Sofi, I feel like such a terrible person. Not only was this incredibly late but I misspelled your name! I am so so so so so so so so sorry. I feel awful. Oh my God I literally feel like the worst human being in the world. I am so sorry.
"Sofi?" my brother called.
"Yeah, Will?" I responded, waving my hands in the air so the new coat of nail polish I applied would dry.
"My friend, Dalton, is coming over later. I'm going to run to the store to pick up a few things before he gets here. I should be back before he shows up, but let him in if I'm not here yet, okay?" he asked.
"Sure thing!" I said. My brother and I had always been close, but I left for college when he was in the band. Now that he's out and I'm back home for the summer, I was hoping to get to spend some time with him like the good old days, but I guess not. I had picked up my favorite book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and began reading. The doorbell rang about thirty mintues later. Assuming it was Will forgetting the keys again, I slipped my bookmark between the worn pages and skipped down the stairs, not caring that I was covered only by a Tardis t-shirt and some leggings, not to mention that my hair looked like a squirrel had stored nuts in it for winter, then dug them all back out and re-hid them for good measure. I opened the door.
"You know, Will, it'd be really nice if you remembered your-" I started, but I cut myself off when I saw the man standing before me. His hair was bleached blonde, but the color suited him perfectly. Eyeliner ghosted his lids and his nails were coated in black polish, just like my own. His dog tags had quotes from Doctor Who and Harry Potter. "Keys," I finished, laughing out of sheer embarrassment. "You must be Dalton," I said, trying to forget the fact that I was meeting my brother's best friend while looking like Hell just swallowed me and spat me back out.
"Yeah. That's me. Sofi, right?" he asked. I nodded.
"Will should be here soon. He just had to run to the store. Make yourself at home," I said, gesturing in the direction of the living room.
"Thanks. I love your shirt, by the way." He then winked before I dashed up the stairs. I ripped my brush through my rat's nest of hair and tried to make myself presentable, but ignoring makeup because I didn't want to make him sit alone for too long. I slipped on some black skinny jeans and a band t-shirt, throwing my hair into a messy bun to hide its craziness.
I walked back down the stairs to find Dalton looking at the pictures of me and my brothers on the mantle above the fireplace.
"Such a beautiful family," he muttered. I couldn't tell if it was to himself or to me. I had tried not to be noticeable.
"Thanks," I mumbled. He turned and looked at me.
"Hey there." He grinned.
As it turned out, Will had made other plans. He had no intentions of coming back to the house that night, but I hadn't known that until the next day. Dalton and I had fallen asleep watching The Little Mermaid after finishing the first season of Doctor Who when he came home. He smiled, took a picture of the two of us cuddling on the couch, then went to his room. Dalton and I have been best friends ever since.
Two years later and we're still the best of friends, and I may or may not have fallen in love with him, but lately he's been coming over to see only Will, not me. Maybe he's figured it out?
The doorbell rang and I ran to answer it. My hair was disheveled and by this point I knew it was Dalton so I didn't care.
"Hey, Sofi. Is Will in?" he asked.
"No, actually. He went to the mall to pick up a cake for our mom. Her birthday is tomorrow. You can come in if you want. He should be here soon," I said.
"You know, I got into some trouble last time you told me that. Will still won't let me live it down." He smiled and I grinned back, trying not to show how much I miss this between us.
He grabbed a movie off of the shelf and put it in as I got a blanket. He sat down and I snuggled up next to him, tugging the blanket over the both of us.
Before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep.
Dalton's POV
I'd played The Little Mermaid in hopes of reliving a few memories, but I guess the sleeping part was coming sooner than I'd thought.
I remembered Will's and my conversation last night.
"Will, uh.... I wanted to talk to you about... something."
"What's up, Dalton?" Will asked.
"Um. You know, really, um, I just, I really care about her, and you know, and I think she deserves the best, and if you don't think that that's me I appreciate that and you know, I just want the best for her. Uh, but I really, really hope that you see that I'm, you know, I would be the best for her," I stuttered.
"Why do I feel like you've said that before? Who are you even talking about?" My eyes widened a little. I was hoping he'd remember.
I went onto YouTube and pulled up our old interview. I watched myself say those exact words from years ago about his sister that I'd never even met.
"You want to date Sofi?" he asked, still looking at the screen.
"Yeah. I really do care about her, Will, and I promise I-"
"Just don't hurt her, okay?" he asked, packing up his things. "I ought to get going. I'll be gone around one tomorrow if you want to ask her then. You're good for each other." He smiled, then left.
So here I am with the girl of my dreams in my arms and she's fallen asleep before I can ask her my question. I adjusted so she laid in between my legs, her head rested on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her torso and buried my head in her hair, inhaling her scent.
"Sofi," I whispered in her ear.
Sofi's POV
"Sofi," I heard. "I love you so much, you have no idea."
"I love you, too," I responded.
"You're awake?" he asked, and I could tell he seemed nervous.
"Yeah. Your shifting woke me up," I said.
"Oh. Sorry," he muttered sheepishly.
"No. Don't worry about it. I'm glad you did." We looked at each other for a moment before he started playing with my hair.
"Well, now that we've done the hard part, do you want to go out with me sometime as a couple, rather than a couple of friends?" he asked.
"I'd love to."
Will, of course, walked in on us the same way after we'd fallen asleep to another movie. He set the cake down on the table and took a few pictures of us again, against our knowledge.
"So cute," he whispered to himself.
His plan, though it'd taken a few years, had finally worked. You'd have to remember to thank him for that later.
