Loving The Wallflower

Prologue

It was the year 2002 and Astra Raphaelia Evans was four. Surrounded by loving family members, she grew up to be a carefree, happy, and smiley little girl. Her world was not tainted by insecurities, bullies, and hatred. All she felt was love and happiness. Well, at least those were her world until she turned 13. The age where her parents seemed to be distant from her. The reason? She might have known about it, but she never dared to speak about it out loud.

Born in the same year, although 6 months earlier, Darian Flynn was the youngest son in his family. Living in the same neighborhood as Astra, one would have made assumptions that these two might know each other. Might be best friends as well!

Well...it is true indeed. Astra and Darian developed a friendship so strong, he did not succumb to the society's ugly standard of beauty. He did not care about Astra's body weight, nor did he care about how she looks like. He loved being best friends with her. He treasured their friendship.

Astra began to gain weight when she was eight, making her stood out among her peers most of the time.

Their first encounter was quite funny, as she recalled it.
It was a fine Sunday outside the church where her family usually goes to for Mass. Little 4-year-old Astra, in her daisy yellow dress was looking around at the flowers and bushes around the church as she waited for her parents to finish their conversation with the priest. She was struggling to get her hand out of her mother's grip, but how could a small child like her overpower an adult anyways?

So Astra just stood there, looking as bored as ever and slowly pouting her lower lip. She was trying to look at her own lower lip, making her eyes crossed in that attempt. It was quite easy for her, from what she could remember.

A few minutes passed, Astra, who was so preoccupied with her own attempt to look at her own lower lip, was brought to reality when she heard a woman spoke in a quite high pitch. Matter of fact, she thought it was closer to a shrieking.

"Darian!! What has gotten into you? My dear, look at all the mess on your face and shirt!"

Astra stood on her tippy toes to see where did that loud voice came from. She finally managed to find the source, only because the whole crowd outside the church had turned their attention to the woman who was freaking out.

It turned out that the woman was Marcella Flynn (maiden surname: Grant), a best friend of Astra's mother.

Mrs Flynn reached her hand into her handbag, then taking out a whole grip of tissue papers and turned to a little boy around Astra's height. The boy was a complete mess. Brown stains were all over his face and yellow shirt. He was not crying, considering how his mother has scolded him loudly, and that the whole crowd was looking at them. No.

The boy was laughing and smiling the whole time. Astra found this situation really new and foreign to her. She was looking at him, as if he's grown two more heads. While processing what just happened in front of her, Astra noticed that the boy was looking at her. His laugh and smile were all towards her.

This boy is weird....

That was exactly her first impression on Darian Flynn.

It turned out that he was drinking a small bottle of chocolate milk when he saw Astra's attempt about her lower lip. She must've looked silly with her eyes crossed and lower lip pouting out. Silly enough to make the young Darian choked on his drink and it all went all over his face and shirt.

Astra's mother, Giselle Evans (maiden surname : Lee) walked over to the Flynn family, taking Astra along with her.

"Ella! It's been quite some time since I last talked to you. How have you been?"

She gave Mrs. Flynn a full one minute hug before letting go. She must have really missed her friend.

"Giselle. Oh it's indeed has been quite a long time. We took a bit longer time staying at my mother-in-law's. Almost 3 weeks."

Just like that, the two best friends got lost in their conversation about the past and the present, leaving their two children some space for an awkward first interaction.

Astra was still trying to figure out the reason the boy named Darian was laughing so hard at her. Was she that funny? Was she that entertaining that she managed to amuse him?

Darian, on the other hand could not wipe the smile off his face. The scene unfolded before his eyes was too funny for him. He loved that one silly action from a stranger could make him laugh as if there is no tomorrow.

Darian wiped whatever chocolate milk stains on his face that he could find, and proceeded to try cleaning a small part of his shirt. No use. It was ruined afterall.

But he did not care. He wanted to be friends with the girl standing before him. He might have embarrassed himself in front of so many people, but he needed that laugh. He needed that smile.

And for that, Darian Flynn was very grateful for Astra. He told himself that he will protect her when she needs him to, and he will always do that. Until she does not need him as a knight in her life anymore.