As They Say - (Revised) - 24. Entry 32

29th May 1991:

I know... I know; I was supposed to crawl out of bed this morning, walk up to Ross's door, knock, and then tell him, "I love you."

However, it did not happen anything like that. Instead, I crawled out of bed, came down the stairs, and when I got to the bottom of them, I unintentionally missed the last step and face planted the wooden floor in the hallway. I busted my nose, but hey, I'm still okay. I don't have any permanent brain damage.

Okay, that was a bit dark, but I swear I'm okay.

Let's get on with the show.

After Mam patched me up, followed by some unwanted kissing and hugging— which is suffocating, might I add— I finally got out the door and picked up Ross. I was secretly praying and hoping that he wouldn't notice my nose. It did look a bit swollen, but I think I was shit out of luck. If I could’ve tried to ask for a nose job, I would have, but they cost thousands.

I knocked and nervously waited; any courage I had built up when I was coming down the stairs had gone when I hit the floor. You can imagine how dumb I must've looked standing there at the door. It felt like something was lodged in my throat, and I it looked like had one of those fake red clown noses on with the swelling.

Yet, he peered at me sceptically, almost deciding if he should say something.

“Are you okay, did something happen to your nose?” Ross asked.

I smirked, that boy doesn’t miss a beat.

“I tripped down the stairs… You don’t want know… Trust me.”

I giggled from self amusement, from the replay of myself in my head, falling down the stairs. Yet, Ross, just smirked and then I was inside.

Ross said, "Come in."

All the O'Sullivans were awake, and they were in the kitchen making breakfast when I arrived. Ross animatedly brought me to his grandparents without much regard; he just dragged me along. I shit you not, Ross latched onto my wrist and guided me there. In the kitchen, his grandparents were gathered around the large island in the centre of the room. They were making breakfast, and on top of that, they were baking bread.

Homemade bread is tasty.

My Mam never really makes such things, and when she does, they are very far in between.

So when I sat down, Ross's grandmother offered me breakfast. I had already eaten, so I didn't want any, though she insisted. You can't not decline a nice old lady with baked goods. So, I took some of her sweet bread. When I bit into it, it was so delicious and warm. I glanced across at Ross; he was just snacking away like a child would eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ross looked like he was in heaven; he was obviously savouring the taste.

Out of nowhere, Mrs. O'Sullivan asked, "Would you like to come to dinner, Adam?"

I thought I imagined it at first; I've never eaten Mrs. O'Sullivan's dinner before. In all the years I've known her, sure, she's given me a couple of chocolate bars and the odd drink now and then when she was watching over me when my parents had to run out. Though this was new, and when I saw the look on Ross's face, I just knew that I had to accept the invitation. Maybe this was some little setup between his grandmother and him.

After breakfast, we headed out. We mounted the bikes, and we rolled off toward Ballyoran. Instead of going straight, we took the right road on the Y-junction that led away from the town. After what felt like ten hours cycling, which was probably twenty minutes in reality, we turned off the roadway and into a secluded boreen area where trees shrouded over us.

I've known about this place for a while now. Carl had shown it to me a couple of months ago. I don't understand why I'm only thinking of it now, but I thought that Ross would like it. Sure, it's dangerous, but we didn't kill ourselves.

We peddled deep into the woods, then got off the bikes and propped them against a tree. I never attempted to climb such a rigorous thing without Carl. After all, he's the brave one of the two of us. It's him who nailed the rungs into the old oak and assembled a decking around the top on the treeline. When Ross saw it, his eyes lit up; he didn't even wait for my go-ahead; he just started climbing. I was a little bit worried I had taken him to the wrong place. Plus, a bit scared because it was so high that he'd fall, and it would be all my fault if Ross got hurt.

Though he didn't, thankfully.

It's impossible to describe the ecstasy I felt when we reached the top. All I could do while climbing was look at Ross's ass. Of course, I didn't want to, but I did anyway. He has a perky bum; it's really round and plump, and stuff. Okay... I better stop talking about it before I have a plump lump.

Once I reached the top, I felt relief and some safety from the long, strenuous climb. I think Ross likes the spot more than all the other places I have shown him. It felt magical, the two of us just watching the sun get lower and lower along the tree line until eventually, it ducked down between the land and the trees. We were pretty high up, maybe the equivalent of a three or a four-story building in height. We just sat there and took in the nature sounds and the imagery of the sun setting. Our legs dangled over the side of the terrace, and I leaned back on my elbows to enjoy the sun.

Ross remained unusually quiet, and just as I was beginning to close my eyes, I felt his hand on my hand. I didn't want to open my eyes, but they opened spontaneously. I glanced down at my hand, and sure enough, Ross's hand was on top of mine. I didn't dare move because I liked the feeling; I secretly hoped that Ross wouldn't either. Then when the sun ducked between the trees, it began to get a little cold and eventually, we had to climb down and start making our way back home. I felt a bit weird afterwards, but it was fantastic, and I felt special. Nothing was said about it; I think it was the quietest interaction I have ever experienced; it was so robotic. We arrived back at the house; later, Ross's mood shifted, and then he was this talkative, happy person again.

As invited, I sat down to dinner with his grandparents. However, I popped home to tell my parents I was eating out. Mam was a little flustered after I told her because she already started dinner. After some begging on my behalf, I urged her to save it for my tea; and as I write this entry, it feels like my stomach will explode. I ate so much today.

Ross's grandmother doesn’t skimp on the servings; she fills the plate to the rim, piling the nibbles adequately high on the meal too. I have no idea how I managed to eat Mam’s grub when I got home, but yeah, it was lovely. There was a moment when we were at the table, and Ross was tucking in, getting slightly carried away with his food. It was like he hadn't eaten in a month, and his grandmother told him to slow down. I have no idea why, but I found it funny and rather cute at the same time. If a girl ate like that, she'd be classed as a slob.

What's up with that?

As Ross downed forkfuls of mashed potatoes near the end of the meal, he let this hollow belch out. I don't think he expected it; none of us did. The entire table fell silent, and his grandmother gave him a stern expression across the spread. I began to giggle, and then before long, Ross broke into a chuckle, and his grandad let his belly jiggle with a gentle laugh. All the while, his grandmother tutted at us for finding something quite rude: funny. Although Ross did say sorry, the way he did so was even more adorable; in-between the hiccups, he developed a laugh at the absurdness. Ross was giggling so hard that I figured the fork with the clouds of fluffy mash would discharge across the table if it slipped out of his hand. Though it didn't; Ross finished the entire plate. He can pack away some amount of food, I'll tell you that.

Well yeah, that was today; I was supposed to tell Ross how adorable he is, but I just couldn’t. When I tried earlier, an odd sensation came up my throat. It felt like little bubbles were fizzing up my neck. You know that feeling when you drink a fizzy drink, and it makes you all gassy? Well, it was like that, only I didn't drink anything.

Okay, well, I better go to bed. My eyes are hanging out; I'm so tired. Though hey… at least I'm happy and a little afraid at the same time.

Oh, and lastly, after dinner we hung out in Ross's room. Well, he carries these weird-looking circles with handmade spiderwebs interwoven in them. I asked my Mam, wondering what they could be, and the first thing that came to mind after I mentioned it was a dreamcatcher. I should stop by the library and figure out what those things are made for. Though from what she told me, hence its name, it has to catch dreams.

Is that even possible? Dunno.

Anyway, night,

Adam

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