Spring is in the air

"Today was the day. I was going to ask out my crush, the first day of spring. Butterflies filled my stomach, I didn't know how this was going to go. I was about to ask out my best friend Tommy, but to understand that I should probably explain a little bit more.

I was a senior in high school and I didn't have any friends, except one that is. I grew up with him. He'd been my neighbor since before pre-school. We talked to each other about everything and nothing would be too weird.

My feelings for him started a couple of weeks before after some unfortunate events.

The day that started it all seemed normal as any day would. Then a new student joined our class. His name was Jake. He was really handsome and I thought he was nice.

His looks really turned some heads and he was getting a lot of attention, especially from Jennifer.

Now Jennifer isn't your average mean girl. She wasn't a dumb blonde jerk like in the movies. She was a tall ginger who was actually quite smart when it came to her tricks. She'd start rumors in a heartbeat and destroy your life before you realize its even being messed with. However, few people knew about her evil side because she always acted like a saint.

But anyway, back to the story. Within a few days, Jennifer asked Jake out. To everyone's surprise he said no. Jennifer got real moody after that. A couple days later she seemed fine again but a rumor started spreading that she and Jake had secretly met up by the bleachers.

I didn't pay much attention to them because most of the rumors that ever went around were lies. Also because I had a huge crush on Jake. When I found out that he was a nerd, I liked him even more. It was like that made him more in my league and within my reach.

Then the day that I thought to be impossible had come. Jake had actually asked me out. Of course I said yes but I also explained that I never dated anyone before and I hoped that was ok. He said he didn't mind and I was happy for maybe two or three days.

Im not a dating expert but something started to feel off about how we dated. We only ever saw each other at school and even then he was mostly quiet.

It made me think about why Jake even wanted to date me. Without really getting to know me, there's nothing special that shows. I wasn't even that pretty. So one day as we were eating lunch together I asked him "why me?"

He looked up and smiled, a sight that I didn't see too often. "Because you're different, in a good way." He replied, and his generic words had me smiling like an idiot. Tommy noticed it too when he was driving us home.

'What's with you?' He had asked me while also smiling. 'Just Jake.' His smile slowly faded, he tried to hide it but he couldn't hide anything from me. 'What's with you?' I repeated his question back to him. 'Nothing,' he said and by then his smile had vanished.

It wasn't until he pulled into his driveway that he finally spoke again. 'I'll see you tomorrow.' I nodded 'see ya.'

I walked across his lawn and into mine. I turned to wave at him before going inside and I was happy to see the smile return to his face. I assumed that it went away after hearing Jake's name because he was jealous. Jealous that I ate lunch with Jake instead of him. That got me thinking, Tommy probably felt lonely because he'd never dated anyone either.

The next day, Jake continued to not seem interested in the relationship and I think Tommy could see that because he took me to our favorite spot in town.

It was a field that was surrounded by trees on all sides and you'd have to remember your way because there wasn't a path that led you there. We found the spot as kids, it wasn't too far from the park our parents always took us to.

He packed everything for a picnic and a ton of board games. Neither of us really had a curfew and it was the weekend so we stayed even after it got dark.

The trip was cheering me up, then Tommy pointed at the sky. 'Look at all the stars.' I know it sounds cliche but it was rare to see so many at once and it was beautiful.

Before I knew it we were both laying on the ground staring up at the black night sky with tiny dots of light in various sizes.

'Tommy...'

'Yeah?'

'What would be your perfect dating experience? Like from start to finish?' I couldn't see him but I could tell Tommy was caught off guard by my question.

'Well hypothetically...I would ask the girl out on the first day of spring, my favorite season.' I nodded and let him continue.

'In a field full of flowers. Then after a year or two we'd get married. Then have kids and the genders wont matter to me. After that we'd grow old together and be one of those rare couples that stayed together until death.'

I pictured his story in my head and didn't realize until the end that I had placed myself in the girl's place.

It was too early to admit to myself that Tommy was getting closer to my heart. Then i remembered Jake. Tommy and I had a deal that when either of us started dating someone and asked what the other thought of them, they couldn't lie.

'What do you think of Jake?' I accidentally asked without thinking. Tommy was quiet at first, preparing his answer.

'I don't think he gives you the attention you deserve. I think he's missing out on what he has right in front of him.' It was my turn for silence. Then tommy sat up, turned, and look down at me almost hovering over me.

My heart was definitely beating faster than normal but Tommy didn't know that so I tried not to show it.

'I'm sorry,' he said. 'I just feel like you deserve better.' I may have imagined it but Tommy looked sad. I wanted to sit up but if I did then my face would be centimeters from Tommy's.

The moment I had that thought, Tommy moved back as if reading my mind. The weekend had passed in a flash but Tommy wouldn't get out of my head even though I saw him everyday.

When Monday came around things started to change rather quickly. I was walking to my next class when Tommy came running toward me. He normally did that so at first I thought nothing of it.

It was when I saw that he was drenched as well as out of breath that I started to worry. He was in great shape so he shouldn't have been breathing hard and he was too wet for the liquid to be sweat.

'Tommy are you ok!?' It took him some time to catch his breath but I was patient with him.

'Jake was meeting with Jennifer by the pool and they were talking about some sort of bet. Apparently if Jake got a girlfriend then Jennifer would stop bothering him but if he was single...' Tommy trailed off but he didn't need to finish for me to understand. I was being used as a pawn in someone else's game. He gave me a look that conveyed the message that he was sorry.

Ignoring everything else, I was more worried about Tommy. 'You didn't answer me. Are you ok?' He looked at me as if I were crazy to ignore the situation but answered anyway. 'When Jennifer noticed I was there, she "accidentally" pushed me into the pool.'

That explained why he was out of breath. We went to a big school and the pool was in another building entirely.

I broke up with Jake later that day. Tommy did more things that made my heart beat faster. He thought I was sad but I had no real feelings toward Jake. It took me a long time to realize it but I knew I knew I was in love with Tommy.

I kept thinking of ways to ask him out and failed at attempts to execute my plans until I remembered his hypothetical date scenario. Our spot was the perfect place with flowers and especially on the first day of spring.

Time seemed to move slower as I waited for the day and when it finally came I woke up early and ran out the door.

I didn't see Tommy as he was running towards me so I accidentally knocked him over and fell on top of him. Again my heart was beating faster and I was frozen. 'You're up early.' He said smiling like I'd never seen before.

'I wanted to see if you could take me somewhere.' I was still oblivious to the fact that I was still on top of him. 'Ok but we have to go somewhere else first.'

I smiled until silence enveloped us and I noticed I needed to get up. Embarrassment filled my body but it was put on hold when I realized that Tommy wasn't in any rush for me to get off.

Could he really like me to? I started having doubts about my new plan. I thought about it and was so focused that I didn't realize Tommy was already bringing us to our spot.

We were both quiet while walking to the clearing but when we got there I saw tons of flowers. A lot of them were fake and thrown everywhere but it was beautiful nonetheless.

I turned to Tommy wondering if this was what I thought it was. When I turned to him he was inches from me and he looked scared.

"Daisy Lilly Spring...I was wondering if...do you...would you like to-"

I didn't say anything but I didn't let him finish either. I walked closer to him and pressed my lips against his."

"Yuck! Grandma, why'd you have to add that last part?"

"You asked about it Rosie. Now go get grandpa so we can go on a picnic."

"Are we going to y'alls special spot?"

"Sure are, just every first day of spring."