He listened to Janet intently, his smile only growing. His cheeks weren't as flushed anymore, and he didn't feel as anxious around her. It had to have been something about this park. He had felt so fidgety, not even ten minutes before, and now all his anxieties were gone.
"That's too bad, but hey," He paused, taking both of her hands in his own. "You did get to come back." He smiled, and pulled her along gently as he walked backwards. "I bet that was like a dream when you did."
Janet smiled back, lightly gazing into his eyes and her hands softly gripping Axel's. Yes a dream, just like you… She caught herself thinking. "Er, yeah it was perfect, just like I remembered. I live in an apartment now since we sold the house, but besides that nothing changed." She said in a whisper.
They started crossing a bridge, Janet brought Axel to the edge of the bridge to look out at the water for a little. The sun was shining on the stream, making it look like a thousand stars in the sky. She let go of one of his hands, but kept ahold of the other. Her head rested on his shoulder as she watched the stream.
(Ahg, I'm sorry, my brain isn't functioning right now. I'll need a little bit longer to type up a response)
(Lol it's okay. That happens to me at times as well :)
His heart was racing fast, and his face flushed madly. Everything seemed to be moving so quickly, it was in slow motion. The stream surely was a stunning sight, but he couldn't focus on that. He could only focus on Janet. She seemed to twist his heart, this way and that, with only the touch of her hand. It was ridiculous.
After being quiet, for such a long time, he found his voice. It was soft, and tender, as if he was scared of scaring her. "Do you remember your old house?" He questioned her, running his thumb over her knuckles gently. He was treating her, as if she was a delicate glass figurine. She was as beautiful as one, even more so. He just felt he must be careful with her, there was no real reason.
Janet stared at the stream, recalling her old house. Her smile softened. "Yeah, I definitely do. It was perfect. There was a mural on almost every wall since my mother is a painter. I always wonder if the paintings are still there or if the new owners painted over them. We also had a lot of pictures, new and old, on every shelf. My older brother was into carpentry so he made a lot of our furniture. My house was just full of artistic things. My parents liked to give us full artistic freedom so they always showcased our stuff anywhere there was space. We had a piano in a back room and my younger sister would play on it a lot, eventually starting to compose her own music."
She paused for a few seconds to think about it a bit more before continuing. "It was a cozy house, not necessarily small just homey and comforting. My room was upstairs and there was a window that looked out to the town. I often looked out the window every morning before getting ready for school or for the day. I miss it a lot. One day I want to buy it back and live with someone I love and start a family or something… I mean maybe I'd just live in it alone. I don't know…"
Everything she said, was interesting to him. The description, and the fondness in her voice. It was all captivating. Especially the last bit. It intrigued him, but he wouldn't say a thing about it. Just leave it there, in the back of his mind.
Axel laced their fingers, to get a better hold on her. He gently swung their arms back and forth. "It sounds lovely. I would love to see it sometime." He mentioned, without much thought. He was being honest, he really would like to see it one day. Maybe not now, he was happy with just standing here with Janet. Alone, and in peace. Nothing was pulling either of them away, they were just there.
"How long has it been since you've lived there?" He questioned her, leaning over a little closer to her.
He wanted to make things comfortable for her. He wasn't much taller, so he didn't feel it was necessary to bend down.
So he just gently hummed, laying his head just barely on top of hers'.
Janet furrowed her eyebrows, trying to do the math. "Um, I think 5 or 6 years?" She answered quietly. "If I buy it back, you'll be the first to see it, after myself of course." Her plan was to recreate at least some of the things from when she lived there. Especially if the paintings had been covered. But she didn't need to think or worry about that at the moment. She was content standing on the bridge, hand in hand with Axel. "What about you? I've been talking so much about myself, I want to know about you."
Her voice was addicting. He couldn't help himself from melting every time he heard it. Though he was caught of guard at her next words.
"O-oh, me? My life is pretty boring. Not much to talk about." Axel shrugged, focusing on what was in front of him. "My life is all the same, and pretty mellow. Nothing exciting ever happens." He tried to explain, knowing she was going to insist anyways.
