Crisis- I

Maria's POV-

Mark, now looking both shy and somewhat flustered, rubbed the back of his neck with his hands, his eyes a bit unfocused. He then coughed a little, before musing slowly, launching into a description that sounded suspiciously.... familiar- "She's witty, positive..... full of energy and, um... a little chaotic....."

My brain did a hard reset. Blue screen of death. Error message flashing: Logic not found. Please reboot.

Hold up. Wait... WAIIIITTTTTT!

That… that sounded alarmingly like a personal ad ripped straight from my soul. My heart did multiple back flips, my stomach did gymnastics.

'So… am I his type? Do I... actually have a chance with him? Does Mark like me... even if its just a tiny bit? Is he confessing to me in a roundabout way?'

My imagination got fast-forwarded- straight to our wedding vows.

'This was it. The moment. The revelation.'

And before the internal organs rebellion could escalate further, my mouth betrayed me. The words tumbled out, graceless and uninvited: "I also have a crush o—"

"....and Tall. Yeah, Amelia is exactly my type. I guess you have already guessed it by now."

But then, the cosmic punchline landed on me. The ultimate betrayal of romantic comedies everywhere.

'....eh? WHATTTTT!'

My brain didn't just blue-screen. It went full dial-up modem, screeching into the abyss. 

Amelia.

The name landed in my brain like a lead balloon filled with romantic disappointment. Amelia Bellavia- Mark's long term neighbor, His cram school comrade. The professional recipient of Mark's sparkling smiles and effortless affection. His 'I-just-made-Maria-question-her-entire-existence' person. Basically, my romantic kryptonite.

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over me, and yet, somehow, I saw it coming. Deep down, a part of me had always known I had no chance. But knowing and hearing it out loud were two entirely different things.

'Seriously?' Not me??

Amelia?

Can I sue for someone, anyone for these emotional damages???

My stomach twisted painfully. What was even more embarrassing I had been this close—this close—to confessing. I can't believe my first (almost) confession, reduced to ashes before it even had the chance to exist. How was I supposed to pretend everything was fine when my heart felt like it had just been wrung out like a wet towel? Suddenly, digging a hole and relocating to a remote island with questionable wifi and a large supply of chocolate seemed…. very reasonable.

Suddenly, very suddenly, he turned to me in his sparkly, doggy eyes. Mark, bless his cotton socks, heard the opening notes of my accidental serenade of embarrassment. His Golden Retriever Mode ENGAGED.

"WAIT. HOLD ON. YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE!?? WHO IS HE? Spill. The. Tea. Since when? Did I issue hall passes? Is he breathing the same air as us right now? Oh. My. God!!! Tell meeeee. Operation- Matchmaking commencing immediately!" He practically yelled in excitement.

"Huh...??" My internal alarms went from mild concern to full-blown Defcon 1. Panic stations! Abandon ship! Deploy emergency sarcasm! I could practically see him wagging his invisible tail, waiting for the answers. I can NEVER reveal the truth to him. OVER MY DEAD BODY. I can't have my feelings cause our friendship to turn sour.

My escape strategy? Short vague answers-lie like my social survival dramatically depended on them. I was telling the lies so elaborate that they deserved their own screenplay... I think?, Honestly, I don't even know how I made up those lies. Heck, I don't even remember what I told him. I only remember wracking my brains to make up something believe-able, trying my level best to control my expressions to avoid the disappointment in my heart to show up, all while avoiding any sort of eye contract with him.

But then, here comes the twisted ending! Just when I thought I had tap-danced my way out of this conversational minefield, Mark dropped the emotional equivalent of a landmine wrapped in his puppy dog eyes.

"Is it… someone I'm close with?"

Micro-flinch. Barely perceptible. To anyone with a pulse, that is. Mark, however, had the perceptive abilities of a hawk trained by Sherlock Holmes.

Mark's eyes ignited with the gleeful intensity of a thousand suns. He grinned, a wide, knowing, utterly terrifying grin, and in a excited husky voice continued, "Aha! I knew it! Don't you worry your pretty little head, Maria. I will personally ensure you two are practically Siamese twins by next week. Consider yourselves matched." And with a playful wink that should have come with a health warning, he bounded off, leaving me in the dust cloud of my own impending doom.

I just stood frozen there for a minute, before my legs gave out beneath me, and I sank down beside the tree. My back pressing against its rough bark. The cool, uneven surface dug slightly into my skin through the fabric, but I barely noticed. My mind was spinning too fast, my breath uneven as I tried to process what I had just heard silently reviewing my life choices like a truly terrible movie marathon.

'Just what in the world led me to this moment?' I replayed the scene on my head over and over again, thought about situations which could've happened. 'Ugghh!! Just thinking about it is making me shudder. I simply could overcome the crisis all thanks to my fast responses.' But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't stop overthinking.

'I should have stayed home. Should have pretended to be sick. Should have just confessed and gotten it over with. Should have joined the monastery. Maybe, in some alternate dimension.' I still couldn't believe how my first-ever love life had taken such a catastrophic nosedive. When just had I thought I had successfully dodged this particular brand of social bullet and could finally have a breather...". Spoiler alert: NOPE.