This is my chance
My eyes dart over to a small shadow at the corner of the cafeteria. Completely singled out from community of students was a green-haired girl whose plate had a half-finished potato salad and a few cuts of bell peppers. Using her fork, she tipped her vegetables over from one side to another, trying to discern whether they belonged in her mouth or the trash bin right next to her.
As if a transparent barricade had been erected around her table, not a single person bothered to sit or even look at the empty seats beside Wallflower Blush. Her presence like usual didn't elicit anything significant enough to be called a response. Majority of the people who passed by her table did it either to exit through the cafeteria door or use the waste basket.
Majority— excluding me.
Today, without a doubt, will be the day I greet her, with confidence.
I took out a small notebook and flipped it to a page with the headlines "plan A." Written below were a set of bullet points which accurately detailed my supposed steps to approaching Wallflower. After going through all of the steps twice, I took a deep breath and gave myself a mental pat on the back as I slowly made my way towards her.
Step 1: Approach her and say hi.
Upon reaching her table, I found myself choking on my own words as I tried to say hello. Wallflower was too busy fiddling with her food to notice my slightly shaking body standing right in front of her. Her view of me had been completely obstructed because of how she positioned her head directly above her plate.
"Hi," I finally said, awkwardly raising my hand just right above my chest.
No response. She continued to play with her vegetables as I stood there gawking at her like a weirdo.
Panic began to well up inside my stomach. I took my notebook from my pocket and rip out "plan A."
Useless
"H-hi," I repeated.
Still no response.
I felt my face burning from embarrassment. After all, this was the first time I've ever driven myself to communicate with another person. I had my fists balled up at my sides while I lowered my head in shame.
"Hey," I tried again, but this time, with one of my hands lightly tapping the aluminum table.
Wallflower's head instantly faced my direction as she straightened her back and dropped both of the utensils she used to play with the vegetables. She glanced behind her as quickly as she had realized my presence, and upon seeing no one standing behind her, looked at me with confusion.
"Yeah... uh... hi Wallflower. I was talking to you." I tapped her shoulder.
Wallflower's eyes widened as her mind seemed to register what I had just said. She did a double take for the last time before giving me an awkward wave.
"Hey," she responded.
Taking that as the "go" signal, I positioned myself in the chair right in front of her. My hands naturally went from the sides to the top of the table fingers crossed. I gave her a low-key smile as I rummaged my brain for the words to say to give her the perfect first impression of me.
What to say, what to say...
I froze upon realizing that I haven't envisioned myself even getting this far. My fingers, which were entwined with one another, began to squirm uncontrollably, and the smile I was giving her earlier had now degraded into a smirk.
Wallflower was the first to break the awkward silence, "Vel from math class at 8th grade right?"
Using her answer to push me a step away from being a nervous wreck, I shook my head. "Actually, its history at the 6th."
"Oh, sorry." Wallflower retreated, crossing her arms and looking away.
"No, its fine, you're actually the only one who got this close to getting it right," I chuckled.
Moving her plate aside, Wallflower laid her arms down on the table and squinted at me, "do you need anything?"
As if a volcano had erupted inside of my stomach and caused havoc, my composure was beginning to break down which prevented me from coming up with a good reason to give her.
"N-nothing really," I answered, giving myself a mental facepalm at my stupid spur-of-the-moment answer.
Again, Wallflower gave me a questioning look, "nothing? If you have a problem with the yearbook Sunset can—"
"No! Uh, its nothing about the yearbook at all or anything related to the school," I quickly crossed my hands in front of her. "You were the one I wanted to talk to. I mean, in a different way, like when a friend talks to a friend and not to a person of authority or— what I'm trying to say is that I'm interested in you."
Shit
An awkward silence immediately takes over the almost cheerful atmosphere. I could literally imagine a jumble of letters forming the word "game over" on top of her head.
This is as far as I go
Wallflower's head hung low, causing a thin patch of hair to bend over and cover her face. From inside the green mess a small whispered entered my ears "m-me?"
Something heavy immediately settled itself on top of my heart, suffocating it. From the looks of it, Wallflower was ready to dart out of the cafeteria at any second if I continued to make her feel uncomfortable.
Steeling my resolve, I opened my mouth, "n-no its—"
Riiiiiiiiiing!
The bell rang, signifying the end of lunch break.
Wallflower turned around and grabbed her bag without giving me even the slightest of glances. She stood up and quickly began walking towards the cafeteria door, "that's the bell, sorry but I've got to go—"
"Wait!" I grabbed her wrist without thinking, "I'm... uh, sorry for that."
Wallflower turned around, revealing her slightly blushing face. It was a much darker shade compared to her appearance a minute ago. For a moment, time froze as I accidentally stole a glance of her face up close. Her lush green hair was neatly messed up around her head like it was naturally inclined to take that position, her eyes which contained a tint of apathy yet at the same time excitement, and her pale yet rosy lips which she used to pout cutely as I continued to hold her wrist.
I felt no resistance at all from her, it was like she wanted me to chase after her. Only a light tug every other second to remind me of the bell.
