Nothing Normal

Kelsey looked forward; the cashier was staring at her quizzically. What’s wrong with her, Kelsey jumped, realizing she hadn’t handed the cashier her money.

“Oh, sorry. My bad.” Kelsey reached into her purse and began to sift through everything. Her wallet was nowhere to be seen. Then she remembered, she had been getting out of her car when her friend called to say she wouldn’t be able to make it. Kelsey remembered that she had been about to grab the wallet when her phone started ringing. She had completely forgotten. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I forgot my wallet in my car.”

The cashier looked annoyed. “I’ll be right back. Give me a minute.”

Kelsey turned to start toward her car, when the guy that had been behind her in line grabbed her arm. “Wait.” He turned to the cashier, “Here ring me up with her stuff, Rachel. I’ll pay for both of ours.”

The cashier quickly began to ring up both of his stuff. “Sure thing, Blaine. Oh and thanks for setting me up, it was amazing he’s a really great guy. I loved him, just like you said I would.”

Blaine smiled, “Don’t mention it. I’m glad you like him. He was kinda nervous about the blind date.”

Rachel laughed warmly, “I was, too, at first. $9.50?”

“Man, you guys are gonna make me broke. Moving these prices up like this so often. I’m gonna have to find a new morning routine.”

Rachel smiled and handed him his change, “I don’t make the prices.” Blaine picked up his and Kelsey’s stuff.

“I wish you did. You would go easy on me wouldn’t you?” He winked at Rachel.

“You bet. See you around.”

“Yeah, have a good day.” He turned and patted the guy’s back behind him. “Treat him nice for me, won’t you?”

Rachel laughed, “Yeah, yeah, get outta here.”

At last Blaine turned and faced Kelsey. He began to hand her the things she had planned to buy herself. He gave everything an once-over, “That it?”

Kelsey smiled meekly, “I think so.” She kept her head down.

Blaine smiled and bent down craning his head to see her face. “Are you ok?”

Kelsey raised her head and faced him. “Yeah, I’m just embarrassed.” She blushed and pushed the hair out of her face, nervously.

“Why?” Blaine pretended not to notice her red cheeks.

“Well, I just left my wallet in my car, held up the line, and a stranger bought my things for me.” He laughed good-naturedly. She smiled faintly and continued, “Follow me. I’ll pay you back.”

Blaine grabbed her hand. “Nah, it’s cool. Don’t worry about the money, but I could use some company for breakfast.”

Kelsey brushed her hair from her face and smiled. “Ok. I guess I can manage that.”

“C’mon.” He sat down at a table in the corner.

She took her place across from him. Kelsey took a sip of her water and began, “So…”

He smiled, “So…” Blaine looked away and then down. “My name’s Blaine.” He stretched his hand across the table.

She replied, “Kelsey,” and took his hand.

He smiled and said slowly, “Kelsey…Kelsey.”

She laughed, “Yeah, that’s my name. Don’t wear it out.”

He chuckled, “Yeah, sorry I like it.”

She nodded and looked down at the table. “I guess I should thank you for picking up my bill back there.”

“Aw, don’t mention it. I try to do something like that at least once every week.”

Kelsey leaned forward, “Why?”

Blaine laughed, “Why not?”

“Aw come on, what do you mean once every week? Do people in front you forget their wallets a lot?”

Blaine straightened up. “You’d be surprised…” He shrugged. “You did.” Kelsey blushed and looked down. Blaine continued, “Sometimes people just don’t have enough money and are about to take something back and I step in a pay for everything. Sometimes I am in line before someone and I just leave behind money and tell the cashier to use it to fill their bill and give them what’s left over. Other times I’ll just put $20 on the ground and leave it. It just really depends.”

“What made you start?”

“Well my mom used to do it, before she passed away. It just…” He looked down, “Keeps her close.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” he laughed, “What a great way for us to start breakfast, am I right? Sharing our sob stories.
Your turn.”

She smiled. He had a way about him. Blaine could make anyone feel special. He did, whenever anyone passed, regardless if he knew them or not. He paid everyone a compliment. He could turn anything into something good, that could have just as easily turned into something bad. He truly was a silver-lining kind of person.

They sat and talked for two more hours. She found out that he was a junior going to Carolina just like her. He played on the baseball team and was planning on becoming a doctor. Blaine turned out to be really smart and charming. The longer they talked the more at home she felt. Blaine had dark hair that was cut short. His hazel eyes were warm and bore a bright sparkle. When the light hit them just right they shone a soft light brown., but shown a pretty green when no light was on them. They were the prettiest eyes she had ever seen. He looked up from his long since finished breakfast and smiled. His smile was sweet and not too flashy but could brighten any room and the way he laughed only added to his all over dreamy appeal.

“Hello?” Blaine waved his hand in front of Kelsey’s face.

She giggled, “Sorry, I just kinda blanked out.”

“It’s cool I guess I was getting kinda boring.” She glanced at her phone and noticed how much time had passed.

“Oh my gosh, it’s been two hours.”

“I agree we need to get out of here. Have you got plans?”

“Not really,” and she brushed her hair from her face coolly.

He began to grin from ear to ear. “Good.”

