I Missed You.

Paddling like mad, Nuiz felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Without taking her eyes off the way, she took out her phone with her right hand and stopped paddling for a second to read the text she received from Zaid.

Where are you? I tried looking for you in the house but I couldn’t find you. It’s still early, btw. Like the sun just got up.

Gone out for a while. And with that, she sped off once again. She got to the park when the sun was up and the heat was just starting to build up. She laid her bike on the sidewalk and ran to the heart of the park where the lake was.

There she saw the bench Git Gud was talking about. A fat guy with messy brown hair was sitting there, head tilted on the bench. Nuiz slowed her pace. Abruptly, the guys turned around and showed his face. He was a plump guy, definitely a few years older than Nuiz. He looked horrible though.

“Git Gud?” Nuiz said so quietly she thought only she could hear it.

“Yeah… Surprise? I guess? Look, I know that I may not be who you’d date for a million years to co-”

“Why do you think so?” Nuiz asked, stepping closer. “Well,” The guy gestured at himself. “I’m imperfect.”

“Nobody is,” Nuiz told him with a smile. “I don’t care how you look. I care about who you are.” A smile crossed their faces and suddenly, the guy said, “Bro! She’s the one!”

Nuiz was stunned. She looked at the guy quizzically as if asking him, ‘What do you mean?’ The guy saw Nuiz’s expression and winked. Suddenly, somebody came out of the bushes. He had messy brown hair and Harry Potter glasses. Nuiz knew exactly who he was.

“Ezra?” The guy with messy hair and glasses smiled to the ground and stepped closer to Nuiz. “Yes?” He replied, his voice deep.

“Who’s the actual Git Gud here?” Nuiz asked in a rather stunned voice, looking at the two people in front of her. The two friends looked at each other and smiled. “I’m Git Gud,” Ezra told her, eyes once downcast and now looking at her.

“Then who’s he?” Nuiz asked, pointing at the other guy. Ezra smiled and said, “Duncan, my cousin. I asked him to be ‘Git Gud’ for a sec to see if you’d date a person so as himself. Fat, unattractive-”

“Hey!” Duncan yelled, elbowing him. “Wait, I have a point,” Ezra told him with a grin. “Unattractive and imperfect. I wanted to see if you care for looks. I wanted to see what matters to you.” He walked over to Nuiz and held her hands.

Nuiz looked at her hands in his and looked at Ezra who was smiling, looking at their hands. “Why did you leave the letter outside my window? Why didn’t you just stick it in my book like always?”

“I didn’t want to that. I wanted to see how much I actually mattered to you. I know where you think when you miss someone; at your bedroom window. I wanted to see if you’d miss me if I didn’t send you any letters.” Ezra explained to her. The two of them locked eyes and Nuiz said, “I missed you.”

“I waited every day since the day I sent you that letter. I wasn’t going to give up.” Ezra told her.

“I was going to, though.” Duncan interfered. Ezra glared at him.

The two held hands, locking eyes, never wanting to let go.

…

2018, autumn.

“You’re going to the autumn dance, right?” Syazee asked excitedly one day as the two friends were walking home. Nuiz glanced at her with a smile and her gaze went downcast.

“Yeah, probably.” Nuiz replied in a soft tone, blushing a bit. “With Ezra.”

Syazee abruptly squealed with excitement and Nuiz pushed her away playfully. “Don’t get over excited, I haven’t asked him yet,” She told her. As if on cue, her phone vibrated in her pocket and Syazee squealed louder with excitement.

“Who is it? Ezra?” Syazee begin jumping like a mad woman. Nuiz tried ignoring her as she took outher phone. Ezra’s name flashed on her screen and she smirked. “It is.”

Syazee was going to burst of excitement by now and squealed louder. Nuiz read his text and a smiled curled upon her face.

Hey, it said. You going to the fall dance with anyone yet?

“I guess I don’t have to ask him,” Nuiz told Syazee, speaking over her squeals. Syazee gasped and read the text. She screamed with excitement and Nuiz laughed. “Get a hold of yourself!” She told her. Syazee was literally struggling to breathe by now.

