She's A Rainbow

9. and the world opened wide

Kiara's Diary
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journal entry #3~
Dear Heaven, we joked about it. I never really considered it a possibility. And I thought he was messing with me. Until Mr. Aaron-Taylor Riley presented me with two tickets to see Les Mis at the Champagne Theatre. In the city. Not a local or a high school production but a PROFESSIONAL BROADWAY PRODUCTION.  What the hell. Now I find myself shopping for a fancy dress at TJMAXX with my mom while I'm typing in this doc on my phone. He's coming to my house for the first time tomorrow.|

❤️🧡💛💚💙

I wait in the kitchen, watching the door like a hawk. My knee tries to bounce away the debilitating anxiety that's about to crush me from the inside. Is he even going to come, or am I being played?

Finally, the doorbell rings. And a wave of relief rises in me. But it doesn't fully wash over yet. It could still be some stranger at the door, a mailman delivering a package, or, more likely, Mama.

I slip out of my seat and step to the door. I latch onto the handle and pull it down.

...And there he is, standing right in front of me with a suit wrapped in a plastic bag draped across his back. He lets the rain soak his hair, and the tiny droplets run down the lens of his glasses. The wave washes over me now.

"You actually showed up," I blurt out.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I? I invited you!"

"Yeah, that's right. You did. I'm still shocked by that." I open the door a little wider. "You can come in."

And he does. He gently shuts the door on his way in, which makes me smile because I don't have to hear the crack that nearly murders my eardrums. Then, he politely slips off his shoes.

It only takes a couple steps for us to be back in the kitchen. There, I direct his attention to the trays of food covered in tinfoil sheets sitting above the stove.

"My mom and I made you food if you want it." I offer.

"Wow." He says with genuine shock in his tone. "You didn't have to do that! But thank you, really."

"It's just hospitality for us, so," I half-joke. "And, I owe you. Broadway tickets are expensive as fuck."

He walks to the stove and peels off the silver sheets. After lifting a paper plate from the stack, he scoops up gooey food with a giant, silicone spatula, and plops it on the plate.

While he shoves helpings into his mouth, he asks, "Why are you surprised that I invited you?"

"It's just sudden. We haven't known each other long."

Surprisingly, there's not a trace of resistance on his face. No denial, but no confirmation. "This one time my friend invited me on a Bahamas trip with his family, and I only knew him for two weeks. I think it's pretty normal."

And it strangely makes the whole thing a bit less special. I bend my lips into a smile instead of letting it dip into a disappointing frown.

"I'm not used to someone making the effort towards me, then," I conclude, gripping the fabric of my sweater. Trying to combat the voice in my head that tells me I'm an idiot.