Not just some friend

While Noah and Laila were on their way to Steve's house and Maria and Steve had just arrived, two other lovebirds were embarking on new territory of their own. Anthony and Rebecca had suddenly gotten an afternoon off. Now that Anthony had prevented Rebecca from running away, they now had to look for a way to fill their time together. With dinner already taken care of, Anthony decided to use the hours they had together to do something fun. Although they had settled on walking around town and doing a bit of shopping, letting their mood and what they came across determine if they would stop somewhere or carry on, nothing all too special, it was something that could be mistaken as a date by someone on the outside. Or in Rebecca's case, as someone who was a part of it. She kept reminding herself that this wasn't a date, just an afternoon of fun among friends, but the longer their time together lasted, the more she felt herself swaying to the direction of this being a date in disguise.

The more Rebecca started to question whether or not this might not be a date after all, the more her behaviour began to match that scenario and the more Anthony began to question the nature of their get-together as well. Even someone as clueless as him, had a hard time ignoring Rebecca standing closer and closer to him whenever they stopped at a stand or shop. That she was touching him at every given moment, however subtle her touches may be. It could be a lingering hand when he asked her to hand him something, or her placing a hand on his shoulder when she leaned down to look at something he had found. It could be his imagination, but even her stares seemed to last longer. Where she would immediately turn away when he caught her staring at work, today all she would do was smile and continue to stare. The only explanation for her change in behaviour, compared to how she had been acting at the apartment, was that she was beginning to open up to him in more ways than just an unrestrained friendship.

Where he had started with a clear conviction of this being platonic, with the hope of this one day becoming more, he was now starting to wonder if he should even be waiting for a special declaration day at all or if he should just shoot his shot today. Of course not with some necessary preparations, as the spontaneity of the act, should not be at the cost of making it a special moment.

The answer to the question came to him when they stepped inside a shop and Rebecca picked up a 'His & Her' mug-set and said "Maybe we should get this, for the next time I visit?". When Anthony turned around and noticed what she was holding, he looked at her with a confused look on his face and asked, "You want two mugs for yourself?" Although Anthony's eyes had been opened a bit today, and he was no longer fully blind to Rebecca's subtle signs, he was by no means an expert yet. His vision was still very poor and this missed sign had consequences for Rebecca he couldn't imagine at that point. His clueless reaction made Rebecca, who had been brave until now, feel embarrassed almost immediately. After Anthony's question she quickly retracted her word by responding, "Ah yes, uhm, never mind, I was just being silly I guess. I am sure you have plenty of mugs. I probably just liked the colour"

Rebecca laughed it away as best she could, but she was pretty hurt and dejected by Anthony's words. Despite trying to be more brave and not letting her past trauma's, and fear of rejection, make her run away without trying. Despite pushing herself to put herself out there for Anthony, because he seemed like the type of guy who could really accept her for who she is and appreciate her, his words had been a harsh wake-up call. At least that is how she had interpreted it. As Anthony not even having considered her as a potential romantic partner, while she had been making a fool of herself. Although this was the farthest from the truth, it had been the feeling Anthony had given Rebecca in that short moment and with those quickly chosen words.

Rebecca had turned her reddening face away from Anthony, because she didn't want him to see it and have it add to her embarrassment. She was walking away from where he was standing, in order to put the mugs back on the shelve, and with each step she was muttering the remainders of her response under her breath. "Why would you want a matching mug with me? That would be something you would be doing with a girlfriend. Not just some friend. Another day of stupid me being stupid".