right away, because he was focused on not being run over. I picked up his shoe and ran to him.
He looked up as the car moved on and his face relaxed as he saw me. I jerked my head back toward the sidewalk and he smiled, turning his hopping in the other direction. He made it just seconds after me (he really hadn't gotten all that far on one leg) and he grasped a street sign to balance as I handed him the shoe.
"Thank... you... so... much." He panted. Beads of sweat collected on his forehead and his face almost matched the color of my hair. He took a moment to punch the other guy in the shoulder before he untied the shoe to put it on. His friend tried to wipe the smile from his face. He rubbed his shoulder.
I could've cared less about the stupid, smiling friend. I couldn't take my eyes of Green Shoe Guy. He was cute. I smiled. I felt woozy. My heart raced faster than the cars speeding past us on the street, now that there weren't any people impeding them.
"You're welcome," I said, finally. There was a slight catch to my voice. He looked up at me with his blue eyes and let go of the sign, wiping his hand on his pants. Different! my brain yelled at me. I cleared my throat and said, "How? Um -- Why?" Shit. I couldn't be different. I couldn't talk. My face started to match his in color and I looked away.
"How'd my shoe get in the middle of the street?" he finished for me, glaring at his friend. He ran a hand over his messy brown hair and shook his head. "This guy thought it would be hilarious to use it as a football." At the word "hilarious" he put both his hands in the air and shook them about. His friend burst into another fit of laughter.
"Dude! I didn't think it would go into the road!" He chuckled. "It would've been fine if you'd just get your damn sock dirty." He coughed and said, "Neat freak" at the same time.
Green Shoe Guy started to laugh a little, too. He wasn't really mad.
My breath caught in my throat. My heart ached. This wasn't a case of bullying. He was normal. He had friends. He was out of my league. I knew I should talk to him, ask him questions, even ask him to lunch. He was attached to one of my visions. Just thinking those thoughts made my stomach curl in on itself. Plus, his friend stood there, slapping him on the shoulder between laughs and reminding him they needed to go.
My skin grew hot and clammy. No. No way could I talk to him. This was just like lunch with my coworkers the other day. I wasn't ready for this. I hadn't planned or practiced. My neck tingled and my feet itched to move. All I wanted was to get out of there before I did something embarrassing.
His eyes locked onto mine and he smiled. It was the type of smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth and turned his blue eyes into tiny arcs. Stubble covered his chin and moved down his neck. I swallowed. He was super cute. He was cute and he was attached to my change-your-life-visions. Was he going to be my friend, too? The first had brought me Rainy.
Oh no! Rainy! The yoga bag vision. What happened when two of the visions overlapped? Clashed?
I backed away. "Sorry. I -- This --" I pointed to my bag.
His dark eyebrows popped up and he took a step toward me. I didn't see anything past that because I turned and ran. Fast. If I had been in a race, I would have beat the skin-tight pants off even the fastest runner. If friendship made me anxious, boys made me downright catatonic.
As I got further and further away from shoe guy, my run turned to a walk and my heart settled down. The it's-beating-too-fast ache turned into a what-have-I-done ache instantly. What had I done?
Even though meeting Rainbow and her friends had been awkward and I thought it was the end of the world, it had turned out great. I stopped. I couldn't breathe. I had just walked away (actually ran really fast away) from the third vision. What did that mean? Did I automatically lose that one? Maybe he would've gone out with me. Maybe he was the person I was supposed to be
He looked up as the car moved on and his face relaxed as he saw me. I jerked my head back toward the sidewalk and he smiled, turning his hopping in the other direction. He made it just seconds after me (he really hadn't gotten all that far on one leg) and he grasped a street sign to balance as I handed him the shoe.
"Thank... you... so... much." He panted. Beads of sweat collected on his forehead and his face almost matched the color of my hair. He took a moment to punch the other guy in the shoulder before he untied the shoe to put it on. His friend tried to wipe the smile from his face. He rubbed his shoulder.
I could've cared less about the stupid, smiling friend. I couldn't take my eyes of Green Shoe Guy. He was cute. I smiled. I felt woozy. My heart raced faster than the cars speeding past us on the street, now that there weren't any people impeding them.
"You're welcome," I said, finally. There was a slight catch to my voice. He looked up at me with his blue eyes and let go of the sign, wiping his hand on his pants. Different! my brain yelled at me. I cleared my throat and said, "How? Um -- Why?" Shit. I couldn't be different. I couldn't talk. My face started to match his in color and I looked away.
"How'd my shoe get in the middle of the street?" he finished for me, glaring at his friend. He ran a hand over his messy brown hair and shook his head. "This guy thought it would be hilarious to use it as a football." At the word "hilarious" he put both his hands in the air and shook them about. His friend burst into another fit of laughter.
"Dude! I didn't think it would go into the road!" He chuckled. "It would've been fine if you'd just get your damn sock dirty." He coughed and said, "Neat freak" at the same time.
Green Shoe Guy started to laugh a little, too. He wasn't really mad.
My breath caught in my throat. My heart ached. This wasn't a case of bullying. He was normal. He had friends. He was out of my league. I knew I should talk to him, ask him questions, even ask him to lunch. He was attached to one of my visions. Just thinking those thoughts made my stomach curl in on itself. Plus, his friend stood there, slapping him on the shoulder between laughs and reminding him they needed to go.
My skin grew hot and clammy. No. No way could I talk to him. This was just like lunch with my coworkers the other day. I wasn't ready for this. I hadn't planned or practiced. My neck tingled and my feet itched to move. All I wanted was to get out of there before I did something embarrassing.
His eyes locked onto mine and he smiled. It was the type of smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth and turned his blue eyes into tiny arcs. Stubble covered his chin and moved down his neck. I swallowed. He was super cute. He was cute and he was attached to my change-your-life-visions. Was he going to be my friend, too? The first had brought me Rainy.
Oh no! Rainy! The yoga bag vision. What happened when two of the visions overlapped? Clashed?
I backed away. "Sorry. I -- This --" I pointed to my bag.
His dark eyebrows popped up and he took a step toward me. I didn't see anything past that because I turned and ran. Fast. If I had been in a race, I would have beat the skin-tight pants off even the fastest runner. If friendship made me anxious, boys made me downright catatonic.
As I got further and further away from shoe guy, my run turned to a walk and my heart settled down. The it's-beating-too-fast ache turned into a what-have-I-done ache instantly. What had I done?
Even though meeting Rainbow and her friends had been awkward and I thought it was the end of the world, it had turned out great. I stopped. I couldn't breathe. I had just walked away (actually ran really fast away) from the third vision. What did that mean? Did I automatically lose that one? Maybe he would've gone out with me. Maybe he was the person I was supposed to be
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