"I don't know"

 It didn't mean to happen this way in my head but anyways.

"You like Marvel?" I ask, chewing on my last piece of sandwich which i took out from my lunch box on the way back with him to finding a way, all over again. Yeah.

So i was taking this picture of the sky in the evening lit up with patches of brightly colored clouds, lying rent free in the clouds with just a payment of monthly downpour these days. I was at a far distant corner away from the school crowd to catch this view. I backed a bit while taking the pics and bumped onto him at the back. 

"Sorry, sorry" i said hastily, but when i looked back he was continuing with his some 'down-head' chore, surprised at his presence at this post. I ignored and went on with mine till i caught a handful of pictures to save for the month spending on rest of the upcoming wallpapers of mine.

I started looking for signals to send the pictures to a safe backup place on my phone which i guess required at least 2 lines of internet to move on. It was a quarter dark when i realized i had spent a lot of struggling on my phone, when i looked up and lost the last trace of the crowd. Plus the guy behind my back was still engrossed into something. I went ahead to look out for my so-called friends, honestly, when it absorbed in my skin that we were left behind. 

I gape once and twice for my actualization. Then i ran to this guy with his back to me to tell him that we lost the touch of the throng. But when i got close, i saw blood on the already dampened sand beneath. I looked over his head and saw a deep gash on his skin beneath the thumb, running diagonal to the east end of his palm. 

"Haw! Are you hurt?" I sat down in front of him and took his hand in mine. "That's deep, my god."

He was whimpering in such a low voice, i only realized it from the in and out rhythms of his breath.

I took out my large hankey, the one which i stole from my father's cabinet this morning alone, for i knew and needed to be ready to face such circumstances on my own, and wrapped it tight around his thumb. The bleeding will be stop after a few minutes for sure looking at the tight band now. 

"How did you get it?" I asked him looking directly in his pain-staking eyes.

"Nothing, just cut it on some pulp. Thankyou btw."

"You don't have to lie to me though." I got up, knowing he is just another scared kid from the neighborhood; scared of telling his mom some day how he hurt himself.

He quickly shot a glance at me while i walked towards the path where the school children must have followed.

After a while, i could hear the clamping of rotten and crisp leaves beneath his foot, probably, as we followed. I stopped on my path, and joined him later in his walk. 

"We should not leave sides as we are lost now." I darkened my voice a bit. I don't have a logical reason for it though.

"Yeah, any guesses where they must have turned on now?" He asked as we reached a road which lead to two rows one on the left and one on the slight east of straight. 

"Maybe this one." I said pointing to the left, and we followed.

"I got it from an old rod bar though." He said plainly.

"I know, boys always are in some stupid shit."

"Huh like girls aren't always bragging about their hairs."

"Uh-huh, and where did you find this 'old rod bar' on a forest walk?"

"Maybe you didn't notice the house we just passed before turning for this cliff way."

"I must be on my phone though."

"Reason why you got big glasses."

"At least my eyes are so beautiful i got them framed." 

He looked at me first before i gave him a smirk with an eyebrow raised, and he started laughing so hard. Maybe this is the first time i have heard him laugh so much continuously. 

"I am funny though, ain't I?" I smiled and looked at him. 

"For sure." And he smiled back which kind of shuddered the butterflies, who are actually ready for any attention all the time; why i despise them a lot.

"But why didn't you ask for help before? This is gonna get serious if we didn't do something in few hours at most."

"I have been through this before, so i guess their shouldn't be any problem for we will find a way soon." He said it as we found the footsteps of the crowd. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's sit here for sometime, my legs got broke." I flumped on a side bench. He took a while before sitting down, i know because he must be cycling twice a day for this strength of his reflecting now.

"By the way you were so quickly speaking in that debate yesterday, i almost lost your words."

"Got it from you alone, listening your speaking my head hurt for i could speak better."

He chuckled. "Why are you always coming at me to stab. It is cool though but why?" He says it all amiably.

"My mouth does this when i am not in a good mood."

"What are you upset about now?"

"Now? I hate my friends, it is a not a say for now. I hate coming to school alone but since it is a trip day, i came just to travel for free."

"So you love travelling?" Happy he took the positive part.

"I do. You?"

"Not much. I like to stay at home too."

"Knew it from your attendance."

He laughs.

"I am embarrassed now that you pulled up the debate part. Sir didn't even take my point seriously, and asked something which had no answer but violence." I flipped my hands in the air to express my utter disappointment.

"But anyway, he is a jocose. You were good by the way." 

"So why do you think i am gabbing about it now?"

"I don't know. Maybe it might be the first time you are speaking or don't realize your words could effect." He looked at me last when he said it. I caught his eye.

"So you liked my point?"

"I did."

"I wanted to listen to yours but you were speaking so slowly, i couldn't hear half of it."

We sat again in silence for a while, before we started again to the end.

As we reached it close, i stopped. Don't know why but i did. It was inevitable. And i asked it now that it had been in my mind for months, though i don't feel any of it now.

"Do you like me?" I gobbled half of me, if this question went too far.

He stopped then and looked at me with such questioning eyes, i could have died.

"Ummm, I don't know."

He said it and advanced towards the tents now lit with lamp inside, embracing the darkness of the night now.

And i stood there pondering over his answer as i saw him walking away. Though when he reached the final full stop of this journey, he looked back at me and for once, smiled and faded in the lights.