"Yeah, fine," I said. Shaking myself out of it, I gazed at Ty. All that talk of moving and Korea made me refocus and remember my purpose. With a deep breath, I dove in. "I wanted to talk to you about something, Ty. If you have a second."
He looked surprised, but said, "Yeah sure."
I gave Dare a look, and he raised his hands palms out. "Okay, okay, I'm going. Jeez flower, save the frown for someone else." To Tyson, he said, "See you in few."
Tyson and I watched as Dare finally—finally!—walked away and met up with Whitney at the other end of the hall. The two stopped there to talk, and Dare threw us one last look, but I hoped they couldn't hear our conversation. I didn't think they could—which was good since I was already dreading this.
"Flower?" Ty asked, and I could hear the grin in his voice.
With an eyeroll, I turned back to him. "It's just something he says. Pretty sure he does it to annoy me."
He nodded then, "Hmm, so what did you want to talk about?"
Swallowing hard, I looked up at Tyson, my secret crush whose bright eyes and way-too-beautiful face were currently making it hard to form coherent sentences. And I hadn't even said anything yet. Awesome. "Um…I just…well, I-I wanted to tell you something."
"Okay," he said slowly.
"I mean, it's nothing really, but if you could just let me finish before saying anything that would be great."
"No interruptions. Got it."
His good looks made me want to look away, reconsider this crazy plan and just turn tail and run, but I didn't.
"I know we've never really talked. But since it's senior year, I'm trying to be brave—at least this once." I laughed to myself. "And you're moving this weekend anyway, all the way to Korea, so I figure this is my last shot."
Ty had opened his mouth, but I held up a hand. Now that I'd started I didn't want to stop for fear of chickening out.
"I like you Ty," I said in a rush, feeling my face get hot, but forging ahead. "I like you a lot. I think I may even love you. And when you love someone you should tell them. I believe that with everything I am. True, it's probably a result of reading too many romance novels, watching too many romcoms and K-dramas, but who cares." I smiled at him. "I love how you're an athlete and a member of the art club. I love that you drive a van instead of some overly expensive, souped-up ride. I love that you cut the crusts off your sandwiches before you eat them. I love that you like reading books. I love that you don't even try and your hair looks fantastic. I really love that you love dogs. I do, too. You are so kind and beautiful, and I just thought you should know that. Before you leave for Korea, and I never get to tell you. I just…yeah, I wanted you to know."
My heart was pounding as I looked up at him, my words having run away with me. I wasn't even sure I remembered half of the things I said. But the point was I'd said them. They were out there. I'd confessed, and I felt lighter like a weight had been lifted from my chest. I was feeling good, awesome actually…
…for about a minute.
Then Tyson spoke.
"Wow, that was…unexpected," he said. "Thank you for that, Viola. I really appreciate it—oh, and I'm actually not moving until May."
My eyes darted to his. "What?"
"Yeah." Tyson shrugged. "My mom and dad talked it over, and they decided to go ahead overseas while I stay here with my aunt. They wanted to let me stay at Durham High for senior year."
"Oh…" I breathed. "How nice of them."
"Also, I do love art and books, but the van's not mine. It's my dad's," he laughed. "Honestly, I hate it and would've loved a Cadillac, my dream car. Mom's the one who still insists on cutting the crusts off my sandwiches, though I tell her not to. And I actually put a lot of effort into my hair and follow a strict regimen." He leaned in. "But I'm glad someone noticed. Thanks again."
A beat passed.
"And dogs are okay," he said. "But I'm more of a cat person."
I blinked, my heart frozen inside my chest.
"Hey." Ty frowned. "Are you alright?"
"Uh huh," I mumbled. "So…you're saying…I got a lot of stuff wrong about you?"
"Yeah, but there's still a lot to like."
"And…you're not moving?"
He shrugged. "Not till after graduation."
I nodded, but my head felt like it was filled with lead, the possible repercussions of this act of bravery suddenly slapping me in the face.
"Also"—Tyson ran a hand along the back of his neck—"I don't want to sound mean, but we don't really know each other. So…I don't feel the same way. But," he added, "again, I am flattered. It was nice, hearing all that."
"I have to go," I whispered, walking quickly away.
Tyson called out after me, but I just kept going, away from him, past Dare and Whitney, out to the senior parking lot, feeling their eyes on me the whole way.
It was a long walk.
CHAPTER 2
"And then he said he's not moving. Like not until graduation—at which point I started to feel faint. Luckily, I didn't faint because passing out would've only added to the embarrassment."
I shook my head.
"On second thought, I take it back. I don't think it could've gotten any worse."
A pause.
"No, you're right. Awkward is my middle name. It definitely could've been worse." I laughed to myself. "Plus, Ty was so darn nice about everything. Dare Frost was there, like I said. Ugh.
