Jessica couldn't believe her eyes. Stuffed into her mailbox was the biggest Valentine she had ever seen. She had never been a Valentine's Day type of person. Being perpetually single, the holiday only served as a reminder of how few relationships she'd had. But there was no mistake. The dark purple envelope had her name written on it. She glanced around to make sure no one was looking before gleefully ripping the envelope open. The card was clearly homemade, with crumpled lace around the edges.

Jessica,

Roses are red, Violets are blue. I'm not good at rhyming but I think I love you. Your Secret Admirer

She giggled to herself and stuffed the card into her coat pocket. Assuming this wasn't a cruel trick by one of the Pranksters, this was the nicest thing anyone had done for her in years. Her blood began to boil. If this was the Pranksters, she would run off to Europe to be a goat herder and never speak to anyone ever again.

By the time she had gotten to school, she had decided to keep an open mind about the whole situation. As she opened her locker, another card fell out.

Jessica,

Dark brown eyes and black hair with a curl, To me you are the prettiest girl. Your Secret Admirer

Blushing, she slid both notes into her statistics book and made her way to class. Math was uneventful, but nothing was worse than sociology. Aside from being forced to say "I am a sociologist," she also was desperately hoping that the secret admirer wasn't the giggling, blushing, usually up to no good Danny and Annie. Just because they had found happiness didn't mean they should torture the less fortunate.

Jessica left class early to get ready for video announcements. As tech director, one of her jobs was to open up the studio. However, when she got there, another card was taped onto the door. She slipped into the tech booth and hungrily read the next Valentine.

Jessica,

Lilies are white and daffodils are yella. If you'll be my girl, I am one lucky fella! Your Secret Admirer

These jokes were cheesy and adorable and she loved them. The handwriting was too generic for her to even attempt to guess who it could be. It looked more like a font than actual handwriting. When Marcus showed up, she stuffed this note with the others and assigned him to the teleprompter.

"And can you make the outro a cheesy love song?" she asked him, "It is Valentine's Day."

"Okay," Marcus said, typing wildly, "We could do 'His Cheeseburger' or 'Waffles are Awful If They're Not with You' or maybe 'Count the Ways I Love You!'"

The rest of the crew; Gabe, Matt, Izzy, Andrew, and Keith all filed in. Jessica did her very best not to look suspicious. Of all the guys in school, one of them was probably the one sending her the cards. Aside from The Electric Company, she really didn't hang out with anyone else. She was a stage manager, tech director, AP and honors student, all while being a politician. Socialization was limited.

"Are you feeling okay, Jessica?" Gabe, the punk stoner sophomore, asked, "You look warm."

"Dowager's room is like a sauna, but worse because it smells like scrambled eggs and Axe." While this was a very true statement, her sociology class had nothing to do with her blushing. What had actually caused such an intense physical reaction from a girl who usually used her words and not her body was the strange look Keith had given her. It was a mix between amusement and something else that she could not quite identify.

She imagined for a moment Keith being the secret admirer. On one hand, she had always had a crush on him and it was one of the main reasons she was not in a relationship. Him actually reciprocating her feelings would be a dream come true. But the cards, the cheesy rhymes, none of it seemed to be his style. Honestly, it seemed to cheesy to come from any of them, which was why she couldn't stop wondering if this was a prank.

Shaking that thought out of her head, she managed to go through the rest of the school day without thinking about her secret admirer. Okay, she went five minutes and then had to distract herself with lighting cues, but it was not her obsession until after classes were done. Of course, another note was taped to her locker.

Jessica,

I don't think there's ever been a girl finer. Please meet me at 6 at The Electric Diner. Your Secret Admirer

A giggling, girlish mess, Jessica spent her two hours of set construction time playing upbeat pop music and painting faster than anyone had ever seen. The crew seemed thrilled when she let them go fifteen minutes early, but that decision was not really for them, seeing as she had to clean herself up.

After running home, she took a speedy shower to get all of the paint and sawdust off of her. Blowing her hair dry, she picked out a red sweater, white pants, white dangly earrings, and red boots to wear. Her makeup took longer than she had hoped for, and the wing of her eyeliner didn't look perfectly symmetrical. Nevertheless, she piled her hair into a bun and made her way to The Electric Diner. Halfway there, she stopped in her tracks. If this was a prank, she was about to get herself completely and utterly humiliated. But if it wasn't... she could miss out on something amazing. With newfound determination, Jessica confidently strode towards the diner.

The moment she entered, she noticed that it was extremely dark. Then she felt something very wet and sticky falling from above and completely soaking her. The lights came up, and there were Francine and Manny laughing, whilst Gilda filmed her.

