Hey There, Delilah

Hey There, Delilah (13)

I never liked shopping for school supplies, not even when I was back in Washington when I practically knew everyone. Now I was in a huge city like New York, and I was all alone in a store.

Gabe was supposedly sick, so he couldn't come shopping with me. I was sure I would go to school later that day to see that he was perfectly fine. I was just too tired to argue with him, so I figured I'd just go myself and get it done quicker. At least none of the teachers were giving us homework because of the dance that night. Seth was unhappy for sure, he didn't want the dance to happen more than anyone. I wonder why. But that only added to his bad mood.

I had picked out markers and other things we would need to make the poster, and I was walking over to the register until someone bashed into me, causing me to drop everything that I was carrying and making me fall backward and onto the ground.

"I'm so sorry," a familiar voice said, offering me his head. I took it, and he pulled me up. My cheeks burned red when I looked at his face to see that this boy was Avery.

Obviously recognizing me, he smiled. "Didn't me meet that way last time?" he asked, the amused smile still on his face.

I laughed slightly, nodding as well. "Yeah, we did," I told him, picking up my stuff. Avery immediately helped me, which I found very gentlemanlike. Our hands brushed for a moment as he handed me my things, and I felt my cheeks heat up even more.

"Th--thanks," I stuttered.

"No problem. What do you need all those supplies for, anyway?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pocket. My eyes widened slightly when I remembered that he hated Bentwood, and he thought I was homeschooled.

"Oh... my mom ran out of supplies, so... you know, I just volunteered to go and pick some more up for her... Hah..." I lied, trying not to make eye contact with him. I'm sure he'd be able to tell I was lying if he saw my eyes.

"Oh, that's nice of you," he told me, and I only nodded in return.

An awkward silence then filled the air, which seemed to be happening a lot when people were around me, which I didn't really understand. Was I an awkward person? I guess so.

"Next in line," I heard the person at the register say, but I still didn't move. "Next in line," she repeated, impatient now.

"I think that's you," Avery told me, pointing at the cash register.

"Oh!" I said, feeling my cheeks heat up once again as I realized I kind of made a fool of myself in front of Avery. Before I could turn and walk away from him, he grabbed my arm (in a nice way, of course) so he could walk with me.

"Hey... do you want to go out with me sometime?" he asked me, and I thought my jaw was going to disconnect and fall of my head.

"Uh... um... y--yeah! Of course," I smiled brightly, the rapid beating in my chest causing me to feel even more uncomfortably awkward than I already was.

"Okay, great," he said, handing me his phone. "Give me your number and I'll text you later."

"O--okay..." I said, placing my items on the counter so the checker could finally scan them and stop giving me dirty looks. I tapped my number into his iPhone and handed it back to him. "Here you go," I smiled, trying not to act shy. But how could I not? Avery just asked me out!

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then," he said, leaning over and pecking me on the cheek. I hoped he wasn't able to feel how hot my cheeks were by just a small peck. He probably could, I was so embarrassed.

"B--bye," I stuttered once again as he exited, waving shyly at him as the checker pushed my bag of supplies into me.

"Here you go, Miss. You can leave now."