“Why?”

“Because now you do.” Blaine grabbed up all of their trash and took it to the bin. “Come on. We’ll take my car.”

They left and she stopped just outside the café door. “This is crazy. We just met and I’m just gonna jump in your car, go wherever you want, without explanation.”

“Yeah that’s pretty much it.”

She smirked, “And you think this is normal?”

“Think of how we met. Was anything between you and me ever going to be normal?” Kelsey laughed and shook her head. This was crazy and she knew it, yet she was still going to do it.

“Ok, where are we going?”

Blaine laughed and led her to his car and opened the passenger door for her. She smiled at him as she sat down. He laughed again as the answer came to him, “No where normal.”

Blaine looked at Kelsey. She was in an oversized white t-shirt and shorts. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun. Her shirt was covered with different colored paints. They had been having a paint fight.

A friend of his was an artist and had gotten an art idea, which required them to fight with paint. He was ok with helping out he saw it as an opportunity to spend more than just that breakfast with Kelsey. His friend had text him about it while he was eating breakfast with her. After only a few minutes of talking to her he had already started coming up with ideas and ways to spend more time with her. The text gave him just that.

Blaine smiled. Right now, she looked better than anyone else he had ever seen. Her long, dark brown hair was falling out of the bun she had it in. Her brown eyes were dancing with excitement and happiness as she stood talking to his best friend. Blaine had liked other girls but none like her.

Kelsey was sweet, caring, but not afraid to express her opinion. He admired that, so many other girls tried to please him by pretending to go along with everything he said. She had won him over without even seemingly trying.

His friend that was an artist, Malcolm, approved of her from the beginning. But his best friend, Justin, was someone that was hard to impress and to get approval from. Blaine stood watching the first time his friend had ever opened up to anyone, including Blaine, in less than six months after meeting them.
Justin laughed loudly and Kelsey punched him playfully in the shoulder. She looked toward Blaine and smiled. Justin’s phone started ringing and he excused himself.

So Kelsey made her way to sit beside Blaine on the table. Kelsey spoke up sweetly. “I like Justin. He is really sweet and funny.”

“Yeah.” She continued, “…and Malcolm is hilarious and has some amazing ideas.”

Blaine sat smiling and nodding. Kelsey turned to face him and noticed he wasn’t paying attention, to what she was saying in the least, “Compared to them, you suck and are absolutely unbearable.”
Blaine still just stared forward, nodded and said, “I agree.”

Kelsey started laughing and that was enough to get his full attention. He turned, “What?” She stifled her laughter and managed to say, “Nothing.”

He smiled and asked playfully, “Really? Nothing? Are you sure?”

Kelsey began to laugh louder and made no attempts to silence it. Blaine grabbed her and started tickling her. She started laughing even louder and writhing trying to get away. “Stop! Come on, Blaine. I’m really ticklish.” She said through elated laughter.

“Oh, really? I’ve noticed.”

They both fell in a clump to the ground. They both lay on the ground laughing and turned to look at the other. As soon as their eyes met they both smiled. They lay like that for a few moments, before Kelsey laughed nervously and looked away. She turned her attention to the ceiling and Blaine followed suit.

After a few awkward moments she broke the silence, “Can you believe we only met this just this morning? I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

Blaine concurred, “Yeah, it’s weird.”

They both laid there for an even longer awkward moment and she interrupted the silence again,

“Today was great.” Blaine laughed, “Can I count you in for tomorrow?”

Kelsey giggled, “Did you even have to ask?”

Kelsey walked in and tried to close the front door of the apartment she share with her best friend, Vivian, as quietly as she could. It didn’t make a difference.

“Kels? Is that you?”

“Yeah. You didn’t have to wait up.”

She heard her friend laugh loudly and, “Yeah and if I hadn’t your parents would have killed me.”

Kelsey walked into the room they shared and instantly noticed all of the tissues all over the floor. “You realize when they said you need to take care of each other when you go off to college that they mostly meant me take care of you, right?”

She laughed, “Yeah and most of the time that’s what’s happening. You waiting up on me, but not this time. Where have you been?”

Kelsey dropped her purse on the floor and began to change into her pajamas. “Nowhere.” She cut her eyes in a mock attempt to make her friend believe that was true.

Her friend perked up, “Nowhere as in nowhere special or nowhere as in somewhere but I’m not telling.”

“Umm…”

Kelsey was interrupted by Vivian’s enthusiasm. “Oh my gosh, who is it? Where’d you meet? Do I know him?”

“Hold up how do you even know that I met someone? And for that fact… a guy? I didn’t even say anything but ‘umm’?”

“Yeah, but I have been your friend since we were in middle school and I have lived with you for the better part of my life. I think I know you ‘umm’ s.”

“Fair enough.” Kelsey began to pick up all the tissues off the floor. “Do you really have to throw these all over the floor?”

“Hey lay off me I’m depressed and I couldn’t find the trash can.”

Kelsey pulled the trash can from under a large pile of clothes. “It’s underneath all of your clothes.”

“You’re avoiding my questions?” Vivian responded in a singsong voice.

