than the previous day and set about doing exactly the same thing as I had the day before, sitting on the same thick branch and putting my bag over the same place. 

Everything felt the same as it had done the day before. Exactly the same. Eerily the same. The noise was exactly the same, missing only a few meows, growls, purrs and hisses. 

I was half was through a random sketch when I felt it. I light burning sensation on my skin. Like when you're sat at a window on a sunny day and the heat is intensified through the glass. I could first feel in on my neck, then my back, and finally on my hands which were still sketching without my brains help. It felt strange, but not bad to be honest it felt nice and familiar. I looked up to try to find what was happening, thinking it was most likely just some light coming through the tree's canopy. But it wasn’t. I went back to my drawing and tried to ignore it but it wasn't going away if anything it was becoming more intense. I looked up again, but this time something caught my eye. Or should I say someone?   

He was sat in a tree a little higher up than I was, and in enough shade that I couldn't tell a lot about him.   

He looked to be a similar age to me. Maye a little older. He had dark hair, but I couldn’t really tell how dark it was. It looked to fall just above his shoulders. I couldn't see his face, only the sight reflection of light from his eyes. From the way that he was sat I couldn't tell much about his size. I decided that he was probably just minding his own business and doing what he wanted, so I thought that it would be best if I did the same; so I did. It was quite easily done because the whole time my had had been working away sketching something. I flipped the pad and started on a fresh piece of slightly off white paper. 

An hour later I looked at my sketch and instantly flushed. I had drawn him. The guy in the tree. When I looked up he was still there, led on a branch looking up, no staring up, into the leaves above his head.  

 I closed my pad and put it away before climbing out of the tree as quietly as I possibly could, hoping that he wouldn't notice me. Skill was not on my side, and unfortunately, luck wasn’t either. I made lots of noise and I'm pretty sure I heard a laugh. An absolutely amazing, prefect laugh, but a laugh all the same. I decided to just leave and not to see if he really was laughing. I didn't even check to see if I'd left anything behind, I just walked off in the direction of home trying my best to calm my flushed face and neck. 

I got home really quickly. I'm pretty sure I nearly ran because I was so embarrassed.   

I don't know why it even mattered. I didn't know that guy from Adam. But for some reason I wanted to know him, and that embarrassing scene was not going to help that in the slightest, it was more likely to be a hindrance. I spent the rest of the night comfort eating and telling myself that it wasn't the end of the world, that I'd probably never see him again, and if I did, then he probably wouldn't recognise me. I might not even have recognised him, I barely saw him, he was sat in the shade, I couldn't even tell what shade of brown his hair was, or how tall he was.  

Even when I got into bed, and Nippy sat on me, I couldn't stop the thoughts flooding my brain and poisoning my mind and face with bright red embarrassment.

 

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Publication Date: 01-30-2016

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