Flavour of the Week

            Before I knew it, it was March. Things at the hotel had quieted down as did the snowstorms. Phil and I would see each other every Sunday at Relay and sit at our regular table. We would talk and laugh without any awkward silences. He made a habit of calling me angel insisting that I was his because we met a time when we needed each other most. I couldn’t see myself ever fighting with him or living without him. Our internet relationship had become a part of my daily routine, and it was beginning to get even more intense. I could sense that Phil wanted to see me outside of Relay, but every time the subject came up I would make a joke about meeting under a palm tree in Hawaii or hanging out on a rainbow and eating skittles. We created this world of our own where only we existed and nothing could come between us. Our dream world was beginning to take over and it was becoming harder and harder to know what was real and what wasn’t. I had become addicted to our conversations; late at night with my eyes fighting to keep up. I would have called in sick on everyone and everything for those conversations. But it was bittersweet, like a honeymoon where you find yourself waking up alone. I knew I needed to do something.

“You should just invite him over.’’ Dawn suggested.

“You mean hang out alone with him?” I felt nauseous at the thought.

“What are you, twelve? Yes, hang out alone with him.’’ Dawn said as she poured herself a cup of herbal tea.

“I don’t know.’’ I whined.

“You like him and he likes you, what more is there to know?” she said with confidence. 
I envied how sure she was herself and her life. Dawn had been in the same relationship since high school and knew exactly what she wanted out of life. From the time she was a little girl she knew she wanted to be a teacher, and that is exactly what she was studying to be. 

“But what if he doesn’t like me? What if he thinks he likes me now, but then doesn’t like me when he gets to know me? What if he just likes the idea of me?’’ I 

“You’re so dramatic!’’ She rolled her eyes. “So what if he doesn’t like you?” She threw her hands up in the air. “At least then you’ll know.’’ She said matter-of-factly. “Would you rather go on not knowing?’’, she looked at me expecting an answer.

I wanted to say yes, but I knew she was right. I was dangerously close to becoming too much of a friend to ever become a girlfriend, and I already knew I wanted to marry him, so becoming his girlfriend was the best place to start.

            It was Sunday night and after giving myself about a million pep talks in the mirror, I was finally ready to go to Relay and face Phil. I had practiced my speech and knew exactly what I was going to say.

“Hey Phil, I was wondering…if you possibly, maybe, wanted to …Oh I don’t know… make-out, get married, and make babies with me?’’ I blurted out in front of the mirror. No wait, that’s not right, I thought as I looked over as Paddy-Cakes, who I swear rolled her little eyes.

“Okay, focus Joyel!” I instructed myself facing the mirror again. I was in the middle of practicing my real speech when I heard Malorie knock at the door. I ran over and opened it to find her standing there with Keven.

“Almost ready?” she inquired as she gave me a hug hello.

“Just about.’’ I reassured her. “Hey Kev! Come on in,” I waved over at him as I grabbed my jacket.

“Hi Joyel!’’ Keven answered back, closing the door behind him. “Have you spoken to Phil today?” He looked concerned.

“Me? No. No. I mean, no, why would I? Like, why would I have spoken to him?” I stammered and felt butterflies in my stomach at the mere mention of his name.

“Well don’t you guys chat like every day?” He gave me a confused look.

“Pfff… I mean, Errr… Why would you think that?” I asked trying to seem casual.

“Heee…’Cause that’s what he told me.’’

“He did?” I couldn’t help but smile. Cool, Joyel, be cool. I instructed myself. “I mean, yeah sometimes, but no I haven’t heard from him today.” I felt myself blush.

“Way to be cool!” Malorie whispered to me.

“Thanks!” I said genuinely only to realize she was being sarcastic.

            We hopped in Keven’s car and headed to Relay and I couldn’t help but wonder why he asked about Phil. I hadn’t even seen him online all day - not that I was waiting there staring at the contact list or anything - but on the rare occasion that I did check, he wasn’t there.

