Wish I Were Heather ✓

T w e n t y - N i n e

[  A month later   ]

~ Vincent ~

"Idiot, you should tell her!"

"No way!"

"Well then sit here and weep when she accepts some other guy's proposal." Derek crossed his arms and stared me down.

I huffed, "Emil told me that she doesn't accept anybody's proposals."

His eyes widened, "Uh but you can't tell that without trying once. Right?"

"I'm afraid that she'll turn me down too." I collapsed on my bed in disappointment.

I called over Derek for some advice, but it's not going very well.

He angrily munched on the Toblerone chocolate, "Dude, first of all, at least ask her. Please."

Did he just?

Derek Hendrix pleaded?

I sat up straight on the bed looking towards him, who was seated on the table, "Look, Derek, I'm afraid that I'll lose this friendship too. I can't lose Emily. Not her." I shook my head and tightened my grip on my chain locket.

Conqueror.

For me, Emily is the conqueror.

The girl who conquered my heart.

"Mr. Vincent Zaphyr, you didn't hear a word I said. Did you?"

I snapped out of my small trance and just shrugged.

He rolled his eyes, "I didn't come here to see you daydream instead, I want you to confess your feelings for her and she won't reject you because she -" He slapped his hand over his mouth in an instant.

I jumped up from the bed, "Because she what? Derek?"

He recomposed his calm and collected exterior, "Because she's got a big heart and she won't hurt anyone. So she'd accept you."

He put his hand on my shoulder, "Trust me, she would."

"Really?"

He smiled, "Just go for it, stupid."

I grabbed the chocolate and plopped it in my mouth, "I liked 'Vi' better."

Derek looked awed at my confession, "Oh man! I never thought you'd say that."

He climbed down the table, "So Vi, can I take these Toblerone?"

I grinned and shook my head, "No, you can't. After all, my future brother-in-law gifted it to me."

His jaw dropped, "I swear if Emily had heard it -"

I chuckled and tapped lightly on his head, "Then good thing, she didn't."

I coughed while nervousness seeped into me, "Uhm, Derek, is it really necessary that I should tell her everything?

"Vincent!"

*
.

*

'Emily... I love you. So, would it be fine if I tell you this?'

Oh idiot, you already did. Anyways, that was so plain.

Try something else, Vincent. Think. Think.

"Hey Vi!" Derek slapped on my shoulder, "Did you tell her?"

"Uhm, no. I couldn't find her."

Also, I was preparing my confession.

He looked at me knowingly, "Hmm. Well, no worries, because I saw her at the library just now. Now chop chop!"

I took a deep breath, "Fine. I'm gonna do this."

"Yes, yes, that's the spirit. Now move fast!"

With newfound determination, I started to walk towards my destination.

Taking ten steps forward, I turned around to see Derek, and he showed me a thumbs up and shouted, "All the best!"

Yeah, I needed it.

I reached the school library with a racing heartbeat and a slightly shivering fit.

I spotted Emily seated in a corner with another girl whom I didn't recognise.

When she took note of my presence, she acknowledged me with a smile.

And now it was too late to back off.

I walked towards her bench, and by the time I'd reached there, the determination and confidence I had earlier was long gone, and now I was just a nervous mess.

"H-Hey Emily." I sat beside her and opened a whatever-subject textbook I had brought along with me.

"Hi, Vincent." She smiled at me briefly before turning her attention to the girl seated opposite to her.

Oh, there was somebody else. How did I forget that?

"So Fiona, you didn't say anything yet. You did say that you had something important to talk about. Huh?"

The girl whose name was Fiona glanced at me and then at Emily, "Uh, it's nothing, I'll catch you up later."

With that, she bolted up from the bench and walked, or more like scrambled out of the library.

I faced her, "So who was she?"

She shrugged, "I honestly don't know. She just came to me and introduced herself, saying that she wanted to talk to me and then you arrived and she went."

So, I interrupted something important.

"Never seen her before. Not our classmate?"

She chuckled, "She's just sixteen. She won't have shared a class with us."

Okay.

To the point, Vincent. Straight to the point.

It was simple;

Step 1. Take a deep breath

Step 2. Say, 'Emily, I love you'

Step 3. Run ( and don't look back)

Being tired of staring at the same page for a long time, I closed the boring book, "So Emily, I was just wondering..."

She looked up from her thick book, providing me her complete attention, "Yes?"

"I uh you know Emily, now I'm ready to accept any girl's proposal if she truly likes me. Like any girl."

I gasped after my illogical rant like a dumb guy who just stated it, as if she's gonna propose to me.

Following those steps I'd mentioned before were far better than the mess I had just made.

Maybe I really was dumb.

"Uh Emily, forget it. I was just kidding around." I unknowingly added a nervous chuckle.

"Oh."

The bell rang, and she mumbled a bye, scrambling out of the library just like that girl whose name I couldn't quite recall.

I high-fived my head against the enormous book on the desk, "Oh Vincent."

Now, I was sure that I'd really messed up big time.