Project: LOVE [Chapter 7 - Edited]

I was sitting in front of my computer, watching some online streams of shows I used to follow, when Nate entered.

“Sir Date-a-lot is at the front door. Do I let him in?”

I dreaded the idea of turning to face him, but I knew I had no choice. I closed my eyes and rotated my chair – when I opened them, I saw he had a bugged out expression as he leaned on the door.

Way to go for being subtle, bro.

I stood up, grabbed my shoulder bag, put on some shoes, and shoved my way past him. Nate didn’t follow me until I got to the stairs.

“Did you pack your pepper spray with you? Do you want to borrow my Swiss knife? I can go get it right now. Just keep it hidden and use it when you’re –“

I looked back at him as I was descending the flight of steps. “Jeez, Nate. I’m just going out with the guy for a bit. It’s not like he’s a maniac who’s out to get me.”

“You never know, kiddo.”

“You’re impossible.” I rolled my eyes and opened the front door. Nate stopped at the foot of the staircase as I smiled at the visitor.

“Hey, Miguel,” I grabbed his wrist and began pulling him away, not giving him enough time to greet me. “Good timing. Let’s go before I get interviewed for some homicide report.”

“A homicide report…?”

I dragged him to his car and made him enter first, keeping my eyes on my brother who sat at the front porch, watching us. I sat in the passenger’s seat afterwards.

Miguel looked at me curiously as I buckled myself in. “Lara, what was that about?”

“N-nothing much. Brother issue is all. Don’t worry about it.” I forced a laugh. He must’ve found it weird because I could see the confusion written on his face, but nonetheless, he started the engine and drove off. I stared out the window, watching Nate slowly disappear from sight as Miguel turned the music up.

Better luck next time, bro.

“Protective brother?” He smiled as he took a quick glance at me.

“You have no idea how protective he could get,” I sighed. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, but he could get very silly sometimes.”

It’s true that I appreciate Nate looking out for me, but last night really was way up there at the top of the list of things my brother does when he gets anxious. You’d think he could handle news of his sister going out well (since he teases me a lot with some friends), but apparently not.

“You’re going on a date?” Nate screamed when I told him about the Saturday plan with Miguel. We were in my room and I had to throw a pillow at him to get him to quiet down, so that we wouldn’t wake up our parents, as they decided to turn in early.

I didn’t tell our folks that I was going to be with a guy today (explicitly, anyway) – I just told them I was hanging out with a friend, not because they wouldn’t let me, but for the opposite reason – they’d be the first ones shipping me out the door. It’s probably unusual for most to see parents who want their kids to have relationships, but mine had been teasing me for quite some time to get a boy so I could go out more often and have fun – so long as fun doesn’t constitute to a red blotch on a bed. According to them, they don’t really see me leave the house that often (but really, I could go out just fine if I wanted to, with or without a guy. It’s just that I’m not the type).

Once I filled him in on the details (hoping to calm him down), Nate went wild and asked me all kinds of questions about Miguel, even though I told him it was just a mascot thing for school. Since I barely hung out with the guy, I didn’t know how to answer most of them. That really didn’t help at all. If anything, I think I just made matters worse, hence the reason why Nate acted the way he did earlier. If we had stayed longer, I don’t think we’d be able to leave. I probably would be left alone in the living room to watch television as a way to pass the time, as Nate would have brought Miguel to his room to have some “guy talk” (probably threats, I don’t know).

Then again, if I allowed that to happen, it could have been an instant victory for me. Miguel would probably be traumatized by my brother at that point, that the others would have to struggle to make him enter my home again.

…no, even I’m not that mean.

“I heard about what happened last Thursday afternoon from Oliver,” Miguel began, pulling me out of my train of thought. “You managed to snag an interview with the basketball MVP?”

“Yeah, Richard agreed and told me to meet him at that time, then you all happened to pass by…” I trailed off, remembering that Kasey ignored me. We both still haven’t had the chance to talk since then. “Anyway, long story short, Oliver stayed and won a game against Richard, so I guess that’s what he told you. I have the footage at home, if you want to see it.”

