Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Valentine’s Sucks

[Paul Wilkerson]

Today was coming and finally arrived. The past few weeks the signs started to show. Red and pink hearts were showing up in stores’ display windows. Today was a special day for couples. Today was Valentine’s Day. Luckily this year Valentine’s was on a Saturday. Paul didn’t get to see all PDA when he walked through the halls of the school. Instead Paul got to see the public display of affection around Pilot Ridge. Love was in the air. It made Paul feel sick or it could be the amount of candy hearts with cutesy messages he already ate that day.

Paul put his hands in his pockets after he pushed the button for the walk signal. Paul could easily cross the street without the walk signal but he was in no rush to get to his destination. Actually he didn’t have a destination. Paul just wanted to get out of the house. Ashlee went out on a date with whoever was her current boyfriend. And Paul didn’t want to be home with his parents. It was one thing watch people displaying PDA. It was an entirely different thing when it was his parents.

He was the only one in his family without someone special in his life. Paul was starting to believe his sister about him being stuck in the forever-alone club.

Sure, there were plenty of cute guys at Hammel. But there was no way Paul would admit that he liked someone first. And no one had told Paul that he liked him. So he never got to know what it was like to be in a relationship on Valentine’s Day.

Paul dropped his head. “Valentine’s suck,” he muttered.

[Samantha Emerson]

Samantha stared out her dorm window, pencil tapping idly on a dull homework assignment. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. For a good half-hour, she tried in vain to re-focus. Finally she stood, swapped her clothes for warmer ones, and headed out, hoping to find better use of her time, even if it was just walking around. 

Slowly, a smile crept back onto her face as she meandered through the streets. The streets were decorated with pink and red, and couples strolled hand-in-hand, looking at each other with dove eyes. Sam loved to see happy people, and though she was without a special someone, she was glad for all those who had a significant other. It also helped that she was very much the romantic.

Cheeks tinged pink from the winter air and the light exercise, Sam paused at a corner, deciding which way to go. She heard someone mumble and turned to see a rather downcast-looking boy. She walked over and gently bumped her shoulder against his. "Hey! Why the long face?" She asked lightly, not at all uncomfortable talking to a complete stranger. 

Clothes

[Paul Wilkerson]

Someone bumped into Paul. Paul chose to ignore the jerk that bumped into him. The jerk didn’t even say sorry. Someone spoke. It took a moment before Paul realized who ever was speaking was speaking to him. He looked up. The person talking to him was a girl. She was pretty. Just because Paul was gay didn’t mean that he didn’t think girls were pretty.

Paul just looked at her. Why would he be happy? He didn’t see the point in being happy on Valentine’s Day if he didn’t have someone special to spend it with. This girl was most likely going to meet up with her boyfriend or whatever. “All single people are depressed on Valentine’s.”

Paul looked straight ahead. He stared at the walk single across the street. He didn’t remember the light being so long. Maybe the cold messed up the button. Paul pushed the button with his weight. Maybe this time the button would work. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be friendly. It was that it was cold and Paul wanted to be out of the cold.

[Samantha Emerson]

To Samantha, it appeared that she had jostled the boy out of perhaps a daydream or something along the lines of exploring one's brain. With a patient smile, she waited for him to come back to reality, as it was. When an answer did come, she realized the mistake in her thought process. The boy hadn't been gathering his thoughts after flying into fantasy after all. 

"But we don't have to be." She said sincerely, purposefully including herself in the 'singles' category to establish a point of commonality. Also, she felt that it would lend credibility to anything else she might say. For it was a given that Samantha would continue the conversation, one-sided as it might seem at this point. She gave him a sideways look, trying to get a better read on him.

She spun in a slow circle, taking stock of their surroundings. "I mean, look around. The storefronts are spiced up all down the street. Even some of the lamp posts have red ribbon wrapped around them. And the snow has a fresh layer on it. It makes everything look softer and fluffier and brighter." She tried, just as the 'walk' light lit up. Naturally, Samantha would walk across if the boy went; she was having a conversation, after all.

[Paul Wilkerson]

Paul scrunched up his face. All the decorations and the new layer of snow just made everything sticky sweet in Paul’s mind. Paul started to cross the street when the ‘walk’ light lit up. He still check to make sure no driver was going to run the red light. Paul crossed the street. Maybe he would stop by the comic book store. He didn't have much money on him. He guessed that he had enough for a comic or two.

He didn't know whether or not to be annoyed when she followed Paul across the street. Paul had a feeling that no matter where he would go she would follow him. His one escape would be the boys' bathroom. Unless, she was one of those girls who would walk into the boys' bathroom without a care in the world.

But Paul couldn't complain too much. With her around he wasn't alone. Sure, he didn't have a special someone to spend the day with. Sure, a good-looking guy wasn't following Paul. But, at least she was someone. And someone who was willing to follow Paul talking about how wonderful Valentine's Day was even when you're single.

You're kind of nutty." Paul stated. Paul never met someone so cheerful on Valentine's when their single.

Or Paul could walk around town and see how long she'll follow him. That could be a fun game. Paul chuckled to himself. He'll do that instead of going to the comic book store. He could go another day to get comics. For he'll have some fun.

[Samantha Emerson]

From the expression on his face, it was clear that this boy didn't share Samantha's sentiments. She laughed and tried another approach, tagging along behind him all the while. "Not a decorations guy? Okay. What about all the sales? You can get flowers and candy and sometimes clothes and lots of little trinkets!" She said, pointing out a few 'Discount! Today only!' signs in the store windows they passed. 

She got a few curious looks, but Samantha ignored them, determined to show the boy how to find happiness in others', well, happiness. Okay, so maybe that was a lofty goal, but if she shot high she'd have a chance, right? Since she didn't really know where the boy was headed, she kept herself a half-pace or so behind him. When she heard his words, she laughed again.

"You think so? Then I hope you're not allergic." Even as she spoke, she turned a careful eye on him, looking for a sign that he really, truly wanted to be left alone. She didn't think she saw any, but she would wait for his words - and tone - to see.