He was struggling to even think of anything to tell her. He had lived in the same spot for over 18 years. There was nothing to tell, that he could think of.
"Well… then what do you like to do or where do you work?" Janet said, wanting to know more. She was sure he wasn't nearly as boring as he said he was. Everyone had their stories and experiences, all more interesting than they themselves think. The corners of her mouth curled up a bit. She removed her hand from Axel's. But just a second later, she lightly wrapped her arms around the man, smiling up at him. "I can make your life less boring if you'd like." She said in a whisper. Who knows what inclined her to do and say that, but she did. Her shyness grew and she started regretting it though.
"I mean, I guess I like to play…" He trailed off, feeling her loosen their grip. He blinked a few times, and watched her wrap her arms around him. "Gui…tar?" Axel finished his sentence, but felt his face begin to heat at her next sentence. "I- wh-what?" His thoughts were rushing, and he had no clue what she meant by what she had said. But boy did it get his heart racing. His lower lip was separated from his top. His jaw was loose, and his mouth gaping slightly. "Y-you make my… make my life less boring?" He asked, seemingly a little harsher than he meant it.
Janet shrunk back, looking down at the groud and her right hand holding her left elbow. She felt her face heat up in embarrasement. "I… um… was that too… much? I'm sorry… I don't know why I did that, um…" She said shyly, her gaze stuck to the ground. "I guess what I meant by that was… maybe I could be a friend or… something and you'd have something to look forward to instead of the same old routine. But um… sorry."
Shaking his head, he shut his eyes trying to clear the thoughts. What he thought she meant, was very different then what she actually meant. "No! I- uh mean…" He mumbled some under his breath, gathering his astray thoughts. 'Calm down Axel, you're scaring her.' He scolded himself. "I mean, no, I just got confused. I'd absolutely love to be friends with you." He smiled, putting a gently finger under her chin. Lifting her gaze to meet his, his tender smile stayed in place. "Really, I would." Axel reassured her.
She gazed softly into his eyes, a small smile growing on her lips. A breath of relief escaped her mouth. "I-I'm glad… um… do you wanna keep going down the path? My favorite place is that way a bit." She asked quietly, her gaze still on Axel. She didn't quite mean just friends, but it's better than nothing. She a very quickly rising level of adoration and she wanted to do something about it. But it was evident to Janet that Axel wanted to keep their relationship on a friendship level rather than anything else.
Axel smiled softly, leaning forward just slightly. His smile not fading, he reached up to tuck hair behind her ear. "Sure, I'd like that." He told her, gently holding her chin in between his thumb and pointer finger. Something was telling him to do so, he wasn't sure what, but he did what was tugging at his heart. He sucked in a short breath, and pressed a kiss to her cheek before quickly pulling away, and facing the path. He laced their fingers once more, trying to cover his flushing face. "What about you? Lead the way?" He asked her, as he starred forward.
Janet's eyes widened a bit and her face shifted to a bright shade of pink. She fixed her gaze back to the ground as they continued down the bridge. She stayed right next to Axel, her shoulder touching his. She stayed quiet, not sure whether to say anything or not. At least the stream could still be heard and the birds were still singing. The further along on the path they got, the denser the trees got. It was darker there than in it was just a couple minutes ago, but it wasn't super dark. Willow and pine trees were what most of the trees were, some being oak.
After only a few more minutes, Janet came to a stop. She glanced around and found "her" tree. It was a big willow tree with light purple flowers on it. The branches were very long, making almost a separate room from the rest of the park. She smiled and lead Axel inside the 'room'.
(Ahg! Sorry for the wait! I had like twenty other things XD)
He stared in awe, as he was led up to the tree. The vibrant colors were a sight, he never thought he would see. Everything was just so captivating. Janet included. She had such the prettiest smile, it twisted his heart. Of course she only wanted to be friends though, just his luck. A super gorgeously attractive woman, who just wanted to be his friend. What were the odds? It probably didn't help he was acting so strange, even he wouldn't be attracted to himself. So with a slight internal groan, he forced a bright smile onto his lips. "It's so pretty here. I seriously don't know how you found such a place as this." He noted, facing her.
