- Brandon's POV -
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When I arrived at Starbucks, I sat in the car and thought about what I was about to do. Once again, the ridiculousness of the situation hit me, and I laughed. “Wow,” I remarked to the rearview mirror. “I seriously can’t believe I’m about to do this.”
And I stepped out of the car and walked in.
When I entered the Starbucks, my eyes were immediately drawn to the corner where Aiden and I had sat last time. There she was--Taylor had her back slightly to me and was talking to some guy. A date? For some reason, that surprised me. Whatever. Her life, her choices. I’m sure he’s a great guy.
I imagined I was about to be interviewed for a job and put on the most confident face I could muster.
“Hi Taylor!” I said as cheerily as I possibly could. Her boyfriend looked at me funny. So did Taylor. I felt my neck growing hot. “So…uh…could I talk to you for a minute?”
“Um…okay?” Taylor shot a glance at the guy. “I’ll be right back, Henry.”
I awkwardly stepped over a few feet, and she followed. “What do you want?” Taylor whispered. “I’m on a date for the first time ever and I might be mildly scared and now Henry’s gonna think I’m one of those idiot girls who’s just playing him and--”
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, gesturing in what I hoped was a calming way. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you explain to him if you want.” This is a trainwreck already. “So, uh, this is going to sound weird, but…about a week ago I was struck by lightning and--” I stopped. All the blood had drained from Taylor’s face.
“You…You what?” she whispered hoarsely.
“I got struck by lightning.” I rubbed the back of my neck ruefully. “You don’t have to believe me, but seriously, it happened. Anyway, long story short, I kept feeling weird after effects. I got weird bursts of emotion at random times that didn’t even make sense in the context. Are you okay?” I asked, worried. Taylor sat down with a bump in the chair beside her. I glanced over to Henry. He was watching us, but didn’t make a move to come over, so I sat down too.
I picked up speed. “So I also got random physical sensations for no reason and I tested it and remember yesterday when you felt pain in your arm and then your cheek? Well that was me, I pinched myself and then bit my own cheek and I’m really sorry about that but uh I think we’re linked somehow…uh…”
By now Taylor’s face looked really white and I got a little worried. “You okay?”
“You’re not going to believe this,” she said, “but I was struck by lightning too.”
I blinked. “What?!”
“Yeah.” She shook her head. “I took a late night walk and I definitely got struck by lightning. I didn’t tell anyone, though, because…well, nevermind. But yeah. And I’ve felt the weird emotions too, and that pain--that was you? That was mean!” She punched my shoulder and I yelped. Wonderingly, she rubbed her own shoulder. “No way,” she said slowly. “No way.”
“I had to test it and it seemed to work.” I investigated her face closely, to see how she was taking it. She actually seemed to believe it, which was surprising. I wouldn’t have believed me.
Suddenly, she slapped her forehead with considerable force. My own head was knocked back by the impact, and a red mark began to show. “Ow!” I exclaimed, a bit offended. “That hurt!”
Taylor shook her head. “This is nuts. I mean getting struck by lightning was crazy enough, but this? This is insane.”
“That’s just about what I said too,” I replied. I was surprised she didn’t have to be convinced.
“Wait.” She drew out the word. “How long do you think this will last?” Taylor raised an eyebrow at me. “I definitely don’t want to live with this for the rest of my life.”
“Yeah, me neither.” I shrugged. “I mean, it’s lasted until now. When’d you get struck by lightning?” She named the date. It was the exact same day I was struck. “Insane. Same here. This is just crazy.”
“You’re telling me!”
We both sat in silence for a while, lost in thought. I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t seem real. I feel like I’m dreaming, I thought. Maybe I am dreaming. I pinched myself to make sure I was awake.
Taylor winced and rubbed her arm. “Thanks.” She pinched her own arm and I felt her pain. I rolled my eyes.
“This is gonna get annoying,” I said, sighing.
“Well then, we have to figure it out.” Taylor threw back her shoulders, almost defiantly. “I don’t want to feel whatever you feel, and I’m certain you don’t want to feel what I feel. Right?” She glanced at me, a considerable amount of uncertainty in her eyes. I nodded to reassure her. She began again. “So, we’re going to fix this. Can I get your number?”
I must have looked confused, because she blushed and started to stutter. “Just to keep in contact. I’m not…that’s not…” She waved her arms over toward Henry. “I’m on a date.”
“That’s okay.” I grinned. She was so flustered. “I know you didn’t mean it like that.”
She gave me her number and we agreed to call each other to figure the situation out at a later time. Taylor began to stand up, but I pulled her back down. “Hold on.”
A worried look crossed her face. “What’s wrong?”
I laced my fingers together. “Now, you can’t just go back to ole Henry and tell him what just went on, and you most certainly can’t let him think I’m anything other than an acquaintance.”
Taylor nodded slowly. “You’re right.”
“So, just tell him I’m a…classmate from school. One who you promised to send your notes to.” I tried to encourage her with a smile. “And, let’s say…there’s a test coming up, and I couldn’t wait till tomorrow.”
“Gotcha.” This time, her nod was confident. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I probably would have screwed things up if I’d have gone over right away.”
“Then it’s a good thing I stopped you.” I stood up. “Hey, enjoy your date, okay? Sorry I interrupted it.”
“It’s fine.” Taylor’s face hadn’t changed, but the butterflies in my own stomach betrayed her nervousness. “See ya!”
“Bye!”
I thought about buying something, but changed my mind. The butterflies were being too rowdy for me to drink anything.
“If they keep dating, I really hope she gets used to him,” I said to my car as I unlocked it. “I’m not sure I like this feeling.”
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(hmmm very nice)
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