“What’re you going to say?” She asked, shaking with excitement. A smile curled once again on Nuiz’s face and begin texting. Syazee peered over her shoulder.

Wanna go together? She texted. Syazee screamed once more.

At the drop of a hat, Ezra replied.

Love it. See you this weekend. I’ll pick you up?

Love it, Nuiz texted back.

“So,” Nuiz shoved her phone back into her pocket and smiled slyly at Syazee. “Who are you going to the dance with?”

Syazee’s smile dropped and Nuiz giggled. “Seriously? You don’t have a date yet? The fall dance is in 2 days!” Syazee frowned. “No one yet I guess,” She replied, folding her arms and looking at the trees that their leaves had fallen.

“Autumn,” Syazee whispered abruptly, making Nuiz look at her. “The year’s last loveliest smile,” She looked at Nuiz and she looked back at her. The two friends smiled at each other.

They walked back to Nuiz’s home first. Nuiz rang the doorbell and was surprised to see who answered the door; Zaid!

“Zaid!” She flung into his arms. “I thought you were away at university!”

“I was but I came back for some stuff. I heard your fall dance was around the corner,” Zaid looked over his sister’s shoulder and waved at Syazee who was blushing. “Do any of you not have a date?” He asked, looking at the two friends who were practically sisters.

“I’m taken, I mean, I have a date,” Nuiz told him, blushing. Zaid knew about her and Ezra and said, “I guessed. Syazee?”

Syazee almost had a heart attack when he asked. “M-Me?” She stammered, pointing to herself. Nuiz could clearly see that she was dumbstruck and tongue tied so she turned to Zaid and told him, “No, she hasn’t got anyone to go with.”

Zaid stepped out of the house, kneeled dramatically in front of Syazee and asked, “Go with me?”

Syazee felt like fainting on the spot. Zaid, he crush for years, finally asking her to go out! On a dance! “I-I’d love to!” She literally screamed. The two siblings laughed at this reaction. Nuiz and Zaid went back into the house.

“See this Saturday,” Zaid said at Syazee before going into the house. He winked at the end of his sentence and closed the door.

“YES!” Syazee shrieked when the door closed. Zaid was leaning on the door and he heard her shriek. “She sounds pumped up,” Nuiz mentioned as she also heard the shriek.

“Yeah,” Zaid said, leaping off the door. “You don’t say.”

…

Music boomed through the speakers, light flashed everywhere and the hall was noisy as heck. Nuiz showed up with Ezra and the two of them were smiling at each other.

“I see your brother,” Ezra told her, pointing to a messy haired guy in a suit, dancing like a mad man with a girl in front of him. The two of them were dancing like it was going to be their last dance. Ezra and Nuiz laughed.

“He likes her too,” Nuiz told Ezra Zaid’s secret. “I can see that,” Was his reply.

Suddenly, a slow song came on the hall was finally tranquil. Zaid and Syazee could be seen being awkward with each other at first before holding onto each other and dancing along with the rhythm.

Nuiz and Ezra looked at each other, eyes gleaming. Ezra held out a hand and asked, “Shall we have this dance?” He smiled and fixed his cute glasses that seemed to be falling off his nose. Nuiz giggled, put her hand in his and said, “I’d love to.”

The two danced to the music, talking as they did.

“Why didn’t you think I’d fall for you?” Nuiz asked, bringing up the ‘Git Gud’ case that was between them last year. Ezra’s eyebrows furrowed as a sign that he was thinking.

“I don’t know, honestly.” He told her with a laugh. “You seemed like a girl that wouldn’t date a geek like me. All awkward and stuff. I honestly thought James Miller was going to get to you,” He shrugged.

“Nah, James’s too old for me. If I was dancing with him now, it’ll be a 15 year old with an 18 year old. I’d feel like a kid dancing with her grandpa.” Ezra laughed at Nuiz’s statement. “Over dramatic, as usual.” He told her, his eyes gleaming.

“I’m 16 though,” Ezra reminded her, his eyebrows furrowing again. “Doesn’t that make me old too?”

Nuiz wrapped her arms around his neck. “No matter how old you are, you’ll always seem young to me, love.” Ezra smiled.

They danced to the rhythm of the music, loving each other forever more. 

-The End-