Until It Clicks

Part Six

They had been silent for what seemed like hours. It wasn't making any sense to Ava. She never thought a science project date-that-they-weren't-calling-a-date at the library with Todd would be so...dull.

Her eyes kept getting lost in the words of her textbook because her brain just wouldn't shut up. What was she doing wrong? Why wouldn't he talk to her?

Finally, Todd said something, his sonorous voice breaking the quiet air between them.

"Ava." He breathed.

His eyes were twinkling bright like Christmas lights with anticipation.

"Yeah...?"

Ava wasn't sure where this was going.

She watched as he swallowed hard, and finally their eyes met. This is it. She thought to herself. He's going to finally tell me how he feels. But what came out was exactly the opposite of that.

"I'm sorry. But I need to leave."

He sighed, and without waiting for so much as a "goodbye" from Ava, he slammed his own textbook shut and dragged himself over to the door.

"Wait, you're leaving?"

Ava cried after him, beyond confused.

"Todd - what are you - ?"

She chased him out into the hallway, refusing to let him leave with no explanation.

To her surprise, though, his eyes didn't indicate that he wanted to leave as she confronted him at the library door. In fact, if he wasn't the biggest jock she'd ever met, Ava would assume he was about to cry.

"Todd...what the..."

His name felt weird coming from her own mouth after months of only saying his name in her head.

"I'm sorry, Ava. I really...God, I messed this up. I'm so sorry. I just..."

He only looked frustrated with myself.

"But you make me so angry."

"Wait, what? I make you angry? Um..."

Ava was preparing herself to flip him the bird and move on, but he kept going like a bike with broken brakes.

"You showed up here looking so pretty and amazing and all I could think about was how stupid I was for liking someone like you...someone so perfect..."

For a moment, he was lost in his thoughts, but snapped back just as quickly.

"But I just feel stupid because how could someone like you ever like someone like me? I mean, oh God, where am I going with this? I just - you're so perfect."

And then he was taking a step towards her. Ava lost all feeling inside of her and only felt herself floating, rising a billion feet above her ground.

"You're so perfect."

Todd repeated. And that's where he lost all coherent thoughts.

"So smart....so pretty...so funny...so down to earth..."

Todd never got to finish as Ava cut him off. "And I'm so yours."

They kissed.

With the speed of two strikes of lightning shattering the sky, Ava and Todd raced back into the library, hand in hand, and kissed in between the bookshelves.

They kissed until there was absolutely no chance of them finishing their science project that night.