The Right Kind of Wrong

Sitting at a table in the half-filled café in the middle of Grand Forks, Emily was writing on her mid-term essay for a management class as well as having a coffee. She’d been procrastinating pretty badly and was feeling rather frazzled about actually getting it finished by the deadline placed by the professor. She was usually rather good at keeping such things, but this time it had just…well time had gotten away from her and she was behind.

Rubbing her hand over her forehead as she moved her ponytail over her shoulder, she sighed heavily and reached for her cup of coffee. For some reason she was feeling distracted and that alone was bad, but at the same time she was feeling uninspired. She couldn’t find something to write about and she had a rather well-founded feeling that the report would not end up being one of her better ones.

Sighing, she tried to get back into the mood to write as well as try to get her idea – or what was supposed to be her idea anyway – more clear and explained, but she didn’t need to know what she was doing to know that she was failing miserably.

Typing away on her laptop, she jumped slightly as someone sat down on the other side of the table, causing her to snap her head up and a smile slowly spread on her lips as she recognized the man. “Hey.”

“I haven't seen you in a while,” Chris said as he dropped his bag on the floor and made himself more comfortable in the chair.

“I know,” she sighed, saving her document and closing her laptop. “I've been busy,” she revealed as she settled back in the seat she was sitting in, pulling her foot up in the chair as she did.

“I know how that goes,” he nodded slightly, sipping the to-go cup of coffee he’d bought before he saw her. “I tried calling you the other night.”

“I know,” she ducked her head slightly. “I saw that a while later, my phone was in my room and we were having a bit of a dinner-movie thing in the common room,” she revealed. She wasn't about to admit that she’d actually had her phone with her and actively ignored his call as her want to talk to him scared her out of her own mind. She didn’t know why or how he made her feel what she did but…it scared her.

“I was just going to see if you wanted to tag along when we went to the movies,” he shrugged simply. “So what were you writing?” he asked, desperate to keep things from going weird or awkward between them.

“Mid-term paper,” she frowned. “I don’t…” she trailed off, shaking her head slightly. “I'm so not in the mood,” she admitted.

“We’ve all been there,” he nodded knowingly. “I'm not interrupting too much then,” he smiled cheekily.

“Not at all,” she smiled widely.

“I didn’t see you on Halloween,” he commented evenly, not wanting her to know that he actually missed her at the party the team hosted at Hexie and Chay’s house just outside of the town.

“No,” she ducked her head. “Fratts sent me an invite and I thought about going, and then Anna and Pixie convinced me to stay here at their party,” she twisted the truth slightly. “I didn’t get a costume and I had to wear one from the year before last,” she admitted.

“What did you go as?” he asked curiously as he looked straight at her, ready to try and imagine just what she’d looked like. At the time he hadn’t really thought much about it, but the day after the party he’d realized he’d really wanted to see her dressed out and dolled up.

“A varsity cheerleader,” she admitted, blushing widely. “It wasn't a typical cheerleader costume, but I’d worn it before and it was in my closet so that’s what I went as,” she shrugged, trying to ignore the way he was looking at her.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t imagine you as a cheerleader,” he admitted sheepishly as he continued looking at her.

“It’s not something I've ever thought about,” she admitted as she fished up her iPhone from her bag and scrolled through all the photos currently crammed into it before handing it over to him. “You don’t have to imagine it.”

“Cute,” he smiled as he looked between the picture on the phone and the woman sitting before him. The photo was taken in the early part of the evening, so no eyes were drooping and there was no one passed out in the background.

“Thank you,” she blushed slightly as took the phone as he handed it back to her. “What did you go as?”

“A pirate,” he revealed, causing her to laugh. “Something wrong with that?” he questioned, feigning annoyance.

“No,” she giggled. “I just…I just can’t picture you as a pirate.”

“I thought about going as a fireman but it ended up being as a pirate,” he shrugged, seemingly not bothered by her laughter and giggles.

“I think fireman would have fit you better,” she smiled widely, consciously ignoring the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks.

“Can’t always go the right way,” he tilted his head slightly and she couldn’t help but notice that he did look a bit like an adorable puppy. A thought she quickly pushed out of her head.

“True,” she nodded slightly, a sort of strained silence spreading between them. For whatever reason she couldn’t figure out, he made her skittish and it was a feeling she really wasn't used to, at least around people who wasn't either teachers or coaches.

“I missed you at the game the other night,” he threw out there before he could even think, causing himself to want to slap himself around the head.

“I know,” she said slowly. “I had to study for a last minute test,” she admitted as she looked at him from beneath her lashes. He was causing her to feel so nervous and he didn’t even seem aware of it. On her flight back to Minnesota the same fall, she’d promised herself to not let anyone – boy or girl – mess with her head this year and what happens? The first guy to get even remotely close to her and she’s stumbling, fumbling, stuttering like a fool, it was scaring the hell out of her.