Kingdom Keepers: Once Upon a Dream

Chapter 27

A/N: I'm sorry. That's all. This is an angst fic after all. Prepare yourselves for pain. 

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Willa was lying face up on her bed, deep into a text conversation with Dell. Her face wore a giant grin, and butterflies filled her stomach. Talking to him had become her favorite part of every day.

Did you watch Jeopardy last night?

Yes.

Did you get the final question?

Did you?

What do you think?

Of course you did J

Willa clutched her phone to her chest and bit her lip with a smile. It's not that she was trying to flirt, but every time his name popped up on her phone her heart started beating out of his chest. Talking to him felt natural...but different than it did with anyone else, more special. She took a deep breath, hopped off of her bed and began pacing the room, tossing her phone onto the comforter.

This all seemed so crazy if she thought about it too much. She hadn't even completely admitted to herself that she liked him again, but yet here she was, giggling and blushing like a middle-schooler just because they were talking about watching Jeopardy. Since she'd gotten to college, and put him in her past, she'd forgotten what it felt like to have a crush. Now she did though, and it was wonderful and awful all at the same time.

Shen had an idea then, and she held her breath as she mustered up the courage to carry it out. Could she? Moving on an impulse, she picked up her phone and typed out a message.

Do you want to go to a movie tomorrow?

As soon as she'd said it, she threw her phone away from her again with a yelp, and her hands came to cover her mouth. Her cheeks blushed. Had she really just done that?

She shouldn't have been this nervous. They had been on a date before...sort of...and technically she'd been the one who'd initiated it. He had said yes then. Of course, that was before the dance and the texting and the flirting, and, really, it hadn't been anything more than a lunch between friends. Oh God; what was she thinking?! Of course he wasn't going to say yes!

Just then, her phone rang and she startled, practically jumping up into the air. She took a deep breath and walked towards her bed to pick up the phone.

It's okay Willa she told herself. You freaked him out and now he's calling to question you. It's okay. You can handle rejection. We got this.

She reached her bed and took another breath before grabbing her phone. She picked it up and, without even looking at the screen, closed her eyes and answered.

"Hello?" she said, wincing.

"Hi, is this Isabella Angelo?"

Willa startled again, realizing that it was not Dell speaking to her. It quickly dawned on her that maybe she should have checked the caller ID. She currently had no idea who she was speaking to.

"This is she," she said hesitantly.

"Hi Isabella," the voice replied. "This is Mia Brown calling from the Georgetown Study Abroad office."

"Oh!" Willa exclaimed, brightening as she jumped into professional mode. "Hi!"

"Well Isabella, I'm calling because I'm happy to tell you that there's been a cancellation for next semester's program in Florence and we'd like to offer it to you!"