My Perfectly Normal and Completely Natural High School romance

Bring Your Walls Down

Mia

It was a Saturday morning, and things were turning out to be rather okay. I had successfully asked Vince out on a date on Friday, and so I was now sitting in a tiny café by the lakeshore (his idea) in a lacy yellow sundress (Amy's idea) drinking an iced tea (my idea), waiting for my date.

The plan was to make Vince extremely awkward with my feminine charm ("Your what now?" "Shut up, Noel!"), short-circuit his brain with some uncharacteristic flirting ("Uncharacteristic is right" "Nobody asked you Noel!"), and have him give up on the bet entirely.

Then I could claim my prize, and have him take me on a real date. Problem solved!

 "So your entire plan hinges on the fact that Vince is probably hopelessly unromantic?" Amy had more stated than asked me when I explained my scheme.

"Pretty much," Noel had answered in my stead.

"I've known Vince for like ever. He doesn't know how to deal with any kind sincere sentiment. That is to say, he's a total idiot."

"And you're not?"

"Anyway he won't expect me to be all flirtatious and smooth, and I'll catch him off guard!"

"Well that he definitely won't."

"Damn you, Noel."

And this was where it all left me. I checked my phone for the time (bless the people who made dresses with pockets). Still ten minutes till Vince was supposed to show up.

No problem. It was all part of my plan.

"Hi!" he would say, "Did you wait long?"

"Hey Vince, you look good" I'd say with a wink "and don't worry, I was only waiting twenty minutes."

A super effective attack. He'd lose half his health points straight away. He'd be dejected, afraid he was losing this bet from the start. It would be a complete win in the bag.

I was so caught up in my amazing plan to completely destroy Vince at the bet, that I didn't notice he'd actually arrived until he tapped me on the shoulder.

Needless to say, I jumped three feet into the air.

"Vince!" I squeaked coming up standing, nose not two inches from his.

He straightened up with a grin. He was wearing jeans and a grey short-sleeved button-down with little white dogs printed all over it. The buttery morning sun from the window melted over him, catching on his lips, his ears, his eyelashes.

"For you," he grinned charmingly, and for a second I didn't realize what he was talking about. I was about ask him, when my eyes finally fell on the slim bouquet of delicate purple and magenta lilacs he was holding out to me, wrapped in shimmery tissue and tied with a gold ribbon.

All the blood in my body rushed up to my face.

Vince had brought me flowers.

Vince had brought me pretty flowers.

Vince had brought me pretty flowers in my favorite colors.

Vince, who I had been crushing on for years now, had brought me pretty flowers in my favorite colors.

"You still with me?" he chuckled, and I stopped gaping and immediately broke eye contact. This was not working, he had somehow gained the upper hand. Damn my stupid crush on him.

Slowly, I brought my hand up to take the flowers from him, still refusing to look back up.

"Th-thanks," I stuttered, like the world's biggest idiot, when he gently slid the flowers into my hand.

How must I have looked then, with red cheeks and red ears and lips pressed together, looking away, shy?

Well, I didn't have to ask, because he told me.

"You're cute when you blush," he said, like it was nothing at all to tell his best friend of twelve years that she looked cute.

"Uh..." I stammered helplessly.

"Sorry, was that a bit much? I kinda said what I was thinking, but I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. You just don't blush very often. Or at all," he amended quickly, thinking my reaction meant I wasn't liking this.

"No, that's alright," I breathed, waving my free hand as if to say it wasn't a big deal, "I was just... uh... caught off guard. By... your outfit. Yeah. It's very nice. And the flowers. I mean, especially the flowers, I really like them."

"I'm glad you liked them," he grinned, and all of my two hundred and six of bones melted into my shoes.

I fumbled for my chair.

"Why don't you sit down?" I suggested as smoothly as I could, before throwing myself back onto my seat before my legs could turn to noodles and give out underneath me.

So far, the date was going spectacularly.

The bet? Not so much.