48Summary: At first, I thought it was just a cooincidence, but by the end of the day, I was convinced it wasn't. Plus, I was afraid I'd face death by avalance of candy hearts if I opened my locker. I didnt find it cute or funny...Until I found out who they were from.
Cupids Candy Messages
It just…sat there. Staring up at me. Trying to act all innocent, like it was okay that it was sitting on my seat, further increasing my already terrible mood…even though it was only seven o'clock in the morning. Stupid pink smiley face on a stupid purple candy heart. Well…okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly its fault that it was there, but…still!
Sighing, I flicked it off my seat and plunked gracefully onto the surface where the invasive little bugger had just been. And then, to show my lovely mood, I crossed my arms over my chest. And glare at anyone who walked by.
Most of them didn't notice. They were too busy giggling and swapping spit and holding hands and all that romantic crap.
It was, after all…Valentine's Day.
Now don't get me wrong here or anything! I love romance about as much as a girl can; I'm about as helpless of a romantic as a person can be. But there's just something about Valentines Day that has always bothered me. I guess it's just watching everyone else cuddle and smooch and be happy love-birds while I…I am completely alone.
Oh yes. That's always oodles of fun.
So, basically, anyone who knows me knows that February 14th is also "Avoid-Ava-Day."
"Hey, Ava."
Okay…I amend that statement. Anyone who knows me well knows to avoid me today.
"Pierce." It came out as more of a…growl…than anything else.
"Ouch…wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Oh wait…you do that every morning," he commented, sliding gracefully in the seat behind me.
"Oh, good one, Jason. What're we in now, third grade?"
"Actually, I believe we're in twelfth."
Whirling around in my seat, I gave him a glare. He only smirked in response. Growling, I rolled my eyes and turned back around. This day was just getting better and better and...
"Aww, cheer up Ava, it's Valentine's Day!"
And oh so much better, as we speak.
"Unless the problem, huh? All alone?"
I clenched my hands together in fists, until my knuckles turned white.
"If I gave you a kiss, would you feel better?"
I could feel my face heating up.
"I'd be your first, right?"
Jason Pierce, ladies and gentlemen, King of Sensitivity. Sure, he may have that blond hair and blue eyes that all the girls lust after, therefore making him one of the most popular men in this entire hell-shack of a school, which then means that he can have practically any girl he wants swooning at his feet…but of course, today, out of all days, he decides he has to irritate me. And as much as I didn't want it to…it stung.
I dipped my head and hunched up my shoulders, and I could feel the tears slapping at my eyes. I would not cry…I would not cry, I would not…
"Oh, Ava…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be…"
"Yeah, well, you were," I spat back at him, not bothering to look up.
"Ava, honestly, I was just…"
Luckily, the presence of our professor cut off anything else he might have said. After all…he was right. Seventeen, and I had never been kissed.
And he had to remind me of that.
On Valentine's Day.
Bastard.
There were two of this time. Just sitting there, on my desk, staring up at me, the words "Be Mine" and "Awesome" scrawled across the respective pink and orange hearts. With a growl, I swiped them off my desk and, upon sitting down, buried my head in the crook of my elbows.
Whoever was doing this had to have a death wish.
I peeked up from my arm to spare a glance around the room. No one was snickering like they had just witnessed the punch line of their sick prank…as they would be right about now.
So maybe it was coincidence.
Or just leftovers that someone had forgotten.
Yeah, that had to be it.
Or at least…that's what I thought.
"Ava!"
I looked up from my lunch tray to see my friend – Sarah Bloomfield - waving at me wildly. I almost stopped and turned around…she looked way too happy…but she was up and out of her seat before I could.
"You've got to see this!" she said, latching onto my arm and dragging me back to our table excitedly. When we reached it, she pointed at a cluster of objects in front of my usual seat.
"Is this some sort of sick joke!?"
I'd had enough. Really I had. Throughout the first five periods before lunch, there'd been some sort of candy heart waiting for me at my desk. Their numbers were growing, as was my annoyance. This didn't help at all.