            We pulled up to the bar and I could see people lined up outside the door. I quickly looked to see if I could spot Phil, but it was too dark. What if he doesn’t come? the thought crossed my mind and I immediately pushed it aside. No, of course he’s going to come. He always does, he knows you’ll be here. I convinced myself.

            Malorie, who was sitting in the passenger sit, looked back at me and gave me a sympathetic smile. Other than Dawn, PaddyCakes was the only one who knew how I really felt about Phil, but Malorie could tell something was bothering me.

“I’m sure he’s in the back, sitting at your table” Malorie said as we headed to the coat check inside.

“Who?” I asked even though I knew exactly who she was talking about.

She gave me a look as if to say you know who and grabbed my hand to lead me to the far end of the bar. Keven stopped to get us some drinks and Malorie made a bee line for our table where a girl with pink hair was sitting alone.

“Excuse me, this table is reserved” Malorie tapped the pink haired girl on the shoulder. The girl has no shame, I thought. Pink haired girl obeyed Malorie, as most people did, and moved to another vacant table. We sat down and Malorie grabbed her cell phone to check the time.

“It’s only 11:20, he still has plenty of time” she pointed out.

“I’m fine Mal; honestly, I don’t know what you’re so worried about.” I said as I looked around the bar, my stomach in knots.

I was going over my speech in my head when Keven showed up with our drinks.

“I ran in to Simon.” Keven said pulling up a chair. “He’s going to join us, hope you don’t mind.” He looked at Malorie, and then over at me.

“Who’s Simon?” I asked.

“Phil’s friend. The guy he plays music with.” She explained and I gave her a blank stare. “The afro!” She yelled over at me while pointing to her head.

“Anyone see Phil?” my stomach knotted up even more when I heard Simon say his name.

Keven shook his head no and Simon sat down beside him. The boys were talking and I looked away not wanting to seem obvious, but I was dying to know if they were talking about Phil. The music was so loud that I could only hear every other word, which wasn’t enough for me to even try to make out complete sentences. Every time the lights flashed, I would look around the bar to see if I could make out his face, head, shoulders, anything, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.           

            Malorie was telling me about some guy she met at the gym, but I couldn’t focus on a single word she was saying. It was almost 2 a.m. and though I didn’t want to give up hope, I knew Phil wasn’t going to show. I kept picturing him sitting on a couch with some girl, whom he called Jen. At first she looked pretty, with long black hair and emerald green eyes. She was touching his face, his beautiful face, and they were laughing. I felt a pang in my stomach. I suddenly pictured him telling Jen about me and they laughed at the poor pathetic girl waiting for him to show up at the bar, and how she thought she had a chance. Then Jen’s beautiful emerald eyes turned to a glowing yellow, like Paddy-Cakes' when she looks directly at a bright light. Jen's body began to transform into Ursula, the sea witch, from The Little Mermaid. Her hair turned white, and her skin purple. Her tentacles wrapped around Phil, she threw her head back in roaring laughter.

“Joyel? Hey! Joyelllll!” Malorie waved her hand in front of my face.

“Oh! Sorry, Mal.’’ I gave her a sincere look. “I’m actually really tired. Are you ready to go?”

            Bowling for Soup’s “Flavour of the week” was playing as we walked across the dance floor and made our way to the entrance.

“Do you think I’m just the flavour of the week?” I looked at Malorie with tears in my eyes. She didn’t say anything back.

            It was the first time Mal had ever seen me that vulnerable. I didn’t understand how I could possibly feel the way I felt. After all, I had only seen Phil a handful of times. I didn’t think it was possible for me to be in love with a boy I hardly knew, but those past two months made me feel more alive than I had ever felt in my life. I didn’t know when or how, but I had fallen in love, something that had never happened before, and I didn’t know if I was ready for it. 

Why Didn't he Kiss me?

                The night I met Phil, we spent most of the night together. We sat side by side at a table in the corner of the bar, talking and laughing until they practically asked us to leave. I made fun of him for wearing a grey wool sweater, the kind a grandfather would wear. He made fun of me for spilling what seemed like every drink he got for me. When closing time came around, he collected our jackets and I stood by the door waiting for him. Wondering what was about to happen. Was he going to kiss me? Do I want him to kiss me? I couldn’t help but wonder as I watched the snow twinkle under the lamppost outside.

