"And he just left you like that? No explanation?" An incredulous voice asked as we walked around the park with her dog the next day.

"Yeah. I got nothing. He told me he was free all day too so I don't know what would have came up."

"What a jerk," Betty breathed as her pomsky barked at a squirrel crossing our path. "I thought that when a guy leans in, it always ends with a kiss. Like in romcoms."

"Movies always make it seem more romantic."

She hummed in response, "Maybe he felt like he was rushing it? It was the first date. And then he probably felt so embarrassed that he did it and ran off."

That does seem like a plausible explanation, but she didn't see the way he stared after the danger the cops were after.

It's like he had to chase after it.

"Maybe," I responded as I took a sip of water.

"If you're comfortable, you can talk about it with him tomorrow when you walk to school?" She suggested.

"I'll see if he brings it up first. I don't want to act too irrational."

Betty laughed, "He seems like the type that would. But if for any stupid reason that he's not into you, there's plenty of guys like… Brad Davis! Or you can even give Daniel a chance!"

She wiggled her eyebrows as I shook my head.

"I'm good. I'm in no rush for a relationship."

"You're right. We are smart, independent women who don't need a man to hold us down."

"Amen to that!" We clinked our water bottles and laughed.

Okay.

Don't bring anything up until he does.

You don't want to seem like a butthurt girlfriend.

And you're not even together!

Slipping on my flats, I checked the time and saw that he should be knocking some time soon.

"Lia! You almost forgot your lunch," Phoebe called, holding out a tupperware with some leftover meatloaf. "Oh! I thought you left by now."

I took the meal from her hands and stuffed it in my backpack.

She looked at her watch, "Hmm. He should be here by now. Is he sick?"

Looking at my phone, I didn't receive any notifications. The last message was about our date that happened a few days ago.

I shrugged.

It is unlike him to be running late.

"Maybe. I'll just run over to his apartment and check."

"Alright sweetie." She kissed the side of my head. "Have fun at school!"

Nodding, I made it out the door and headed just a few doors down.

Knocking on the door, I didn't have to wait long as May almost bumped into me.

She had her yoga mat slung over shoulder.

"Oh! Ophelia!"

"Morning May. Is Peter home?"

She had a puzzled look as she responded with a no.

"He left about ten minutes ago. I thought you guys were going to school together?"

My smile faded a bit.

"He probably had an early decathlon meeting or something. It's okay I'll just catch him at school. I'll see you later, May," I said as I waved and walked off.

The warning bell went off as I hurriedly weaved through the crowd to make it to English.

Waiting for Peter this morning made me miss the train so I had to wait for the next one.

"Cutting it close, Miss Hale," Mrs. Winterhalter stated just as I slid on my seat. I gave an apologetic smile as I pulled out my notebook.

I looked behind me and saw Ned in his assigned seat. He must have noticed me since he threw a wave my way.

Returning it with a smile, I turned back and gazed at the whiteboard as Mrs. Winterhalter spoke about the themes in Romeo and Juliet.

Already knowing the play, my mind drifted to Peter.

Did he think the date was a disaster?

We did things we both enjoyed.

Who would object to Star Wars and pizza?

Or did I say something weird?

Oh gosh…

Was it the blue milk thing that threw him off?

I mean I felt like it wasn't an outlandish question to ask.

"Ms. Hale?" I was pulled from my reverie and looked at my teacher.

"Could you name a theme and explain how it's being expressed in this act?"

I nodded and quickly looked at the board to make sure I don't mistakenly give an answer that was previously mentioned.

"Love causes violence. The passion between Romeo and Juliet is connected from the moment of its inception with death. For example, Tybalt notices that Romeo has crashed the feast and decides to kill him just as Romeo catches sight of Juliet and falls instantly in love with her. Love seems to push the lovers closer to love and violence."

She gave a nod of approval and proceeded on with the topic.

You're just overthinking, Ophelia.

Or maybe I wasn't.

During Chemistry, Peter didn't take his gaze off his notes and he practically sprang out of his seat once the bell rang.

And at lunch, I sat with Betty and her friends since Peter and Ned were nowhere to be found.

Poking at my lunch, I didn't feel really hungry and Betty must have noticed my quiet demeanor.

"Hey girls. I'm going to the vending machine with Ophelia. We'll be right back!" She gave her charming smile as she pulled me up and led me away from the group of gossiping teens.

Once we made it into the deserted hallway, she turned toward, "Okay. Spill. You seem quieter than usual. Is Peter being a jerk?"

"No!" She gave me a look. I sighed. "He's just been busy."

She quirked a brow as we walked over to the vending machines.

"Busy?" She repeated with skepticism. "Too busy to not talk to you? Too busy to not even glance your way? No one is too busy to smile and wave at someone they know."

She paused as a trio of guys came by, laughter echoing down the empty hall.

"How are you feeling? Honestly." She turned to look at me dead in the eye.

What people don't know about Betty Brant is that she knows how to weed out the liars.

Maybe it's the news reporter in her or intuition.

"Disappointed and kind of bummed out," I told her truthfully. "But, it's fine. Maybe his aunt texted him to grab something or she burnt dinner."

Her lips dipped into a frown.

"Don't make excuses for him. He needs to own up and apologize."

I nodded, "Right. I'm being ridiculous acting like this."

We're not even in a relationship and it was only the first date.

I just need to focus on the now and let it go.

"Can we stop by for some food? I'm starving."

It was the end of rehearsal and Daniel offered to walk home with me.

"Me too." Familiar with the route, I saw the familiar sign. "Have you gone to Delmar's?" I asked.

He shook his head, "I've walked by it before. Sandwiches do sound good though."

"You're going to love it. They have the best sandwiches."

We crossed the road and entered the little shop.

"Ah! Ophelia!" Mr. Delmar greeted with arms open and a large smile. "It's a good thing you're here because Peter is here too!"

Following his finger, I saw Peter at the counter a bit further down and petted Murph.

"Hey, Peter," I greeted with a small smile.

"Oh! Well, would you look at the time!" Daniel stated as he looked at his nonexistent watch. "Gotta go, Princess. Forgot that it's Mexican Monday at my house. See ya tomorrow!" With a wave and a wink he was out the door, but didn't walk off until he mouthed that I owed him.

"The usual, Ophelia," Mr. Delmar already put the sandwich on the counter. "On the house."

I didn't think it was on the house with the obvious wink he threw to Peter.

"Oh! Thanks. Well, I'm just going to head home. Don't want it to get too dark."

"Wait!" I paused at the door and felt Peter right behind me. "I'll walk with you."

"Adios tortolitos!" Mr. Delmar called as we left.

Unwrapping my sandwich, I figured I might as well eat since this walk will be a silent one.

I bit into the meat filled sandwich and smiled in content.

"Hey Ophelia?" I glanced at Peter with my mouth stuffed with salami. "I'm sorry about Saturday."

I shook my head about to tell him that there's no need, but he continued.

"It's just.. I got scared that I was moving too fast. Don't think I don't like you or anything because I do! I-"

I kept silent, waiting for him to continue. Although he sounded sincere, it just felt like there was something deeper than that he was hiding.

He sighed and ran a hand through his tousled locks.

"I'm sorry."

"Peter. I'm glad that you talked to me. I honestly thought I did something wrong."

"Not at all. Besides me running off… I had a really great time."

I smiled at his words and felt my face warm.

"Me too."