Jacob
A gentle chilly night breeze blew as if saying good luck to me. I paced as slowly as possible, prolonging my available time as long as I could, towards a girl sitting alone in a bench beside a lamp post. She seemed weird. I mean, who, in their right mind, would hold a book and read in a park in the middle of the night. A bookworm? Right, but can't she go home and read in the comfort of her room with appropriate lighting. Definitely, a weird girl.
That in itself was the reason I was walking towards her. The guys dared me to approach her and ask her out. Yes, a dare. I hated to do this kind of thing to a girl but I can just explain it to her later when all is good and done. I just have to ask her out on a dinner with me right now and it will be settled. It was an easy thing. There was no girl who could possibly resist falling for my charms. I'm not being conceited here, just stating a fact.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Chris and Nate snickering. Mark shook his head but a smirk was on his face. I returned my gaze to the girl who was still focused on her book. Never once did she raise her head to look around. She rummaged through her bag once, but she did not raise her head. I didn't know what she looked like nor do my friends. Apparently, she had been in the park before we came and Nate was trying to check her out. And for the fun of it, I was made to approach her. A great night for the birthday boy indeed.
I was only a few steps away from her now. It would be much easier if she would just look up so I can start a nice conversation. Smiling when I caught a girl's eyes usually worked to my advantage. Sometimes, they will be the one to come to me and that relieves me of the effort. It was always easy.
Four steps. Look up. I thought. C'mon.
Three steps. Damn. Does this girl have any sense of danger at all? She was alone in a freaking park at night and she wouldn't even check her surroundings. Better think of something, Jay.
Two steps. I took a deep breath. Okay, change of approach.
"Excuse me, miss?" I said in my most charming voice and waited for her to look up. She did not move, nor did she respond. I can hear her breathing at the close proximity and at the dead of the night, so at least I knew she's alive. Is she okay? Maybe she didn't hear me.
I cleared my throat awkwardly loudly before I knelt in front of her so I could see her face if she doesn't want to look up at me. This move earned me laughter from my friends who were now a few meters behind me. I looked at the girl in front of me trying to see her face. Her medium-length hair was down covering the sides of her face and her slightly long fringe was also in the way. Even being under the light of the lamp post was not helping. Wait, isn't this kind of a cliché situation for a thriller or horror film? Oh, man.
"Um, miss?" I tried again, louder this time while trying to hide the nervousness in my voice. I heard her grumbled under her breath. So she's alive and conscious and she did hear me. I fought a sigh of relief from the knowledge that she was of my kind. "Could I bother you for a second?" I asked, now more confident.
She let out a sigh. "What do you need?" She asked with a coarse voice, not looking in my direction. Wow, what a girl! A guy was trying to hit on her and she's not even bothering checking him out.
"I was wondering if I could borrow a...pen?" I said with a little hesitation on the last word, cocking my head to the side with a smirk on my face. Okay, that was dumb. She probably didn't see me with her head bowed down like that. Girls usually fall for it. Well, her loss.
"Yeah, any color would do?" She asked quietly, still not looking in my direction. She looked away from the book she was holding and turned to the bag beside her. I still couldn't see her face. Either she was good at hiding it or she had no face at all.
"Yeah. As long as it could write." I answered shrugging. I'm starting to grow frustrated from not seeing what she looked like. If she's hot, it’s my win. If not, still my win if I could get her to have a dinner with me.
She held out her hand holding a pen to my direction. I was expecting to see either a blue or black, or maybe a red. That's the normal pen you see people carrying around. Now, I see the point in her question. She was holding out a green colored pen to me, or at least that was what it looked like under a lamp post.
It took me a few seconds before I took the pen from her hand. I pursed my lips trying not to chuckle. She really is weird. "Thanks." I said. I stood up but immediately knelt again. Still, I didn't get her to look in my direction. What's wrong with this chick? "One more thing, do you have a paper?" I tried to ask innocently. Honestly, I don't have any idea what to do with the articles I'm borrowing from her.
She grumbled under her breath again but rummaged through her bag nonetheless. I might be annoying her or disturbing her precious reading time. But she could have just said no to my requests and shot me down instantly. Still, I just couldn't return to my friends defeated. I'd be their laughing stock if that ever happened. Seriously though, why would she not look up at me? Xenophobia, maybe? That must be it. Good thinking, Jay!
She handed me a small piece of paper, with girly flower prints on the sides for that matter, and without looking in my direction. I am starting to have the urge to just grabbed her head and make her face me. Calm yourself Jay, it's the xenophobia.
I took the paper from her hand. "Thanks." I said simply and stood up. I gave up. This will go nowhere. I started walking towards my friends with a scowl on my face. They were laughing at me now. Chris was slapping Nate in the shoulder playfully as he laughed his heart out. It was his habit and a bad one at that. It hurts like hell. I've been a victim several times. Nate tried to glare at him, but he was also laughing freely so he didn't manage to pull it out. I noticed a young kid passed by in front of me and my lips formed into a smirk when I saw what he was holding. He was carrying a basket of roses.
I called out to the kid who was several feet away from me. He glanced over his shoulder and I gestured for him to come to me. He immediately turned on his heels and walked to my direction. I checked the flowers in his basket, and my smirk turned into a grin. I gave him a hundred bucks, telling him to keep the change, as I took a single white rose from his basket, one that has not fully bloomed yet. It was a simple flower but in a way, it was pretty. Okay, I'm turning sappy now. But man, if this didn't work, I don't know what else will.
I hesitated whether to ask the kid to do the favor for me or I let him go and do his business. I decided on the latter, not wanting to disturb his money-making time. I walked towards the girl again praying that this would work. Do I usually go this far for a dare? No. So why the hell am I doing this? I have no idea. But hey, it's my day. I should be allowed to do things my way.
I stopped about two steps in front of the girl, estimating that my shoes were not in her line of sight. Still, she didn't raise her head or anything. Does she have a stiff neck? Maybe that's the reason she's not moving her head much. But man, what a bad position to have it.
I slightly bent my knees and leaned towards her, placing the white rose over the book in her lap in a swift and quick motion. I immediately straightened my posture and composed my expression to my most charming one, hiding all the nervousness building inside me. Did I ever get nervous while hitting on girls or performing dares? Never. This was the first time to be honest. Why? Because this chick is not even looking in my direction and it is frustrating me. And it was all the more reason why I should pursue her.
And finally, I got my expected result. About two seconds after I placed the rose where her eyes could see it, her head jerked up in my direction. I knew this would work. Romantic things never fail to get a girl's attention, no matter how simple the act maybe.
When her gaze met mine, my eyes widened as my breath was caught in my throat. I proved that it's not because of the xenophobia or stiff neck as to why she's not raising her head. Actually, I'm still not sure about the xenophobia part. She was doing it for a completely different reason. And, no, she's not really a horror film villain like I might have guessed earlier. I felt like every second moved way too slowly, or like time had stopped as I took in her appearance. This chick definitely is weird.
Chapter Two >>
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