The person was pretty. She looked around our age, with shiny black hair and pale skin. I could see even from where we stood that her eyes were a light color, like a pale blue or gray.
She was who Liam was staring at, and I saw as she slowly looked to him. She stared at us, but her eyes eventually landed on Liam. I saw a smile cross his face, and he picked up a hand to wave at her.
I watched a smile cross her face, and she picked her hand up too.
It was all cute, and I felt like a third wheel as I stood there and watched their moment unfold. It was like watching a kid walk for the first time and not tumble over.
Then, she was being wheeled away, and her family was blotting their eyes with Kleenex, and Liam just stood there and watched her disappear behind the two large doors. He didn't move, and I thought he might not be breathing.
As she left our sight, he took in a deep breath, and smiled. He still seemed ignorant to my presence, until I touched his arm. He turned his face to me, and I saw a look on his face I never thought I would see.
He had stars in his eyes, and looked a lot like I expect Christopher Columbus looked when he found America.
“I think I'm in love,” he said simply.
I grinned, laughing. “Love? Do you even know her?” I asked him, but he was shaking his head.
“Knowing her has nothing to do with it. I'm telling you, I'm in love,” he stressed.
Raising a brow, I didn't know if he was trying to pull one over on me, or if he was being completely serious. All I knew was the look in his eyes pointed to the latter.
“Wait till Julie hears this,” I found myself saying.
Liam laughed, and rubbed the back of his neck as we started walking again. “She's going to either think I'm crazy, or she's going to play detective,” he told me.
“Detective?” I asked.
“She'll hunt her down. If Julie believes me, there's no way she'll let that girl slip away,” he replied. “Julie's kind of a big fan of fairy tales and love at first sight. All that head over heels mumbo jumbo.”
Mumbo Jumbo. That seemed to be going around.
♥
“Did you mix all of the flavors?” Julie asked as we came in. The room was already out and ready to be destroyed as we came in.
I held up her rainbow colored Icee and took out the pack of Blue Raspberry Sour Punch Straws. “As the queen desired,” I told her. She came up to me and grabbed both.
“Thank you,” she said, dragging the words out. She started opening the package when her eyes landed on Liam. She raised a brow and shifted her eyes back to me. “Did you break my brother? He looks strange,” she stated.
“Wait until he tells you. You're going to flip,” I warned her.
Liam looked at us, and then his eyes focused on Julie. He reached out and grabbed her by the arms. I saw the bewildered expression cross Julie as I walked to the table and set our things down.
“I think I'm in love,” he told her, just as he had said to me.
There was silence, and I turned to see Julie slowly starting to smile. “Love? Do I know her?” she asked.
“No. I don't even know her. We passed her as she was heading into surgery,” he said, grinning as he released her.
“And you just went up and talked to her?” she asked, then looking to me. I shook my head as I started to grin.
“No. We didn't talk, just waved and smiled. You should have been there. I swear, it was like someone lit a bunch of firecrackers inside my stomach,” he said turning around as he walked dreamily.
“That doesn't sound exciting,” I told Julie.
She laughed slightly and came to my side. She sat down and we both watched Liam run his hands through his hair as if he were in deep thought. Liam being in deep thought was weird.
“I don't know what to do. I've never felt like this before. This has to be it, right? Not just any person can turn you into a bumbling idiot, right?” he asked us, but didn't look at us to hear our response.
I found myself looking to Julie.
Not just any girl could make you feel vulnerable and weak when you've always been guarded and strong, or at least thought you were. It wasn't everyday that people could bring up emotions you had long pushed away and forgotten.
She looked at me, and she smiled. I was starting to think Liam might be feeling just as he said. The Lord knew I was.
“If I find out who she is, does that make me a stalker? Or does it make me cute and persistent? You know, like Noah on the Notebook? Would she look at me like that or more like Alicia Silverstone on the Crush?” he asked us.
“The Crush?” I mouthed.
Julie started to laugh, and quickly bit her lip as Liam looked toward us both. He was glaring.
“This isn't funny. My life has just been turned on it's head, and you're laughing at me?” he accused.
Julie composed herself and smiled. “We're not laughing at you,” she replied.
“I was.”
Liam glared at me, and Julie pushed me. “It all depends on how you see it, Liam,” she told him. “If you lock her in a room with a million bees, she might think you're crazy, but otherwise, who could think that face is a crazy stalker?”
