Chapter 13

“Should we walk to the river?” I ask once we’ve both finished our drinks, and Beck nods. We slip out of the café right as a customer enters, and I have to squeeze out of the way. Taking a step back, I bump into Beck’s chest and he instinctively reaches out a hand to steady me, placing it on my shoulder gently but firmly.

Feeling my face heat up, I clear my throat awkwardly. “Um. Thanks,” I say totally relaxedly as we leave, walking side by side each other. His hand is right there and I’m super tempted to just reach out and take it, but is it too soon?

I mean, this is only our first date, maybe he’d hate the idea of holding my hand so soon. Or at all. What if he doesn’t like holding hands?! I wouldn’t- that’s fine, I wouldn’t force him to hold my hand, but…holding hands is nice.

My phone pings and I glance down to see my favourite name pop up on the screen.

Rebecca🌸: What’re you thinking about? You look super serious

Do I? Glancing over at him, Beck gives me a reassuring smile, and I clear my throat awkwardly, trying to come up with something to say. “So…uh…have you…um…what’re your sisters like?” I blurt out, saying the first thing which comes to mind.

Beck blinks for a moment before grinning and typing something on his phone.

Rebecca🌸: So they’re called Katherine, although we call her Katie, and my other sister is Elizabeth but she prefers Liza

“Wow, they have pretty posh names,” I say with a laugh, wondering how Beck fits in with that. I mean, Katherine, Elizabeth and Beck? His is much more informal in comparison.

Rebecca🌸: We all thought so too, that’s why we shorten our names

I glance over at him, then back down at my phone. “Wait, is ‘Beck’ a nickname too?” I ask. He nods, his cheeks looking a little pink.

Rebecca🌸: My name is Beckett but it doesn’t really suit me

Gaping at my phone for a moment, I turn back to him. “Dude, I love Beckett that’s so cool! Who gives a shit about whether it suits you; I’m literally named after a mythical beast and I’m like the epitome of your average guy.”

Beck blinks at me for a moment, before grinning, a little blush blossoming beneath his cheeks. I feel my heart squeeze at the adorableness, but suppress that feeling as best I can, so I don’t act on it.

Rebecca🌸: You always make me feel better. Thank you :)

“I just say the first thing that pops into my head,” I grumble, turning away so he won’t see my stupidly happy smile. We walk around for a bit, admiring the river and the greenery surrounding it, our conversations menial and relaxed as we get to know each other a bit.

Beck shows me pictures of his cat, some of his artwork (which lemme say, is incredible) and some drawings he did of Rebecca and Sir Griffin. That’s the cutest thing, how he accidentally swiped onto the drawing and then tried to deny its existence, until I convinced him to show me properly.

It’s then that I realise he’s the one who drew the chibi Rebecca design on his keyring from that first time.

When it starts to get dark, I tell him I have to go somewhere soon, and he walks with me to the bus stop. He waits with me for my bus in silence, but it isn’t awkward, and instead is surprisingly comfortable. When my bus rolls up, I find myself a little disappointed. I mean, I didn’t get to hold his hand at all, and I was too nervous to ask if I could.

He walks up to the bus with me, and I say my goodbyes, giving him a little wave as he waves goodbye to me. I turn to leave, but Beck suddenly grabs my hand. I turn back around, his face an adorable shade of pink as he realises what he’s done and lets go of my hand.

I just smile, boldness and courage suddenly flaring in me, and I step up towards him, kissing his cheek before practically dashing onto the bus. I sit right in the back corner, trying to work out whether I feel more happy or stupid.

In the end, I decide on ‘stupidly happy.’

—————

“You lost them?”

I nod awkwardly, playing with the sleeve of my flannel. The doctor sighs, turning back to her computer. “Alright. Well, I can prescribe you some more, but lose the celecoxib again and we’re going to have to have a serious chat about your organisation.”

I nod hurriedly, not wanting to explain that I didn’t in fact lose my meds, but they were thrown out by my mother.

Heading back down to the pharmacy part of the hospital with the prescription notice in my hand, I pass it to the man over the counter, standing awkwardly as I pick up more analgesics within the span of a few days.

Thanking the man, I breathe a sigh of relief. Finally I can actually do something about this pain. It definitely started getting worse after I played the piano here and then at my parents', and then after my mother made me play for hours the other night.

I still don’t really get why my wrists only started being this bad recently, when I’ve had this problem from birth. It’s something to do with how my bones and cartilage grew as I got older or whatever, but science is too confusing for my poor measly brain.

Getting back to my dorm room, I take my medication and then try and get an early night to catch up on some of the sleep I missed from doing my assignments late into the night.

The next time I see Miri, she quizzes me on my date. “I thought you were going last weekend but I guess you had to go home. How was it though? What’s he like?” She asks excitedly, and I let myself smile slightly.

“It was good actually. I get on really well with him, he’s super easy to talk to and our conversations flow well.”

Miri smiles at me, but for once it’s not teasing, and she looks genuinely happy. “I’m really happy for you Fin, you deserve someone lovely. So, you two going on a second date?”

I feel my smile widen again, and I clear my throat awkwardly. “Yeah um, we are. Next weekend.”

She just beams at me before snatching me up in a hug. “Hell yes! You have a picture of him?”

I actually do as well, we took a selfie yesterday and he looks adorable and hot at the same time. Fumbling around with my phone, I pull up the picture to show her. “Holy shit! He’s hot! I totally thought you were seeing some nerd like yourself, but this guy is fiiine,” she exclaims and I just cover my rapidly heating cheeks.

I mean, she’s not wrong. He is definitely a catch for like 10 different reasons. He’s sweet, kind, friendly, considerate, attractive and he’s a nerd like me, just to name a few! He’s literally my perfect match.

Shut up Griffin, you’re getting all up in your own head. Just take things one step at a time.