Bound to Occur

Chapter Five - Butterflies Upon Rose Petals

Occasionally, Seth gives me a glance and I catch it. When I do, though, he smiles and looks the other way, as if it never happened. With our stomachs churning, we're dreadfully famished.
Dean closes the menu when the waiter comes around, smiles, and says, "I'll have the Gang Cow One." The direction of his eyes move toward Natalie's way as he gives a smirk.
   "The what? Oh! You mean the Gang Keow Wan?" The waiter asks, chuckling to himself. "Common mistake; pronouncing these dishes tend to be difficult for people who don't speak foreign languages." Natalie, Seth, and I all turn to Dean as his face leaks embarrassment. We all laugh amongst ourselves while Dean becomes annoyed. The rest of the table order from the menu.
   Half an hour passes by and I can feel the tension between Natalie and Dean as we are still waiting for our food. My eyes shoot at Seth and I notice he's sensing the same thing. Usually when Natalie and Dean fight, everyone knows and everyone is brought into it. Inauspicious. This cannot happen. Not tonight, not now. Seth and I just actually met and now this. Dammit. I clear my throat to get Natalie's attention. She looks up at me.
   "Alright, guys. We'll be back," I say, scooting myself back in my chair to remove myself from the table.
  "We will?" She questions, her eyebrows furrowed. I mouth to her "Yes, come on!" She gives me a confused look as she stands, following me into the ladies' restroom.
"Okay, what is going on between you and Dean?" I stand, my back against the wall, arms crossed.
"When he got on his phone, the first thing that popped up was his ex's Instagram page. He's stalking her page," Natalie explains to me, then sighs. "I'm just so distraught." I bite the inside of my lip, gnawing slightly before I speak.
"It'll be okay.. maybe it was some sort of error," I look her up and down, noticing her position is awkward and slanted.
"An error? Oh yeah, like the app just wants to fuck with me and make Jenna be the first thing that pops up on Dean's feed," she scoffs. I give her a minute to think about what she just said. "Maybe you're right. I mean, I've been so confused lately. I haven't had much sleep," she explains, looking down at her feet.
"Everything will be just fine- no matter what happens, I swear to you, Natalie," I reassure her, brushing my hand up and down her shoulder. "Now let's get back out there and enjoy the rest of the night, alright?" She nods and we walk out, scan the room for our table, and once we find it, we head that way.
"Everything okay?" Dean asks, moving his fork up to his mouth.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Natalie glares at him, smiling. He returns the smile and I mentally sigh, full of relief.
"Food's ready," says Seth, giving me a smirk as he takes a portion of my food and scarfs it down.
"Very classy," I say, rolling my eyes. Seth irritates me, yes, but I'm too ecstatic to care. I'm so glad he's here. As my thoughts whirl in my mind, I realize where my eyesight is planted; I'm staring at Seth and he's been staring back, his cheeks flushed. On the other side of the table, I can see Dean and Natalie's outline, heads tilted our way. The whole world seems to stop as Seth's eyes pierce through my heart. No other thought runs through my mind other than my heart is about to explode from the nervous, shy tension.
   "Uh, h-..how's your food?" He asks me, clearing his throat and scanning the food on his plate.
   "Fine, yours?" I cough, smiling awkwardly at Natalie as she gives me a smirk. As I attempt to pick up my fork, my fingers let it slip and the utensil drops to the carpeted floor. Within a flash, my face changes into a deep crimson. I don't move at first, but instead, I look over at Seth, watching him chuckle as he scans my face. He scoots his chair back and grabs the fork, standing up.
   "What are you do-" I'm interrupted by my realization that he's picking up my fork. "Uh.." He picks it up, stands, goes into the men's restroom to, I assume, rinse it.
   He comes back with a smile and light heartedly says, "You can have my fork, Rose. I'll use this one," he explains, smiling brightly at me. Seth is a very unpredictable person. One second, he can be a dick with a strong sense of sarcasm, and then the next, he's so nice. Almost where you get weirded out and feel threatened. His good looks and chiseled features make him look like a handsome gentleman. I mean, he can be. That's besides the point, which is, Seth is someone who I find completely different from everyone and anyone else. Lynn's got some unique features as well. Uh, on second thought.. He doesn't. He's more or less like every other guy there is. That's why Seth is different. He's less of a guy, more of a gentle being.
"Thanks, Seth," I reply, smiling back. "Are you sure?" I say, my heart thudding repeatedly.
"I'm positive. I just hope you don't drop your fork again," he says, chuckling. This sends the whole table in small laughs, and the thing is, it wasn't even moderately funny. It was the moment that brought everything together. Throughout the whole dinner, my smile never fades. By the time we walk out into the dark night, my cheeks ache from the constant, uncontrollable smiling.
"Wanna ride with me? I mean, you don't have to of course. 'Stranger danger', right?" Seth laughs, using air quotes.
   "Um," I look over at Natalie, seeing her nod my way, as if she's saying, go for it! "Sure, why not?" I smile his way, his cheeks flushing at my acceptance.  I follow his footsteps to his- impala? He goes to the passenger car door and opens it, gesturing me to hop in. When I do, he closes the door like a true gentleman. I roll my eyes and smile at him. He gets in his seat, starting up the vehicle.
   Looking my way, he smiles and says, "Where would you like to go?" He gently grabs my hand and runs his thumb across my skin, back and forth. A heavy chill runs up my spine.
   "Anywhere, I guess. I'm not good at deciding." I chuckle.
   "I have the best place," he says, putting the car in reverse.