The Truth in the Stars

Part 31: She Likes Me

Now I know how Rudolph felt when Clarice told him he was cute. Fiona really caught me off guard because she was so direct. She was always said things as they were, but it still surprised me. I felt the blood rush to my face as my adrenaline kicked in.

"I, I like you too," I whispered.

My face was red and so was hers. She looked me in the eyes, and I noticed she was only an inch shorter than me.

"Could you... say it again?" she asked averting her gaze.

"I like you."

Does everyone's minds go blank when they're in love or is it just me? There we were, standing in the middle of the sidewalk for what felt like an twenty minutes (it was two) saying nothing! It was hours (still two minutes) before I finally said something.

"Would you want to go out with me? I mean you don't ha-" I was saying until she interrupted me by throwing her arms around me excitedly.

"Yes, I wanna go out with you!"

She released me from her embrace with a smile. It was such a relief that she had agreed to go out with me that I didn't think of what we would do or where. This would be a problem later.

"So when are you taking me out?" she asked.

"I mean - are you free tomorrow?" I offered.

"It's spring break, Mark! Not like I'll be going far."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes!" she screamed. "So, where are we going to go?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll think of something," I tried to say confidently.

Honestly I had no idea how dates worked, since I had never been on one before. I didn't have a clue what to do next! Like, am I supposed to take her to a nice restaurant on the first date, do I just take her to the park, or do I just have her come to my place. Scratch the last one. I don't have a place.

"Alright, then. I'll see you tomorrow then!" she said before running off towards her house.

First thing on my list was to find out where to take her, and then find out how long we would be able to be there. If the date was too short it wouldn't be any fun. Maybe if I took her out to eat at a hamburger joint and then took her to the park it would keep the date interesting. If I picked her up before she ate lunch she would be hungry too so this would work in my advantage.

I had an entire walk home to think about this, and walked home in a daze. Right before I went to turn the doorknob, I realized I had walked to our old house in a daze. The for sale sign in the yard was gone, meaning that someone had already bought the house. It would have been embarrassing if I had just walked in. Realizing my mistake I backed off from the porch. I wasn't thinking, and had accidentally walked down the sidewalks in the opposite direction of my new home.

"Mark? What are you doing here?" Eddie asked as he came up behind me after his date with Candy.

"Well, I sort of walked here on accident out of habit."

The desire to tell Eddie what just happened was growing, but I pretended that feeling didn't exist.

"Okay, you good buddy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't paying attention. We'll hang out later!" I finished before rounding the corner in the correct direction.

I decided not to tell Eddie about Fiona and I going out. After our first date she might decide she doesn't want to date me, so it would be better to not make a fool of myself. I could always tell him later if it worked out. 

My phone dinged, and I opened a message from Fiona. I forgot I had given her my number while we were at Fox's.

Don't forget to text me when to meet you! I'm looking forward to this.

I added her number to my contacts, then texted her back.

I won't.

I put my phone back into my pocket, and silently celebrated my first date.