Jonathan was feeling quiet awkward. But he was pretty sure that it was so much better to sit there with Adrian as he read his novel than to be kicked around by some pricky bully.
But Jonathan was never good at giving himself company and he was not ready to get used to it any sooner. He was just afraid if he might get Adrian angry. Yet, what has he got to lose anyway? So he decided to break the silence nevertheless.
"Hey Adrian?" He called out nervously and almost felt like hiding his head in the ground when Adrian looked up from his book to meet his eye.
He was glaring.
"Are you free this weekend?" Jonathan asked in an attempt to make a meaningful conversation.
"Why do you want to know?" Adrian asked in a flat tone and was about to go back to reading when Jonathan answered him.
"You know, may be we could hang out together?"
Adrian's expression looked somewhat despised.
Jonathan felt bile rise to his throat at how weird the situation was. It was like he was having a conversation with himself. He wished for the ground to eat him up as the silence stretched between them, as he felt scrutinized by the gaze of the other boy.
However, Adrian soon said something, to the greater relief of the other boy. "Why?"
"Maybe we could do something fun!" Jon tried to carry on his excitement into his words.
"Explain Fun" Adrian said as he, for a moment, put his book away.
That left Jon speechless. What was he supposed to say? Was he really expecting him to explain the term "fun" to him or was he asking him to tell him about "fun"?
Either way, Jon found himself dumb on the topic. He opened his mouth several times in an attempt to say the right words, then closed it abruptly as he found that they were just meaningless.
Adrian let out a sigh.
"See, Jonathan. Everyone has their own definition of fun. For me, it's reading and immersing myself in the reverie of it"
"You mean, you like to be alone?"
"Yes, I do" Adrian started to pick his book back up.
"But, hey, being lonely is depressing!" Jon argued, throwing his arms up in the air.
Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose. He almost felt as if he was explaining things to a little kid.
"Jonathan. Being alone and being lonely are two different things. There is nothing fun about being lonely. But you could always find bliss in being alone. Being alone is a physical state. And loneliness is a mental state" Adrian said and shook his head to himself.
Jonathan had to blink a few times before he digested all the facts that were spilled before him. "Wow. Someone's being philosophical"
He said, only to be ignored.
"Can you atleast tell me where you go to hang out when you're bored? Or are you one of those weird specimens who never gets bored?" Jon asked and he started to feel a strange feeling of comfort around the other boy.
"The Library" Adrian answered simply and Jon's mouth fell open.
Well, what was he expecting anyway?
"Ookayy? Can I join the next time you go there?" Jon asked half expecting for him to deny the request.
Adrian gave it a thought and surprisingly enough, he agreed.