"Sometimes this feels like an ending of a movie
If I'm just dreaming then I'm hoping I can stay asleep
Know that no matter what, after the closing scene
I'll be the only one to love you in my dreams"
- Feels Like You, Faime
To Benny Watts, it felt like an ending of some sappy romantic movie. He had never watched those so he just assumed this was what it looked like - the face of pure bliss. It felt so surreal that he had to pinch his arm a few times to check if it was a dream. It barely hurt - or at least, it didn't hurt as much as his cheeks from smiling too much. If this turned out to be actually a dream, sleeping forever did not sound too bad.
The chess prodigy took in the view as he entered the venue that was already crowded with their families and friends - well, mostly, his wife's family and some chess friends that they made. The venue was huge and it was decorated with white balloons everywhere - from the arc at the front to the plastic chairs that the guests were sitting at. The circle tables were adorned with bouquets of white roses in the center. Benny had always been a dark color kind of guy but at the moment, there was no place he would rather be than that sickeningly white venue.
He could feel his legs shaking as he made his way to the front of the place. Words could not describe how nervous he was feeling. He never got nervous before and he didn't know if it was supposed to feel that good. His mind started to wander as he reached the front. He vividly remembered the first time he met the girl he was going to marry.
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When they first met, they did not know they would end up as friends nor they had a hint that they would want to spend the rest of their lives together. They were only seventeen years old. It was New York's state chess competition and they both played. They did not get to play each other though since Benny basically destroyed everyone he played with while she had encountered a few losses. They did, however, get to talk to each other after the competition.
The two teenagers were standing idly by the entrance of the university, which was the venue of the competition, while waiting for the rain to stop. Benny was playing the previous games of chess in his mind as he lit up a cigarette and started smoking.
"Will you please stop smoking?" He turned his gaze to his side to meet the glare of a female stranger around his age. He frowned slightly but obliged anyway, dropping the cigarette and stepping on it. He recalled seeing her games during the competition.
"I'm Benny Watts." He reached his hand out to shake hers. She seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking his hand.
"I know who you are, obviously. You're the state champion." The female replied, curtly. He smiled, rather proudly but she did not return it. "I'm Heather, by the way."
"Heather." He repeated, mentally repeating it a few more times to remember it. Being friends with fellow chess players was a good thing and Benny's goal was to have as many of them as possible. "I saw your games. You made a lot of mistakes, especially during mid-games. You should work on that." He was trying to be nice by giving her advice but Heather looked at him with a rather offended expression.
"Excuse me?" She said, putting her hand on her chest. Benny blinked a couple of times, confused.
"I mean, some of those mistakes cost you the game while you got lucky with the others since your opponent made worse ones." He explained, making sure to flash a smile to show that he was being friendly.
"Wow, thanks, mister state champion" She replied, dripping with sarcasm and Benny wondered what he said that was wrong. He did not get a chance to ask about it though since the rain stopped pouring and Heather immediately left him without another word.
