"Aaahhhhh!"
I screamed at the top of my lungs and nearly gave Sam a heart attack.
"My ears are bleeding, Jane. What the hell happened?"
I shoved my phone in her face, practically vibrating with excitement.
"He accepted my follow request. Yippee!"
"Okay, now what am I supposed to do?"
"Say hi, come on."
"Ahh okay, here goes nothing."
I tapped on his profile to slide into the DMs.
"Wait, isn't it too soon to text?"
"Ugh, just do it already."
"Okay, okay..."
"Hii"
Sent. Aaahhh.
I threw my phone across the bed and immediately spiraled into anxiety. Ugh, I'm already labelled as desperate—so screw it.
It didn't even take long before my phone lit up.
"Omg, Sam, he texted me back!"
"Hey."
"I'm Jane, a sophomore..."
What the hell should I say next? Come on, Jane, you can do this. Man up. I'm not a man. Ugh. Shut up.
"Hi, I'm Jane, a sophomore. I saw you in the cafeteria today—you caught my eye."
Cheesy. But sent. I was a nervous wreck.
"Yeah, I noticed you coming up to me."
WHATTTT. No way.
"Sam. Sam!"
"What now, Jane?"
"He noticed me. Omg, he noticed me!"
"Cool."
Um. Okay. That's one way to bum someone out. This is where I start second-guessing my friendship with her. She's great, no doubt, but she seriously lacks emotions. I'm extremely emotional, and she's... extremely bad at showing them. It gets exhausting sometimes.
I looked back at my phone. What do I even say now?
"Haha, yeah. I was dared to go and talk to you by my friend."
There I go, pinning it all on her oh-so-easily. She won't mind, right? Who cares.
"You could've just come up to me. I don't bite."
But I do. I could've said that. If I had the guts. God, I don't even have the nerve to flirt. Maybe something subtle?
"I'm a little shy."
God damn it, Jane. Can you be more awkward?
"It's alright. No need to be scared."
"I'm not scared, heyy—"
Why the hell did I send what I was thinking?
"Oh really? Prove it by completing your dare then."
Huh? What does he mean? Oh—he's typing again.
"Meet me tomorrow at the fountain at 7 in the evening. Let's see how brave you are."
Wait, whatttt. God, are you testing me... or blessing me? Is this a date?
What will I even wear?
And just like that, I burst into sweat, even with the AC on full blast.
"Sure thing. I'll be there."
I squealed internally, but of course—Sam could read me like a book.
"So you got a date, huh."
"Yess, yess! Help me out. I have to look my best."
We spent the whole night doing skincare, masks, and all the girly prep. The excitement didn't let me sleep a second.
The day passed in a blink. At 5 p.m., I speed-walked to my dorm, shut myself in the bathroom, and went full glam mode.
Nothing beats black—does it? I was dressed in black from head to toe, spritzed my favourite perfume, and... uh oh, I was ready too soon.
I hate, hate, hate waiting. But who knew it was going to become a daily thing?
The wait was unbearable, so I headed out early—30 minutes early, to be exact. Minutes passed. Then an hour. My heartbeat picked up.
But slowly... my excitement turned into anxiousness.
It's 7:30.Where is he?
Wait—Am I being pranked?