The moment felt unreal. For weeks, Aiden had imagined what it would be like if Mia liked him back. He'd imagined hundreds of different scenarios. Some were dramatic. Some were romantic. Some were so embarrassing that he never allowed himself to think about them twice. Yet none of them had prepared him for this. Sitting beside Mia in an empty gym while she smiled at him like he was the only person in the world.
"So..." Mia said.
"So..."
"We just confessed to each other."
"I think we did."
Mia laughed.
"I think that's supposed to mean something."
Aiden pretended to think.
"Hm."
"Aiden."
"I'm considering all possible outcomes."
"There are not that many outcomes."
"There could be."
Mia rolled her eyes.
"You are impossible."
"That's one of my best qualities."
"No, it isn't."
"It absolutely is."
The smile never left either of their faces. Every time one of them stopped smiling, the other would say something stupid, and it would start all over again. It was honestly a little ridiculous.
After a moment, Mia tilted her head slightly.
"So what happens now?"
Aiden blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... what happens now?"
Aiden immediately understood.
And immediately became nervous again.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Oh."
"Exactly."
For someone who had spent months imagining this moment, he had surprisingly few answers.
Mia watched him struggle.
Then started laughing.
"You're panicking."
"I am not."
"You absolutely are."
"I am calmly evaluating the situation."
"Aiden."
"I'm panicking."
"That's what I thought."
For a few seconds, neither spoke. The golden sunlight continued pouring through the gym windows. Outside, the day was slowly coming to an end. Neither wanted to leave. Not yet.
Then Aiden took a deep breath.
"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
The words came out faster than he intended. Much faster. So fast that even he looked surprised.
Mia blinked. Once. Twice. Then smiled. The biggest smile he'd ever seen.
"I was wondering how long it would take you."
Aiden groaned.
"Please answer the question."
"I'm thinking."
"Mia."
"Hm?"
"Please."
She laughed.
Then nodded.
"Yes."
For a moment, neither moved.
Neither spoke.
They simply stared at each other.
Smiling like complete idiots.
Then reality finally caught up with them.
"Oh."
"Oh."
"We did that."
"We did."
Mia laughed again.
And somehow, hearing her call herself his girlfriend inside his own head felt completely unreal.
Outside the gym, Noah was checking his phone for the fifteenth time.
"They've been in there forever."
"Maybe they're finally talking," Sophie said.
"Or maybe they're staring at each other."
"That's also possible."
"Actually, it's very possible."
The gym doors suddenly opened. Both immediately looked up. And froze. Aiden and Mia walked out together. Neither was saying anything. Neither needed to. Because the smiles on their faces told Noah and Sophie everything. Everything. Sophie gasped dramatically. Noah dropped his water bottle.
"No."
"YES."
Sophie pointed at them.
"IT FINALLY HAPPENED."
Several students nearby turned around.
Aiden immediately regretted leaving the gym.
"Noah."
"Oh my God."
"Noah."
"OH MY GOD."
"Noah."
"YOU DID IT."
Mia buried her face in her hands. Sophie was somehow even worse.
"I KNEW IT."
"You literally locked us in a gym," Aiden said.
"And it worked."
Aiden hated how good that argument was.
For the next ten minutes, Noah and Sophie acted like they had personally solved world peace. They celebrated. They high-fived. At one point Noah looked genuinely emotional.
"This is the greatest achievement of my life."
"That is incredibly sad," Aiden replied.
"I don't care."
By the time everyone finally headed home, the sun had almost set. The sky was painted shades of orange and pink. For the first time since meeting each other, Aiden and Mia walked toward their rides knowing exactly where they stood. At the gate, both slowed down. Neither seemed eager to leave. Which was new. Because now they actually had a reason. Mia smiled.
"I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"Definitely."
A brief silence followed. Then another. Neither moved. Noah watched from a distance.
"Oh, come on."
Sophie elbowed him.
"Leave them alone."
"They're taking forever."
"They literally started dating ten minutes ago."
"Fair."
Back near the gate, Aiden rubbed the back of his neck.
"This is weird."
"A little."
"But good weird."
"Definitely good weird."
Mia smiled. Then, before she could overthink it, she stepped forward and hugged him. Aiden froze. Completely. Absolutely. Frozen. His brain immediately stopped functioning. Again. Mia pulled away a few seconds later.
"See you tomorrow."
Then she quickly walked toward her ride. Leaving Aiden standing there. Speechless. Motionless. And smiling like an idiot. From across the parking lot, Noah sighed.
"He's frozen again."
"Yeah."
"He does that a lot."
"He really does."
And as Aiden watched Mia leave, only one thought repeated inside his head. She was his girlfriend. And somehow... That sounded even better than he'd imagined.