                The bar was almost empty, except for the dance floor where Malorie was still slow dancing with some random guy, who didn’t look at all like the guy she had danced the previous dance with. With the amount of alcohol she had consumed, I wondered how she was going to get home.

                After handing me my jacket, Phil leaned in toward me. This is it, I thought. My heart began to race and the fluttering feeling started in my stomach again. It had been at least 20 minutes since it last happened; I thought it was gone for good. I guess it was only wishful thinking. Phil lifted his arm and his hand began to come closer to my face. I wanted to close my eyes but at the same time I was scared to miss it all.

                ''You have sparkles in your hair'' he said pulling on a strand.

                ''Oh'' I said, a little thrown off ''I guess I some in my hair when they fell from the ceiling at the end of the game – does it look bad?'' I questioned shyly. Phil shook his head.

                ''Nah, you look like an angel'' he said with a sincere smile.

                ''Ohhhh my god, you so do look like an angelllll'' I heard Malorie exclaim with a slur, and she started to pet my hair. ''Sooo many sparkles'' she continued as she collected them from hair to throw them up in the air.

                ''Okay Malorie, I think it’s time for you to get some sleep'' I remarked as she attempted to put her jacket on upside down.

                Keven was outside waiting for Phil, who was trying to help me get Malorie bundled up. You would have thought that her hair would have been completely de-coiffed, or that she would have had make-up running down to her chin, but Mal still looked impeccable. I was convinced that her bathroom breaks consisted of make-up and hair touchups because nobody could be that drunk and still look that good.

                Phil and I parted ways at the door. Malorie conned me in to staying on my couch with her over-use of the word sweetie and the lost puppy look on her face. It took almost an hour to make it back to my apartment, as opposed to the usual ten minutes. Malorie had to stop to throw up every few steps. I of course held back her hair and made sure she didn’t get any on her shoes, as any good friend would have done. It didn’t bother me, though. I was on cloud nine and nothing could have ruined my night. Phil was even more amazing than I had imagined in my daydreams.

                When I woke up the next morning Malorie was already gone. It was 10 a.m. and I figured Phil would probably still be in bed, but I rushed to my instant messenger anyway. To my surprise, Phil was there. I sat there looking at his username contemplating whether to say hi or not. I didn’t want to seem too desperate. Five minutes had passed and I still hadn’t said hi. Neither had he. I went over and over the night’s events in my head wondering if there was a possibility that he hadn’t felt what I felt. I thought maybe that was why he didn’t kiss me. I remembered the way he looked at me at the door and it brought a smile to my face. Of course he felt it too, I convinced myself as I clicked to open a conversation window.

Joyel: Sleep well?

                I stared at the screen waiting for a reply, my heart racing. A minute had passed, and I hadn't gotten a response. Maybe he really didn’t feel it, I felt a pinch in my heart as the thought crossed my mind. I wanted to crawl back into my bed, but I didn’t want to leave the computer in case he wrote back.

                I sat there staring at the conversation window for what felt like a minute or two when suddenly the phone rang.

‘’Hello?’’ I said trying to sound cheerful.

‘’Did you just wake up?’’ Inquired Dawn.

‘’Sort of, I was just getting out of bed’’ I said lying.

‘’It’s almost noon!’’ Dawn exclaimed.

                Confused I looked over at the clock. My sister was right. It was noon. I had been sitting in front of the conversation window for almost two hours.

‘’How pathetic am I?’’ I said aloud into the receiver without realizing.

‘’Why are you pathetic?’’ Dawn said back into the receiver.

Shit. Think then speak, Joyel, I reminded myself.

                I hesitated in telling Dawn the story, but I figured I wasn't getting anywhere on my own and could use some advice. So I took in a deep breath and began to tell Dawn all about Phil. Everything from the website to the events of the previous night. Even the part about me wasting two hours in front of the computer waiting for his reply. Maybe I should have left that one out, I thought.

