Page 106 of Wallflower

Tyson found me at the end of the day and asked if he could pick me up at seven. I told him I'd rather drive myself, which he was totally cool with. We arranged to meet at a little Mexican restaurant in town.

The whole drive there I thought about turning back and calling it off.

But Dare's words kept replaying in my head, "Give Ty a chance."

If the tables were turned, I didn't think I could say the same. Nice girl, mean girl, whatever, I wouldn't be able to tell Dare to give them a chance. I loved him too much for that. And he obviously didn't feel the same.

My heart was heavy as I walked into the restaurant.

Tyson was already sitting in a booth, and he waved me over.

"Hey, Viola," he said then noticed my expression, "you okay?"

"Yep," I said. "How are you?"

"Doing fine."

"That's good."

We sat for a minute in silence until the waiter brought over some chips and salsa. It smelled wonderful. Tyson poured us both a cup of the red stuff. He picked up a chip and started munching, but though I tried to do the same, my heart just wasn't in it.

"How's soccer?" I tried.

"Going alright." He laughed. "Though Dare was pretty hard on everyone today. He was playing like a man possessed."

My ears perked up at the name. "Oh? I wonder what that was about."

"No idea," Tyson said. "But I tried to stay out of his way. Dare's my best friend, but he can be moody."

I laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it. He's so annoyingly confident but still likeable. How does he do that?"

"The way he switches from hot to cold can give you whiplash," Ty commented.

"Yes!"

"And he hates discussing his feelings."

"He totally does," I said. "God forbid the guy actually has any of those."

We both laughed and soon I was eating the chips right along with Tyson.

He sighed a second later.

"But that's our Dare," he said. "Hard shell with a heart of gold in the center. Who wouldn't want that, right?"

"Yeah," I said suddenly not so hungry anymore. "That's a great way to describe him."

"I wanted to ask you about something. But I hope you won't get mad. I promise I'm not trying to embarrass you."

I looked up, and Tyson smiled.

"You know how you confessed to me earlier in the year?"

"How could I forget?" I said and waited for him to continue, wondering where this was going.

"You were so brave," Tyson said.

That caught me off guard.

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