Weightless (Matthew Espinosa fanfic)

Valentine's

I've remembered a lot since that day i met with Matt; although, very little of it involved him. fortunately, he's been very supportive: taking me on dates, not pressuring me to remember anything, and telling me stories. my favorite story was the New Year's Eve party, when he kissed me. however, we haven't kissed since. due to the first two attempts, I've been afraid to get his hopes up, and mine. if we kiss and I don't remember, I'll only hurt him again; I couldn't afford to see him hurting. it's February 14th, otherwise known as Valentine's Day. the time of year where you celebrate your love by showering each other with gifts like chocolates, flowers, teddy bears even. I've never really liked this holiday, which adds to the list of things that make me a downer, according to Riley and Morgan. even when Jay and I were together, we would just lay on the couch watching movies, nothing special. I've told Matt that I didn't want to do anything special, but he insisted. with everything I've done, and everything that's happened, I couldn't refuse.

I walked up onto the campus Friday morning. all around me there were couples kissing, talking, laughing, or exchanging gifts. it didn't bother me, nor really caught my attention; instead, I ignored it and walked to me locker. as I opened it, I was surprised to see a teddy bear sitting in front of me. there was a note in its hands 'turn around.' so I did. there was Matt, standing with a bouquet of sunflowers. yes, sunflowers, not roses. a huge smile grew across my face and I gave him a huge hug. "happy Valentine's Day baby," he said while we hugged. "happy Valentine's Day to you too," I replied. he pulled away and handed me the flowers, which I gladly took. "I know this isn't your favorite holiday, but I promise it's going to be special," he said, smiling. "alright, I'm trusting you Espinosa," I teased. after I put the flowers in my locker we walked around, waiting for the bell to ring.
when third period came by, I sat down in the back with Matt. we didn't have as much time as we usually do to talk, but I didn't mind. the teacher was talking all about today and St. Valentine. "I swear I've heard this story 50 times in my life," Matt whispered. I giggled, "me too." with only ten minutes till the bell, we were finally allowed to talk. "so what's the plan for tonight?" I asked. Matt only laughed. "what?" "I can't tell you silly, or else it wouldn't be a surprise." "I don't like surprises...so tell me!" I insisted, but he only laughed again. "you'll like this surprise." there was no point in me arguing, so I let the topic go.
I sat down at the lunch table, across from Morgan. "hey," I said. she smiled, "hey B." we talked, and then Riley came over, with Max and Jeremiah following. soon enough, Matt sat down next to me. we all ate, talked, and laughed. each guy took a turn telling us about their plan for tonight, but were careful not to give away anything. the three of us girls sat in silence, but all smiled. Matt didn't take his eyes off of me, especially when it was his turn to talk. it was like, if he looked away, I was going to disappear. maybe I was over reacting. "Bailey?" Riley said, waving a hand in front of my face. "oh sorry, I was just....um..." I started, but couldn't find the right words. "zoning out? we noticed, you do it a lot," she laughed, as did everyone else. soon, I did too.

before I knew it, school was over once again. as I closed my locker, Matt grabbed my hand and walked me to the car. "Matthew, you know how much I love spending time with you, but I'm pretty sure I don't need an escort to my car," i said, laughing. he also laughed, "I know, but I love spending time with you." before getting into my car, I kissed him on the cheek, then stepped in. "until tonight," he said in a gentleman tone. it was hard not laughing, so I covered it with a smile, "until tonight."
although Matt wasn't picking me up until 5, I decided to get ready. Matt insisted that I didn't need to dress nicely, but I wanted to look decent; I slid on a black skirt, white top, blue scarf, and I threw on a denim shirt, but didn't button it. after pulling up my socks, there was a knock on the door. "come in," I said. Sean walked in, "hey sis." he took a seat next to me, "how was your day?" "pretty good, how was yours?" I asked. a smile grew across his face. "tell me everything," I insisted. he told me all about his day with Victoria: how he got her a teddy bear, and they hung out all day. it was cute, even though they we're young. "you're quite the ladies man," I commented. he scoffed in a joking way, "I only treat her with respect. I mean, I'm nice to all girls, but she's special."

