That Monday, I anxiously sat in Science, waiting Betty's arrival. Science quickly became my favorite subject. Not because of the teacher. Not because of the content. But because it was my only class with my crush. And we were seated alphabetically, which meant that we were right next to each other.
My heart fluttered when she made her appearance. She was wearing a plain, yellow sweater and a pair of light blue jeans. It was so refreshing how wholesome she dressed. The other girls in our school left nothing to the imagination.
"Hi," I managed to speak as she sat down. She smiled at me as she shuffled through her papers and got organized for the day.
"Hey, Cheryl," she replied. I loved the way she said my name. I loved the way she smiled at me. I loved everything about her.
"How was your weekend?" I asked, immediately feeling stupid. I knew how her weekend was. I was a part of it. Nevertheless, she answered, without coming to the realization that I was stupid, thankfully.
"It was okay. Mostly filled with Veronica and Archie drama." She rolled her eyes, but grinned before continuing. "I did get to hangout with this awesome redhead at Kevin's party, though."
"Oh really?" I asked. I hoped she meant me. But Archie had red hair, too. Did she mean me?
"Duh, silly," she giggled and nudged me with her elbow, bringing a wide smile to my face.
"Ohh," I replied. I was at a loss for words. Luckily, our teacher interrupted. We both turned our attention to him, however my mind was elsewhere. I was focused on her previous words. She thought I was awesome.
As class dragged on, I was submerged further into my fantasies. Holding her delicate hand in mine. Kissing her pink lips. Her warm body curled into mine.
"Hey, Betty," I blurted out, surprising myself. Where was I going with this?
"Hmm?" She tilted her head at me, waiting on me to continue. Her bright blue eyes sparkling.
"Do you want to come over after school?" Fuck it. I had to give it a shot. I held my breath as I waited for her response. Seconds seemed like hours. She seemed to be thinking and I was afraid that she was thinking of an excuse- a way to let me down easily. "You don't have-"
"Yes," she said, cutting me off. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Yes?" I asked, not 100% certain that I had heard her correctly.
"Yes," she reaffirmed and I'm sure the grin on my face looked ridiculous, but I didn't care. I was on top of the world.
We finalized the plans and I watched the clock for the rest of the day, impatiently waiting for 2:30.
Here we were- sitting in my backyard, drinking tea. In an awkward, awkward silence. If she felt awkward, she didn't show it. She was looking around at the big yard- the rose bushes, the statues..
"What are those targets for?" She asked, staring at the large bullseyes across from us.
"Oh, those are for my archery lessons," I responded. I hoped she didn't think that was weird.
"Archery? Like a bow and arrow?" Her eyes lit up, it seemed.
"Yeah," I chuckled at her reaction. She was now perched in the lawn chair, facing me.
"Could you.. show me?" She sounded so innocent. Yet, the dirty side of my mind, imagined her asking me that, in a completely different situation.
"Yes, absolutely." I shook the sexy thought from my head and walked over to the guest house, grabbing my bow and arrows. I walked over to her and wasted no time. She seemed to be anxious. I steadied the arrow and released it. Bullseye.
"Oh my god, how do you do that?" She asked excitedly, standing next to me now.
"Lots of practice, I guess," I modestly answered. I was feeling a bit cocky now, though, and continued. "I never miss."
"Never?" She asked, looking into my eyes now. Her eyes seemed different. Darker. Sultry?
"Never," I answered softly, wondering if I was making up this sexual tension.
"Prove it," she said, smirking playfully. I simply raised my eyebrow and looked back at the target. One, two, three arrows. Bullseye, bullseye, bullseye.
"Wow," I heard her whisper. She was staring at the target, in awe. "That's hot," she said, covering her mouth almost immediately, a blush forming on her cheeks. "I didn't mean, like, hot. That's weird."
I smiled, gaining some confidence from her confession. "It's okay. You're allowed to think it's hot. It is," I teased. This only made her blush grow deeper.
"I'm really thirsty," she suddenly said, making her way back to the table and taking a sip of her drink. Did I fluster her? Was Betty.. into me?
I followed her back over to the table, taking a drink myself. We sat in silence for a moment, before I made a suggestion. "Do you want to go watch a movie?"
She nodded.