Valentine's Day
It was an early January morning, a rather cold one at that. I was driving to work by myself, and as usual, I was drinking some coffee and listening to the radio. They were playing one of Dirk Strider's songs, and I was quietly singing along. I really enjoyed listening to his music, in fact; he's the only singer I really listen to. Anything else I could care less for. Soon enough, the song ended which faded until the DJ spoke up again.
"Well we just finished listening to a song by Dirk Strider, always makes songs that'll make all the girls swoon. Speaking of Di-Stri, there's a contest that's now starting for you wonderful people to join in." I sat up a little straighter, and perked up, listening to what he had to say. "This contest is to spend an entire day on a date with Dirk Strider on Valentine's Day. So if you want to have a chance to win and have Dirk Strider himself be your Valentine, then you better get your phone out to text saying "Be my Valentine" to 61872. Again "Be my Valentine" to 61872."
"Hmm, sounds interesting. Maybe I should try for it." I said out loud to myself, and took my phone out. I typed in the number, and frowned. "Should I try? Hmm, it wouldn't hurt to try. Besides, what are the odds for me actually winning?" I chuckled, and proceeded to write out the message, before sending it.
A few minutes later, I got a message, asking for a few details about myself. Once I finished writing it, I read it over again.
Name: Jake English
Age: 23
Likes: Chocolate, reading, baking, travelling, archaeology
Dislikes: Peanuts, country music
What I want for Valentine's Day: A simple letter is okay. As long as it has meaning and time has been put into writing it.
I wasn't sure how to feel about my answers, they seemed...uninteresting. I sighed, and sent the message anyway, before putting my phone away.
It's been nearly a month since the contest started. Today's February 12th, and the DJ would soon they're going to announce the winner. I knew there was pretty much no chance that I won, but I was still interested in hearing who did win.
"Okay, folks, it has been one month since this contest started, and you've all been eager to hear the winner of this contest. And I'll be announcing the winner now." I leaned in my chair, causing the chair to be tilted back. I sighed, stirred my coffee before taking a sip. "And the winner for the Valentine's Day contest is..." I took a few more sips of my coffee as I waited for him to announce the winner. "The winner who gets to spend Valentine's Day with Dirk Strider will be Jake English!"
"Jake En-" I yelped from surprise, accidentally spilling my coffee into my lap. I jumped, my eyes wide as I stared at the wall in shock, unsure whether I should react in pain or excitement.
Two days later, it was Valentine's Day. I was at the store, walking around as I tried to figure out what I should get for Dirk. I've been looking around in the same area for quite a while, but I still had no clue what to get for him. I sighed, picking up a teddy bear. "Admittedly, this is rather cute, but I doubt he'd want a teddy bear." I placed the teddy bear back down onto the shelf and continued to look around.
A few minutes later, someone tapped my shoulder, and quietly said "Excuse me."
I turned around to face them. He was considerably taller than me; he had strikingly orange eyes, blond hair, and a bright grin on his face. He was actually quite attractive. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir," he chuckled, and nervously ran a few fingers through his hair, "I just, uh...I wanted to give you these!" He held a box of chocolates and rose out to me.
"O-oh, why thank you." I could feel my face warm up as I received the items. "That's rather sweet," I smelled the rose, "these are nice." I looked up at him, and smiled.
He looked down at the ground shyly, and ran his skinny fingers through his hair again. "I...I'm glad you like them!" He smiled to himself, and shuffled his feet a little. "Well, I have to get going, so bye!" He exclaimed cheerily, waving to me, and gave me one more grin before running off.
I could feel my face warm up more, not expecting a stranger to suddenly give me Valentine's Day gifts. I couldn't help myself from smiling as I looked at the rose and the chocolates. "I wish I could've gotten to know him, he seemed sweet."
Not too long after, I was waiting in line to check out. I decided I was going to give him a rose and a box of chocolates. I hummed quietly, tapping my feet on the floor happily. Suddenly, my phone started ringing in my pocket. I took it out, slightly confused, because nobody ever called me.
Unknown caller
I frowned, read through the unfamiliar number once again before answering the call in a shy voice. "H-hello."
"Yo. Can I speak to Jake English?"
I cleared my throat nervously, and nodded a little. "Yes, speaking."
"Oh," they said quietly, "well this is Dirk. I called you to ask where we should meet for our date today."
I looked around nervously, suddenly feeling embarrassed, my face started to feel warm. I placed one of my hands on my cheek, feeling the blush that was obvious on my face. "W-well, maybe we can go to a restaurant?"
"A restaurant sounds great. Any place in particular you want to go to?"
"No. I-if you have a place in mind, then we can go there!" I replied nervously.
"Great, well we can meet in the park, downtown. You know, by the fountain?"
"Yeah, I know what you're talking about." I took out my wallet, taking out some of the money to pay for the items, and handed the money to the cashier.
"Sweet, so I'll meet you in front of the fountain?"
I let out a laugh, and looked down. "Hey, Strider, before you go, I think it might be helpful if I knew what time I'd be meeting you." I smiled and waved at the cashier before taking the bag and walking off.
"O-oh, right. Is it okay if we meet in an hour and a half?" He asked a bit bashfully.
I couldn't help but smile, and let out a quiet laugh. "That sounds great, I'll see you soon."
"All right, bye, Jake. I'll meet you there." Dirk said, before hanging up.
Once again, I wandered around the fountain, to see if Dirk was here yet. I felt rather awkward standing in the park by myself, while I was surrounded by numerous couples. But despite the awkwardness of being by myself at the moment, I was really excited to be going on a date with Dirk Strider. I was still in disbelief that I was going with him, and the fact was still sinking in. I spun around a few times, grinning to myself until I accidentally bumped into someone. I looked up at them in complete shock and embarrassment.
I stared up at him, my eyes widened in complete shock. He had blond hair, vibrant orange eyes, a slight smirk on his face and a fedora. And for some reason, I couldn't help but think that he looked familiar...
"Jake English, you have left quite the first impression." He pointed out the obvious with a chuckle, and helped me stand up straight. "In your entry, you never mentioned you were so clumsy."
"Dirk...?" I asked quietly, glancing at him bashfully, giving him a small smile.
A small smile tugged at his lips, and he replied with, "This is him, the one and only. I'm your Valentine, and quite happy, because you're rather adorable." Dirk leant down, gently grasped my fingers and kissed the back of my hand.
"You're quite the gentleman." I told him in a soft voice, feeling a blush start to form on my cheeks, a light fluttery sensation could be felt in my stomach, and my heart started to pound a little in my chest. When he had kissed my hand, I had felt some sort of spark, which I found a little odd.
Dirk stood up straight again, and slipped his hand into mine. "So, you ready to go for some lunch, Jake?"
I jumped slightly when my hand was suddenly being held, looking up at him, surprised. "Oh, yeah, we can get going." I grinned up at him, and followed him as he started walking.
A/N This is a belated Valentine's story, I really hope people like it so far. I'll be working on the second chapter from now on, and wish to have it up soon.
