I don't want to say too much, other than how much I missed this fandom. And that I'm trying to get back into writing – it's proven to be cathartic. Anyways, I hope you guys like this!
Crush
Chapter 1: First Glance
Teà Gardner wasn't at all the kind of girl to just stare at people, but today was a different story. And when she said she never stared at anyone, it applied to everyone – especially boys.
Although if she did happen to casually glance at a boy, it wasn't like they would deflect her attentions. She was told that she was beautiful, although Teà didn't think she was beautiful in a glamourous way. Maybe if she grew her chocolate-brown hair out, or if she made a point to wear more lipstick or makeup in general to compliment her features, she'd give off a more mature look. But she had no interest in any of those things. Although she was still cute enough to gain attention from time to time. Not that Teà thought about her love life that frequently; she was content to just spend time with her friends. Maybe that was why no one really approached her at school; she was always surrounded by Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Bakura. Why would anyone think that she would give anyone else the time of day?
In short, she didn't have a love life – or even a life that revolved around crushes and first kisses.
Even when she was little, she often gravitated towards hanging out with the boys rather than talking about boys with girls. It didn't help that in some of the dance classes she took over the years, Teà would encounter some classmates who made it a point that they weren't there to make friends. Why couldn't everyone be raised to show support for each other instead of treating everything like a competition?
It was Tea's dream to be a dancer professionally, and she only wanted people in her life that would be supportive of her; the only people she found that cared about her dreams were her male friends. They would certainly take the time to cheer her own whenever she had a recital, and they would celebrate her accomplishments, even though Joey and Tristan never stayed awake for the entire productions. Still, she was extremely grateful for her friends; she knew that once they left high school, they would be going their separate ways. It was daunting to think about, which was why she wanted to spend as much time with her friends while she still could.
Granted that she did spend a lot of her time with her friends, Teà figured she should treat herself to some peace and quiet at least. She didn't have to cringe whenever Tristan and Joey got into one of their wrestling matches, she didn't have to constantly reassure Bakura that his fangirls were harmless whenever they followed them around.
She didn't have to deal with any of that today.
Instead, she was free to spend her weekend without worrying about anything. She didn't think that anything out of the ordinary would happen.
But Teà was as good as predicting the future as she was good at playing the oboe.
When she first sat down with her vanilla milkshake, she couldn't help but notice someone sitting a few tables across from her. And she had to be honest with herself – this guy was the epitome of gorgeous. No, that was the wrong word; she had to say that handsome would be a more appropriate adjective.
The first thing that Teà noticed was the hair; the fact that the only other person who had this specific hairstyle was Yugi was enough for her to gain interest. She had to assume that maybe they were distant cousins, but she didn't dwell on that thought for too long. She could see some slight differences between the two. The edgy colour palette consisting of magenta, black, and gold had her piqued. This guy had sharper bangs than Yugi did. And she had to admit to herself that he rocked it.
But what truly enamoured Teà was his eyes. She desperately tried to ignore how her heartbeat accelerated slightly and how much difficulty she had taking a simple breath; his eyes were the most beautiful shade of violet that she had ever seen (apart from Yugi's, but that was beside the point).
But then reality came crashing through – he knew that she was looking at him.
And she just so happened to be choking on her milkshake the moment that he caught her gaze. No doubt that her face was burning bright red – Teà knew that was not her greatest look, aside from the occasional acne that would pop up on her skin.
She groaned, realizing that she had spat some of her milkshake up on her light pink, off the shoulder top and her black mini-skirt.
Super classy. Get a hold of yourself.
What was wrong with her? She wouldn't blame him at all if he thought she was a creep. She had seen Joey make some googly eyes at girls in the past whenever they went out to lunch, but she didn't think she was going to inherit that trait. She also should have known that this scene was too cliché; Teà had seen enough romantic comedies to know that nothing good ever came out of a creepy love-at-first-sight glance.
Not that this was a love at first sight situation at all. Really.
Satisfied with her conclusion, Teà's bright blue eyes managed to tear themselves away and onto one of the menus, where she felt the insane urge to hide her face behind. It wouldn't be the most terrible idea in the world. She could still recover her dignity, right?
She could only imagine what her friends would think of her if they saw her now. She knew for a fact that Joey and Tristan would be making fun of her, before realizing that she was looking at a guy – then they would start with their overprotective behaviour.
Oh God, Teà didn't want to be thinking of that either. She loved her friends – she really did – but she knew how much of a scene they would make in public.
At this point, she wondered if he was still looking at her. But did she really want to take that risk? She already felt embarrassed enough as it was.
Well, what was the worse that could happen to her now? It wasn't like she was going to be a national statistic, right?
With that thought in mind, it took all the courage in Teà's body to make her lift her gaze up toward his, though she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he was gone. She would have thought she had hallucinated the entire scene but given what she was feeling like right now through her entire body, she ruled that theory out.
Still, she sighed in relief, noting how much her heartbeat calmed down in the process.
Although, Teà had to admit that no guy had made her this flustered. No, she was just embarrassed that she was caught staring at someone. That had to be it.
