The Boy Who Fell (COMPLETE)

Coffee or Tea?

We ended up at Sandy's. I wanted to go grab pizza at this small hole-in-the-wall in the village behind school, but I heard the guys were talking about pizza, so I suggested going to Sandy's instead. Can't have a first date with the whole football team spying at you from the next table, right?

Turned out that I was the only one who thought it was a date, when I saw Trisha standing beside Sam by the school gate. I thought she was only keeping Sam company, but after she tagged along, then sat at our table at Sandy's, I knew there was no getting rid of her.

"So, you two knew each other from way back?" Trisha asked as she stirred her iced mocchaccino with a paper straw. Most of the Luna East students were still enjoying the fair so we managed to get a booth. At least I got to sit beside Sam.

"Uh-huh," I replied, adding two sugars to my kapeng barako. "We grew up together. Same neighborhood, same grade school."

"Funny. She never mentioned you guys knew each other," Trisha said, plucking the paper straw from her drink to lick the whipped cream off it. 

"Oh." I nibbled on one of the tiny cookies we ordered to hide my disappointment. "I guess there wasn't anything to mention. We haven't really talked much since we entered Luna East."

"Yeah, I guess," Trisha agreed absentmindedly. It looked like she was more interested in her mocchaccino's chocolate sprinkles than in our discussion. 

And Sam? Radio silence.

"So, Sam, is there anything else you want? Brownies? A cupcake? One of those cream puffs you liked so much? I hear they make really good cream puffs here," I babbled, needing to break the silence. 

"No, I'm okay," she picked up one of the cookies and started nibbling as well. "These are fine."

"Feeling generous, aren't you?" Trisha interjected. "Won any bets lately?"  

"No, my dad gave me extra money today, since it's the school fair and all..." my voice trailed. I knew Trisha was joking, but the snark stung.  

More awkwardness. I couldn't help but wonder if that moment at the Kissing Booth was real. I remembered kissing Sam. Lord knows I won't ever forget that. But with the way things were going, I couldn't help but wonder if I imagined it all. 

I kissed Sam because I liked her. I kissed her because I've been wanting to do it since forever. But I wondered if she kissed me because it was a kissing booth and she had no choice in the matter.

I would've gone on with my depressing line of thought, but the small bell hanging on the coffee shop door tinkled, heralding the arrival of Luke and a few more guys from the football club. The ones who were supposed to be grabbing pizza.

"Hey, surprise, surprise! Fancy seeing you guys here," Luke said. The impish grin on his face said that this was anything but a surprise. "Didn't realize you'd be here Ben. Anyway, don't mind us, we'll just be taking that table over there." Luke gestured to a table near us. One that wasn't only perfect for watching us, but was within earshot, too. 

My grandfather always told me to be gracious in defeat. So I ended up saying, "No need. Why don't you guys just join us? Pull that table up, so we can extend this booth."

"Really? Great, thanks bro." Luke slid beside Trisha, while the other guys pulled an extra table to ours, complete with extra seats. Curious little bastards. Our tiny awkward party of three was now a large, noisy party of seven. But hey, at least it wasn't as awkward anymore.

Time started moving faster when we got more comfortable with each other. Trisha and Luke were outdoing themselves, regaling us with hilarious stories from the drama club and the football club. The guys were falling over themselves, trying to impress Trisha. Luke went nuts wrestling with his teeny tiny dessert fork and dainty little tea cup (who knew that guy took tea over coffee?) Soon, we were just another table of teenagers adding to the happy vibe at Sandy's.

In the middle of it all, I felt something brush against my hand. I looked down the bench and saw that it was Sam's pinky brushing against mine. "Thanks for bringing me here," she said quietly. She smiled. It was the tiniest of smiles. You probably won't be able to see it from afar. But it was the kind of smile that reached her eyes and I knew that it was real. And it was all meant for me.

"Thanks for agreeing to go with me," I replied just as quietly, before slipping my hand over hers. 

She looked away, focusing back on her tea, but she didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she shifted it a bit to the side, so that her fingers were curled against mine. Trisha leaned towards her to ask her a question. But even as she replied, seemingly focused on her friend's story, her warm hand was still in mine, lazily rubbing her thumb against my fingers.

There we were. Samantha and I, sitting in a crowded coffee shop, surrounded by a loud bunch of our friends, secretly holding hands under the table. 

It felt so good to be alive.