Fantasy World

Maci prodded at her nose. "This looks terrible," she whined to herself as her eyes studied her nose in the mirror. A dark bruise flowed down over her nose and under both of her eyes. She looked like she'd just gotten into a fight with someone. She wasn't exactly fond of the new look.

Her phone violently buzzed on the edge of her bed before clattering to the floor. Maci jumped to pick it up, hoping she hadn't just broken yet another phone. When she saw that it was perfectlly okay, she answered the phone call from Stephanie.

"Hello?"

She could barely hear anything over a ruckus of laughter. "Oh my God, Mace. Please tell me you've seen Steven," she begged through her giggles.

Maci frowned in confusion. "No. Why?" she asked curiously. Her eyes went back to her nose. He'd probably laugh at her if he saw it. Her fingers lightly ran over the discolored skin.

"He got- Oh God, it was so funny!" Stephanie choked out.

Maci rolled her eyes. "What was?" she asked.

"Okay, did you see the game yesterday night? Against the Bruins?" The laughter had died down temporarily.

"No," she answered honestly. She had been planning on watching it, until her face got attacked by her physics book. She hadn't even gotten to record it in Corey's busy flurry of action to get her to a doctor.

Stephanie let out another giggle. "Okay, so he just got the puck and Chara's stick smacked him in the face! He totally got a black eye from it! He sent me a picture and I almost died laughing," she exclaimed before bursting into a fit of laughter all over again.

Maci smiled a little. At least she wouldn't be alone now. "Well, he isn't the only one," she started.

"What?" Stephanie nearly yelled.

"You should see my face. I look like I got into a fight," she told her best friend.

Stephanie stayed silent for only a second. "You better tell me how you got that before I assume the worst and kick Kyle's ass."

Maci let out a laugh. "No, it wasn't even a person. I was laying in bed, holding my physics book over my face and it accidentally slipped when I jumped because my phone buzzed. The edge nailed me in the nose just perfectly. It looks terrible," she explained.

Stephanie tried to stifle her laughter. "Aw... Baby Steven and Big Steven are twins!" she exclaimed.

Maci rolled her eyes. "I'm going to hang up now so you can keep laughing to yourself," she told her best friend.

"I love you!" Stephanie yelled before Maci hit the end button. She smiled at her best friend's antics. She missed her so much.

Just after the phone's screen turned black, it lit up again with a picture message. Maci quickly opened it, only to find a picture of Steven with a black eye. She giggled slightly before stopping instantly as her eyes read over the words.

"Can I get a sympathy dinner date tonight at 7?"

She chewed on her lip as her heart raced. A dinner date? As in... a real date? Her heart began pounding. Steven was asking her on a date?

Before the true panic of that could wash over her, her mind flickered forward. What did she say? She and Kyle had been broken up officially for two and a half weeks. That surely wasn't long enough before she was seen on another date, was it? It couldn't even be long enough to get over Kyle.

But she hadn't shed a tear over him since he'd called her a bitch and walked off. After talking to Stephanie and Corey about it more, the more she started to notice his flaws. Not just the small flaws like being vain about his looks, but the meaningful ones. His absolute hatred of anything to do with hockey, his persistence to get drunk every weekend, his sometimes harsh words that came out a little too meanly.

She was starting to think maybe she had done what was best for her by staying away. When Stephanie pointed out his schooling record and career choices, Maci began to agree. He'd bailed out of college after his freshman year and only worked low end jobs with bad reputations. She wouldn't have minded the fact that he worked in a bar if he'd been respectable about it. Kyle had taken being a 'friendly bartender' to a next level, insisting it was what his boss wanted.

Maci missed the good old Kyle. The one that would sit at home and watch stupid movies with her without trying to suck her face off. The Kyle Graceson that would always be supportive of her doing school work before going out with him and never got angry about it. He had changed a lot since moving to Florida and she'd been turning a blind eye to it. She was too in love with him to admit the truth to herself.

No matter what, though, she knew she couldn't actually go on a date with Steven. She knew it was still too soon after Kyle for her to be completely comfortable with it. Let alone the fact that Stephanie would rip them both new ones.

So, she decided she'd change it up on him slightly. She took a quick picture of her nose and typed out a message to him.

"Sympathy coffee break at 2?"

She chewed on her lip as she read over her message after it had sent. That didn't sound too much like a date, did it? It was just coffee. They'd done it before on several occasions.

Maci fell down onto her bed, feeling the need to drop her physics book onto her face again. She was an idiot. She should have just said that they could hang out, but only as friends. No date aspect. Her mind flew through several other options she could have taken, but had ignored.

"O Canada, our home and native la-"

Maci answered her phone before the rest of Steven's personal ringtone could play. "Hello?" She remembered the day he'd set the ringtone on her phone. He'd told her it was her ringtone on his phone, just because they were "Canadian buddies stranded in Florida together." She hadn't once changed it since that day two and a half years ago.

"What the hell happened to your nose?" Steven demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing. I thought you wore a visor?" she asked, trying to keep her calm. Inside, little hummingbirds were flustered and zipping around.

"His stick went under the visor. Now tell me what happened," he responded in a firm voice.

She let out a sigh. "I was attacked by-"

"Good God, what?" he yelled out.

She rolled her eyes and held in her giggle. "My physics book. I was attacked by my physics book, Steven," she assured him calmly.

Maci heard his heavy sigh through the phone. "You had me terrified that bastard had hit your or something," he stated. "Now, tell me why that big bad book would attack Baby Steven."

Maci smiled to herself as she rolled over onto her stomach, picking at a loose thread from her pillow case. "I was holding it over my face when I was laying on my bed because I was trying not to study and it fell. Actually, it was you texting me that made my phone go off and scare me, making me jump. So, it's pretty much all your fault," she told him teasingly.

The flustered hummingbirds began to relax, leaving her with a comfortable feeling. He had that effect on her. He was like a wave of back home comfort. She wouldn't ever admit it, but he felt like home at times when she was sick to go back to Canada. He was like a saving grace in a place that wasn't meant for her.

Steven let out a chuckle. "Then I will happily pay for your coffee to make up for it," he assured her.

Maci smiled. "Good. Because I am exhausted from no sleep last night and I need a wake up call so I can keep studying."

"Then I'll come pick you up early and we'll go get your some caffeine," Steven responded.

"Deal. When will you be by?" she asked as she glanced at her alarm clock. It was almost one pm.

"Well, I'm driving back from lunch with Downie. Want me to come get you right now?" he asked.

Maci glanced at herself in the mirror again. She cringed at the sight of her nose. It looked so horrible. She wanted that coffee, though... "Yeah, that sounds good," she told him.

"I'll be there in five minutes, baby Steven. See you soon."

"By, Big Steven."