| 𝙾𝚋𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 | - '𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙱𝚘𝚢𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍' 𝟷𝟾+ 𝙵𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

'Shake Date - Part Four

However, as I opened my mouth to speak again, I abruptly stopped before anything could come out. I looked at Peter, and I felt the heartstrings in my chest get tugged. His little puppy dog expression made me melt just looking at it. He seemed so... grateful to be here with me. He had a look of pure happiness spread across his face.

I began to argue with myself inside my head.

One innocent little date wouldn't be so bad, would it? Looking at Peter, it wasn't like he was somebody I would be opposed to going out with normally. He was attractive, in a strange sort of way. He came off as really nice, too. If you ignored the creepy expressions and weird stretches of not blinking.. He didn't seem that bad. So, hey, the least I could do was sit and have a milkshake with him. Besides, we were already here, right? There was no turning back now.

"I guess it is." I responded with a smile, taking another drink. For a moment, everything around us was silent. No cars driving by the diner, no 50's do-wops pouring from the jukebox, no chatter from customers.. no anything. Just me, two chocolate milkshakes, and the stranger I met on the street by random chance. My eyes were fixated on his, and his were fixated on mine. I hadn't even realized I was staring until he suddenly spoke up.

"Are we having a moment?" He asked, chuckling to himself.

I turned my head away, a deep crimson blush creeping along my cheeks. I laughed along with him, even despite the intense embarrassment I was feeling.

"I think we were. Until you opened your mouth, anyway." I joked. He smiled, and shrugged his shoulders in response. "That's alright, we'll have plently of time for more moments like that, Y/n. Don't you worry."

Looking down at the table, I hung on to that sentence. 'Plently of time' was repeating in my head like a skipping mixtape. Did that mean he wanted to go out with me again? I put the straw of my milkshake up to my mouth, pressing it against my bottom lip. My head was a jumbled mess, and I didn't know what to think. I had been so sure of what I wanted in life right now; to focus on college and my job. I hadn't once even considered factoring in a relationship on top of everything else I was already dealing with. Peter seemed like a good guy, and I enjoyed talking to him like this.. But I still wasn't sure. Life really didn't like giving you easy choices, did it?

"..I have to be honest with you, I don't know If Im ready to date anybody right now.." I mumbled softly. I felt a lot worst than I expected as the words poured from my mouth. It was an overwhelming sense of guilt. "I have so much going on.. School and work and bills, you know? I don't think I'd make a very good girlfriend with all that other stuff going on. I wouldn't be able to focus on the person I was with as much as I should."

Not once, though, did Peter's smile alter as I spoke; his eyes still gazing at me with that gentle, longing expression. It looked like what I was saying didn't even bother him. Which, I guess was a good thing? It's not like I wanted to hurt him.. I just didn't want to lie about how I was feeling. Because the truth was, I just didn't know right now.

Peter reached his hand across the table, gently resting it on top of mine. Feeling his palm on top of my own, I was a bit surprised. The size difference between his hand and mine was insane. I knew he was a lot bigger than me, but geez. His fingers cupped over mine, completely covering up my small hand with his own large one. Thinking about it, too.. I realized this was the first time he's actually touched me. His skin felt warm, and soft.. And it somehow helped wash some of that guilt away. I looked up at him, and softly smiled.

"Y/n, I like you." Peter said blantly, gently squeezing my hand, "I've liked you since the moment I laid eyes on you. And even though it's been such a ...short... amount of time, I want to see where this goes. I don't care about work or school or anything like that. I just care about you."

My heart started to pound inside my chest. I stared at Peter, caught in his gaze like a deer in headlights. It was like every bit of rational thought I had left just immediately dissapeared. This all felt like it was happening so fast. We've only known each other for two days. Just two days! Forty-eight measly hours, most of which I spent scared of him. And now, after all that, he was admitting that he had a crush on me? How was I supposed to respond to that? Right now, it felt like my body was on a roller coaster; moving so fast that I couldn't get a grip on what was happening around me. I lowered my head and bit my straw, hiding the red tint on my cheeks.

It had been so long since somebody admitted they had feelings for me. Even TK didn't outright say it the way Peter did. He put it so matter-of-fact, so bluntly.. I wish I could have that kind of confidence when it came to stuff like this. But, nonetheless, that still didn't change my previous outlook on relationships. Peter must've sensed my doubt, because he gently squeezed my hand again.

"You don't have to answer now, Y/n. Take all the time you need. Until you decide, I'll keep doing everything I can to win your heart."

He looked deep into my eyes, and smiled again. "Everything."

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