''Wow! That’s so weird - your internet crush ended up being your blind date! How crazy is that? So you think he likes you too?'' Dawn asked sounding genuine.

''Well, that’s the thing; I thought he did. He really seemed interested, but then I messaged him and he never answered back. Besides, if he liked me wouldn’t he be in front of the computer waiting to talk to me?''

''Well first off, he’s a guy, Joyel. And second, maybe he’s just not as obsessive compulsive as you are. I mean really? Sitting in front of the computer staring at his picture in the conversation window for two hours? Can you say stalker?'' Dawn said as she let out a giggle.

''Not helping Sis.'' I managed to say without laughing. ''You’re probably right, though. He thinks I’m this complete and utter loser.'' I said sadly.

''That’s not what I meant. I’m just saying… give it time, it hasn’t even been 12 hours yet'' She said trying to sound hopeful.

''But he didn’t answer me.'' I reminded her.

''Maybe he’s at the bathroom.'' she pointed out.

‘’For two hours?’’ I shouted without meaning to.

''Well yeah, maybe he’s constipated. Shit happens!'' She blurted out. ''No pun intended.'' She said and we both laughed. ''I’m sure he’ll message you when he’s in front of the computer.'' As she said it, I heard my instant messenger making me jump up.

''Oh my god I think it’s him, just a sec.'' I said racing to the computer with the phone to my ear.

Dawn: Stalker!!!!!!!!

''Very funny, Dawn.'' I said trying to sound amused.

                I ended my conversation with Dawn and opted to take a shower and get on with my day. I thought about what Dawn had said and considered that maybe she was right; maybe I was being obsessive. I mean, what did I really know about this boy anyways? Perhaps all last night was and was ever going to be was just a really great memory, I thought as I let out a sigh and turned on the shower.

A Meet-Cute

                The day I received my very first message from Phil, I added him to my instant messenger. Since that day, my heart would race every time I signed in to see if he was there. It took at least twelve attempts of connecting every ten minutes, and pacing back and forth as I waited for it to sign it, before he was actually online.

                I still remember the first words I typed to him. Joyel. Of course, he had no idea who I was or what I was talking about when he read that. I explained that Joyel is my name. I also explained the whole internet dating story to him and told him how I was embarrassed and would it be possible for him to forget the message I sent him? He made fun of me and wrote ‘No way, this one’s a keeper; I’m going to remember it forever and always.’

                Phil and I became fast friends. In fact, Phil was the first person that I felt like I could really trust, which was strange considering the fact that we hadn’t actually met yet. He made it so easy for me to tell him anything and everything. Perhaps it was because we were separated by a screen, or maybe it was the fact that he had no idea who I was, really. Our relationship was new with no mistakes in it, and he made me feel like I could be myself. The way you feel when you’re with your very best friend; something I had never really had. That very first day we chatted until our fingers were numb and our eyes were sore from staring at the screen for so long.

                From then on, we spent hours chatting every day and it became my favorite part of day. We would talk about everything, from current events in the world to current events in our lives. I felt like I had known him all my life, and at the same time wished I had met him sooner.

                I began to know his schedule, as he did mine. I would rush home from work and impatiently wait for the instant messenger to connect. Most days, he would write me clever little e-mails while I was offline. They would say random things like ‘Total Disney moment: Don’t you think it’s crazy how Donald Duck never wears pants, but throws on a towel when he gets out of the shower?’ or cute things such as ’I’m going to the dentist today, come hold my hand.’ He would even send me messages to let know if he wouldn’t be online that day or just funny anecdotes of what had happened to him throughout the day.

                Over the course of the first month of our conversations, I learned that Phil was in a band; he was on lead vocals and played guitar sometimes. He had just gotten back from Nicaragua where he helped families in need. He lived with them, in the same living conditions, and helped them complete their daily tasks. He didn’t want anything to do with love as he was still digesting the fact that his ex-girlfriend cheated on him with his friend. He later admitted that he never loved her, but it still bruised his ego.

