When your last name is Wackerman you kind of expect to have no social life. When your parents own a funeral home, you give it up for a lost cause. Of course, things could always be worse. Thankfully my parents had mercy on me and named me something sensible like Peter and not Richard... shudders just thinking about it.
So, no one could be more surprised than me when the new girl came to school and for reasons, no one could explain showed an interest in me.
I know what you're thinking. She's some gothic steampunk chick who like... thinks it's cool that I live above a room full of freezers that contain dead bodies but no she was this perky, little blonde girl with a pixie style haircut and blue sky eyes.
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"Emma," she says holding her hand out to me.
I look around briefly to be certain she isn't speaking to someone else. "Ummm... Peter. You must be new here."
"I am but is that a bad thing?"
"Bad? Uh, no... it just explains a lot. So, why is it that you're talking to me?"
She links her arm with mine and giggles like I said something funny and starts walking with me down the school hallway.
"I like you, Peter. You're... not like everyone else."
Understatement of the year. "Uh-huh. And why are we STILL talking?"
She giggles at me again. "How else do you expect me to get to know you?"
"And you want to get to know me, why? Not that I'm complaining..." I add quickly on the very off chance this isn't some school prank and the video club isn't going to jump out of the lockers laughing at me.
She shakes her head at me. "You're the first boy here who hasn't tried to hit on me."
"Why would I?" At her frown, I promptly added, "I mean... what's the point when I don't stand a chance."
"Are you sure of that?"
I rub the back of my neck. "To be honest with you, I've been sure of very little since we started talking."
She laughed again and I realized I really like the sound of it.
"Peter, I just want..."
"to be friends... it's okay. I get that... A LOT."
"Are you always this negative?"
"Sorry, I'm just used to disappointment. It's kinda something I've learned to expect."
"Well, perhaps you should try expecting the unexpected."
"Well, by expecting the unexpected wouldn't that make the unexpected... expected?" My brain hurts.
She giggles again and she stops in the middle of the hallway causing me to halt my steps, as she's still holding on to my arm.
"I see I must demonstrate my point," Emma says to me and suddenly, without any warning, she leans into me and kisses me. My hands instinctively go to her waist wanting to hold her a moment longer and I feel her smile against my lips.
