Everything was planned. In my head, I kept rehearsing the script, what I was going to say and how things were supposed to go.
The meeting was set for 11:00 a.m., so around 10:00 I wrapped the painting. I placed a small card inside with a QR code that linked to a poem I had written about him.
Yes, I know—I probably seemed like the most obsessed person in the world,but it was all I had to give.
I was so focused on what I was doing. The bow had to be perfect, the paper folded just right, and I couldn't use too much tape. Every little detail mattered. It was the first impression.
My mom brought me something to eat, and while we chatted about the "project" I'd supposedly been working on at Victoria's house the last two days,I didn't even notice the time.
I looked at the clock. 11:30. Panic hit.
I rushed to the bus stop and jumped on the first bus that showed up. Getting to the city would take about an hour as I was still living in a small town at the time.
The ride was anything but peaceful. Every possibility, every scenario, every curiosity raced through my mind. My heart was pounding, and everything outside moved so painfully slow. I knew I was going to be late, and I had no data to text him.
My breathing grew shallow and anxious. People got on and off the bus, but we never seemed to get anywhere.
"Maybe it's a sign. If he's not there, it's because I'm not meant to find him at all," I thought.
Once I got off the bus, I sprinted to the nearest convenience store and got some cash into my account. That gave me access to mobile data again.
"Hey Maddie. Are you on your way? I'll wait five more minutes."
That message had been sent nearly 20 minutes ago.
"Hey, I'm on my way! Are you still there?"
"No, but I can come back. I live nearby. I'll be there in ten."
I let out a deep sigh as I walked toward the park. Between the mall and the park, just by the side of the road, I sat down to wait while watching people pass by.
Time kept moving, and it felt like he was taking forever to arrive.
Outside the mall, people paused to look at the window displays. In front of me, there was a large angel with wide wings; an ad for a new book at a bookstore nearby. "Angel or Satan?" was the title. The image struck me. It was chilling, jarring… and somehow, disturbingly familiar.
Maybe it was a sign from the universe, one asking me to stop.
I turned to the left, intimidated by the angel, and that's when I saw him; a tall guy with light brown hair, wearing a white t-shirt, vintage jeans, and white Converse.
I frowned, unsure if it was really him, but when I noticed he was walking straight toward me, I jumped to my feet.
It was him.
It felt strange, like the sunlight was off and the air unusually cold, an odd atmosphere, almost cinematic.
He smiled, and didn't stop smiling until he was standing right in front of me.
"Maddie?... Are you Maddie?"
I froze.
I swear you could hear me swallow. A shiver ran down my spine and my stomach shrank into a tight knot. A nervous smile crept onto my face.
"Yeah, I'm Maddie," I replied nervously.
I picked up the painting with both hands, turned slightly, and stretched out my arms to give it to him.
"Is this for me?" he asked with a soft smile.
"Of course. It's what I promised you."
He took it gently with both hands and stared at it.
"Thank you. Seriously… this is really special. No one's ever made something like this for me."
I felt so much gratification seeing how happy he was with the gift. I must've had a dumb look on my face, because he glanced at me and, with a soft chuckle, thanked me again.
"Well… I hope you liked it. Bye," I said as I turned around. I was too nervous and didn't know what else to say.
He was angelically handsome, the kind of guy you look at and just know he could never like you back. He felt out of reach, untouchable. So, I ran away.
"Wait, what are you going to do?" he asked, quickly walking after me.
Hearing that question, I stopped and turned to look at him.
"Nothing. Just wait till noon for my class," I replied. He walked closer and paused in front of me.He let out a sigh, then laughed softly.
"Well… is there anywhere you'd like to go? I've got nothing to do. You could hang out with me for a while."
My eyes lit up when I heard that. My heart started beating faster, and I stayed silent for a few seconds.
"Yeah," I said. Just that.
He began walking, and I followed.
We crossed the street, and as we walked, I looked up to admire the cherry blossom tree in the park. Its petals danced in the wind, slowly falling to the ground. I stopped for a moment to watch them.
"They're beautiful, right?" he said.
I looked at him and smiled.
"Yeah. I like them," I replied.
He kept walking in another direction, and seeing him drift away, I picked up my pace.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"To my house. It's just a couple blocks down. I need to drop this off first."
We arrived at a two-story brick house, with a small coffee shop on the first floor.
"It's my mom's" He said and just walked inside.I stayed outside, waiting.
I looked up and down the street. For some reason, I love watching people's shoes, trying to guess what their faces look like and then confirming if I was right. It's my favorite game.
Suddenly, I heard his voice behind me.
"What are you looking at?"
I quickly turned around and saw him standing nearby. He crossed the street and started up a baby blue scooter, one of those French-looking ones.
"Hop on, let's go for a ride."
Without thinking, and without a helmet, I climbed on. We left the area, and he asked where I wanted to go. The first thing that came to mind was: "To the dollar store."
My answer made him laugh.
"The dollar store? Sounds good. By the way, I really like your hoodie."
"Thanks, it's my brother's," I replied, thrilled that he liked at least something about me.
We arrived at the store. It was a massive place, full of random stuff. We started in the kitchen aisle. We were walking in silence until I took the initiative.
"There's always interesting things in here," I said.
"Yeah, I like it," he replied with a smile.
