When we were Wallflowers

Chapter 6: Chivalry isn't dead

"Thanks for the ride home, Brent." Trisha fiddled with the ends of the oversized denim jacket she was wearing. Brent had given it to her when she had said she was a bit cold at school, it looked adorable on her. It completely swamped her arms and hid her small slender frame under a blanket of denim.

"It's no problem at all." Brent assured.

Trisha walked up to her house door and was about to open it, when she turned around to face Brent again, her cheeks ablaze with a furious blush.

"Um- I'm not sure if this is a bit... forward, but do you want to come inside for a bit? My parents aren't home right now." Her eyes refused to meet Brent's as she asked.

He wasn't entirely sure why, but he found himself blushing slightly too. It was an innocent request- to ask him inside- but he wasn't so oblivious that he couldn't detect the underlying question of it all. Her parents weren't home and she wanted him to come inside. This was what he wanted. This was what dating someone entailed. This was an opportunity that he should not miss.

"I'd love to." His heart raced in his chest. "If that's alright with you?"

She nodded and quickly turned around to get the door unlocked. She fumbled with the key for a bit, almost dropping it at one point; at last she got the door open.

"Please, come in." She giggled looking lightly flustered.

Not that Brent was doing any better at staying calm. "T-thanks."

He followed her inside and took off his shoes at the entrance- after all, it was rude to track dirt through someone's house. Trisha's house was the copy and paste suburbia design, compete with the white picket fence and all. The inside completely contradicted the stereotypical appearance of the outside of the house. The inside was wild with a very hippie feel to it. Intricately designed trippy rugs hung on the walls, there were multiple incense burners through the house and very room was painted a different colour: the hallway was green, the living room was yellow, the kitchen was blue and Trisha's room had sparkly silver walls. Definitely now what Brent was expecting.

He sat on Trisha's bed -which was more little fluffy pillows than bed- and Trisha came and sat next to him with a little hop.

"I think I need to be honest with you." Trisha pulled on the large denim jacket and tugged it further over her body. Brent said nothing but nodded at her to continue. "When I first asked you out, I didn't do it because I liked you. It sounds so stupid now and it was so mean of me, but I did it because I liked Ezra and Joanna told me it would make him jealous if I went out with you instead. I don't even know why I listened to her, 'cuz all she ever does is start trouble."

Brent's stomach dropped when she said that. Subconsciously, he knew that that's what this whole thing had been, he wasn't an idiot, just hopeful. To actually hear her saying it and confirming his suspicions hurt much more than he had expected. What had he expected? Ezra was perfection and he was anything but.

"But I don't feel that way about Ezra anymore!" Trisha continued. "You've always been so kind to me and you've always looked out for me and I know I don't really deserve someone like you, but I really like you, Brent. I know it's only been a couple of days, so maybe it's too early to say how we both feel, but I really want to keep dating you because I like you so much."

"Oh." What kind of rollercoaster was he riding? It was a lot to take in and Brent definitely didn't see it coming. A confession of love, from a girl, to him. It's all he's ever wanted...

... so why didn't it feel like it was what he wanted?

Where was the butterflies in his stomach? Where was the fireworks between them when they kissed? Where was that exciting spark between them? Perhaps he had been brainwashed by romantic novels and movies, maybe he expected too much from romance.