Don't Judge A Flower By Its Color

Chapter Twenty 🌼

Darien sat across the dinning table with a messy bedhead and fresh bandages upon his wounds. In one hand, he was dunking a tea-bag into his favorite mug while staring long at a page in his beaten up book. A small wrinkle stuck between his brows.

He looked dangerous yet admirable. The large amount of bruises upon his flesh didn't mix well with his chivalrous ways. They contrasted the other, making it hard to be unsure whether he would beat his chest or burst into Shakespeare.

I watched him closely, noticing each one of his obsecure cringes. He tried to wave it off as tension but that lie didn't fool me. It only made the nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach grow.

He didn't have to pretend not to be in pain. Nobody could take that many hits without aching afterwards. He shouldn't have even left bed this morning.

I moved to comment about his health when Oceana, who had been mindlessy enjoying a flute of wine beside me, rested a hand on my shoulder. She shook her head once then set down her drink.

"Hey Mr. Dandelion!" She called, "are you planning on ever dating my sister?"

Me and Darien quickly glanced to the other. His eyes softening. He put down his reading material and sent a smile my way. This odd action caused my heart to pick up speed.

How could he seem so uneffected? Didn't he feel like the whole world was spinning ten times faster? Didn't he notice the room got ten times warmer?

"Oceana!" I whispered harashly while yanking on her suit's sleeve.

"What?" She questioned, "you both can make out like wild animals but can't date? Seriously."

"We weren't making out like-"

"Rosalind, she does have a point." Darien's gentle voice intrupted, "we should go out offically."

Did he just say he wants to go out with...

Did he just say he wants to date....

Did he just causally say he wants to be with me!

My body shot upward out of the chair. It fell to the floor with a loud noise as a sense of tingling joy over came me. There were so many ways I wanted to express this new feeling.

I decided with the simpler route and excused myself from the table. Their unsure stares following after me as I walked bare footed through the living room to the front door. It took only one step outside to cause my happiness to blossom into a high pitch cheer.

The gloomy pot of pansies on the cement steps of the household grew a bit brighter as we danced in the sunlight. They could sense that today was going to be a good one. They swayed willingly along to the nonexistant tempo.

"He wants to go out offically!" I whispered to the plant while resting both my palms onto my cheeks. My smile growing wider.

We were finally going to have a sense of normalcy.

Hopefully, he knew that I would do every possible thing in my power to make this date an unforgettable moment.

My mind wondered off with thousands of different situations. Some were about us dinning underneath a crystal chandelier. Some were about us kissing on rooftops.

Out of all those hopes, the one I was most excited for was us being able to have a nice conversation without any intruptions.

There was only one slight problem.

"Rosalind."

The sudden greeting caused me to jump in surprise. The dancing flowers froze while I looked over my shoulder. He stood in the open doorway with a look of determination on his face.

Before I could ask, he strided forward. His hands moving fast to hug my waist. His grip a lot stronger than usual.

It didn't make sense why he seemed so insistent to have me pressed up against him until he dug his nose into my hair.

"Don't," he whispered, "don't worry too much."

My heart's pace skipped to a quicker beat.

"How?" I asked raising my head to get a better look at him.

He met my confused look, "how what?"

"How did you know?"

It had to be the ginger tea. All that ginger must have given him psychic powers. That had to be it.

"I had a feeling with all those worried stares you kept sending me," he released a laugh, "you couldn't keep your eyes off me."

"I have the right to worry." I mumbled, digging my fingers into his worn down white tee.

He shook his head but didn't try to argue. Instead, he leaned down and put his lips on my forehead. His touch was warm. It felt like being caressed by the summer's hot sun.

My knees grew weak. They begun to buckle underneath me as the overwhelming heat swayed the moment. How easy it was to get lost in this new found sensation.

The racing pulse, the tingling down my spine, the ache in my cheeks from smiling too much; it was all worthy.

"So are we really going on a date?" I asked quietly.

He moved a step back and nodded,"wasn't planing on asking you so suddenly like that but your friend kind of put me on the spot."

"I'm glad you asked though." I said before capturing his face, "it made me feel like a normal girl for a few minutes there."

In that short moment, no worries weighed me down. I didn't fear Dr. Manor finding us. I didn't think of myself unworthy. I didn't remember being some failure. All I could focus on was being carried away by joy.

If only our lifes could always be that uplifting...

"Rosalind."

I started to relax at the sound of his concern tone and dropped my hands from him.

He started to mutter to himself. His words coming out quiet and soft, making it hard to gather what he was pondering about.

"What is it?" I questioned, raising onto my tippy toes.

He only rolled his eyes at my childish action before giving a short response, "just meet me in the living room by three."

He turned on his feet and basically ran into the house. He hadn't wanted me to notice but upon the back of his neck was the color of crimsom creeping to his face. He became bright red like a fire hydrant.

I couldn't cover up my giggle.

A/N:

Apologies for such a super duper late update!
Hopefully this update and this gif of baby groot dancing can make you forgive me?