Lila pulled Aiden past the park entrance, brimming with excitement. The park was huge, its lake dominating the view ahead. The water glistened beneath the late-morning sun, every ripple catching the light. A warm breeze swept across the surface, carrying the fresh scent of flowers through the air.
There was certainly no shortage of things to draw. But where should they start?
Families had claimed picnic tables beneath the trees. Others had spread blankets across the grass, stretching out beneath the sunshine while their children played nearby.
A dog wandered along beside his owner, stopping every few feet to sniff the grass. His owner followed closely behind with a little bag already prepared for whatever surprise came next.
Lila glanced at Aiden.
"So, teach. Where do we start?"
Aiden squinted against the sunlight, raising a hand to shield his eyes.
"Somewhere in the shade. It's already getting way too hot."
Lila stared at him while he started taking off his jacket. Maybe if he came out from behind those blackout curtains once in a while, the sun wouldn't be such a problem.
"Is that your artistic instinct talking?"
"No, that's my I. don't. want. a. sunburn instinct talking."
Lila rolled her eyes at him. "You're such a baby."
"You'll thank me later." He pointed toward an empty bench beneath a large oak tree. "Sunlight and white paper don't exactly mix."
Lila looked down at her sketchbook, then back at him. The sunlight caught the thin layer of sweat forming across the tattoos on his arm.
She smiled.
"Fine. Lead the way, Twilight."
Aiden turned toward her, caught off guard by the nickname.
"What?"
"You're sparkling."
"Shut up." He flicked the sweat from his arm before hurrying toward the shade.
Lila laughed and followed.
They settled onto the bench and opened their sketchbooks. For several minutes, neither of them drew much of anything. Lila tried sketching a few lines before erasing them, then glanced over at Aiden. He was staring at a couple relaxing beneath one of the nearby trees, his pencil slowly moving across the page.
She leaned closer to see what he was drawing.
His page was almost completely blank. There was the faint outline of a girl, maybe, but where her face should have been were only a few strange, smudged lines.
Lila waited for him to notice her staring and start explaining the lesson. Instead, all she saw was that familiar look of concentration returning to his face.
His work face.
Like hell she was going to let that happen on her watch.
"Earth to Aiden. You're supposed to be teaching me."
Aiden blinked, looking up from his sketchbook.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. What was I..."
"You don't have to be sorry. Just tell me what you think."
"Yeah, of course." He ripped the page from his sketchbook before moving closer to her. His attention returned to her drawing. "What are you trying to draw?"
Lila smiled, feeling rather proud of her work.
"I don't know. You tell me."
Aiden studied the page for a moment, tilting his head slightly. His expression became serious.
"Okay, it's obviously a turducken."
He sounded completely confident in his assessment.
"Oh my gawd, no!" Lila's voice came out much higher than she intended. Her face turned red while she pointed toward the lake. "It's that duck! Right there!"
Aiden glanced at the duck swimming near the shore before giving her drawing a blank stare.
"I see..." He looked off to the side, his eyes practically lifeless. "Well, at least your drawings look like birds now."
Lila stared at him.
He was teasing her. He had to be. But the way he said it, with that stupid look on his face, made her want to bury her head in the ground and scream.
"Maybe we should find something easier to draw together," Aiden suggested, looking around for another subject.
Lila quickly followed his gaze, desperate to find something that might redeem her artistic abilities.
"What about the waterfall?"
"Nah, that'd be too much for you."
She puffed her cheeks in frustration before noticing a man stretched out beneath a tree, his hat covering his face.
"Him?"
Aiden smiled. "If you mean taking a nap, I'm down."
Lila laughed despite herself.
"Come on! There's an entire park here."
"Exactly. We don't have to pick the first thing we see."
She looked toward the winding path circling the lake. An entire park to explore, and here they were sitting beneath a tree like a couple of boomers.
"Then let's walk."
Aiden looked at her, confused by the sudden change of plans.
"But we just sat down."
"Yeah, but I want to go on an adventure with you." She closed her sketchbook and bounced on her heels. "We'll find something worth drawing. I'm sure of it."
Aiden glanced toward the path before looking back at her.
"That's a pretty big lake."
"Is that a no...?" Her excitement faded just enough for him to notice.
"No. Just pointing out that you're going to complain tomorrow when your legs are sore."
Lila slipped the sketchbook into her loungefly bag, refusing to let him ruin her plans with something so silly.
"Don't jinx it," she shot back. "If that happens, you'll have to give me a massage tomorrow morning."
Aiden immediately perked up at the invitation. He rose to his feet, stepping in front of her before giving his park princess an exaggerated bow.
"Lead the way, milady."
Lila grinned and started down the path. Mission accomplished. She'd successfully dragged the dragon from his nest.