Sarah, and the other members of our table, looked at me in shock. Sarah looked pained. "What's wrong with it?"
"Did you do this?"
"No…but…"
"Do you know who did it?"
"No, Ava, but…"
"That's exactly my problem!" I huffed, slamming my tray down onto the table and plumping sulkily into the seat. With an annoyed sigh, I shoved the candy hearts, with their phrases of "Magic," "Ask Me," "Get Real," and "It's Love" across the table, effectively disorienting the heart they had formed.
Sarah sat down beside me, perplexed. "But Ava…don't you think it's cute?"
"Not really." I dragged the tray in front of me.
"But you have a secret admirer!"
I snorted. "Or a secret stalker."
"I think someone's got a crush on you," she said in this annoying sing song voice that she was famous for.
"I doubt it."
"And why's that?"
That's the other annoying thing about Sarah. I'm pretty sure she's going to be a shrink or something one day…but today, I want none of her "friendly advice" or counseling.
"Because I'm…me."
"Ava…"
See, I'm not saying I'm ugly or anything. Average height, slim build (I am, after all, a runner), brown eyes and brown hair (Sarah likes to call it "golden")…that's me in a nutshell. I just really don't think any of the guys here – that we've all known since like, forever – would dig my whole sarcastic attitude, brains, my bookish ways, and all my other little quirks. So…sue me or something.
"Sarah, can we not get into this?"
"But…"
"Please?" It was more of a growl than a plea.
"Fine."
"We'll talk later."
"Sure."
I gave her a nudge. "And then you can tell me all the juicy details about your date tonight."
She blushed and slapped my hand away, but from the smile on her face, I knew she wasn't mad at me.
"Hey, Ava?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to eat those?"
I spared a glance for the colorful hearts. "Go for it."
Sarah beamed and slid the hearts closer. "Thanks."
I gave her a small smile. "No problem."
I was honestly almost afraid to open my locker. The hearts hadn't stopped at lunch…oh no, that would be way to easy. No, instead, they kept multiplying as before (and everyone who saw them found them "Soooo cute!" ugh, gag me.) and in my very last period, there had been a box of them with my name on it (of course, there was no name on the "from" line. Typical). And by now, I was officially convinced it wasn't just some random mistake…that this person was actually leaving the hearts for me.
So now it was the end of the day, and I had this irrational fear that opening my locker would mean death by avalanche of candy hearts. What a way to go that'd be. I can see it in the headlines now…
31…22…12
Taking a deep breath, I cringed, and tugged gently on the handle of my locker…and promptly felt something tap me lightly on the head.
See, I knew something was going to happen!
But at least it didn't feel like an avalanche of candy hearts.
Opening my eyes, I glanced around, looking for the perpetrator. I gave out a sigh of relief when it realized it wasn't a candy heart. Bending down, my fingers curled around the delicate stems of a white and red rose, their stems twinned together. A card peaked out from behind the soft petals.
Curious, I slid it out, only to see written on it:
Ava,
Meet me at the bench underneath the willow tree.
3:00
Well now that was just great. Now I had more questions. Who was this guy…it was a guy, right? How in the hell did he get my locker combination and…was I going to go to the specified place at the specified time?
Biting my lip, I looked down at my watch. 2:50. I looked back at the roses. I thought back to the candy hearts, kind of regretting tossing the box of them into the trash, and heaved a sigh.
Valentine's Day was never a good day for me.
And it's not like it would actually be him…the guy I'd crushed on for the past…god knows how many…years.
So no matter how things turned out…it couldn't possibly make it any worse…
Right?
I could see someone sitting on the bench, but I couldn't quite tell who it was. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as I got closer. At the sound of my feet, he looked up, and I caught a glimpse of his face.
No…
It couldn't be…
Not him…
Not…
"Jason?" I croaked.
"Hey, Ava," he said, standing up. He shoved his hands awkwardly into his pockets.
"What're you doing here?"
He shrugged. "Waiting for you."
