Chapter 5: At Long Last

Recap:

Steve’s POV:

                “Ahm, Faith, I think I’ll need your number since we’ll be talking about our project, do you mind giving it to me?” I asked her slowly and full of uncertainty.

 

                “Wow, we’ve been friends for weeks now and we don’t even have each other’s number. What’s wrong with us?” she asked wearing a horrified look. I tried to mirror her look which made her laugh. She then scribbled her number on my notebook, and when she was done she looked up, winked at me, and flirtily said “Call me,” while holding her hand near her right ear as if it was a cellular phone. It made my heart stop beating for a while until I heard her burst out laughing. Instantly, I heard myself laughing with her. That’s how infectious she is.

 

Chapter 5

Steve’s POV:

                When I arrived home from school, I immediately went to my room to avoid seeing my dad. I took out the notebook where Faith scribbled her number and keyed it into my cellular phone. I decided to send her a message so that she would know my number, or maybe I just wanted to talk to her. I started typing.

                Hi. This is Steve. Please save my number. " I found it too formal and so not me, so I erased the words that I typed and thought of an alternative.

                Hey Faith. It’s me, Steve! Don’t forget to save my number! " I sound like a freaky clown. I erased the words again. God, I can’t believe I’m making a fuss out of a single text message. So I thought of words that would scream Steve " like I was only talking to her.

                Hi. Steve here. Just text me if you want to talk about our project. J - So I typed the words that first came into my mind and I didn’t give myself some time to think more. I sent the message immediately so that I won’t change my mind and erase the words again.

                I lied on my bed for a while as I waited for her reply. I placed my cell phone beside my pillow so that I won’t miss it if she responds to my text. After a few restless shifting on my bed, I looked at my watch to see how long it has been since I sent my first text message. Wow. 5 minutes?! Are you kidding me? So I busied myself by thinking of reasons why she hasn’t replied yet.

                Just then, I heard a beep from my cell phone. I swiftly snatched my phone from where I placed it and opened the message. It read  " Sure. I’ll call you later. I’m still doing my homework. You should do yours to. I smiled. It was the typical Faith. I wondered if she also had a hard time composing a reply that would seem natural.

                Later that night, she called and we talked about our project for about 30 minutes. And when we were done discussing it, I still didn’t want to say goodbye since I wanted to talk to her more. But she told me that she’s starting to get sleepy so I had no choice but to do otherwise. But before I ended the call, I blurted something out that I didn’t know where came from.

                “Will you go out on a date with me?” I mumbled rapidly before I could even process the words that I said. Oh no. I messed up, big time. So when all I heard was silence from the other line, I thought of ways that would make this less awkward. “You know, like a friendly date,” I continued while attempting to smile so that it would sound as if I’m trying to alleviate the tension that was so evident between us.

                “Oh,” she mumbled, and then fell silent again. Maybe she hasn’t recovered from the awkward moment a while ago, so I tried again to sound more normal.

                “You can ask Princess to join us and I’ll bring Julian and David with me,” I said to her coolly.

                “Oh,” she clears her throat maybe after she realized that she said the same word again. “Yeah, let’s do that,” she added. It sounded like she was smiling as she said that.

                “Okay. See you tomorrow then. I’ll inform you later this week about the plan,” I replied.

                “Good night, Steve,” she murmured as she tried to stifle a yawn.

                “Good night, Faith,” I responded while trying not to laugh. This girl can easily make me smile.

 

Faith’s POV:

Next morning…

                My heart literally skipped a beat when he asked me out on a date. I scolded myself when I even thought for a second that there was more to it. Of course it would be a friendly date! Congrats Faith, you caused an awkward moment between you two. I grimaced.

                While I was slapping myself (of course not physically! I don’t want my classmates to think that I’m a crazy person), I saw Princess sat down beside me.

                “Good morning!” she grinned, something’s wrong about her.

                “Why are you grinning from ear to ear?” I asked her since this behavior of hers unquestionably makes me curious.

                “Oh, just nothing,” she smiled and batted her eyelashes. I laughed at her attempt of looking cute. Princess is far from being cute. She’s gorgeous but not cute. I didn’t push her to spill the beans since I know that she’ll share it with me in time. She always does that.

                “Hey Princess… Steve asked me last night to go out with him, you know, like a "“ I started to tell her but she immediately cut me off. That’s Princess for you.

                “What?! I told you he had something in mind. What did you tell him? Did you say yes? Are you going out on a date with him?” she asked me while her eyes were looking sharp and staring at mine.

                “It’s just a friendly date! He even asked me to bring you, and he said he’ll bring David and Julian with him too,” I hurriedly explain to her so she won’t be able to interrupt me again. And when I mentioned the name Julian, I thought I saw her blush for a while. “So do you want to go?”I continued as I cut her thoughts short.

