The Cupcake Of Rejection Chapter 2

It’s been one week and I still haven’t seen her. I sighed and stared down at my hands. I’ve been waiting for two hours, I thought. If she was coming she would’ve been here by now.

I breathed in the cool, fall air and started to jog around the park again. Ten minutes longer won’t hurt anybody will it?

She’s tainted my mind. I’ve never met a girl who confused me so thoroughly. I closed my eyes as I ran and tried to push away the disappointment that I’ve been feeling all week.

I opened my eyes and let out a yelp. She was standing right in front of me with her hand on her hip, her head tilted to the right, and she was slightly bending one knee. It made her shorter than she already was. She looked a lot different than last time. It shocked me.

Her black hair reached her shoulders and flowed out in layers. It wasn’t pin straight, but it wasn’t curly. Her eyes were outlined and made her look more intimidating. Her lips were between washed out pink and light red. She was wearing a skirt, boots, and a tank top. Her wrists were covered in bracelets and she had a ring on each middle finger. One was a heart and the other said “Love” on it.

I couldn’t help but notice the small outline of her curves, or the way her hair swayed in the wind.

I wouldn’t really describe her as beautiful, maybe not even pretty. She was too intimidating to call cute, but she definitely was not average. I didn’t want my eyes to linger for too long, so I looked back at her eyes. The blackness of them bored into mine.

The wind blew harder and her hair whipped around her head. Her scent came towards me and she smelled like vanilla. I secretly breathed it in. She didn’t seem to notice the breeze, but I shivered and felt the coldness seep into my skin.

Isn’t she even the least bit cold? I thought as I looked down at my sweatpants and jacket.

“I know I’m scary, but I’m not scary enough to make you scream.” she said with her rough voice slightly gravely.

“I didn’t scream.” I said as I nervously darted my eyes around. I didn’t want it to look like I was waiting for her. “You just…shocked me.”

She turned her back to me and skipped to the picnic table. It shocked me for a second, but I followed. I couldn’t help glancing at her butt, but I swear I only looked for a second…Or two.

She sat on top of it and leaned back on her hands. I didn’t notice how small she was compared to the table. She barely took up half of it.

I sat down next to her and leaned back in the same way.

“So, you were waiting for me, huh?” she said with a smirk on her face.

“I-I was not!” I said with a blush creeping onto my cheeks.

“Right.” she said. “Whatever helps you sleep Alex.”

She sounded so self assured.

“I wasn’t!” I exclaimed.

“Whatever floats your boat.” she said dismissively. “Anyways, today is Question Day.”

“What?” I said. I scooted a little bit closer to her. Not enough for her to notice, but enough to pass off as fidgeting.

She sighed in a way that made me think I was extremely naïve, which I probably was.

“It’s when I ask you questions, hence the name Question Day.” she said like she was talking to a five year old.

Oddly enough, this didn’t bother me at all. Usually if one of my friends did that, I would’ve been angry, but there was something about her that made me want to keep talking to her.

“Anyways, time to ask the first question. How old are you?” she asked.

“I’m sixteen and a half.” I answered. “How old are you?”

She put a finger to my lips.

“Today is my day, not yours. But your day will come.” she said vaguely.

I was extremely confused by this and she seemed to notice.

“You look so cute when you don’t understand things.” she said with a tint of distantness. She gently stroked my cheek with her finger but as quickly as she did it, she pulled away.

The whisper of her finger lingered on my cheek. I felt a blush creep up on them.

She pushed herself forward and sat on the edge of the table. Her legs were hanging off and she started to kick them back and forth. I moved up with her and sat the same way. I didn’t kick my legs but I tried to move a little closer.

“Next question. What’s your middle name?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

Some would find this annoying, but I found it endearing.

“It’s-” I tried to say.

“Actually, let me guess.” she said. She bit her lip and looked up at the sky, as though it held the answer. “Simon?”

“No.” I said. She wasn’t even close.

“George?” she asked.

“Nope.” I said.

“Keith?” she asked more antsy than before.

“Not even close.” I said.

She made a noise that could only be described as a growl and a groan.

“Do you want a hint, Mabel?” I asked.

“No!” she exclaimed, slightly jumping when she said it. “How about…Thomas?”

“You’re really bad at guessing.” I said with a chuckle.

“You’re Mom is bad at guessing!” she shouted as she crossed her arms and pouted. She stopped kicking her legs and made another face. It looked like she was confused.

I sighed. “Okay, since you’re never going to guess it, it’s Christian.”

“C-Christian?” she stuttered.

“Yup.” I said. “Why? Is there something wrong with that name?”

I saw her eyes glaze over and she stared off into the distance. She turned her whole body away from me and sent me one fleeting glance. Her eyes had tears in them that were about to spill.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, incredibly confused and concerned at the same time.

“Oh nothing.” she said, her rough, gravely voice was filled with sadness. “I’m going to go.”

“I’m sorry if I did something wrong.” I said, aware of the fact that you never let a girl go if she’s going to cry. I reached out to her but pulled my arm back before she saw it. She’d freak out if I tried to touch her.

She turned back to me for a split second and smiled at me like nothing was wrong. She put her soft hand on my arm as if I needed reassurance. Her hand was so warm and so cold at the same time.

“I’m fine.” she said. She quickly removed her hand.

The biggest lie for girls and women alike.

She ran and her hair was flipping in the wind. It looked like she was experiencing the warmest day of the summer, when it was actually 50 degrees and chilly outside. Before she was out of sight, I screamed, “When are you coming back, Mabel?”

“When you least expect it!” she shouted back.

I still felt the softness, warmth, and coldness of her hand on my arm. The feeling stayed for days to come.

Oh, Mabel, I thought. What did I do to make you cry?