"What is this stuff?" she asked, examining the goop covering her.

"That would be a mix of chocolate, roses, and stuffing from teddy bears," Gilda informed her.

"All the things you'll never get from anyone on Valentine's Day!" Manny squealed with evil delight.

Horrified, Jessica ran out of the diner, ignoring everyone who was staring at her in confusion. She ran and ran until she was somewhere no one would ever find her. It was a tiny pond hidden in one of the international gardens in Javorski Park. She had ran through the shrubs all the way to this secret hiding spot. In the frosty ground, purple and gold flowers were poking out. They were delicate, timid, and peaceful. Their beauty seemed to mock her pain and she began to cry.

"Jess?" A familiar voice whispered, "Oh my god, Jess, what happened?" It was Keith, poking his head through a bush. Of course he could find her secret hiding spot. He could figure out anything about you just by looking in your eyes.

"I hate Valentine's Day," she whispered. With a defeated sigh, he crawled through the bushes.

"I saw the video," he said, "They totally duped you."

"I can't believe I thought someone actually liked me," she muttered, staring at the half-frozen pond, "God, I'm so stupid!"

"No," he whispered quietly, "You're not the stupid one."

There was a pause that neither of them knew how to fill before Keith continued.

"Do you recognize these flowers? They're called crocus. They are the first flowers to bloom, while it's still winter. They take the chance and rise up against all odds, when the other flowers are too weak to even try."

"Are you saying I'm a crocus?" Jessica asked bitterly, "Cuz it really doesn't make me feel any better."

"No, that's not what I'm saying," he whispered, "I'm saying that... I wish I was a crocus."

She stared at him, totally unsure of what he meant by this seemingly nonsensical statement.

"I mean, I wish I had taken a risk because I could have stopped this from happening. You would have, maybe, been off the table for their prank."

Jessica was too numb to properly process what he was saying. She laid her head down against his leg and found comfort in his warmth. She closed her eyes, and there was a brief moment where she didn't feel like the world was falling apart.

"See, if I was braver, I would've already told you that I like you."

Even a completely okay, totally in a good state of mind Jessica Ruiz would have freaked out at that news, so the fact that she ended up in the pond shouldn't be too surprising.

"Oh my God, Jess, are you okay?"

"You like me? Why have you never said anything?

"You've got to be freezing... but at least you're a little cleaner."

"Since when? How long have you been hiding this?"

"We need to get you somewhere warm before you get sick."

Knowing that he was right, Jessica let him lead her out of the park, a tight hand around her waist the whole time.

"I'm not going to run away, you know," she muttered. He chuckled.

"Not what I'm worried about."

What Keith was worried about became obvious when they reached an area with actual people. There were snickers and pointing from people their age. Because, of course, this day had to get more humiliating for Jessica. But people stopped laughing when they saw Keith's protective stance. Perhaps it was his muscles or that he had been working on looking scary with an acting coach, but people did not want to risk getting on his bad side. They managed to make it to Keith's apartment without any major incidents.

"So are we gonna talk about this or..." Jessica began to ask.

"You should get cleaned up," he suggested as he closed the door. Blushing, she went towards the bathroom, familiar with the apartment from years of friendship.

Keith sat in his room waiting for Jessica, waiting to have the conversation years in the making. He had liked her even when they were little. She had always been so vibrant, so electric. Once they had become teenagers, he'd struggled with understanding what he was feeling, but now everything had started to settle. She was his best friend, the best one he'd ever have. She cared about him in ways most people wouldn't even think about. He pretended not to care, but her attentions made him feel like he was important. He kept her grounded, and she gave him wings.

Just as he thought this, she entered in a pair of his pajamas, looking comedically large on her tiny frame. A shy smile crept onto her face, and his felt his mirror.

"How long have you-" she trailed off, "you know."

"A long time," he admitted, "But I figured it out after the painting." She giggled, remembering discussions of living their lives out inn Bandini's artwork. That laugh made him happy, happier than he could describe without sounding terrifying.

"What about, um, what about you?" She thought for a moment before answering.

"The day you were frozen. Seeing you without all of the you gone made me realize how much-how important you are to me." She sat down next to him on the bed.

"So what do we do now?" The question came sooner than expected. Keith couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, I don't know. I've never professed my love for someone before." He felt her cold, tiny hand squeeze his.

"I mean, I know how this goes in comic books, but I'm not sure if that counts," she offered. He brushed a curl away from her face and gently tucked it behind her ear. Timidly, she smiled and placed a hand on his cheek. Soon, they were sharing a kiss so gentle and sweet that it was worth all of the years they had waited.