Seventeen
878 Words
STOP YOUR PINING
SATURDAY FLEW BY EXCRUCIATINGLY SLOW.
And Sunday was going by even slower. It was absolute t*****e.
Why am I even so nervous? Nova couldn't help but ponder to herself as she stood under the shower, the cold water running through her well-maintained hair and down her slender back. What am I so anxious about anyway?
When she got out of the shower minutes later, she still didn't have answers to her own questions.
Perhaps she was just worried she'd never be able to make her emails as poetic. Or that she couldn't create butterflies in someone she hadn't even met yet. Or that she could never phrase words in the way that it made someone warm all over.
Maybe it was all of those reasons.
Nova might be a hopeless romantic and believe in the idea of soulmates and happily-ever-afters but that didn't mean she was good in being a romantic person.
Maybe if she was given the chance, she could've discovered just how great she could be. But it never got serious with anyone. Sure, she'd kissed guys. Made out with a few. But somehow the initial sparks always burnt out.
No one ever seemed to be able to make their way into her heart and build a home there.
That connection... It just was never there. Or was it just that she had unrealistic expectations?
Nova frowned at the thought. It wasn't unrealistic to want the kind of love that made your heart soar and your eyes light up, was it? That kind of love had to exist.
She didn't have to settle did she? She had her entire life stretched out in front of her; so many more people to meet. So many opportunities out there for her to stumble across someone that was going to light up a fire inside her that nobody would be able to put out.
Maybe that was why she never really focused much on the boys at school; she knew that they'd never really understand anyway. At least, not now. Not when they just wanted to have fun and be reckless. Nova couldn't blame them for that.
Which was why when she began getting these notes, something inside her seemed to snap. Because, yes, there was a boy at school who wanted her the way she wanted to be wanted.
And for the first time in a long time, Nova was wondering if she didn't have to wait all that long for her to meet her special someone after all.
And now she was at her wit's end, at an utter loss about what to do or how to act about it.
Well that does it then, Nova thought decisively. She wasn't going to be a coward and let slip through her fingers something as rare as this just because her emotions were all over the place.
Taking determined strides towards her laptop in nothing but her royal blue towel, she started typing —
Nova's here, anonymous one. You can stop your pining. :D
Heart in her throat, she clicked send.
Yeah, maybe it wasn't as grand as a greeting he could've come up with, but it was all that Nova had. And she wasn't going to apologise for it.
Words weren't her thing anyways.
xxx
NO, WAIT. MAYBE SHE SHOULDN'T have sent that emoji.
Maybe she should have sent a simple smile.
Maybe she — oh, to hell with it.
Its alright, Nova, she told herself. You haven't done this before. You're not expected to have some witty, make-you-week-in-your-knees comment up your sleeves.
Trying to relax her nerves and loosen up the clenched muscles in her shoulders and arms, she laid back in her swivel chair and waited.
And waited.
Twenty minutes later, she received an email.
She instantly straightened up, her back going rigid and her fingers curling tightly around the arms of the chair.
Breathe in, breathe out. Take it slow, just like that.
Nova ran her tongue over her lips and clicked on the email at the top of her inbox.
You responded.
You actually responded.
Is it bad that I needed to pinch myself? That's bad, right? (cue the awkward laugh)
Nova Hart, of all people, responded to me.
I hope the cringe-worthy poem didn't make you, well, cringe.
I swear I can give Wordsworth a run for his money, okay?
I just... Ugh, I don't know.
Did you like the gummy bears? I saw the RB carrying around a packet today. Was it one from those I gave you? Funny, I didn't think you really shared them with anyone...
Anyway, tell me something. Anything. What's going on in that pretty head? =)
—yours truly(I'm going to take my time and actually write a proper poem for you soon enough. Just you wait and see).
Nova had on a soft smile as she went through the email; it was simple and conversational and she didn't think coming up with a reply to this would be as nerve-wrecking as the previous one.
He was just trying to get to know her better now. She was in her element here. This she could confidently do.
Shoulders relaxing, she clicked on the reply option and began typing as soon as a fresh email window opened up.
- Writer