                Phil quickly learned that on most days I had way too much to say, and knew way too many random facts about celebrities. He learned that I was a college drop-out who constantly daydreamed about her prince charming and wrote in her journal in a dear diary kind of way. He discovered that I spent a ridiculous amount of money on clothes and had zero self confidence.

                We learned that we share the same zodiac sign and are roughly three weeks apart. We shortly after learned that we were more connected than we even thought.

                Before I knew it, it was February. More specifically, it was Superbowl Sunday and a hectic day at work. The hotel was packed as we were throwing a party in honor of the big event. There was a snow storm  and clients were checking in left and right as they couldn’t drive considering the weather. I finally made it out of work shortly after 8 p.m., when I usually finished at 3 p.m. Happy to be home, I walked in to my apartment exhausted and just wanted to take a nice long bath. I knew that Phil was gone with his friends to enjoy the Superbowl, but still wanted to check my e-mails just to be sure.

                I ran my bath as I waited for my laptop to power up and my IM to connect. By then I had discovered how to make it connect automatically. I walked over to my desk and pulled out my chair, as PaddyCakes watched my every move. Perhaps she felt neglected; I spent most of my time in front of the screen as of late.

                ''Come on Paddy, come read mommy’s messages with her'' I instructed her, feeling guilty.

                 She jumped on my lap as I typed in my e-mail password and to my surprise I didn’t have a single message, not even one offering breast enhancement or the best weight lost supplement.

                I got up and headed to my bath, feeling a little sad that Phil hadn’t written me any messages that day. I found myself missing him. Wondering what he was doing and if he was missing me. Even though we had never met, I felt like he was this major part of my life. Our conversations occupied most of my free time and even when we weren’t chatting I found myself thinking about him.

                I laid my head against the bath cushion and closed my eyes. This is nice, I thought. Just as I was drifting away to a dream of a beach wedding with Phil standing under a palm tree, the phone began to ring.

                ''Paddy-Cakes, bring mommy the phone?'' Oh right, she’s a cat, I reminded myself.

                I decided to ignore it and proceeded to close my eyes again. Whoever it was, they didn’t leave a message, I noted. And then again, the phone rang. Frustrated I grabbed a towel and ran down the hallway, leaving a trail of soaps suds and bubbles as if I were running through the woods and wanted to find my way back. I made it to the phone and managed to say hello before the machine picked up again.

                ''Hey, it’s Malorie'' A voice said on the other end.

                ''Hey Mal'' I said trying to sound cheerful. ''How are you?'' I added politely

                ''I’m great thanks. Listen sweetie, a bunch of us are going to Relay to watch the Superbowl and you know, have a few drinks. Are you up for it? Please say yes'' she begged.

                You knew Malorie was trying to con you into something when she called you sweetie. Malorie was at Relay every Thursday and Sunday without fail. Her blonde hair was always perfectly coiffed, and her outfits, very figure flattering. Since she and the love of her life Philippe had split, she was usually there trying to find someone to kiss at the end of the night. I sensed desperation in her voice so I couldn’t very well say no that night, even though I just wanted to crawl into bed.

                I was getting ready, putting the finals touches on my hair, when Malorie called saying she had arrived and was waiting for me by the door downstairs. I grabbed my purse and jacket, and gave PaddyCakes a kiss goodnight, promising to not come home too late.

                The storm had died down and the city was calm. Everyone was indoors, where it was warm, cheering for whichever teams were playing that night. I knew even less about football than I did about the quadratic equation, but I managed to convince myself that I would have fun.

                We were pulling up to the bar and Malorie was telling me about some of her childhood friends that were most likely going to be at Relay as they went every Sunday. I vaguely remembered meeting one of them, Keven, when she mentioned his name as we walked into the bar.

                We were standing at the coat check when she waved over to three guys standing at the bar.

                ''Great! He’s here'' she sounded excited.

                ''Who?'' I inquired looking over at the bar, but it was too dark to make out any faces.