The park felt different once they were actually moving through it. Dogs passed them in both directions. Some trotted obediently beside their owners while others stopped at every tree, bush, rock, and suspicious patch of dirt they could find.
One tiny terrier had apparently decided he'd had enough walking for the day. The little dog planted all four feet against the pavement, refusing to move despite his owner's repeated attempts to coax him forward.
Lila slowed down to watch. The dog turned toward her, tilting his head with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.
"Aww."
Aiden immediately looked at her.
"No."
Lila turned toward him, pretending to have no idea what he was talking about.
"What?"
"My apartment doesn't allow pets. You know that."
Lila gave him an innocent smile. "I didn't say anything."
"You didn't have to."
She glanced back at the terrier, an idea forming in her head. There had to be some way to convince him.
"Okay, but hear me out. We can train him to do a statue pose whenever your landlord comes in."
Aiden stopped to consider it.
"Hmmm. Not gonna lie, that would be pretty cool."
"Really?! So is that a yes?" Lila asked, her eyes widening with excitement.
"Rejected."
She bumped his shoulder with hers, disappointed that her brilliant plan hadn't worked.
"Thought I had you there."
Aiden sighed, shaking his head at her.
Lila laughed, letting out a little piggy snort before reaching for his hand.
They continued along the path, rounding another bend where two fishermen had hidden themselves among the foliage. Their coolers sat beside them, fishing poles angled over the water.
Lila slowed down, watching one of the men adjust his fishing line.
"Are they allowed to do that?"
Aiden shrugged, looking back toward where they'd come from.
"Probably. There was a sign about tilapia season back there."
Before Lila could respond, one of the fishermen suddenly jumped to his feet. His fishing pole bent toward the water, the line pulling against something beneath the surface.
A fish broke through the water, thrashing wildly before disappearing again. They watched the man struggle to reel it in, his friend cheering him on. A few moments later, he finally pulled the fish onto the bank.
It slapped against the grass, flopping around while the fisherman celebrated his catch.
The man noticed them watching and waved them over.
Lila immediately started toward him, only to feel her hand being pulled back.
Aiden wasn't moving.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"They need our help," she shot back, pulling against his grip.
Aiden looked toward the fishermen, then back at her.
"With what?"
"Come on, you'll see." Lila tugged his arm again, refusing to leave the men waiting.
Aiden reluctantly followed. She always appreciated that about him.
Turns out, the fishermen didn't need help catching anything. They wanted someone to take their picture.
Lila happily agreed, taking the man's phone while he held up his catch. She even made Aiden move out of the way so she could get the lake in the background.
It wasn't until afterward, when the fisherman asked them to keep quiet about the fish, that she started questioning the situation.
She glanced toward the lake, suddenly remembering the sign Aiden mentioned earlier. Maybe there was a reason those two had hidden themselves so far into the bushes.
Whatever they were doing, it certainly didn't sound legal.
Well, that wasn't their problem.
Lila handed the phone back with an awkward smile before pulling Aiden away. The two quickly scurried down the path, leaving the fishermen to their questionable activities.
Sometimes it was better not to ask questions.
By then, the original drawing lesson had become less important. They stopped whenever something caught their attention, occasionally opening their sketchbooks to draw something interesting before continuing their adventure.
Small vendors began appearing more frequently along the path. One sold cold drinks beneath a large umbrella while another had fruit cups packed into containers of ice.
Near one of the pathways, a group of squirrels had apparently figured out just how easy park visitors were.
Lila noticed one sitting directly in front of a woman eating from a paper bag near s9me cherry blossom trees.
The woman tried ignoring it.
The squirrel didn't move. Instead, it sat there flicking its tail back and forth, watching her every movement.
Eventually, the woman gave in and tossed something onto the grass. The squirrel grabbed it and ran, chittering away with its prize.
Another immediately took its place.
Lila laughed.
"Oh my gawd."
A second squirrel ran toward a nearby family the moment someone opened a bag of food. Another wandered closer to them, occasionally stopping to sniff the grass.
Lila dug through her bag, pulling out some crackers she'd gotten with her meal at the diner.
Aiden watched her with a suspicious look on his face.
"You know what's actually happening, right?"
Lila tossed a small piece onto the grass. One of the squirrels immediately rushed toward it.
"I'm feeding squirrels?"
"Or..." He paused for dramatic effect, lowering his voice. "Are they training you to feed them?"
She looked at him, trying to figure out where he was going with this.
Aiden pointed toward the gathering squirrels, his expression becoming serious.
"Look at them. They've developed a taste for human food. Very soon there will be no stopping them."
Lila smiled, recognizing the dramatic tone he'd started using.
"I see it, Aiden." She lowered her voice, matching his imaginary movie trailer. "Very soon, they'll be under little hats controlling us all."
