When I showed up for our usual meet-up the next Thursday, there was a girl sitting at the table with him. As I slowly walked towards them, I observed that his entire body was turned towards her and his whole face was lit up.
An unexplainable heaviness was building up at the back of my throat.
I was about two steps away from them when he finally looked up and noticed me. "Hey, you're here!" He grinned and I couldn't help feeling a flash of resentment for this black-haired bombshell beside him, who could make him smile so giddily.
"Hi," I said as the two of them stood up to accommodate my arrival. The girl smiled a little shyly at me. I stared at Brown Eyes, willing him to get on with the introductions. I would say hi politely, smile at them, and, after an appropriate amount of time, calmly leave.
"Irene, this is Jennie; she's..." He trailed off, as if he had no idea how to categorize me. And I admit; it hurt. Even the label 'friend' - heck, even 'a stalker I've been talking to for five weeks now' - would've been better than nothing.
I smiled brightly at Irene. "I'm the girl who stalks him because of his pretty brown eyes."
Irene looked slightly confused, but she smiled back. "Nice to meet you, Jennie."
"Right," Brown Eyes cleared his throat, cutting in before I could confuse the poor girl even more. "Stalker Girl, this is Irene. She's... she's the one I've been telling you about." His gaze was so bright and hopeful, willing me to make the connection.
And I did.
I think that was the moment I felt that little bit of hope in my chest shrivel up and die. Obviously, I'd been thinking too highly of myself. Gosh! Imagine fantasizing about being the girl he was head over heels for - what were the chances of that happening, right?
I looked at Irene again. She was beautiful, taller than me... and she seemed really nice. Gosh. She was exactly the kind of girl Brown Eyes would fall in love with. Looking at them standing side by side, you could tell they were made for each other. She came up to his chin - the perfect height to lean against his shoulder or whatever else couples liked to do. She was perfect for him. Not to mention, he was probably halfway in love with her already. I couldn't get in the way of that.
Not that I would even want to. I mean, the only reason I'd started the whole stalking business was because I was attracted to Brown Eyes'... well, brown eyes, right? And there were tons of people in this country with brown eyes. No big deal. I could find a replacement stalkee in no time.
"Nice to meet you too. Well, I gotta go. There's a mountain of work awaiting my... tackling... no, that sounds weird... awaiting my tackle? Oh, whatever," I stopped and drew a deep breath. The two of them were staring at me as if I'd suddenly sprouted antennae. Brown Eyes was opening his mouth to say something, but I overrode him when I said as cheerily as possible, "Guess I'll see the two of you around!"
Then I turned around and ran.
Coward.
