there was nothing sweeter in the world than nate. nate who would walk double the distance to walk dash home from school every day and then walk back for his car. never drove, because they savored every moment talking together. dash knew sometimes nate would walk back in the rain, and she knew sometimes that nate would have a long day of work left, but still walk her home. they would talk, they would share music, and sometimes she’d even convince him to come in for a soda and snack. the thing was, he and nate were both utterly alone. it was just them, and parents that were either dead or just absent. nate didn’t hide it, he made it clear it was just him, but dash? she didn’t. all the photos of her and her parents in her grandparents were still there, and it started as a way to protect herself from nate worrying, and then it got out of hand. she had no idea how to tell nate that her parents were actually dad, and her grandparents liked to go on vacations more than they liked to be home with her. every time nate came in he’d ask more questions, he’d never seen a sign of anyone but dash, and it helped her a little to pretend that she had a big family that was coming back. of course, it was hard on the days that she missed them because she couldn’t exactly tell nate. the days she felt like an orphan, or abandoned, or just genuinely uncared for she kept it in. though, she supposed even if he knew she’d keep it in anyways because she wanted to impress him. dash didn’t want to be the little, anxious, depressed, orphaned girl to nate. she wanted to be the cute, sweet, smart, and charming girl to him. but it was getting hard. he knew she was hiding things, and she knew she’d have to come clean. today was a particularly hard day for her, the anniversary of her parents deaths, and nate was in a good mood. he was playing her new music, even holding her hand. it helped to have the distraction, but a big part of her wanted to cry. “what? nothings wrong, just tired,” dash smiled, squeezing his hand. part of her loved that all their friends were having sex, and all they did was hold hands. it felt so much more real to her, more intimate. it was slow, and sweet and everything she imagined love to be. “my parents? no they’re working tonight, you know that,” dash said softly, biting her lip as it wobbled slightly. she pretended to sneeze so she could wipe her teary eyes. “i-i’m fine nate,” she smiled and squeezed his hand again. she couldn’t tell him today, if she even tried she’d start crying. she’d lost all composure she had left, and nate hadnt even kissed her yet. if that happened he’d never kiss her, he’d probably never even walk her home again. “hey it looks like.. its gonna.. rain, why dont you head back? i can walk the rest of the way alone.. you shouldnt.. shouldnt walk in the rain.” the sky was clear, but dash was panicking.