                “Sure,” she replied. Weird. I really expected that there’ll be more resistance than this.

                The next day, Steve texted me the time and place where we will meet. The text message read: ‘Happyland. 10 AM. J’ I immediately replied ‘can’t wait!’ I then forwarded Steve’s message to Princess. Now that I know that we will be going to an amusement park, I brainstormed of a good outfit that would be fitting for the date. I opened my closet and looked for the perfect one. It took me an hour before I decided to just settle on my favorite look " the usual one. I’d just look for a hat to go with it. By the way, I really love hats! In fact, I have tons of them. Anyway, I was so giddy that I daydreamed about it all the time.

                The week passed by so fast, and before I knew it, it was already Saturday. I woke up at 7 AM and straight away took a bath and prepped myself. By 9 AM, I was all ready and all that was left to do was to wait for Princess to come pick me up. We agreed that Princess and I will go on our own and we’ll just meet Steve and his friends there. At about 9:25, I heard Princess’ car screech in front of our house. I picked up my bag, bid goodbye to my family, and ran towards her car.

                “You look gorgeous,” she complimented me.

                “Thanks. Well, I don’t have to return the compliment since we already know that you always are gorgeous,” I smiled at her.

                She laughed and commented “You really are my best friend.” I just grinned at her.

               

Steve’s POV:

                Fifteen minutes before our agreed time, we were already in front of Happyland’s entrance. Yesterday, I warned Julian that if he runs late, I’ll share some of his dark secrets to a certain someone. I’d never do it, of course, but it was just so funny how he panicked when he realized that I already know that he likes Princess. I don’t have a problem with David since he’s always on time, if not early.

                Ten minutes later, I saw Princess’ car and I didn’t attempt to hide the smile that was forming on my lips. They got out of the car, and my eyes landed on her pair of stunning brown eyes. I looked at her from head to toe craftily so that it won’t look like I’m checking her out. She looked wonderful. I admired how she can dress so fashionably yet stay simple and not going overboard.

                “Let’s go!” she exclaimed while grabbing my arm and then tried to run. She looked like a ten year old girl who’s just visited an amusement park for the first time.

                “Wait! Don’t tell me this is your first time coming here?” I asked her sounding amused. I tried to stop her by pulling her slightly to me. She stopped and looked at me.

                “Of course not!” she barked while looking embarrassed.

                “Okay then. But don’t forget we have company here,” I reminded her while I pointed to my friends who were walking towards us now using my eyebrows.

                “Oh right,” she replied, biting her lower lip, as if she forgot that they were even here with us.

                “Faith, these are my other friends " David and Julian. I know you already know them, but… I realized last night that I haven’t formally introduced them, so… there,” I told her.

                “Hi Faith! Let me tell you a secret. Steve was just too possessive so he didn’t introduce us to you earlier,” Julian teased.

                “Shut up! I’m not. I just forgot,” I hissed at him.

                “Chill, man. Don’t be too defensive,” he said and then laughed. I saw Princess trying to stifle her laugh. When I looked at David, I noticed that he was staring intently at Faith. The affection that I saw in his eyes was so strong that it intimidated me. I cleared my throat to get his attention. He swiftly changed the direction of his gaze, avoiding my stare. We continued walking.

                “Don’t mind Julian. He’s always like that,” I heard David talk to Faith while we walked towards the booth where we had to pay for the rides. I felt something weird in my stomach when she looked at him and gave him the smile that she always wore when I was with her. It made me feel like I’m at the same level as David even though we’ve been friends for a longer period of time. I hated the feeling, so I followed my gut instincts. I moved closer to them and grabbed her arm.

                “I’ll treat you so stay beside me, and move faster so that I won’t change my mind,” I told her not understanding why I was very pissed. Maybe I was just being possessive since she’s my first ever special friend and I don’t want her to be stolen. Yeah, that’s right. I made myself believe that, even if there was another thought that was starting to sprout inside my head. I ignored it.

                “Sir, yes sir!” she grinned at me, unaware that I was really pissed. Throughout our date, I tried my best to keep David and Faith apart. I didn’t want to think why I really needed to separate them. I know for a fact that they’re both my friends, and that David’s fine and would be good for her, but I just can’t help it. It’s as if I don’t want to share her with anyone else.

 

Faith’s POV:

                When Steve introduced me to her friends, I noticed how David looked at me. His eyes were really expressive so I could somewhat read what his eyes were trying to say to me. I shuddered at how intense his gaze was, but at the same time flattered that he looked interested since he’s really a good-looking and popular guy. However, I couldn’t help but compare him to Steve. There were times when I caught Steve looking at me, and I felt like my knees were melting, as if losing all of their strength. I gasped when I realized how strong his effect was on me. But then again, maybe all girls feel that way when a really handsome guy looks at them. It can be perfectly normal.

