"There's an office down the hall, I would change it before you get too far into the course- wait . . . sorry, don't do that," he shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as he mentally scolded himself. He didn't even see her eyes slowly move away in thought, the girl pondering to herself as she ran over his words in her mind.
"No, you're right, thank you," she smiled, eyes finding him once more, as he peeled his open with confusion.
"I am?" He questioned, causing her to laugh. Mindlessly, the corners of his lips quirked up at the sound.
"Yeah, you're right. Where did you say that office was again?" She asked, turning around to slot the book back into the shelf as she listened to his words.
"I could- um . . . I could take you, if you'd like?" He asked, stumbling over his words like he often stumbled over his feet. With her back turned, she smiled as her cheeks flushed, eyes departing from the space in front of her as they journeyed through her mind.
"Yeah, thank you. I'd like that. My name's Juliet," she grinned, spinning around as she held out her hand. He foolishly smiled a crooked grin as he took it in his own, adding to his list of mental notes how soft her skin was. For some reason, he hadn't expected anything less.
"Ethan Landry - just Ethan," he greeted, once more stuttering over his words. To this day, they still reminisced on the time they locked eyes in the library, it marking the beginning of a long line of friendship, adventure, and love.
If Ethan could recount one thing Juliet did the most, it was daydream. He'd find her in her room, or his shared dorm, or anywhere really, just staring into space as she ran through her care-filled mind. He'd pay anything in the world to take a glance, to see what thoughts she was hiding in her skull. He could guess, and they would be almost correct, but he would never know.
So, to say it was a surprise when months later the boy caught sight of the girl standing in front of a flower shop on the side of New York's busy road staring deeply into a dahlia bunch would've been a lie. He'd found her like that numerous times before, all without meaning to. One time he'd actually bumped into her.
"Daydreaming again?" He asked as he approached her, his voice snapping the girl back into reality. She looked over at his smile with her own, cheeks brightening in the sunlight of the afternoon.
"Possibly," she teased with a grin, erupting a laugh from the boy. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, fiddling with the inside material of the jacket as he admired her. She continued to smile as she looked back down at the flowers, picking them up to hold out to the boy. "Aren't these just so pretty?"
"Yeah," he breathed out as he glanced over the collection of purple and pink and blue flowers. She held them up to her nose, closing her eyes as she inhaled the sweet smell. He'd meant it of course, the flowers were pretty, but it was when his eyes flicked up from the flowers to Juliet's face that he really meant it.
"Do you think twenty is too much?" She asked as she pulled the dahlias away from her face and looked back at the boy. He shrugged with an innocent smile.
"I don't think so," he guessed, as he wasn't one to spend his spare time studying the average price of flowers. Juliet, however, was.
She smiled even more as she looked back down at them, admiring each individual petal. That was the kind of person she was, she didn't glance over the little in people - she saw everyone as who they truly were.
Ethan peeled away from the girl, walking further into the outdoor stall that lined the side of the bustling street. Juliet was too distracted to notice his absence - she noticed, but didn't pay any mind to why. She knew he'd still be around, she could feel it when he wasn't.
"Excuse me," the boy asked the elder lady standing behind the forest-painted bench. She looked up with wide eyes and a sweet smile, almost as sweet as the girl a few metres behind him. "Could I please get those flowers over there-" he pointed at the bundle Juliet was holding unknowingly "-I'll pay for them."
"But they're hers," the lady mumbled as her smile slowly faded away.
"I know, that's the point," Ethan said, brows knitting together at the bridge of his nose. He relaxed almost instantly, however, as soon as he saw the adoring look the lady morphed into.
"Oh, of course. I see," she grinned, sending him a wink before turning towards the register. He blushed, ducking his head, as he searched his pockets for any spare cash. "That'll be fifteen, please."
He looked up, brows furrowing once more. "I thought they were twenty."
"For her, they're fifteen," the woman smiled, holding out her hand as she watched his eyes light up. He grinned, pulling a handful of cash out of his back pocket, before his eyes darted down and he counted it.
"Twenty," he nodded with a smile as he handed over the cash. The woman looked taken aback, bewildered, before it fell into a calm, thankful gaze.
"Thank you, my dear," she beamed while turning around, placing the cash in it's aligned spots in the register. He awkwardly waved goodbye as he backed away, turning around to almost walk into a random stranger, before he immediately stopped himself. After a moment or two of awkward shuffling and dodging of customers, Ethan made it back to Juliet.
"Wanna come study at my apartment?" Juliet asked as soon as he'd reappeared. He was still standing behind her, the girl not possibly having had the chance to spot him, but he was used to that. At that point, they just knew.
"Yeah, let's go," he nodded with a smile, hand finding her lower arm to start dragging her away. She let him before realising she was still holding the flowers, immediately looking back at the stall they were weaving their way away from.
"Wait, Ethan. I didn't buy the flowers," she protested, only to find the boy continuing to pull her away.
"It's fine, I did," he grinned, turning back to watch her face brighten even more.
"Ethan! I could've paid for them! Hold on, I think I have money-"
"No, no, stop. Keep it, please," he said, moving his hand away from her forearm to pull her other hand out of her pocket. She looked up, a red hue dusting over her cheeks, before she bit out another smile.
"Thank you," she smiled, leaning up to press a kiss to his soft cheek, before she started walking into the evermoving crowd of the city. He widened his eyes, staying standing in the same spot, as he tried to blink his way out of his daze. His efforts proved futile. "C'mon, slow poke! I have work to do!"
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