The Angel

Chapter 3

"Why is nervousness a part of humanity?" Lilac mumbled as she clung the note tightly in her hands and took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Because I feel sick to my stomach..."

"Butterflies in your stomach?"

"These aren't even butterflies anymore...," she complained, eyes darting to the side. "... These are like wasps."

The weekend passed by all too fast. So did the week. Days went by only to become one of many a blurred memory, stuffed away into the back of your mind. A single second immediately becomes part of the past, and you can't always pinpoint the present moment.

And to think people love to procrastinate.

Funny -- we never actually have the time to postpone anything.

Today was the day she'd hand the note to her crush. And what made today the perfect day was because she'd spent the past few years writing and revising it over and over again. Since it was her senior year in high school and everyone would soon be dispersed into different colleges or off into random jobs, she wouldn't have to worry too badly about rejection.

Which, she admitted, was probable.

The note itself was a cliche love letter and she knew that. Even more of a cliche was writing the note itself, but she nonetheless thought writing would be the best way to convey her thoughts. She wouldn't have to worry about stuttering or making a fool out of herself by placing 'um' or 'uh' here and there only to run off out of embarrassment. All she needed to do was slip the piece of paper to him sometime during school.

"If you hold that for too long, you might ruin it with your grip," Alec muttered from the cafeteria seat in front of her. He was right -- her fingernails were already digging into the thin paper like she was clinging onto the last bit of her life. "Either that or you're going to somehow pour water all over it on accident." Also true.

Why did you have to wait so long to give it to him?

She narrowed her eyes in a half-hearted glare but put it away as suggested. "Sorry... nervous...," she admitted quietly, looking down at the school food and poking it with her fork. It was disgusting and one of the few things in life that disappointed her immensely.

Alec only nodded in understanding and took out his phone to check a few texts.

Lilac looked around for a brief moment and, upon seeing Alec distracted, took out the note to reread it all over again.

A short, five seconds passed in silence. Alec groaned to himself, annoyed by her habit. "The more you do that, the more nervous you'll be," he said without looking up at her, his eyes still on the phone screen.

"Sorry, but I can't help it... ," she apologized in a half-sarcastic tone, folding it up again yet keeping it in her hands this time.

"Hey, sweetheart," another girl greeted Alec, sliding into the seat next to him. "Hey, Lil'," she added, looking at Lilac with a small smile.