A Chance Encounter

Walking through the park with Daniel was very surreal. First off, it was surreal simply because of who he was. Constantly there were people doing double-takes or trying to sneakily act like they weren’t staring at him in fascination. But even besides that, it was surreal because he seemed to actually enjoy Renee’s company. This was not something that usually happened to her.

Renee was the type of girl who most guys see as “a really awesome friend.” Not that she wasn’t pretty: Renee had a slim build with slight curves, her strawberry blonde hair fell in gentle waves just past her shoulders, and her eyes had a habit of changing color to match her mood, the weather, or what she was wearing. Today they were a clear, ice blue, matching the color of the sky.

But for all of this, she had never had many boyfriends. The guys she knew tended to date the stick thin, uber tan, fake blonde bimbos and then complain to her that they “don’t really connect.”

Yet for some reason, Daniel seemed to like her. They talked and got along with ease, swiftly hopping from topic to topic with out missing a beat. It was magnificent.

“So what are you going to school for?” Daniel asked Renee as they strolled down the Manhattan streets.

“English. I’m going to get my teacher’s certification so that I can teach high school.”

“That’s cool. Are you excited about it? It sounds like fun.”

“Yeah, I am. I love to read and I love to write,” Renee responded with a smile.

“So do I. What’s your favorite book?” Uh oh, thought Renee. Problem. My favorite book is Harry Potter. But I can’t tell him that! He’ll know I know!

“Well lately I’ve been really into, and don’t laugh at me because it is so typical of the American girl right now, but… the Twilight series.”

“Isn’t that the one about the vampires?”

“Yes,” Renee laughed. Whoo… dodged that one! Renee thought. She was about to ask Daniel what his favorite book was, when suddenly her grabbed her arm and pulled her into a store. “What are you doing?” Renee asked, struggling to keep her balance.

“I am making up spilling your coffee on you,” Daniel replied.

“But you already did that, by buying me a new one.”

“No. I made up spilling your coffee by buying you a new one. I did not make up ruining your shirt. So, I’m going to get you something.”

“Daniel, really. You’re being ridiculous. You don’t have to do this,” protested Renee.

“But I want to,” Daniel replied quietly, looking directly into her eyes. Renee could feel herself beginning to cave, and said, blushingly, “okay.”

Before she could barely say another word, Renee was being shoved into a dressing room with a giant pile of clothes. Daniel made her try on countless amounts of t-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, tank tops, and even some pants, skirts, and dresses. Finally they left the boutique, Renee sporting a brand new forest green baby doll tee with a design of golden roses going up the right hand side and a matching scarf around her neck
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They continued talking the whole time, as they made their way into Bryant Park.

The minutes passed into hours as they sat on a bench, enjoying the day, the scenery, and each other.

“Can I ask you something?” Daniel suddenly inquired. They had been sitting in a sort of gentle silence for a while, and at some point over the last several hours, Daniel’s hand had managed to sneak its way into entwining itself with Renee’s.

“Hmmm?”

“Do you know who I am?” Renee just looked at him quizzically. “Do you know who I am?” Daniel repeated. Renee sighed, and looked down at her hands. This is it. Once he knows that I know who he is, it’s the end. He won’t want to be around a lying annoying crazy fangirl.

“You’re Daniel Radcliffe. Star of the Harry Potter movies and a whole bunch of others, currently on Broadway in the play Equus,” replied Renee, never looking up from her hands.

“And why didn’t you say anything if you knew who I was?”

“Ugh… I don’t know. I guess I just figured that you probably got really tired of people, especially girls, freaking out over you all the time… so I didn’t want to be that way. And then, when you were so nice and sweet… and we got along so well, I didn’t want it to stop. I like spending time with you, but then I was afraid that if I told you that I knew who you were you’d get mad at me for lying to you… and think that I just did it all on purpose so that I could get close to ‘the famous Daniel Radcliffe.’ But it’s not like that… I swear!”

Daniel was looking at Renee with an expression on his face that she couldn’t quite figure out. “What?” she said when she couldn’t take it any more.

“The fact that you understood me enough to know that I wouldn’t want to be around those ‘crazy annoying fangirls’ as you call them, means so much to me. It’s important for me that people, especially girls, and even more so, girls that I like, get to know me for who I am… not just because I’m ‘Harry Potter.’ You’ve given me the chance to just be… me. And that means the world to me.”

Renee finally looked up from her lap, “Really?”

“…Really,” and with that, Daniel took his other hand, lifted it to Renee’s face and kissed her lips, cautiously at first, unsure of how she would react. But as she tilted her head back, inviting him in, he let go of his fear… and they both just got lost in the moment.