                ''This guy who I grew up with'' She said looking away

                ''Oh so we’re here for some guy? Look Malorie, if you came here to make out with some guy and leave me stranded at the end of the night-''

                 ''Not for me'' she cut me off ''for you, silly.'' She said with a smirk on her face.

                I gave her a whatever you’re selling, I ain’t buying look and didn’t budge from where I was standing.

                ''Pleaseee sweetie'' She begged. ''He came to the salon to get his hair cut the other day and he’s newly single and for some reason I just thought of you. I don’t know why, but he reminds me of you; a hopeless romantic. Anyways, he has no idea so if it’s nay then you just walk the other way.''

                ''I am not a hopeless romantic!'' I said defensively ''Besides, I already have …''

                ''What?'' she interrupted me. ''A guy? Oh my god, really? That’s so exciting'' she yelled out. "What’s his name" she inquired as I stopped to rest my purse on a bench and look for my wallet.

                "Oh my god, you’re going to laugh." I had a smile on my face "Get this, his name is Phi-"

                "Phil!'' I heard Malorie yell out.

                ''Yes, actually that’s it…Isn’t that funny?'' I laughed and looked up at her. But she was already talking to some guy whose face I couldn’t quite see because he was leaning on a poker machine. That is just like Malorie, already ignoring me to talk to some guy, I thought as I reached back into my purse. Joyel, you really should start carrying a flashlight in your -  I felt Malorie tap me on the shoulder, interrupting my thought.

                ''Finally, my wallet!'' I said standing up to properly face her.

                She leaned in and whispered something that I didn’t quite catch. The music was incredibly loud as I pointed out to her at that moment. She was making a gesture as if pointing behind her and saying something that I couldn’t make out. Finally she yelled ''that’s him!'' Confused, I looked over her shoulder and as I did so, Malorie turned and saw what I saw – nothing! There wasn’t anyone there. Oh goodness, poor Malorie, I thought. She really should not drink before she gets to the bar.

                Malorie grabbed my hand and instructed me to follow her. We were making our way through the crowd, heading for the bar. Mal was on a mission. She leaned in close to some guy with an afro and a Led Zepplin t-shirt, and spoke into his ear. They both looked around and the afro-boy lifted his shoulders and shook his head as if to say I don’t know. She turned to me and then looked over my shoulder and smiled.

                ''There he is'', I read her lips. I looked at her confused as if to ask who? She leaned in closer so I could hear and continued ''the guy I want you to meet.''

                ''Phil!'' she yelled while gesturing her hand instructing him to come over.

                As soon as she said his name again, my heart stopped, and I somehow knew even before I turned around. I stood there frozen.

                ''Hey Phil, I want you to meet my friend.''

                Too afraid to jolt my body, I stood there staring into oblivion. Malorie grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. We both stood there staring at each other, not quite sure what to do next.

                ''This is …'' and before she could finish her sentence, Phil interrupted her.

                ''Joyel'' he said with the biggest smile.

                As he said it, the music skipped a beat, and so did my heart.

It was the Morning After...

                ...and I woke up to the worst headache imaginable. Great start to a new year, I thought. PaddyCakes was lying on the pillow next to me and if only she were Garfield I would have asked her what happened the previous night. 

                I crawled out of bed, put on a pot of coffee, turned on the computer and headed for my toothbrush before checking my e-mails and online celebrity gossip - my regular morning routine!

                I sat down in front of my laptop, coffee in hand, and proceeded to type in my password. Five new messages awaited me.

The trip is fantastic! We are on the boat, lots of fun and dancing. Weather is gorgeous and food is delicious. Had a Cobb Salad last night, Louis had the Fish n’ Chips. Forward this message to your sister. Love, mom xoxo.

                I clicked next, making a mental note to fill Dawn in later.

FW: fr: Dawn

Happy New Year! Oh! And why did you call me at like 4 a.m.? I could barely understand your message... something about a chin dimple? Call me later. 

P.S. Mom wanted me to forward this:

The trip is fantastic! We are on the boat, lots of fun and dancing. Weather is gorgeous and food is delicious. Had a Cobb Salad last night, Louis had the Fish n’ Chips. Forward this message to your sister. Love, mom xoxo.

