Secret Flowers

Happiness

Max's P.O.V.

She looks like an angel.

Her unruly brown hair falls to her elbows, styled in such a way that it flows like a waterfall. Her beautiful blue eyes shine with tears. The light makeup suits her; it highlights her natural features.

There's a scar above her left eye from the accident, and an old pimple mark next to it. They just make her look more human.

It wasn't a perfect girl I fell in love with...it was her.

She slowly moves forward. I take a deep breath, and pull out a note from my pocket, and a bouquet I hid near the tree earlier.

She hesitantly takes the note from my hands. It reads:

Dear Lauren,

I guess this is it, right?

I was afraid to meet you, show you who I really am...but I guess it worked out okay, didn't it?

Love,
Your not-so-secret Admirer,
Max

She smiles shyly, and moves a little closer. I lace my fingers through hers.

"I wanted it to be you," she whispers. "I really did. I wondered if it was Vince...I actually thought it was.

"And for a few moments, I thought it was C-Cal..."

I feel ice settle on my heart. I know what Cal did to her, and I'm going to make sure he never gets near her again.

Much to my shock, she wraps her arms around me and buries her face in my chest. "Do you know why I wanted it to be you?" She mumbles.

"No," I admit. "Why?"

"I don't know either. At the end of it, I had a slight hope it'd be you. A gut feeling, I guess."

I smile. Lauren is so innocent and sweet. But her instincts are quite strong, and for good reason. They're driven by her perceptions of the world around her. She may be an introvert, but that's allowed her to see things from many perspectives.

She pulls away. "How long?" She asks, and I know what she means.

"Let's sit down," I say, indicating a bench nearby, "and I'll tell you."

* * * *

I fell in love with Lauren on a rainy day ten years ago. It was James' eighth birthday party, and all of us had barged into his backyard two hours earlier to play.

After a rough game of tag, we went to his living room to cut the cake. Being a group of hungry kids who'd played games non-stop for two hours, we were obviously hungry. We sat near the windows and ate cake while watching the rain fall.

While the rest of my friends stuffed themselves, I observed my surroundings. I've always been like this: sometimes I would prefer to be a little apart from the crowd to understand my environment more.

It was then that I saw her.

She was sitting on a swing on the front porch, watching the rain. She had such a peaceful look on her face.

"Hey, look!" Vince called. "Lightning!"

All of my friends ran to the window to see the lightning, but I saw Lauren flinch as it struck. She walked back in a few seconds later, but I would never forget the vulnerable expression on her face that afternoon.

For some reason, that gave me a strange thought: I want to take care of her. I want to make sure she's okay.

And so it happened that there was only one girl in my eyes ever since that rainy afternoon.

* * * *

Lauren blushes as I finish telling her the story. "But what's so great about me?" She says, looking at the ground. "Am I really that special?"

"That and more," I tell her. "Feelings aren't something that can be explained easily. It's not logical, but it makes sense. It's like the gut feeling you had about me."

Lauren nods, but I don't think she's convinced.

Lately I've been wondering if I should ask her out after revealing myself, but knowing Lauren, that's probably a bad idea. I'm sure she wouldn't feel ready to date anyone right now, and even I still see her as a kid.

"Should I? Shouldn't I?" I muse aloud.

"Hm?" Lauren looks up at me. "Did you say something?"

I shake my head. "No."

"What's going on here?" A voice screeches.

We turn around. It's Daisy and Cal. Didn't they break up yesterday? Then why are they still together?

No, now isn't the time to ask questions.

Now, it's time for me to take a stand and do what I should have done many times before.