(Oh it's totally okay! No need to worry :)
Janet just smiled, she loved this place with all her heart. It was deep enough in the forest part of the park that people rarely were here, and when they were they usually passed right past it. "My siblings and I would play hide 'n seek a lot. I always won once I found this tree. I could have stayed on the ground, but I always climbed the tree as well just to make sure I wouldn't be found." She said in an almost whisper with a fond smile. "I'm surprised I found such an amazing place as well though, but I'm so glad I did."
Hearing her reminisce, his heart started to tug gently. "Sounds like an amazing time." He told her, walking over to the tree. He led her by the hand over to a spot, and sat down still holding his hand. "Come on, sit." He smiled, patting the spot next to him. His smile stayed for a good long time, as long as she was around. He lightly kissed her hand, before she could sit, and kept his gaze on her.
Even seeing her from a different angle, it brought so many good qualities out. Her figure was gorgeous, and her face was stunning. Her smile was heart warming, and her voice just the same. Everything about her was just breath taking to Axel.
Janet happily went and sat next to Axel, as that was going to be her plan but he beat her to it. She leaned herself lightly against him and rested her head on his shoulder. Everything was perfect. It was a nice day, the park was amazing as always, and she met Axel. "Um, so you said you like to play guitar… uh, it would be fun to hear you play someday. And remember how my whole family is artistic? Well, I liked to sing. But I haven't done any of that recently since I'm self-conscious of it and shy about it. But maybe I wouldn't be if I was around you?"
He thought about what she had just said, and slid his arm gently around her waist. "Do you now?" He asked her softly, rubbing her arm with his thumb. He rested his own head on top of hers. "That would be fun, though I don't normally like to play for people. But I could make an exception for you." He teased her, stretching out one of his legs, and kept the other close to his chest. "What do you normally sing? Like, what position?" He asked, not well knowing of the set up of singing.
There was so squirming or surprised jolts when she felt Axel's arm go around her, she adored it actually. But without much hesitation, she answered Axel's question, "I'm mostly in the mezzo-soprano range. Meaning I sing the same parts as a soprano would, but I can also sing lower than most." She explained in an almost matter-of-factly manner. "But for the type of music I like to sing, I'm more of a slow and ballad type song singer. I feel like it fits my voice better."Janet added. Although, she did stop and think about his first question. "I'm always nervous about singing, even around my family or by myself. So I'm not sure if the nervousness I have right now is just that, or if it's just like any other time…"
"Well, would you sing for me?" He asked her, in a 'go on' kind of manner. He didn't want to be pushy, but he wanted to hear her. He was excited, and intrigued to hear her. Though if she was nervous about it, he didn't want to push…really.
His smile was encouraging, and he tried to keep it that way. He pulled away from her, just enough so he could look at her. Resting a hand on her cheek, he rubbed it gently with his thumb.
(Okay, the only reason it took so long to respond was to find a song for Janet to sing lol)
Janet took a deep breath and she opened her mouth. But she soon closed it, her nerves getting the best of her. "I'll try…" She whispered, almost as if to convince herself. She swallowed and lightly placed her hand over Axel's, taking a few more deep breaths. She opened her mouth again and very quietly started singing Who's Sorry Now? Only a few seconds later, however, she got louder, eventually singing to her full power.
(XD It's all good!)
His eyes grew in surprise, and his jaw loosened while he looked down at her. Axel was stunned, in a rather good way. She was gorgeous sounding, and much better than he had expected. His shock slowly eased, into a fond smile. His eyes were lighting up the more she sang. 'Interesting choice of a song…' He noted, before fully focusing on her. He felt captured by her, and very subtly leaned closer. His smile was fading, as her song came closer to the end. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion around the two.