by the time 5 rolled around, the only thing I had accomplished was getting ready. and watching Full House, my favorite show, of course. after I finished putting on my shoes, the doorbell rang. I opened it to find a smiling Matt, dressed in black pants and a nice blue button down t-shirt. "ready to go?" he asked, smiling. I nodded and grabbed his hand, closing the door behind me. right after I buckled my seat belt, Matt handed me a orange bandana. "what's this for?" a smile crept across his face, replacing the kinder one he had before. "to make sure you don't peek." I hesitated at first, but put it on. Matt turned on the music, but I quickly shot it down. "can you play Shawn Mendes? please," I pleaded. he only laughed, "of course baby." although I wasn't the best singer, I couldn't help but sing when 'Show You' came on. that's when it hit me: I remembered the night we first hung out. not the parts that Matt told me about, but our conversation. the feeling of passing through the sunflowers, and how I tried my best not to knock them over. I remember the bright red picnic blanket, with the brown basket that sit on top; the basket which reminded me of the one Dorothy carried in "The Wizard of Oz," only bigger. I smiled at the thought, which apparently Matt noticed. "whats with the sudden smile?" I giggled, "keep your eyes on the road." "okay, now tell me," he insisted. but I only shook my head, "i will later." he mumbled a 'mmhmm' and then I went back to listening the music. could I remember more? maybe listening to Shawn's music was a passage to remembrance.

"okay we're here," Matt said as he pulled the keys out of the ignition. "great, can I take this off now?" "not yet, wait a minute." I heard him close his door, then suddenly, mine opened. he grabbed my hand and i carefully stepped out of the car. not letting go, he led me up each step, one by one. after what seemed like an eternity, we finally stopped. "okay, you can open now," Matt said. slowly, I took off the bandana, revealing a beautiful scenery: a garden with flowers surrounding, strung lantern light all around, and in the middle lay a picnic table with a light purple tablecloth. "Matthew...this is beautiful," I managed to whispered. he smiled and took my hand once again, leading me to the center. we took a seat on each side of the table. too amazed by the whole atmosphere, I didn't notice all the food on the table. noticing my facial expressions, Matt smiled and laughed, which, in return, made me laugh as well. "where should we start?" he asked, looking at the food. it was like a Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes (my favorite) Apple juice (also my favorite) bread rolls, and cupcakes.

we laughed almost the entire time we ate. "so then what happened?" he asked, laughing. "I practically broke my spine trying to catch the fowl ball. it went over my head, so I leaned back and caught it, falling onto some guy's lap," I said, laughing. "and tell me exactly why you went through all this..for a baseball?" "Sean really wanted a fowl ball, and he was only 8. when I saw my opportunity, I took it." he laughed again, "that's really sweet considering you had beer spilled all over you." I nodded, "there were stares everywhere. I mean, I'd be confused if I saw a 12 year old who reeked of beer and peanuts."
long after we finished eating, I calmed down. "Matt," I started. he gave me his attention, "yes?" "when we were in the car, listening to 'Show You' I remembered something." his eyes lit up, "tell me what you remembered." "not much. it was the first time we hung out. you lead me through the sunflowers, and I was trying not to knock any of them over. also, the red picnic blanket...ooh and the brown basket. it reminded me of the one Dorothy carried." the smile never faded, "that's great. anything else?" but my smile faded, "no...that's it." he stood up, "that's still a lot." I stood up and gave him a hug. when we pulled away, I looked into his eyes. a beautiful shade of brown. without thinking, I raised my hands up to his face and kissed him. at first, he didn't do anything, but then he kissed back. I expected him to ask if I remembered anything, but he just smiled. "why did you finally decide to kiss me?" "i realized that I might not remember anything and I can't do much to help that. but this was different, and the anticipation was killing me," I replied. "are you impressed?" he asked, smirking. "very," I nodded.