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Alana | Jared | Ivory
Two hours. Alana had two hours before she got to meet Jared. And she was nervous as hell. It was easier talking on the phone: sharing stories, likes and dislikes, and talking to each other for hours. But it all seemed more real now. They were going to meet. She paced around her room, fretting about what to wear as Ivory rolled her eyes at her best friend.
“Calm down, Lana.” She said. “He doesn’t care about your clothes or what you wear. At least, he shouldn’t. If Jared does, I’ll decapitate him and—”
“And then throw him in Tartarus, I know.” Alana smiled knowingly. “You read too much Percy Jackson.”
“Well, there was more of Tartarus in Heroes of Olympus. I mean it does star Percy but it has other main characters too! The house of Hades is my favorite. Annabeth and Percy are goals even when they’re in Tartarus.” Ivory rambled while pretending to be offended. “Ahem. Not that you would know because you haven’t read it.”
“I’d rather read about Picasso. Fiction books are not my cup of tea.” She said, distracted as she rummaged through her closet.
“Bo-ring,” Ivory said as she watched Alana dump a pile of clothes on her bed. “You’re stressing more than you did during finals.”
“Well, they’re gone now, aren’t they? I’m trying to—hey how about this?” Alana pulled up a pair of jeans and a cropped mustard sweater.
“It looks good.” She nodded. “Wear your Converse with it.”
Lana looked at her paint-splattered white converse and shrugged. “Yeah, okay.” She said, relieved.
“Now, go and change quickly, so I can work on your hair. And I suck at applying makeup, so don’t ask me to do that.”
The blond girl laughed and changed into her outfit, feeling slightly confident as she let her best friend fiddle with her hair. Turned out Ivory didn’t know much about hairstyles as well. She ended up leaving them wavy.
“You suck at everything,”
“No, I do not. This hairstyle is called I tried.” Ivy grinned.
“Whatever.”
They were quiet for a moment.
“Hey, Ivy?
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry you didn’t get into Yale. I really wanted us to be roommates.”
Ivy’s smile dropped for split second before smiling again. “It sucks. But don’t worry about it. I still have acceptance letters from other universities.”
“But—”
“It’s time. You should go. Keep me updated, okay? And don’t forget to tell him what your dad said.”
“Our dad.” Alana corrected.
“Yes, our dad.” She repeated. “Now go.”
Ivory shooed her out and Alana spared a last glance at her best friend, hoping she could provide some sort of comfort. But she didn’t want any.
It was a fifteen minutes drive to Spilled Beans. She was ten minutes early. It wasn’t as crowded as she thought it would be. As seconds ticked by, her jitters increased. And then, the door of Spilled Beans opened. Alana shot a quick glance at her phone screen to check the time. Two minutes early. Her eyes darted back to the tall boy who strode towards her, a confident smile plastered on his face. As he neared, she saw his eyes were brown. The most beautiful brown she had ever seen.
“Yale girl.” He breathed.
She stood up from her seat, opening her mouth to speak but no words came out. He didn’t tease her or push her to speak. So, they locked their eyes for a moment, until she found her voice again.
“Flower Boy.” She grinned.
He wrinkled his nose at that name and she found that adorable. There was a smile on his face though as he ushered her towards the counter, silently asking if she wanted to order now. She nodded and they stood in line to order.
“I thought you would be calmer than me. But it looks like you’re even more nervous than I am.” Jared laughed. It was a heartwarming laugh.
“You’re nervous?” She grinned at Jared who nodded. “Oh, I couldn’t tell.”
***
Half an hour later, the nervousness had melted away, and their conversation fell into a comfortable pace. Jared made the atmosphere so light and easy that Alana didn’t feel an ounce of the worry she had been feeling the previous week. No, he wasn’t a creep. Yes, he was hot. No, he wasn’t disgusting either. Yes, he was very gentlemanly. No, he wasn’t disrespectful. Yes, he was mean—other than how he already was on call.
“Where is your head at?” Jared laughed, hesitantly tapping her forehead with his index finger.
When Alana didn’t pull away, his smile eased.
“Oh, actually, I was judging you.” She blurted out. “Like not bad judging—just good judging. Like you’re not creepy or disgusting or—”
“Okay, okay! I get the idea.” He placed his hand over hers and she smiled at him. “Gosh, I’ve been wanting to do that for so long.”
Alana blushed. “It is amazing to see you in flesh.”
She looked down at their now intertwined hand and felt a rush of electricity. Her cheeks warmed.
“It is. Hey, I got you something,” Jared pulled out a big paper bag she hadn’t noticed earlier because she was too busy—like all the other girls and guys here—staring at his gorgeous face. Pure hotness right there.
Thinking about it made her cheeks grow redder if that was possible.
Gosh, did her thoughts have any filter?
At least her mouth did.
“Here you go.” Jared placed a bouquet of white roses in front of her and she gasped in surprise.
“The-these are—” She stuttered and he laced her fingers with his.
“Your mother’s favorite, yes.” He smiled and held her gaze.
Tears filled her eyes and she wanted to look away but he wouldn’t let her. “Her anniversary isn’t today. So, why?”
“Because,” He daringly placed one hand on her cheeks and she fluttered her eyes close, just for a moment to feel the warmth of his touch, and then opened it again. “This flower doesn’t always have to bring you sadness. Your mother is here.” He pointed at her heart. “And I’m guessing, she loved those flowers because they’re lovely. I don’t think she’d want you to make her flowers mean something sad.”
“You’re such a dork.” She sniffled kissing his hand, the one which was still laced with hers. “The flowers, it’s just —It reminds me of her.”
“It’s completely valid to feel sad. But she loved these when she was alive. You do realize that every happy memory of her you had, you’re making it sad by associating it with her death.”
She bit her lips, eyes twinkling in slight amusement. “Do you have a sensitivity filter in your mouth?”
“You aren’t offended.” He shrugged.
“I’m not.” Alana agreed. “What you said makes sense.”
Jared smiled.
“That’s why I like you.” She continued. “Cause you don’t sugar coat it.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“And because you’re pretty confident instead of nervous on our first date. Brownie points.”
“First date, huh? Is that what we’re calling it?” His grin widened.
She leaned forward confidently. “We are, Flower Boy—or should I say Jared Flower?”
“A date it is, then, Yale girl.”
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