Aiden watched another squirrel dart in and steal something from a chunkier one after acting all cute and innocent.
Lila chuckled at the sight.
"Then what happens?"
"Give it a few generations. They'll develop agriculture. Trade routes. Organized government."
Lila glanced toward a man sitting nearby, his shirt practically soaked through with sweat. He tossed another french fry onto the grass.
"All because that sweaty guy over there gave them a french fry?"
"Exactly." Aiden gestured toward the squirrels, clearly enjoying the ridiculous story he was creating. "Then one day we wake up and it's a full-blown Planet of the Squirrels."
Lila tossed another cracker toward them.
Aiden stared at her in disbelief, placing a hand against his chest like she'd just betrayed him.
"You would invite Armageddon, milady???"
Lila tried holding back her laughter.
"If you mean squirrels in clothes with little tiny tools, then obviously."
Aiden shook his head, stepping back to give her another exaggerated bow.
"If that is your wish, Park Princess, become the god of squirrels."
She burst out laughing at his ridiculous performance. She loved this side of him. The Aiden who could turn something so simple into an entire story about the downfall of humanity.
"You should make that a comic."
Aiden watched the squirrels fighting over the food, rubbing his chin while considering the possibilities.
"Honestly... I could make that work."
Lila gave him a concerned look.
"I know, and that's what scares me."
They continued down the path, leaving the squirrels to plot their eventual takeover of the human race.
Minutes slipped into hours without either of them really noticing. Every so often, they stopped to draw. More often, they just walked, talking about everything and nothing all at once.
Jacob.
Aiden's work.
Some horrible movie they'd watched together.
Lila noticed his phone ringing several times throughout the day. Each time, Aiden glanced at the screen before ignoring it.
She had a pretty good idea who was probably calling.
Dee.
That man really needed to learn when to leave her boyfriend alone.
Lila glanced at Aiden, watching him slip the phone back into his pocket without a second thought. He smiled at something she'd said, completely ignoring the fact that his phone had started vibrating again.
She felt accomplished with herself, but more importantly, she felt seen and cared for.
That had been the whole point of today. Getting him out of that apartment and away from those awful deadlines he'd been focusing on. She'd almost forgotten what it was like to spend an entire day together without him worrying about his work.
And for her, getting away from her own job and overcontrolling parents.
Not that they were that bad. But seriously, sometimes a girl's gotta get away from the nest, you know?
And she could not stand the news lately. The news was always so grim. Who cares about political friction and what not. Lila was content living her life without all that fake fear mongering. Why anyone would willingly sit around watching that kind of clickbait was beyond her.
She squeezed his hand, pulling herself away from her thoughts. They'd started drifting away from the main path again.
"Come on, this way."
Lila pulled him around another bend, following the sound of people talking somewhere ahead.
The smell of hamburgers reached them almost immediately.
Several food trucks had parked along a wider section of the path. People moved between them carrying drinks and paper trays piled high with food.
Lila glanced at Aiden.
"You hungry?"
Before he could answer, a monstrous growl came from his stomach.
Aiden froze.
Lila slowly looked down toward his stomach before meeting his eyes. His mouth spreading into a sheapish grin, and he looked almost embarrassed by the noise.
She couldn't help smiling at him. That was adorable.
There was only one thing that could make the moment even better. Triple cheese bacon fries with a side of ranch from her favorite burger joint. Which just so happened to have a catering truck parked right in their path.
Lady Luck was definitely on her side today.
Lila tightened her grip around Aiden's hand and started pulling him toward the truck. She was already thinking about how much ranch she was going to need when someone leaning through the serving window caught her attention.
She slowed down, getting a better look at the person talking to one of the customers.
No way.
She recognized that face.
"Max?"
Aiden looked toward the truck, his stride slowing for just a brief second.
Lila barely noticed. There was no way she was passing up the chance to see her BFF.
She pulled Aiden toward the window, squeezing between a few customers studying the menu board.
Max looked up just before they reached the counter. He paused for a moment before breaking into a grin.
"Hey, girl."
Lila stepped closer to the window, looking him over in disbelief.
"You're working here?"
Max shrugged, leaning against the counter.
"Part time."
"Since when?" Lila asked, glancing at his uniform.
"Brah, I've been working a couple of weeks now."
She stared at him. Her best friend had been working here for weeks, and somehow she was only finding out about it now?
"You didn't tell me."
Max leaned against the counter, giving her an innocent look.
"Itch, how about you check your dms once in a while."
Lila thought it couldnt of been that long. Then again she was always more old school. She definitely prefered to be face to face and he knew that.
"Kick rocks?"
"Missed you to."
The smug look on his face was enough to make her laugh.
"Butthead."
Max leaned through the window just enough for her to wrap her arms around him.