fruit salad

4

i stood outside Dusty Coffee under the stars, watching my breath form little tufts of smoke. it was the middle of december, and it was incredibly hard to piece together an outfit that both kept me warm and didn't resemble something a senile grandmother would wear. i had been on the phone to winnie for an hour who eventually helped me decide on something i hoped would attract Toes.

i saw him approaching just then, and i almost had an aneurysm.

"hi toes!" i grinned. as he approached i could smell his spicy yet soft scent, which mixed wonderfully with the sharp winter air.

"tobes. and hi y/n. ready to finish our project?" again with that name repeating thing. it had really been getting on my nerves by that point but his charming demeanour made up for it.

we sat in the coffee place adding the finishing touches to our project, which we both could agree looked pretty swag. i took note of the fact he chose a hot chocolate instead of coffee. either this jelly was too immature to enjoy coffee or he was concerned about his sleep schedule. i hoped for the latter, as that would represent the characteristics of a mature and confident jelly. the evening was going perfectly fine, except Toes seemed a little off. nothing major, but his smile never seemed to meet his eyes and he kept giving me these longing looks like a puppy would a hunk of meat. eventually i decided to ask him what it was.

"well... the thing is y/n..." he began apprehensively. he was suddenly very interested in the paper cup on the table. my heart was racing. what could it be?

"i like you. a lot. except, i don't think you like me back."

toes liked me??? i was overjoyed. the stars aligned and every good thing that had ever happened to me bundled up into one and displayed itself in this singular moment. although, why wouldn't he think i liked him? were my flirty mannerisms not telling enough?

"why don't you think i like you, Toes? you're like if justin blobier and timothee champagne had a sexy son" he smirked at that, and the shine that placed itself in his eyes just then made my little zesty heart flood with admiration.

"i saw you and ralph talking today. the wink made it obvious he has a thing for you. you're telling me you don't like him back?" he seemed genuinely surprised and i chuckled at the thought of me ever liking ralph.

"no, toes. i like you" i said, staring deep into his crystal clear blue eyes while he stared into mine. i reached out to take his hand and the fireworks boomed all around us. that chilling december night was, without a doubt, magical.