butterflies ઇଓ matt sturniolo imagines

𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯

ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅ઇଓ

     you felt like the main character in the movie of your dreams. as dumb as that sounds, it's true- you never thought you'd see the day someone gave you that feeling.

     matt has the sappiest heart, and he's become less and less embarrassed about it since he met you. his romantic gestures are always horribly cheesy, so much so that you sometimes wondered if he took notes every time he watched a sitcom. the boy was an overwhelming combination of every 2000's romcom boyfriend in one body, but you loved that. you felt more and more special with every played-out cliché he gave you.
today, matt promised you a picnic date. he said that the night was going to be clear, so you guys could watch the sunset turn into a starry sky. you've never been on a picnic date before, so you immediately began berating him with questions of what to bring and how to get it there and when the sun sets and blah, blah, blah, and he shushed you and promised he had it all covered. you weren't fond of going into anything blind, but you trusted him. he tends to surprise you.

     he gave you a little time to get ready, which you approached in a rush. you hurried off to the room you shared with him and tore your closet apart, trying to decipher what outfit a picnic date might illicit. there were a million factors to consider: the grass, the weather, the possibility of bugs and animals and birds, and if your feet get cold, and if it might rain...
as you unearthed outfits for every inconvenience, you realized you were spiraling. you do this every time- whenever matt has an idea for a date, you freak. maybe it was because you wanted it to go perfectly, or because you wanted to impress him, but you panic every time and it never does you any good. so you took a deep breath and began hanging all the shirts and dresses and skirts you uprooted back up, and settled on the one outfit you always feel pretty in, which was a pair of loose black jeans and your favorite green top. it was a silky babydoll shirt with flowy sleeves that hung just right on your shoulders and didn't look frumpy; matt once said he loved the way you looked in it, so you have worn it a million times since.
you shoved your feet into your sneakers and double-checked your hair and makeup didn't look a mess, and once you were satisfied, you shuffled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where you found matt closing up an ornate picnic basket. the boy was in a pair of blue jeans and that trusty black ransom hoodie of his; you always teasingly called that his 'model hoodie', because nobody has ever looked so good in a sweatshirt as he did in that one.

he took one look at you and his face flushed. "you look pretty."

"you got an actual basket for this?" you passed right over his compliment, bewildered by the effort, yet at the same time not surprised.

"yeah! who has a picnic without a basket?" he shrugged, giving you a look like you'd just said the stupidest thing in the world.

raising your hands in defense, you laughed, "my bad!"

     matt handled the basket and let you take care of bringing the blanket out to the car. he refused to tell you where he was taking you, so you hopped in his passenger seat and forced yourself not to stress. this is supposed to be fun, you reminded yourself over and over again. he wants this to be fun.
     the drive wasn't long, but it wasn't familiar either. you watched from the corner of your eye as matt concentrated on the road, turning down streets you've never driven down. you'd only heard about five songs before matt pulled off the road and into a big parking lot that overlooked a park so wide you couldn't even see the other side; there had to be at least ten acres of open grass and tall, ancient trees. you could see a few families out in the middle of the park, their little kids running wild like bunnies.

"i didn't even know this park existed," the words were barely more than a whisper. you were completely taken aback.

"me and chris found it when nick had us searching for good places to take photos a few weeks back. it was so nice that i thought i just had to take you here." matt's eyes twinkled, and you could tell he was excited to show you this place.... ah, there's that feeling again. that feeling of being special.