I packed my books, grabbed my jacket and headed for the bus. For once, I was able to take the bus right at dismissal. I normally have some after school activity to do. Anyway, I met my friends in the lobby and we got on the bus. They were looking at me in a strange way.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing. It's just...you seem a little....different." Gina replied.
"Different? How?"
"You're happier." Britney added.
"I know why." Abby chimed in.
"Abby, no" I knew where this was going.
"What? Are you scared that I'm gonna tell them about your new boyfriend?" she teased.
"He's not my boyfriend. I mean, we've been talking....sort of...and I'm gonna meet him later-" Gina cut me off.
"Wait a minute, is it Magic Boy?" she sounded over-excited.
"His name is Collins not Magic Boy and yes."
"Abby, how long did you know this?" I was no longer the one whom Gina was questioning.
"As long as this thing was going on. How long has this been going on anyway?" Abby turned to me.
"A week, I think.Maybe more"
"Oh. My. God. And you didn't say anything?" Gina whined.
"No, because I knew you would get like this."
"Whatever. So you're gonna meet him? This is you're first time seeing him in person, right?" Britney asked.
"Not exactly."
"What?!?!?!" they all said at once.
"Hold on" Gina began. "Is he the guy that you...you know.....landed on?" she started to giggled.
"Yeah." I laughed along with her.
"She literally fell for him." Britney joined.
"Too soon."
"Sorry."
Because the bus we were on was considered a "school bus" the last stop was a place we call "The Square". That's where most of the girls from school meet up with their boyfriends, or friends from outside of school. It's convenient for me because I need to get off there. Unfortunately, for some other people, they need to wait for another bus just to get to their destination.
When I got off the bus, Gina pulled me aside.
"I think that guy is staring at you. He looks familiar. Do you know him?" she whispered in my ear.
I looked around. "What guy?" I couldn't see with all the teenage girls standing on the curb.
She turned my head in his direction. "That guy. He's cute."
He smiled and waved sheepishly. She was right, he does look familiar. He started to come closer. He became taller with each step he took. That's when I realized that it was Collins.How did he get here? How did he know where I was? We said hello and exchanged a hug.
"Hey." he said.
"Hi. How did you know where to find me?" I asked.
He pointed towards Abby. "Your friend here told me."
"I knew you were a stalker". I poked him, once for every word.
"Ah, I'm not a stalker."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not"
"Uh-huh"
"Nuh-uh"
"Guys! You're starting to sound like toddlers....stop....we're in public." Gina stepped in. " I mean, you guys are adorable, but save arguments like that for when you're not in the middle of the street."
"Gina, comments like that are gonna get you in trouble." I said.
"What? That you're adorable? I tell it like it is, my friend."
"You're not gonna introduce me?" Collins asked.
"Oh, right. This is Gina. Gina, Collins. Collins, Gina. And that's Britney."
"Nice to meet you" he said.
All three nodded awkwardly.
"You're Magic Boy!" Britney gasped.
"Excuse me?" I could tell he was confused.
"Sorry. That's kinda how they refer to you when ever we talk. I try correcting them, but, it never works. I hope you're not offended." I emphasized the word "offended" and turned to Britney.
"No, it's fine. So, what do you wanna do?" he turned to me.
"I really don't know." I shrugged. "We kinda just set this thing up on a whim. I was hoping you had something in mind."
"We're gonna go" Gina said. "It was nice meeting you, Collins." I knew what that meant. We said our goodbye's as they walked off. Now, it was just me and him....And Abby of course. But, not for long.
"Okay, so, I'm gonna leave you two alone." Abby started to walk off. "Have fun, but not too much fun." she winked at me. I was going to kill her. She gave me a hug and ran to the train station.
"I can't believe they left me alone" I said under my breath.
"Are you okay?" Collins asked.
"What? Oh, everything's fine. Just peachy." I sighed.
"If you don't wanna hang out I can just go-"
"No." I grabbed his hand, unaware of what I was doing. "I've actually been looking forward to this all day."
"Really?" He looked down at his hand. I let go as soon as he did this.
"Yeah." I put my hands in my pockets.
"Why did you let go?"
"Huh?"
"You were holding my hand, then you let it go. Why?"
"Oh, I didn't mean to do that. It sort of just happened. And then you looked at me kinda weird so I just thought-"
"It's okay." He smiled at me, holding his hand out, signaling for me to put my hand in his. I did exactly that. "That wasn't so bad now was it?"
"I guess not." I blushed.
"So, going back to the original question." he said.
"Well, I don't really have a lot of time. I need to be home within the next hour."
"Then, can I walk you home?"
"It's a pretty long walk."
"That's fine by me."
"Okay, let's go."
