Message In A Bottle

Feb 1

But Danielle—

Danielle was different. For one, Fred kept subconsciously denying there could ever be anything romantic between them, so he acted with less restraint. As in: Fred did not think much when he complimented Danielle or did something nice to her. He was just being a friend. A dude. A bro. And Fred did feel accomplished when Danielle became less nervous around him. She was opening up to him! Yay!

Fred liked to think he got along well with Danielle. She laughed at his jokes even if he didn't think they were that funny. They had a lot in common, from sports to food to complaints about society to their mutual friends (prominently Eugene. Fred didn't know why they both kept on talking about him).

And perhaps Fred was thinking a little selfishly when he said he liked seeing Danielle smile because of him. It was probably an ego thing- Danielle used to be scared of him, but now she'd eased up enough that he could make her smile. Har har, Fred was so good at socialising! Wow!

The thing about Danielle was that Fred wasn't really thinking about anything in particular. They hung out together. She was friends with his friends. She was nice to be around. She was sometimes shy around him, so Fred did his best to make her comfortable. The way he acted around her was instinctive, natural even. So when he complimented her hair and won that plushie for her at New Year's Eve and all of those other tiny interactions...

Okay, Fred could see why there could be a misunderstanding.

And if Danielle indeed had feelings for him, he could sort of see why.

But what frustrated him was that Fred wasn't even trying. He didn't have ulterior motives when he bonded with Danielle. He never saw her as a replacement or whatever. Their friendship just happened. And Fred didn't want to distance himself from Danielle because in all honesty, he liked having her around. And since Danielle denied it, Fred should take her word for it. It would be rude to assume otherwise.

... If Danielle wanted to distance herself because of the rumours or her supposed-but-not-really feelings, then fine. Fred would accept it.

(Even if he would be a little upset.)

But there was nothing he could do right now except to support Danielle. But he couldn't even support her overtly because that would fan the flames more. And thus Fred was frustrated.

... His mind needed a break from all of this.

At least Alex seemed to think the rumours that Fred liked her were completely false and unrealistic. Fred didn't know whether to be heartbroken or be thankful.

Fred sighed. He tried to be as unaffected as he could since this was just stupid high school drama, but he couldn't help it. A certain thought had already slipped into his mind and took root there. It was a small, quiet idea, but nonetheless it was there, and that was what mattered. And driven by that new seed, Fred's outlook on his life began to shift miraculously.

... What if Danielle really did like him?

-

As Danielle had expected, people were talking about her when they all came to school on Monday. It was Wednesday now, but the discussions continued.

A mortified Danielle had told Fred to not worry about the rumours and she quickly denied her feelings. Still, there was an awkward air, especially when they all sat together during lunch. It wasn't like Fred was being awkward. The stares and whispers from their peers just made Danielle feel uncomfortable.