𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔 , sydney novak

viii.

when the bell finally rang, my head was slipping off the palm of my hand and was dangerously close to hitting the table.
i shook myself awake and gathered my belongings, leaving the classroom in a state.

i almost, almost, forgot about my plan with syd.. until she tapped my arm.

"hi?" she queried.

"oh, i need to speak to you. about.. something. yeah. uhm." i coughed lightly as we walked to a corner of the library.

i grabbed my backpack, which was slung over one shoulder and opened the zip. i ruffled around until i found what i was looking for.

i pulled out a book and passed it to her.

"ha ha, very funny. i already have this book. you should know this; it's my favourite."

"i know i know, just look inside."

eyeing my curiously, she opened the book and peeled her eyes off my gaze to find a date.

"oh my god.." she breathed, "this is a first edition? what the fuck-!"
someone from the other areas of the library shushed her.

grinning sheepishly she continued. "where did you get this?"

"a magician never reveals his secrets."

she rolled her eyes and was about to shut the book when a piece of paper fell out. she bent down and picked it up, turning it over in her hand.

it was a small envelope, containing what i had been panicking about all day.

she looked at me before diverting her eyes to her fingers which were unconsciously tearing the paper apart.

inside, was a cream-coloured piece of paper which had calligraphy, which had taken me hours to do you should know, written on it with big swirls.

her eyes skimmed the paper's contents before looking up at me, eyes brimming.
"this is so sweet. thank you." she answered, burrowing her head into my shoulder and wrapping get arms around my waist.

this was an.. unexpected reaction to say the least. apart from the time at my house, she was almost never like this.

"so.. is that a yes?"

"yes." she laughed into my shoulder, causing vibrations on my skin which rippled into a smile on my face.

{ homecoming night }

i'm panicking. i'm having the biggest panic of my life.
what do i wear? i have no clothes, although my full wardrobe said differently.
how do i style my hair? i should just do it the way i normally do, but that's boring.
what do i say to her? dammit, i'm so bad at this.

there was a knock at my door.
"come in.." i grumbled.
my bedroom door creaked open, revealing a very tired brianna.
"what's wrong?" she asked.
"nothing." i sighed.
she gave me a funny look.

"judging by the scattered clothes and shoes, plus your groaning voice tells me you're a tad stressed."
"fine," i rolled my eyes, "can you help? please."

she smiled for what felt like the first time in years.

she began picking up clothes and shifting her gaze from me to the fabrics in her hands, she finally found a brown skirt and green shirt.