                David talked to me while we were walking. I decided to just act normal and not think too much about what I hypothesized regarding his feelings for me since I really don’t want to assume anything. Yeah, right. I scoffed at myself. You can’t help but do just that. One thing that I have concluded in my 16 years of living in this world is that girls tend to assume about a lot of things. No matter how much we deny it, truth is, we can’t help it. I smiled at that thought.

                My heart slightly jumped when someone touched my arm from behind. And when I turned my head towards that person, I saw Steve looking so pissed but was trying so hard to hide it. I pretended that I didn’t notice it and again, acted normal. If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed that he’s jealous. Yeah, assumptions... again. I rolled my eyes. But I didn’t really assume this time, I promise! I just hoped that he really was.

                We decided to try all the rides available. And as we were trying to do that, I observed that every time we try a new one, Steve would always look for a way so that David and I would be separated and that I would be end up with him. I tried to hide the smile when I thought of how adorable he was when he was acting so ridiculously possessive. Stop Genius! (Yeah, that’s what I call my brain. Heehee) Don’t even dare assume again! Maybe he’s just being overprotective since I’m his ‘special friend.’ Well, that’s what he always told me.

                At around 9 PM, the only ride that we hadn’t tried yet was the Ferris wheel. It was Princess’ idea that we save it for last. I first thought that she was being romantic, but knowing her, I considered the idea that maybe she was just thinking that there’d be no use riding it if the view wasn’t spectacular. That’d be more Princess like. Take note of the capital P.

                When we were about to ride it, Steve announced that the two of us would separate from the others. He sounded like it was the final decision and that it was irrevocable, so I chose to remain silent. I looked at David and saw that he was kind of struggling to say something, but in the end also chose to not argue anymore. When the wheel started to turn, a comfortable silence fell on us, as if it was enough for us to be with each other. I also couldn’t explain it but all I knew was that… it just felt right. Not one of us wanted to destroy the feeling so no one dared to talk. All I could hear was the machine roaring as if it was making a great effort and my heart beating loudly. Being with him at that moment made me think of a lot of evil thoughts " as if all the items in Genius’ Recycle Bin were being restored. I started to get scared thinking of where my thoughts are heading. And when we finally reached the top, his gaze shifted from the view outside to my panicking eyes. Oblivious of what was happening to me internally, he flashed me his famous dazzling smile " the smile that I have come to… I gasped as a realization dawned on me. God, I love him.

Author's Note

So, I decided to follow A.A.’s suggestion. I thought of that when I started writing this, but I hesitated since I’m not sure if I can pull it off. But, I think A.A.’s right, sooo I decided that I’ll go back to the ‘present time’ but not in this chapter since I wanted to have a smoother transition. Maybe next chapter. Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Is it becoming more interesting? Or starting to get boring? Or has it always been boring? =)) I know that I suck at describing romantic moments so I don’t even know why I’m writing a novel under the Romance genre. Haha. Please don’t be too cruel. Sugarcoat your criticisms if you have to. Kidding. Just spill it! Thank you. :)

P.S. Please subscribe if you like it. :)

Reviews

[Tai Ryens]

They seem strange, in that cute, adorable fashion. This reminds me of me and a certain someone, haha, this is exactly how we act sometimes xD
No chapters, even up to now, were boring, and I even found myself falling deep into thought with the book. Great job, even up to here!

[CrimsonBlaze]

Oh.my.gosh. there is no way this is getting boring. For some reason, its like me in a nutshell. I fight inside my head that I dont exactly like him, but then in the end say I do. Yeah yoi can say i have at least several debates on this topic XD Anyway, awesome write.

[No name]

this book keeps getting better and better, and none of your chapters have been boring. The romantic moments are a bit awkward but that's makes them cute and sweet. Great write. :D

[Lonnie Paul Johnson]

Hey another good chapter, I like the tension of Steve keeping Faith and David apart at the amusement park, not boring!

[Sylvia E. Lioness]

Realtionship can definitely be seen advancing... I wonder if you had a romance like this...this is just so natural and realistic.

[Bridget Murphy]

Not boring[[AGAIN]] I love the way you had Steve getting all jealous!!;)

[xxxxSweetDreamsxxxx]

Thanks for trusting me! and you're right, writing about the present in the next chapter will be a smoother transition. this is so not boring! I find steves and faiths relationship sooo cute! Haha keep it up :)

[SwagMaster]

Absolutely awesome! More, please!!