Come to think of it, Miguel didn’t acknowledge me that time too, plus, he was with Kasey. Maybe I’ll just ask him about it later.

“Nice. Did he win by merit or was there any… special reason?”

“I leave that up for you to decide,” I chuckled, especially since he put emphasis on “special”. He’s pretty sharp.

“So, what are your plans for our date?”

He gave me a sidelong glance. “You’ll see.”

The rest of the drive was us talking about our classes (though I had to initiate most of it) as well as Miguel pestering me about the match between Richard and Oliver. I found it a bit funny that he wouldn’t drop the subject. I didn’t know if Richard wanted me to spit out the truth of the situation, but I’d rather keep quiet about it. Even if it was a give-away win, Oliver should be left to bask in his supposed glory. I knew that Miguel was waiting for something to use to annoy Oliver, but I wouldn’t give him any material to burst his best friend’s bubble with.

Soon, we were in front of a botanical garden. The stand outside read that today until the end of next week, a festival would be held here. Some details, which I managed to catch before the car started to move to the parking lot, was that there’d be an open-air concert and fireworks show tonight.

“I didn’t know there’d be a festival here,” I turned to Miguel. “Did you?”

Instead of replying to me, Miguel gave me a wink. I crossed my arms. “So you did some homework.”

He stifled a laugh. “I told you to prepare for the best date, right?”

I blinked at him in disbelief – I thought he was kidding the night he told me that. Why was he serious about it? It wasn’t like we were seriously going out.

Once we parked, both of us got out of the car and stretched our legs. The fresh air and aroma of flowers made me feel a little more relaxed.

“What are we going to do first?” I asked, watching him make sure that all the car doors were closed shut.

He checked at the time on his watch. “It’s 2:00 pm. Do you want to go around? If not, we can eat since I heard there’s a cooking competition happening at the food court.”

“A cooking competition?”

“Yeah. They’re competing for who gets to sell the most food,” he said as he looked around. “Apparently, they’re also letting selling some flowers over at one of the greenhouses, so if –“

I laughed. Miguel was undeniably tense, though he was trying to make himself seem not to be. He was barely looking at me as kept saying what we could do, and I couldn’t help but find it a little cute. I couldn’t tell, though, if his attitude was because he knew I wasn’t really into this whole idea (since I tried to shove the mascot thing to Kasey and Oliver before), or if it was because he wasn’t used to being around girls in places like these. Then again, I didn’t know his dating history to even guess.

“Miguel, chill. We can do everything one at a time,” I nudged. He scratched his head. “What do you want to do first? Remember, I told you I’m leaving the whole date to you, so you get the say.”

He stared at me for a while, then looked elsewhere to think. “Let’s get some food.”

“Okay then,” I said. “Lead the way.”

Instead of walking, we stood there for a few minutes. We were both just looking at one another.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, wondering why he seemed to be focused on me.

“Ah, well,” he coughed. “I was just… nevermind.”

He turned his gaze to the ground. I couldn’t really tell what expression he had on because of the angle. Is he really not used to female company? Or is it me?

“You can walk ahead and I’ll follow, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I reassured him. “I won’t run away.”

“No, that wasn’t –“

I stared at him, unable to comprehend what he meant.

“Right…” He nodded awkwardly, then started walking.

Is there something I’m misunderstanding?

I followed him to the food court, watching his back all the while. Lots of people were going around, choosing food from various stalls. Some were already seated at prepared café and lunch tables whereas others were sitting by the fountain in the middle. The smell of newly cooked food wafted around the area, and honestly, despite having lunch just a few hours earlier, it made me hungry. I scanned the booths. There was a lot of variation, from fried meals to grilled meats to baked goods. I must have been too enthralled with the environment, because the next thing I knew, Miguel had been tapping my shoulder to hand me something.

“I don’t know what you like, so I guessed,” he handed me a wrapped shawarma as he bit into some pork barbecue. “I hope you like it.”

I gulped. Something that most people didn’t know about me is that I couldn’t really stand spicy stuff. I could eat that kind time to time, sure, but those would usually just be fast food chicken and pork rims – nuts too, but not really food like this.