                I couldn't help but laugh at poor Mom. She always made us forward each other e-mails just in case. ''You can't trust the internet on cruise ships" she would say. And I wasn't even going to bother trying to understand what Dawn meant about my alleged phone call; I was obviously in bed at that time. A chin dimple? Really, Dawn? I thought as I made my way to the next message.

We have received your registration. Thank you for signing up to Do You Look Good. 
Here is your information: Username: Littlelove 

                                           Password: gintonic

                Stupid spam, I assumed.

Thank you for updating your profile, Littlelove. 

Your picture is currently being approved and should appear within the next 24 hours.

This is not a spam message, please verify your Do You Look Good user options should you no longer wish to receive these notices.

                  Huh? Is this a joke? Questions started to arise as I clicked next hoping for a real message.
  

New message alert for Littlelove. 

You have received a message from DarkStar13, click the link below and sign in to read your message.

This is not a spam message, please verify your Do You Look Good user options should you no longer wish to receive these notices.

                This is ridiculous, I thought. DarkStar13? LittleLove? I sat there confused, contemplating whether or not I was curious enough to follow the instructions in the e-mail. After all, I had already wasted enough of my time and I really wanted to know if Seth and Summer from The O.C. had become Sethummer in real life. Were Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson really dating? And if so, would that mean that Seth gets Summer in the show? I definitely had more serious matters to attend to, but for some reason, that day, DarkStar13 and Littlelove won over Sethummer.

                I clicked on the link in the message and entered in the Littlelove username and gintonic password -seriously, who came up with this? I wondered. The information loaded and I could not believe what was right front of me. There it was, a picture of me, looking a little too happy I might add, along with Paddy-Cakes who, as usual, seemed right at home posing on my lap in front of the camera. I sat there confused, wondering why on earth not only my picture, but an entire page about me was on this website. I scrolled down the profile page, my eyes moving right to left, left to right, up and down; not quite knowing what I was looking for or even where to look. I sat and thought for a moment, trying desperately to remember the events that had occurred the previous night. The girls were talking about a dating a website, I recalled. Oh my goodness, they must have signed me up as a joke, I assumed.

                ''Bitches!'' I exclaimed looking over at PaddyCakes who jumped up at the sound of my voice.

                I didn’t know for sure that they were behind all of this, but it was the only explanation I could think of at the time. But when could they have done that? I wondered. This picture had to have been taken last night, I looked closer at the profile picture. Nothing made sense. Unless..., I thought as I turned to give Paddy a suspicious look, who in returned mirrored my expression. Nah...

                In the top left corner of the page I saw a small flashing flag, with the number 1 beside it. This must be the message. Did I really want to know who DarkStar13 was? Did I really care? I felt my hand guiding the mouse up to the flag. Something overcame me, possessing me to click on the message. Whether I was ready or not, I was about to find out what was really going on.

I don’t know... I see you like skittles, rainbows, unicorns and palm trees, but do you like robots and imaginary friends? ‘Cause those are pretty important to me. Tell you what, before we start planning the wedding, add me on instant messenger 

and you can start by telling me your name because you didn’t put it in your info and 

I’m guessing it’s not Littlelove, but I could be wrong.

                I sat there and read the message over and over, trying to understand where it came from. I mean, I knew it came from DarkStar13, and I knew that it was from this website, but none of it made sense. Why had he written ‘I don’t know’ in the beginning of his message? And more importantly, why did my stomach feel weird? Like millions of butterflies were fluttering around inside of it, and I couldn’t pull away from the screen.  

                I scrolled further down the message box to see if there were any other bits of information that could help me. 

P.S. Cute necklace

Phil xX

Darkstar13@mail.com

                Phil...Phil... why did that name ring a bell? Audrey’s boyfriend? I wondered. Malorie’s boyfriend? My mind was racing. And then right below, I saw it, and was instantly mortified.

Littlelove wrote:

Will you be my boyfriend?

 I remembered.

It Started With a Dare...