"....garden." she muttered.
She probably saw the blank look I had on my face because she immediately followed her whisper with another string of words, "see me... at the garden after school." After stating her invitation, she quickly used her free hand to gently pry my hand from her wrist. She waved me an awkward goodbye before heading blending in with the crowd leaving the cafeteria.
"O...k..."
It was only a matter of time before the cafeteria manager saw me gawking at the entrance and yelled at me to go back to class.
"...and that ends it for today's lecture," the teacher said, "don't forget your homework students it's due next week on Monday."
As usual, none of the students paid any attention to her. They were all too busy discussing their weekend plans with their friends that her voice drowned in the see of murmurs and giggles.
Me, being me, wrote down her reminder in my notebook. I never really had the friends to discuss outings with. Most of my weekends were spent writing little hoping-to-be short stories at my room in isolation.
However, this time is different.
As soon as the bell rang my bag was already slung over my shoulders and my things stashed inside. I quickly dashed through the sea of people exiting the classroom who were too busy chatting to notice my slender figure drive past them. Fortunately, the hallway was more condensed at the entrance where mobs of students flocked the lockers giving me ample space to quickly make my way to the garden opposite to the crowded site.
A few minutes later, I leaned against a nearby tree as I caught my breath. It was the nonstop sprint from the school to the center of the garden which took away most of my endurance. The excitement I got from the thought of meeting Wallflower again involuntarily possessed me to dash as fast as I could towards our meeting place.
"Hah..." I panted, feeling like I had just run away from death, my vision became blurry for a few minutes due to the exhaustion.
As my vision became clearer, I became mesmerized at the beauty of the Canterlot High garden. The trees were all surrounded by a bright and radiant aura which were just beaming with life. The center, which stood out the most among the all of the plant life, seemed to be the one giving the surroundings this "aura of life."
Even as I caught my breath, I couldn't help but take my eyes off the beauty that the garden had as a whole. Every leaf, every flower, and every tree that my eyes came across was nothing short of beautiful. At the back of my mind, I couldn't imagine any other garden being more amazing and inviting as the one in front of me.
A slur of feelings began to well up in my body. For some reason, the relaxing aura that the garden gave reminded me of a warm fireplace in a cozy home. A large chunk of the anxiety I felt melted away as I comfortably laid my back on a nearby tree.
This feeling
I brought my hand to my chest, even through the clothing my hand felt the intense yet relaxed beating of my heart. There was a rush of deja vu spreading throughout my whole body. There is a part of my heart which tells me I belong here yet not a single memory of the garden comes out from my head.
I-I've been here before...?
I shook my head.
That's impossible
After dwelling on my feelings for a little bit longer, my ears caught the sound of snapping twigs somewhere in the vicinity. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Wallflower emerge from the trees while looking anxiously around the center of the garden. Her eyes missed me as I leaned closer to the tree I rested in.
Before I realized it, seeing Wallflower sitting close to the center of the garden made me feel like something heavy was placed at the top of my heart, crushing it. The constricting feeling I got from viewing the surroundings felt like a small pinch compared to the intensity I felt at the moment. The way Wallflower twirled with her hair before placing it behind her ear, or the way her fingers fidgeted as she waited for me under the radiant sun made me realize just how...
Beautiful
Wallflower awkwardly waited at the center as I stared at her from a distance. I could see the anxiety written all over her face the longer I made her wait for my arrival.
Seeing no reason to wait behind the tree any longer, I called out while slowly walking away from the tree I was leaning on into the garden, "hey."
Relief flooded Wallflowers eyes as she saw me heading towards her. Her tense shoulders relaxed a little but she fidgeted with her fingers more rapidly than before.
"Hey... you actually came," she chuckled and sat straight up, "and remembered, about the meeting. I was afraid you didn't hear what I said because of all the noise people were making."
"Well, you did whisper in a large crowd." I laughed and sat beside her. My proximity to her caused my heart to rapidly beat again without warning, and the scent of her shampoo or cologne made my sense of deja vu even stronger than before.
I shrugged, "well, you said enough to make me remember by the end of class."
That's a lie, I couldn't get you off my head the whole time
Wallflower looked surprised, and for a moment I thought she was going to feel bad about my comment, but instead she smiled, "that's a first, everyone usually forgets about anything or everything I talk about."
Wallflower took out a a large book— the yearbook, from her bag and opened to a page with a blank portrait and a jumbled up name.
I looked at the messed up portrait, "that's supposed to be you?"
"Yeah, but the photographers eventually forgot about me and submitted the pictures before I took mine."
"That's a crime you know," I told her.
"It fine, I'm used to it. I guess I just don't seem like someone who could really make a difference—or even be different."
My chest constricted a little, "well I did approach you, and I did remember, so not all is lost."
Similar to the earlier situation, I saw a hint of relief in her eyes as she smiled at me, "thanks."
"Oh, and sorry about earlier in the cafeteria. Even though you're not that used to people I just popped out of nowhere like an idiot and began acting like some weird stalker."
Wallflower's smile turned into a laugh, "I don't mind, it felt nice, talking with someone once in a while..."
