• Mae •
Mae had debated a lot about DMing Chris on Instagram. He had expressed a want for them to hang out and they hadn't been able to exchange numbers yet, plus his jacket that he had now left in her possession twice had his last name stitched onto it, so she couldn't come off super stalkerish. Right?
She smiled at her phone when it lit up with a response from him while she was eating breakfast with her dad. She quickly corrected her face back to neutral when she noticed her fathers questioning look.
"That him? The boy from the train?" He asked the question, clearly already knowing the answer.
She nodded, turning her phone screen off and going back to eating. "He just asked about his jacket. He's left it twice now so you'd think he'd be better about checking for it."
Her father smiled fondly. "Ahh the old 'leave a jacket trick'. I gotta say, the kids smart."
"What do you mean?" She genuinely had no clue what her father was alluding to, Chris was extremely forgetful, which was only further proven by the fact that he had missed the train yesterday.
"When a boy wants an excuse to talk to a girl again, he'll sometimes leave something, like a jacket or a hoodie, with her, so that they'll have to meet up again so he can get it back." He said it like it was obvious, like she should've known that Chris left the jacket on purpose, but did he?
They'd had good conversations without the jacket being returned, but could he have left it on purpose? She was sure that he wouldn't have, they just sat together on the train. There was no reason for him to put so much effort into ensuring a future conversation, and it especially was not worth it in the cold Massachusetts winter.
"I'm telling you, doll, once might have been an accident. But twice, that boys looking to see you again." He ruffled her hair lovingly. "Not that I blame him, your mother and I did a pretty good job on you, I'd say."
Mae smiled, not responding, but she nodded her head in acknowledgement of what he had said. When she and her father finished their breakfast and went to their separate rooms to get ready for the day, she drafted another DM to Chris.
MaisieEvans: want to hang out in the city today?
MaisieEvans: i'll bring ur jacket :)
Unsure of what he would say back, she tossed her phone onto her bed and left to go take a shower. She wasn't in the bathroom long, but she was anxious the whole time that Chris would leave her on read or say no.
When she returned to her room, she checked her phone and noticed that he hadn't responded, but he hasn't opened it either. A good sign in her book.
She decided to call her friend, Cass, to ask for advice. Cass answered after a few rings, and groggily asked her friend what was up.
"So I might be hanging out with a boy today... He hasn't texted me back yet but he asked first so I'm really hoping he says yes and I need advice." She caught her breath when she finished, realizing how quickly she had been speaking.
"Wow, I never thought that this day would come. My little Maisie is all grown up." Mae groaned at the use of her full name. "Who is this kid, anyway?"
"His names Chris, he lives in Somerville but he's been going to Boston on the weekends a lot, so we ride the train together." Her friend hummed, clearly still not properly awake but trying to come up with a good response.
"What's his last name? I know some people in Somerville."
"Sturniolo? I don't know i've only read it, he hasn't said it to me or anything."
"Ohh I know his brother, Nick. He's great." Cass was surprised that her friend had hit it off with Chris, he was much more outgoing than Mae, so the fact that they were train buddies was a surprise. "Do you want to loo-"
Cass was cut off my Mae, as she read the DM that she had just received out loud. "Sure, coffee shop across from the train station? Smiley face!"
"As I was saying, Maisie, before you so rudely interrupted me. Do you want to look cute for him? Because we can FaceTime and I'll help you pick out an outfit." Mae rolled her eyes, her friend only used her full name when she was mocking her.
Mae responded by FaceTiming Cass, who was, as expected, still in bed. She spent way longer than she normally did picking out an outfit, she didn't want to go all out as it was winter and cold, but she wanted to look put together. After about 30 minutes on the phone with her friend she hung up.
Chris' jacket was now hanging on the doorknob of her closet and she draped it over her arm before leaving her room. She could hear the water running in her fathers bathroom and she decided to leave note on the kitchen counter for him so that he would know where she was going.
Going to get coffee with a friend.
Be home later.
Love, Maisie :)
She knew that her dad would know exactly who she was talking about when she said 'a friend' but she didn't want to admit that she was going to see Chris. At least not this early in their friendship. She'd texted him back earlier that she would get there at around 9:30, which he sent back a thumbs up. Thankfully, he was already in Boston so they didn't need to worry about him missing the train again.
The coffee shop was a short walk away from her dads house, and when she turned the corner on the main road which led to both the train station and the coffee shop that they would be meeting at, she spotted Chris across the street.
"Chris!" She called, hoping that he would hear her. He did, but he couldn't place where the voice had come from. His head glanced every which way, looking for someone that was calling out to him, and when his eyes met Mae's his face lit up into a grin. He waved, and then motioned for her to cross the street.
The low amount of traffic was out of the ordinary, but appreciated as she was quickly able to make her way over to him.
"Here's your jacket. You're gonna have to wear it more if you keep forgetting it places. You're lucky that you've left it with me and not someone else." Hs face grew red, clearly embarrassed that he had now left it twice in two weeks, but she didn't let on that her father thought he had left it on purpose.
When they reached the coffee shop, he opened the door for her, mumbling a "m'lady" when she walked through. It surely wasn't the Saturday morning that she had been expecting but she was fine with it.
{note: double update since i didn't upload for a few days !!}
