Downfall [h.s]

↞ Chapter 32 ↠

My friends and boyfriend ended up leaving before me, taking my flowers with them so I wouldn't have to worry about losing them. I still had to change out of my costume and pointe shoes and throw on a pair of sweatpants over my leotard. There were also still a few kids who were waiting on their parents, so I decided to stay behind to make sure they got to their people safely. Most of the crowd had already thinned out, save for a few stragglers here and there. When I was sure that there weren't any kids at risk of being left behind, I went looking for Evan. He was probably around here somewhere.

Instead, I ended up bumping into Mr. West and Charlotte. Harry though, was nowhere in sight. "Ahh, Daisy, there you are! I've been looking for you everywhere." He threw his arms around me in a massive bear hug that nearly took me off my feet. I was glad to return the sentiment for my favorite teacher.

"Hi Mr. West." I couldn't help but giggle at his excitement. I only ever saw him get like this about Math, it was nice to know that he actually had interests outside of mental torture. "I'm glad you were able to come."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Not only because of my baby here but because you were the one who taught her." Sometimes, the things he said sounded more fatherly than the things my actual dad told me. It made me choke up in a way that I wish I didn't have to. "And just to show how proud of you I am, for not only keeping up your math grade but also being a wonderful teacher to my daughter, I got you something."

He turned back to his daughter who handed him a bouquet of flowers. Wrapped in light pink tissue paper, the arrangement was made up of white, pink, and red roses and baby's breath. They were beautiful and an incredibly sweet gesture. White roses were one of my favorite flowers other than the ones I was named after.

I threw myself at him for another hug, being careful to not crush my new bouquet, "Mr. West, they're beautiful! Thank you so much. You didn't have to get me anything."

"I'm glad you like them. Funny enough, Harry was the one who picked them out."

The surprise must have registered across my face because he smiled knowingly. Before I had looked at the flowers as a kind gesture from my favorite teacher. Now, I saw them in a more romantic context that made the butterflies flutter in my stomach. He had been thinking of me when he picked these out, when he picked out red roses.

"Is he here?" I couldn't help but ask. Trying to keep the emotions out of my voice when I spoke was nearly impossible, but I don't think that Mr. West was surprised. If anything, I was almost certain that he knew something was going on.

"He went to find a bathroom. He should be around here somewhere," He explained, throwing his arm around Charlotte's shoulders. "Tell him we're heading out when you see him okay?"

"Will do."

After saying my goodbyes to the both of them, I headed off in the direction of the bathrooms to find Harry. Getting to him was no easy task with everyone coming up to say hello and congratulations. I tried to get through all of them quickly, but at one point I gave up on the idea of seeing him. The employees were already ushering us out of the building so that they could