The Runaway Nerd | ✓

Chapter 28

"What??" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner," he apologized. "My parents forced me to go study abroad a few days after I stuck that note in your locker. I only just returned a few days ago. And finding you was the first thing I had to do."

"That was ages ago," I said. "You didn't have to look for me."

"I didn't have to, I wanted to," he responded, emphasizing the fact that this wasn't something he had to do but instead something he wanted to do.

"O-kay.." I forced a smile on my face and nodded. Smile and nod. Smile and nod.

"You think I'm a weirdo right now huh?" he guessed by my actions.

"Nooo..." I lied even though what he said was true.

"Right... let's pretend that I actually believed that lie that just came out of your mouth," he suggested with a playful grin.

I wasn't surprised that he knew that I was lying. I was a terrible liar. Always had been and I guess always will be. 

I sighed, "You got me." I raised my hands up in defeat.

"Aren't you a funny little thing?," he chuckled. Then he brought his knuckles to my head and gave me a noogie.

Without a doubt, it messed up the neat (don't forget perfect!) bun I had tied my hair up in.

"Stop itttt" I pleaded. "You're messing up my hair!" I tried to fix my now messed up hair, but I knew that it was already too late. I probably looked like a caveman right now.

"Don't worry, it looks perfectly fine," he assured me before giving me a pat on my head.

"Liar," I muttered just loud enough for him to hear me. And I knew he did when I heard him laugh afterwards.

"Anyways, I came here to ask you to eat dinner with me," he said.

"Dinner?" I asked. "Why?"

"Do I have to have a specific reason to want to eat with you?" he retorted.

"Yes," I mumbled softly.

He didn't hear me and continued to speak. "I like you Sadie. The feelings I had before are still here," he continued as he pointed at his heart.

I was speechless. I had no idea how to respond to that. This was the first time someone confessed to me, I can't help but admit that it did make me feel a little  happy to know that I was attractive enough to have admirers.

"So will you go eat dinner with me?" he asked again when I didn't respond.

"I guess," I said reluctantly. It was the least I could do after meeting an old friend.

His face lit up and he smiled. "I'll see you at 7:15 okay? I'll meet you right here."

I nodded and smiled back at him. His happy attitude was rubbing off on me.

He started to walk away when I remembered that I didn't even know his name.

"Wait!"

He stopped and turned around.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Bryan," he said. "Bryan Reece." And with that, he walked away.

(thank you Willowtri for the last name suggestion!)

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Just as he promised, at 7:15, when I arrived on the ground floor, he was already standing there, waiting for me. I hurried over to him and we walked out together.

Since we both had our own cars, he told me the address for the restaurant and we drove there separately. At first he didn't agree to this idea, but I managed to persuade him after I promised to do him one favor.

The drive was a short one. Less than 10 minutes. And just enough time to listen to 2 kpop songs. I hummed cheerfully along as Star (sung by Kang Min Hyuk) and Lion Heart (by Girl's Generation) played through the speakers.

Before I knew it, I arrived at my destination. The restaurant was... Souplantation. I had expected a fancy restaurant, like a steakhouse or something. But this wasn't bad. Buffets are great There's a lot of food to choose from and there's ice cream. And I love ice cream.

I quickly looked for an empty parking spot and in a couple of minutes I successfully found one. I got out of my car and locked it. I looked around for Bryan but he was nowhere to be found.

I started to think that maybe he ditched me but then I spotted a guy waving at me.

Bryan.

I waved back at him and rushed over to him. "I was looking everywhere for you," I admitted. "I thought you ditched me."

"Why would I do that? I would never do that to you. I'll only do things that will make you happy Sadie. Remember that," he said before flashing an assuring smile. And that's when I noticed that he had these adorable dimples.

I only realized that I was staring when Bryan asked if I why I was gawking at him. I lied and said that I wasn't and pulled him into the restaurant.

We each picked up a tray and walked down the salad bar.

Once we filled our trays and paid, a waitress brought us over to an empty table. We sat down and began to eat.

We talked as we ate.

"I heard you got into a car accident Sadie. Are you alright now?" he asked worriedly.

Oh great. I wanted to forget about it but looks like fate had other plans.

"Oh that. I'm all better now," I said, not mentioning that Amanda had something to do with it.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," Bryan apologized (again).

"It's no problem, it wasn't your fault. So what's your job?" I asked to change the subject.

The sadness left his face when he heard my question. "Oh I almost forgot to tell you! I got the job as the Stocks Manager at Apple!!" he revealed happily.

I immediately congratulated him and asked him when his first day was.

"I'm starting tomorrow which is why I need you to do me a favor. And you can't say no because you owe me," he smirked.

I groaned. "What do you need help with?"

"I don't know what I should wear so after we finish dinner, come over to my place and pick it for me," he announced. I knew I couldn't say no so I nodded.

We finished our salads shortly after and left our table to get more food. There was pizza, soup, pasta, and so much more! I made sure that I got plenty of ice cream too.

A/N: What's your FAVORITE ice cream flavor?? :) Mine is vanilla!!