Kelsey rolled her eyes as she picked up the last of the tissues. “His name’s Blaine, I met him when my bestest friend decided not to show for breakfast.”

“God, how long did it take ya’ll to eat breakfast?”

Kelsey laughed and lay down on her bed. “So after breakfast, he invited me to his friend’s art studio for a paint fight. The paint fight was supposed to help his friend with an idea. I think that it’s going to be amazing when he pulls it all together.”

Vivian propped up on her arm. “I’m not really interested in the art inspiration part of the day and I know that was probably the least part of the day for you, too. So, come on, open up about the guy… What’s his name? Blaine…?”

That night they lay up talking well into the morning about Kelsey’s day and what was to come tomorrow. Kelsey drifted off to sleep staring at the picture of her and Blaine in their paint covered clothes. Vivian had insisted that Kelsey’s face was glowing, a glow that she rarely saw on her friend’s face. At first Kelsey had just shrugged off her friend’s insistence on the subject, but as she lay staring at the picture and thinking of her day and she knew that Vivian was right.

Every time she thought about something he had done she couldn’t keep from smiling and wanting to laugh out loud even though it had happened earlier.

Kelsey had always been very realistic and she knew it was crazy to like someone so much after spending only a day with them. She had read all the love stories she could get her hands on since she was little. She was a hopeless romantic.

She hadn’t told Vivian but she had known from the first moment her eyes met his that something was special, and isn’t this how it went in the love stories she had always read? They knew from the beginning, why couldn’t she? She tried to convince herself she was just acting crazy and needed to stop thinking that she KNEW something like they were meant for each other. These are moments that every girl dreams up at least once in their life. That they will meet a guy and KNOW from the first glance, but these are always just dreams. But no matter how many different ways she tried to convince herself it wasn’t true, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was right. That she was living her own personal love story, with her very own prince charming.

Kelsey woke up to the sound of her friend clanging pots and pans around. Vivian and Kelsey usually made breakfast together.

Kelsey walked into the kitchen, “Well hey there sleepy head. I just went on ahead and got a head start.”

“It looks like you’ve already finished,” Kelsey stated.

“Yeah, well...um... I guess you can do the toast.”

Kelsey smiled, “Ok.”

She rubbed her eyes as she put the bread in the toaster. Kelsey yawned, bored. “I’m bread. I’m bread.” She began to sing over and over.

Vivian cut her eyes over to her best friend. Kelsey was staring down at the toaster, singing,“I’m
bread. I’m bread.” The bread suddenly popped out and Kelsey yelled, “I’m toast!” Vivian broke out into laughter, sometimes her friend’s randomness, though expected, still cracked her up.

Kelsey turned with both pieces of toast on a plate, struck a pose, and took a bow. “Thank you. Thank you.” Kelsey said in between bows.

“Ok, ok. How about you and your thankful self carry some food over to the table.”

“Got it.” Kelsey had gathered everything in her hands to head to the table when they heard Kelsey’s cell phone begin to blast its ringtone. “Oh, I left my phone in our room.”

Kelsey looked at everything in her hands. “Um, can you--?” “Way ahead of you,” Vivian yelled as she ran to the bedroom.

Kelsey began to unpack her arms.

“Hello?” Vivian answered enthusiastically. “Yeah, hold on she’s caught up right now. Just wa--” Her friend paused, “Yeah, this is Vivian.” Another pause. “Oh she did, did she?” The next pause was the longest. “Yeah, I’d love too...11?... Got it?... Yeah... See you then.”

Vivian came back into the kitchen. “Guess who that was?”

Kelsey tilted her head. “Blaine. He invited me and you to come with him and his friend to-- well he said that where we’re going is a surprise.”

Kelsey smiled, “What time?”

“Eleven. So we need to hurry.” Both of the girls began to hurriedly eat in silence.
Until Vivian broke the silence with, “... and by the way I’m so jealous because his voice is totally sexy. If he is half as cute as his voice then “dibs” is so called off. Hand me the last pancake.”
Kelsey picked up the pancake and licked it. Sticking her tongue out at her friend. “Oh... very mature, Kels. Very mature.”

Kelsey dropped the pancake on Vivian’s plate. “I’ll show you... I’m still going to eat it.” Vivian took a bite and swallowed dramatically.

“Ewwwww!”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m hungry and you licking my food has never stopped me before so why would it today.”

She laughed her friend was right. “Now go get all prettified. Lord knows it would be crowded if we both didn’t get married and became old cat ladies.”

Kelsey hopped up and began to head toward their room. “I need to get rid of you to make more room for future cats,” Vivian called after her.

Kelsey rolled her eyes. Sometimes Vivian was so dramatic it was one guy that had broken up with her out of a sea of guys that wanted a chance to date her. She had no doubt that by next week she would have a new love interest, as usual.

Kelsey took her place in front of her closet and her heart sank. For the first time in her life she had no idea what to wear. She opted for a flowy shirt with a cardigan over it and jeans.

Vivian went for her usual jeans and t-shirt with converse. “I think we look super cute. Go us!” Vivian said, sticking out her hand for a high five, as they stood in front of the mirror. “Now we need to get going or we’re going to be late, as usual.”