All the Ways

i

She hated this. She hated sitting at a random bar in a random club wearing a dress she didn't even like.

Paige offered to be a designated driver for a couple of work friends tonight, thinking that it would be a good idea to go out and have a little fun. She just moved to Calgary, after all.

Wrong decision. Actually, it was singlehandedly the worst decision she's ever made. As she sat at the bar, drinking her third water, some guy came up to her. He was taller than her; but that didn't mean anything--everyone was taller than Paige. He also had curly brown hair, big brown eyes, and a smile that could power the entire city.

Was he even old enough to be here?

"Is this seat taken?" He said softly.

Paige gave him a small smile, "Go right ahead."

He sat down next to her and smiled. It was probably the worst awkward silence Paige had ever endured. He stared at her for a few seconds before clearing his throat, "I'm Johnny."

"Sorry, what was that?" The music was so loud and he was so quiet. She turned to her left to face him. He just gave her a coy smile.

"My name is Johnny. And you are?"

"Paige. It's nice to meet you." She shook his hand and smiled.

His handshake was firm, but she could tell he was nervous. He didn't even know what else he would say to her. Paige was the prettiest girl he's ever seen. The bar may have been dimly lit, but he could've sworn she was glowing.

"So what brings you to Calgary? Have you lived here for a while? Because I--" He was cut off by her.

"Actually, no. I just moved here with a couple of my friends. I'm from America," She fidgeted with the condensation forming on her glass of water, tracing lines.

Johnny beamed, "Really? No way! I'm from America too! That's so cool, I'm around all these Canadians and I finally find one of my kind."

She laughed. His kind. What a weird way to put it.

From her peripheral vision, she could see four guys eyeing her. Or were they eyeing Johnny? Either way, it was kinda weird. Paige turned around and pretended to survey the rest of the bar as an excuse to stare at the strange men. They were definitely eyeing Johnny, and they were definitely talking about him and Paige. Apparently, their parents didn't raise them with manners, because all they did was point at the two. Paige leaned into Johnny, "Hey, I can tell your friends are staring us down right now, so I'm going to pretend like we're having the time of our lives and write my number down on a napkin and all that jazz." She laughed and retrieved a pen from her purse.

"I'm sorry about that. But sounds good." He hoped and prayed that she would give him her actual phone number instead of a decoy number that actually led to a pizza place.

She scribbled her name and number down on a napkin, "Here you go, Johnny. I'm heading out. I'll see you around or something."

"You definitely will." He said, slipping the napkin in his pocket.

Paige swooped her very inebriated friends up and dropped them off home, making sure to leave water bottles by their beds and wishing them a good night.

/////

Johnny walked back to his friends, half angry and half happy. He was angry that they had been staring at him the entire night, but happy that he got Paige's number.

"Boy's finally got game," Sean said, wrapping an arm around Johnny and pinching his cheek, "So proud of you, little Johnny."

"I literally hate you guys so much." Johnny said, rolling his eyes at them.

/////

Paige made her way back to her apartment, annoyed at the fact that her night wasn't as enjoyable as it should've been. She wiggled her keys and unlocked her door. Upon entering, she closed the door and turned her back upon it. She groaned for what seemed like nine years.

"What happened to you?" Paige's roommate and best friend, Amber asked. She paused her show and stared at Paige, who was sliding her back down the door.

"I just met a boy, and boys are stupid." Paige groaned, rubbing her hands on her face.

Their other roommate and best friend, Vivienne, emerged from her room. "Boy?!"

"I do not want to talk about it."

Amber chuckled, "Too bad you're going to."

Paige sat on the floor against the front door of their apartment, "I don't know! His friends we're watching us the entire time. I was probably a fucking bet. All I remember was his name is Johnny. He's not even that tall! He's totally like a friend."

"First of all, you're like four feet tall. Second of all, his friends are probably creeps. And third of all, did you get his number?" Amber said, walking her finished bowl of cereal into the kitchen sink.

"I'm five feet tall, thanks Amber." Paige retaliated.

Vivienne intervened, "Well what did he look like?"

Paige stared into the distance, narrowing her eyebrows and thinking about what Johnny looked like, "Like he's twelve."

"That's perfect! You look twelve too!" Vivienne laughed. Paige was the youngest out of the three, and the other two girls always had a field day with her age and height.

Paige rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

Her phone buzzed in her lap. A random number had texted her, and she unlocked her phone to see what the message said.

Hey. It's Johnny. 😊