Paper Thin

• 111: Cinderella •

Melody

We sat in a café near the MoMA. It had a rustic vibe inside; wooden tables, white walls, and many potted green plants. Carson ordered a sandwich and a mocha latte. Though I should have been hungry, I wasn't and ordered a black coffee with a packet of artificial sweetener. Our order came in cute white dishes and mugs that looked aesthetically pleasing against the tables. We were by a window, looking out into Manhattan.

"So, I have something for you..." I said quietly, as I opened my little black backpack up. Carson's eyebrows arched in surprise.

"You didn't h–"

"Shh!" I laughed. Carson grinned at me. "Happy Valentine's Day." I pulled out a card in a red envelope and handed it to him. Carson took it gingerly from my hands and smiled. I watched as he opened it and his eyes widened when he saw the tickets I bought for him and inside the card.

"Tickets to IndieFest? How did you– what? Thank you!" Carson exclaimed. IndieFest was a music festival that many of the artists and bands he had shown me would be performing at. It was so last minute, and I was nervous to give it to him, but it was the best thing I could think of.

"Do you like it? I wasn't sure if you would, and you know how I'm not too familiar with music and–"

"Shh!" Carson repeated teasingly, poking my nose lightly. "It's perfect! Thank you so much!" He grinned. My cheeks heated and I glanced down at the table.

"I'm glad you like it," I murmured.

"I do... and I hope you'll come with me," Carson said.

"Okay," I said shyly. The truth was, I'd be happy to go anywhere with Carson.

***

We hung around the café a bit longer, before beginning our drive back to Greenwich. We wanted to avoid traffic since it was almost a two-hour drive. Carson had indie music lined up and ready to go; the perfect background music to our drive. As we drove, we played our usual game; asking each other random questions.

"What are your three favourite books?" I asked.

"Um... Diary of A Wimpy Kid and its following two sequels; they're the best sorry, I don't make the rules," Carson said. I laughed at that. "If you won the lottery what would you do?"

"Move to Manhattan... maybe overlooking Central Park," I replied, without missing a beat.

"That's fair. It's a great view," Carson grinned.

"It is!" I agreed.

And back and forth we went, until we pulled up to his house.

When we went inside, only his brother was home, as his parents had gone out for a romantic evening by themselves to celebrate Valentine's Day. Carson and I commandeered the living room for ourselves as we decided to watch a movie. After grabbing blankets and various snacks, we turned on Beauty and the Beast. I rested my head on Carson's shoulder, deciding to eat a celery stick slowly, seeing as Carson had been with me the whole day, and I hadn't eaten a thing yet. I knew he was probably suspicious of my lack of food consumption, but I didn't want to make it worse. So, when he offered, all I could do was give him a tiny nod and take a piece of the green vegetable.

One wouldn't make me feel full.

One could be okay, I told myself.

***

The next day at school, more people seemed to know about – or at least they thought they knew about – what happened at the party. I was dressed in my own version of camouflage, loose and ripped blue jeans with an oversized grey sweater. My hair was down to hide my face and I hoped at least I didn't have to see the staring sets of eyes on me. Diesel wasn't there again, and I wondered if he was suspended or something. At least I didn't have to keep tensing for him to pop up unexpectedly.