They are seperated

Tian gazed at the tall gates of Fairview High School as he stood outside, leaning against a tree with his hands inserted in his pockets.

Cynthia, who was supposed to go home with him today, had asked him to wait outside for a short while.

Seeing a familiar figure, he left the calming shade of the tree and walked towards it.

"All done?", he asked, glancing at the paper bag in Cynthia's hands.

She nodded with a smile, "Yeah, and thanks for waiting. Nia wanted to give me back some stuff so it took some time."

"It's alright.", he waved his hand before adding, "Let's go then," he suggested, and they started walking toward their home at her affirmation.

The walk was wrapped in a comfortable silence as they strolled slowly, both eager to cherish the moment for a long time.

The bag was a bit heavy which compelled Cynthia to switch it from one hand to another, the action didn't go unnoticed by Tian as he held it from the top abruptly, causing both of them to stop.

"If you don't mind, can I hold this for you? It looks quite heavy.", he asked with a tilt of his head.

Cynthia, being a weak-hearted person in front of her crush, merely nodded with a blush creeping on her cheeks. "Thank you"

And no, she wasn't blushing because of him holding her stuff, but because of the way his hand gently brushed past hers to hold the bag. It sent shivers down her spine.

They had held each other's hands before, when they became friends in front of the noodle shop, but something about this mere touch just felt…different.

Cynthia brought her hand up to her chest as their steps resumed and this time, she decided to break the silence. "So, where did you study before shifting here?"

Tian gave her a look before answering, "In Country C, Crossing High School."

Cynthia nodded, her eyes swiftly taking note of how his eyes softened at the mention of his Asian hometown. "You like that country," she noted, and felt him shaking his head.

"I love it. I have grown very attached to that place because I have spent the majority of my time there."

"That must make it hard for you to adjust here.", she spoke, her eyes filling with sympathy for him as she could somehow guess how difficult it must be for him to get used to staying here.

Tian glanced at her almond eyes and slowly shook his head, "It feels nice actually, I like the school and… the students.", he broke the eye contact, his lips opening but refusing to say something else, instead, he chose to add, "But I admit, I miss my mom. But I guess I would be able to survive because of technology."

Cynthia's emotions weighed heavily on her as she took a deep breath before speaking. "Your mom must be a wonderful person, and I truly hope you get the chance to meet her soon," she expressed, genuinely wishing for him to have that opportunity.

"Yes, I hope so too. And maybe one day, I also hope you'll have the chance to meet her. After all, she'd love to hear about my first friend here."

"I'd love that.", Cynthia smiled, as they took a turn, the distance between their destination becoming short. "What about your dad?", she thoughtfully probed further, willing to know about his life at home.

"I stay with him here, right now. My dad is from this country and as I have been living away from him for so long. He asked me to come here and complete my leftover education here."

"So, your mom and dad stay separately in different countries all together? Doesn't that make it hard for them to maintain their relationship?", Cynthia asked, her voice failing to mask her surprise which erupted a chuckle out of Tian.

"It would've been hard if there was a relationship to maintain in the first place. They are separated but hey, no need to feel sad about me. They were separated when I was a baby so, yeah it never affected me much. Besides, both of them are happy with their current partners."

"Does that not affect you?", Cynthia's voice turned softer, her eyes eyeing the familiar door of her house just a few steps away.

"It does occasionally, when I realize that both my parents might prioritize their current families over me but to be fair, their other halves don't mistreat me like they do in the movies and make me feel included too.", Tian concluded, his eyes filling with slight disappointment when he realized that they were so close to Cynthia's house.

"I hope that stays the same, at least until you sort out your career and maybe until you start your own family in the future," Cynthia said.

Her footsteps halted as they had reached. She turned to face him. "Thank you so much, Tian, for opening up in front of me. To be honest, even for asking to walk back home together. I truly enjoyed it, and getting to know about you was such a bonus."

"No need to say thank you for this. Instead, I am grateful to you for listening to me so intently. Somehow, talking to you made me feel lighter.", Tian confessed, his hands ruffling his hair with a smile.

"I am happy to hear that.", Cynthia smiled, bashfully as Tian handed her bag back to her.

"So, see you tomorrow?"

Tian nodded, now inserting his hands back in his pockets as the girl turned around to walk towards her door after giving her a small smile, "Cynthia?"

Cynthia stopped and turned her head sideways to face him, "Hm?"

"I didn't lie earlier when I said I wanted to know you.", her mind reeled back to the memory of the conversation that took place in front of the noodle shop and he continued, "So, same time tomorrow?", he tilted his head a bit before adding, "only if you want to."

Her eyes dropped to the ground, her lips stretching at his last words, his gentleman-like words made her heart flutter as she raised her eyes to look back at his.

"Buy something for us to drink tomorrow while you wait for me."

Tian smiled as he watched Cynthia turn swiftly and make her way inside, giving a small wave.

He waved back and then turned around to walk back towards the end of the street so he could turn towards his block.

He looked back at her house once more, his heart brimming with excitement for the next day's events.