Still, he bought it for me. It’d be a shame not to eat it.

I took the shawarma and bit it, hoping that my taste buds would cooperate with me. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. As soon as I swallowed it, I frantically went to a stall to buy a bottle water. I drank the contents in one go.

“Lara? Are you okay? I’m sorry, I should’ve asked you what you wanted first.” He attempted to take the food away from my hand, but I didn’t let him.

“Y-yeah, sort of,” I forced a smile, about to take another bite. “I’m just not used to it, so it’s nothing to worry about.”

“No,” he firmly gripped his hand around mine. “You shouldn’t force yourself. I can just get you something else. If you find it a waste, then I’ll just eat it instead.”

I stared at him. He was determined to keep me from drowning myself in water.

“Okay then,” I sighed, then turned my eyes to the barbecue he had. “Do you want to swap snacks?”

He blinked at me, his mouth slightly agape. I pushed my hand forward. “It’s got a bite, but you said you’d eat it. I was wondering if I could have your sticks of barbecue – if you don’t mind, that is. I can buy some myself if you tell me where the stall is, though.”

Miguel shifted his attention from me, to the barbecue, to our hands that held the shawarma, and back to me as he pulled the shawarma away. He handed me his food. “Here you go. I only bought two, so if you want some more, it’s the stall near the washroom. Well… I already bit the top of one off, so I hope you’re okay with that.”

I noticed the shade of red that began to appear on his cheeks. I didn’t mention it to him though, simply because I didn’t know how to tell him, and happily just ate my new snack.

I’d survive way longer with this.

After the trade, we went around the food court some more. A dessert booth caught my attention as we were standing side by side at the drink stand. I left him, just when it was about our turn, and walked over to the desserts. The ones manning it was a woman, somewhere along her thirties, and her two daughters.

“Hi,” I greeted them, scanning the goods they had for sale. “You guys have chocolate cake! How much is a slice?”

“Fifty,” the youngest one exclaimed. I think she was about seven, from the looks of it. “Do you want a free taste?”

I chuckled as I looked at her mom. She was smiling as she cut a small piece, placed it on a plate, and slid it over to me, handing over the fork. “Go ahead.”

I cut a part and ate it. It was delicious! The cake was soft, light, and creamy – it even seemed to melt in my mouth. I’d get diabetes if I knew how they made these. When I turned my head to check on Miguel, I saw him looking around, holding two drinks.

“Miguel, over here!” I called out, waving so I could get his attention. He noticed me and was making his way over.

“Are you on a date?” the other daughter asked me, giggling as she focused her gaze on Miguel. I chuckled.

“On a friendly one, yes.”

“What are you buying?” He grinned at the trio, then watched as I took the remaining piece.

“You’ve got to taste this. It’s really good! Say ‘ah’,” I told him, slowly bringing the piece of cake closer to his mouth. He didn’t follow me at first, but eventually did, so that I could put it inside. “It’s good, right?”

He nodded. “You want to buy some? Go ahead, I’ll pay.”

“No. This time, it’s my treat,” I turned my attention back to the mother as I got money from my wallet. “Two slices, please.”

“Do you want them to be in different containers?”

“No, it’s okay. You can put it in one container,” I looked at Miguel. “Would you mind that? I’m going to be eating my half right away anyway.”

“I don’t.” He shook his head.

The lady placed it carefully into a plastic container and her daughter closed it, and was about to seal it off with a ribbon. I told her she didn’t need to, but she said it wouldn’t be complete without one. The rest of us just smiled as she proceeded to tie it. Once we got my order, we stayed around for a little while to chat with the family.

It’s a pretty good start so far. Nothing embarrassing or awkward has happened yet, I think.

As we bid good-bye to go to the greenhouse as Miguel suggested, the two girls screamed something at us the moment we had our backs turned on them.

“Bye, miss and mister! Good luck on your date!”

We both froze on the spot.

“Did you tell them about that?” Miguel looked at me to study my expression.

“Shut up and keep walking.” I quietly ordered, trying to hide the embarrassed look on my face.

I guess I spoke too soon (and maybe too much).