"I'd love to buy everything I need for my future home here, all at once," I said, and then fell quiet while we both looked at an adorable cow-shaped mug.
We moved to the next aisle, there was no one else around.
"I'm gonna bring my future wife here, and we'll buy everything for our house in one go."
A silence and I pretended not to hear that and walked over to the canvas section. Inside, I was screaming. I didn't know what that meant—maybe he was just speaking generally. It couldn't be about me—it was a weird thing to say. No way.
In the toy aisle, he grabbed a volleyball and gently tossed it toward the ceiling, showing off some of the movements from his training.
"Ouch, it still hurts a bit," he said, putting the ball back.
"I got injured last week during a match. It still aches... Wanna feel?"
I smiled and shook my head no.
"Ah, you're right—that is kind of weird," he said, and we walked in silence through the rest of the aisles.
I picked up a couple of markers, and we headed toward the checkout. Just before reaching the counter, a group of girls, younger than me, called out to him from a few feet away. He ran over to them.
They had a short chat, but I could feel their eyes on me, almost like they were judging.
To kill the discomfort, I turned to the left and saw a display of Christmas decorations already set up, since it was November. One strange item hanging among the rest caught my attention. It took me a moment to figure out what it was; a Christmas chair cover.
"What's that?" he asked, catching me off guard.
"It's a chair cover," I replied proudly.
"Wow, I wouldn't have figured that out right away. You're good at knowing what things are. I can tell you're really observant."
I just smiled, and glanced at the girls, they were laughing in the distance.
"They're friends of my stepsister. They asked me who you were, and I said you're a friend."
I looked at him and smiled. But I wasn't really a friend yet, and I had no idea what any of this meant.
We paid and walked out of the store. The sun had already begun to dip a little, and since it had been cloudy earlier, the rays were soft and golden, like late afternoon light, but it was only 1 p.m.
We walked back toward the scooter, chatting about random things like why sandwiches are called sandwiches.
The sunlight hit his face, and lit up his eyes. They were hazel—shimmering.
"Oh wow, your eyes are hazel," I said without thinking, trying to hide my admiration.
He laughed and looked at me. "Really? Thanks."
That moment felt warm, like a page pulled from a poem. Sweet as honey.
We drove around the city for a while, talking about all kinds of things. We bounced from one topic to another; internet theories, the poor design of the city, and, of course, about our lives.
We stopped in front of a fast-food place. I got out and ordered a burger. While I was waiting for it, I turned to look at him.
He was already looking at me, so I smiled. We locked eyes, and he quickly turned away.
That reaction made me think he wasn't interested in me that way. I accepted it right then, and when my food was ready, I went back to him.
I was about to get on the scooter when he stopped me. "Wait, do you hear that?" he asked.
Confused, I shook my head.
"Come closer," he said.
I obeyed and leaned closer to the motor to listen. There wasn't any weird sound, but we were very close.
"Hmm, nothing. I thought I heard something earlier," he said casually. I didn't think much of it and got on.
"Aren't you thinking about studying something in college?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going, hoping maybe he'd say he was going somewhere... maybe even my college.
"I'm not sure yet," he answered vaguely.
"Oh, well… my university has great programs. I'm studying psychology,"I offered, hoping to spark some interest.
"Ah—thanks, but I wouldn't want to study something I'm not really into. And I don't think I'm interested in any of your university's programs. I actually already looked them up," he concluded.
That felt like another sign.
We changed the subject and kept chatting about random stuff—so meaningless I can't even remember. I only remember some words, spoken with unsettling calm:
"You know, I really enjoy talking to you. I mean, I don't know you that well, but you seem really interesting. I'm not going to lie—I've gone out with a lot of girls, but they're too superficial. You're different."
I didn't know what to say, so I just let out a: "That's nice."
Silence fell again—until we passed a street filled with flowers, and the colors caught our attention.
"Do you want me to drop you off at your college?" he asked.
"Sure, if you can—and if you want to." I answered.
I was beaming inside, about to explode with joy.
We took the road toward campus. On the slope, the wind was strong.
"Hold my cap down, it's gonna fly off," he asked.
I leaned closer to him and placed my hand firmly over his head, pressing the cap down. Then he started talking, but I couldn't hear a word because of the wind. So I leaned in more, resting my head on his shoulder to hear him better.
Even then, I couldn't understand what he said, and eventually he stopped talking. But I didn't move.I stayed like that all the way to the campus.
When we reached the parking lot, I jumped off quickly. He turned the scooter off and stepped slightly closer to say goodbye with a hug, but I moved faster and reached out my hand. He didn't expect that, so he extended his hand quickly in return.
His hand was much bigger than mine, so I just held his index finger between my thumb and my own index finger and gave it a small shake.
"Bye," I said with a smile."See you," he replied.
I turned around and started walking toward the entrance. Something in me made me look back, just out of curiosity— I watched him ride away.
And then I jumped in circles whispering, "Yes, yes, yes!"
I entered the campus, skipping with joy, completely smitten. Things had gone much further than I ever expected. It was a big moment. I couldn't stop smiling, and suddenly, I was being extra nice to everyone.
Everything was rosy, everything was pleasant, and everything around me looked lovely.
I was so infatuated, so hooked, so dumbstruck.
I had no idea what was coming next.