BUTTERFLIES

CHAPTER TWO

This was exciting. I'm not usually good at this kind of stuff, flirting and relationship-y type things. I simultaneously think that I am not good enough for anyone, and that no one is good enough for me. It's something I'm working on with my therapist.

None of this matters, though, because whatever happened yesterday worked. A tiny part of me worried that it was just a friendly conversation, but at the same time, I'm pretty sure the vibe was clear between the two of us. People who meet for the first time and talk that much aren't usually meant to be just friends, right?

Hey! what are u up to today? I texted her.

The thing about WhatsApp is that you can't see when people are texting back, those three dreadful little bubbles that show up on iMessage aren't there to cause anxiety. Luckily, my phone pinged a second later.

I was gonna look for a skate park, do u know of any? Lena sent.

Yeah! There's one in Østerbro I've never been to- I'm not much of a skater. But I'd be happy to explore with you :)

She didn't have a bike here yet, so we decided to meet at the closest metro stop, and then I practically threw my phone across the room out of excitement. She wanted to see me again.

I suddenly got the wave of butterflies I had felt when I first saw her yesterday, but this time they were more for myself, or my lack of skating skills that was. Only a few times in all nineteen years of my life had I stepped onto a skateboard, and every time I was too scared and wobbly to get anywhere.

Teaching someone to skate is cute, I thought to myself. She can teach me to skate, and I can teach her piano. Or something.

Next task was picking out an outfit. What do people wear to go skating? I didn't want to dress too casual, but I wanted to be comfortable. And cool, of course. Normally I know exactly what to wear because I know I have good style, but it felt like all of the sudden none of my clothes were good enough. I pulled on some baggy jeans and my 070 Shake t-shirt to show that I am cultured and probably gay. As much as I wanted to wear some cool sneakers, I knew I should stick to a pair I could rough up, since who knows what could happen while skating. I filled my water bottle, threw on a crewneck, and grabbed my leather jacket on the way out in case I got cold. Or in case she got cold.

It's always awkward when you see someone from afar, and you know you are meeting them, but you can't make eye contact the entire time they are approaching you because it's creepy. You could wave as soon as you see them, but then you'd have to stand there until they get closer, and you want to run towards them, but that would feel immature. Luckily this didn't happen to me, because I was so deep into worry, figuring out what to do with my hands while I ascended the escalator to find her at our designated meeting spot, that I almost walked right past her.

"Mari!" she exclaimed.

"Lena! Hi!" I said with a smile.

"How are you?" she asked, very genuinely.

"I'm really good, really really good. How are you?" I asked, digging my hands into my pockets and trying not to sound quite as out of this world hyped as I actually was to be talking to her again.

"Pretty good. I spilled my coffee on myself this morning, but other than that great."

"Damn, what a great way to start the day!"

"Yeah, pretty amazing," she said sarcastically through a small laugh. I really started to hear her accent, it was cute, and a lot softer than I would have expected from a German speaker, and gentler than I would have expected based on her look.