I bowed my head in shame, "again I'm sorry."
Wallflower chuckled, "its okay, I was just surprised for a moment there but I've settled down." However, her smile was followed by a confused look, "but why me? I'm not exactly friend material," she motions to her whole body using both of her hands.
Positioning myself comfortably right next to her, I brought my palm over to my chin and looked up, bringing my thoughts around Wallflower's question.
"Hmm, now why did I approach you," I muttered to myself.
Wallflower must have heard me because a her eyes suddenly widened, "you mean, you have no idea why you wanted to talk to me?"
Her dumbfounded expression looked similar to that of a cat that had just found out the mice she caught was a rubber toy. I waved my hands in front of her, "No no no, it's not like that," I scratched the back of my head and gave her a dry smile, "Honestly..." the word I was supposed to say next got stuck at base of my throat. I found myself shrinking back into my own personal space while heat rushed to my cheeks.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I don't really get it," Wallflower crossed her arms and looked away, "but there really is no reason isn't it, hah, you might've just bumped into my table by accident awhile ago and just didn't want to make me feel bad about being invisible so you decided to lead on the conversation," she said with a heavy voice.
Seeing no reason to really lie in the situation, I plant my hands firmly in her shoulders and turn her in my direction until both our eyes were directly facing each other. I sighed, "that's not true at all Wallflower, actually, its the opposite of what you just said." Again, I produced another sigh a lot heavier than the last one, "ever since I met you at the 6th grade, you began standing out of the rest of the crowd for me. During dances, parties, and even field trips to other places, I couldn't help but bring myself to look for you every time during these events. Well you see, opposite to being invisible you were actually the most visible because of of how much you stood out from the rest of school."
Wallflower looked away and covered her face with her hair, but from a small opening I could see deep red paint the sides of her cheeks, "I-I stood out?"
"Yeah, but not in a bad or weird way." I chuckled awkwardly, "I'm not really a guy with many friends. I go home alone, I eat lunch alone, I even do most of my group works...alone. But seeing you the way you are made me feel like I didn't want to be alone for once. Seeing you in the same situation I was, for once I felt that there was someone who could relate to me in a way that nobody could, and I wanted that."
Wallflower remained silent, but the blush in her cheeks began intensifying the longer I spoke.
"The greatest challenge I faced was approaching you, and as you can see, it went from bad to worse. I wanted to be friends with you but it seems I sort of gave the wrong impression," I scratched the back of my head again and laughed softly. "But I was happy, knowing there was someone who could understand what I was going through. I couldn't exactly count on someone like Pinkie pie to show me how to make friends or even be a friend."
Squirming restlessly in her position, Wallflower twirled a lock of her hair with her index finger, "s-so that's what it was" muttered, then she turned her back completely on me, "thanks," she said while looking away.
"Haa... yeah, and there you have it," I turned my back against her as well until both of our backs were facing one another as we sat in a squatting position, "the reason I acted up."
A sharp bolt of electricity jumped through my spine as I felt something lean on my back gently, the sweet scent of Wallflowers shampoo easily made me understand what was happening. I tensed up at first but relaxed under the soft sensation of her back.
There was little movement coming from her side, but I could tell from the way she breathed heavily that what I said heavily influenced her. I looked to my right and tried to restart the conversation, but upon realizing how close her face was to mine, I immediately brought my head back. Sweat was starting form at the base of my neck which in combination with the slightly awkward atmosphere made me feel a bit worried over what was going through her head right now.
A heavy weight placed itself on top of my heart once again and began suffocating it the way it did before. A part of me was glad Wallflower had her back turned on me so she couldn't get a good look at my face. No sentence without the word "mess" would be able to properly describe the expression I held at the moment.
After what felt like an eternity of complete and total silence, it was Wallflower who broke the ice, "Um, about what you said, thank you." She slowly turned about and faced me while I did the same. Her palms remained glued to each other while she player with her thumbs with her eyes still cast onto the ground, a small laugh escaped her lips, "haha, you could say I'm kind of happy that you'd want to be friends with me, it makes me feel like I have a chance to be normal for once."
I smiled warmly at her, "of course, no one deserves to alone." This time, it was me who patted her shoulder, eliciting a small jerk from her body, "but then again, who am I to say this considering I'm basically you but less... sinister."
Wallflower laughed at my comment, "I don't think I have any snappy comeback for that."
I return her laugh with my own, "I'm joking," I told her, "and thank you for accepting my friendship... sort of."
It took me a full minute to realize the absurdity of what I had just said, but by the time I realized it, Wallflower had her arms around her belly losing herself in laughter, "I don't think this is the way normal people usually make friends."
My palm immediately travels to my face, "I agree with you completely."
Author's Note
This is by no means complete yet. This is after all chapter 1. Im planning to make it 3 chapters.
And I know this is different from my normal works (you know, the R-18 ones) but I guess I just wanted to try out something different
Sorry for any (or many) grammatical errors you find. I've been so desperate to publish something since exams have been taking the best of me. Feel free to comment and criticize but no bashing.
