And then I figured it out. It was all Moody's doing. How he got the whole class to follow his lead was beyond me. Nevertheless, it was impressive. Even my friends were sitting at their desks with knowing smiles. It nerved me to end.
Putting my things away I saw Moody holding a bouquet of roses. He just wouldn't give up, would he?
His friends were behind him as they shared teasing smiles. This was embarrassing I didn't think I'd ever recover. He walked a few steps toward me and I watched everyone's reaction. Anne and Gilbert were stood together curious as to what would happen next. Anne was happily glad she was involved in this. Whereas her friends were talking quietly amongst themselves. Even in the quiet, I couldn't hear a word as my thoughts wouldn't allow it.
The boys looked bored and tired. There was not much else to say about them as they held up posters with a words on them. I didn't have to read it to know what it said.
He cleared his throat which brought my attention back to him. Instinctively I took a step back as I felt my heartbeat with all their eyes on us. "Would you like to—"
"What is going on here?" I heard a voice behind me and was happy about the interruption. The tone was more curious than angry but Miss Stacey walked forward to inquire about the situation. I let out a relieved sigh as they fumbled for an appropriate response to give her. "Is this all for you Y/n?"
Again the attention was brought back to me as her voice rang through the room overpowering even the loudest in the room. "I– I don't know."
"Well I have to say this is quite the romantic gesture but if you could rearrange the desks back in place I would appreciate it."
I left before I could hear the rest of what she had said as I let out a breath letting go of all my emotions. I closed my eyes and paced back and forth. Hearing footsteps rush over to me I composed myself before they could see the state I was in and faced my friends. They all had the same expression on their face. A look of concern I had never seen before. "Why would he do that in front of everyone?"
"I thought you were going to say yes." Elise had clearly lost her mind if that's what she was thinking.
"Are you alright?" I shook my head with the most minuscule movement before assuring them that I was indeed fine.
"I don't know why he would do that," I explained as I gnawed at my lip. Sam pinpointed it and took my hands in hers. I wasn't sure whether my hands were cold because I was anxious or if it was the weather. Either way, her warmth regulated my temperature as well as my nerves.
I could hear Moody's voice a few feet away and I searched for him. Looking into his eyes I could see the concern and thought that he might have been feeling what I felt.
Sam let go of my hands after giving me a look of reassurance. I knew she was going to leave I could see it in her face. But I didn't want her to.
And since I couldn't say a word as my throat constricted I watched them go. "I'm sorry if I put you on the spot in front of everyone."
His tone was different than before. Less assured and I felt myself at ease as I could finally talk again. "It was unexpected, you don't have to apologize."
"I guess I was stupid enough to think you'd say yes if I did something big." For a moment we didn't say anything as I felt my breathing go back to normal. I looked to the side and saw my friends watching me from a distance at the window.
"You don't have to do anything to impress me." I had meant for it to sound friendly but at the expression on his face it didn't come across like that. I stumbled on my words as I felt flush with embarrassment. He had a teasing smile I was glad was back on his face as I let myself smile. My friends were right something was different about us. "Next time don't make a big deal out of it."
Confidence Is Key (Moody Spurgeon)
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