"Me?" I pointed a finger at myself. And immediately felt stupid.
He grinned. "Yeah, you."
"Why?" Apparently I was having difficulty saying anything more than one word. And for some reason he seemed oddly nervous.
"Didn't you get my messages?"
"What messages?" Ah, there we go people, two words!
A worried look crossed his face. "The candy hearts. I thought…"
"You left them?" My heart was now running a marathon in my chest, and it was becoming very difficult to breath. It couldn't have been him…that would be just too…too…cliché?
"Yeah, it was me." There was an awkward pause. "Did you like them?"
I sunk down onto the bench that he had just stood up from, my knees suddenly feeling weak. No…I had hated them, hated anything to do with Valentine's Day…until right now. Why…why, why, why, why WHY did I throw away all the hearts?
But at least you kept the roses, something inside me whispered.
"Why?" I whispered, looking up at him.
His eyebrows knitted together and he sat down beside me, facing me. "Well, isn't it obvious?"
I felt like the biggest ditz in the world right then, as I shook my head. "No…not really."
He chuckled warmly, and I felt slightly better. He reached forward and took my hands in his. The contact sent shivers down my spine. "I like you, Ava."
Surprised, I jerked my hands away from his. A look of shock crossed his face.
"But…but you cant?"
The look of shock was replaced by a curious smirk.
"And why can't I?"
"Because…because it's impossible!"
He chuckled again and reached forward to tuck a piece of loose hair behind my ear. "Oh, Ava, nothing's impossible."
"But…"
"Yes?"
"This morning…"
His face fell immediately. "Oh, Ava, I'm sorry. I didn't think when I said what I did…I was just kinda wound tight, you know?"
I nodded in acceptance. "How did you get my locker combination?"
"Jess gave it to me," he said with a shrug.
Ah…that might explain why she never said anything at lunch, when I was freaking out about the candy heart. She knew all along! Traitor of a friend…I'd have to get her back for that later.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "You weren't planning on burying me alive were you?"
"What?"
I guess he wasn't there for the avalanche thoughts earlier, huh? I sighed. "You don't have any more hearts, do you?"
He blushed and broke eye contact for the first time this conversation. "I have one more, actually."
"Oh?" There…see, I was more in control of my words. In fact, I think the dominator of the conversation was switching hands.
"Yeah."
"Well, do I get it?"
"Well, I'm not sure if…"
The Great Jason Pierce, humbled to stuttering words out shyly? I never thought I'd see the day! I smirked, all of my own shyness disappearing. Reaching out, I nudged him in the knee. "C'mon…please?"
Grumbling something under his breath, he dug his hand into his pocket. Pulling it out, he held his hand towards me, displaying the writing on the white heart that rested in between his index finger and his thumb.
Kiss Me.
My eyebrows shot up as I met his gaze. He blushed and shrugged. Smirking, I leaned forward. He watched my movements carefully. His eyes widened in shock as I gently took the heart from his fingers with my lips.
"So does this mean…"
I silenced him with a finger on his lips. Then, leaning forward – even though my heart was racing faster than it had been before – I took the plunge, and pressed my lips against his. I could feel him smile into my mouth as he responded, and he grabbed my hips and pulled me closer. I twined my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss.
Moments later, we broke apart for air. He rested his forehead against mine, both of us panting heavily.
"Not so bad for you first kiss," he said, jokingly.
"Hey!"
He smiled. "Happy Valentines Day, Ava," and then he bent his head down and captured my lips again. And, as we made out on the bench (it was my first kiss ever with the guy I'd liked since forever, how much more perfect could it get?) I decided…Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all. In fact, it was a pretty damned good day, in my opinion.
There's a line between love and fascinationThat's hard to see on an evening such as this,
For they both give the very same sensation
When you're lost in the magic of a kiss.
-Ned Washington
Well, what did you think? Personally I didnt like it as much as my other, "Ain't No Princess," but let me know. Any sort of feedback will be amazing!
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!
-Aria