My Anonymous Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I hope you enjoy this holiday treat, "My Anonymous Valentine," and have a great day, whether you celebrate it with someone special or with a box a chocolates (which is what I'll be doing). XOXO <3

It all started with a note on Valentine’s Day.

I didn’t know who sent it; I just knew that it was quite possibly the sweetest thing I’d ever received.

That’s why I’d decided to search for the boy who sent it to me. Of course, that search was going to be difficult, considering the fact that there were hundreds of guys in my school. Not to mention the fact that none of said guys seemed to show any sort of romantic interest in me. Who could blame them? I was just the boring, shy, math nerd with an untamed mane of blonde hair and thick-rimmed glasses to match.

Why anyone would want to send me a love letter was completely beyond me. Until that point, I’d thought of myself as undatable, which I had grown to accept. I mean, I had other things on my mind, so why bother?

Even with that thought, that letter had given me hope that maybe – just maybe – someone actually liked me. This was a new experience for me, and if I’m being honest, it was one of the greatest feelings in the world. But there was still one small issue: who sent me the darn thing?

There was no easy way for me to figure that one out. I mean, obviously he didn’t want me to know it was him if he didn’t sign it with his name. To me, that was basically saying, “I like you, but not enough to tell you who I am so I can do something about it.” Still, that notion didn’t stop me from hunting for my mystery man.

All around me, I started to observe how people were looking at me. What I discovered, however, was that most of them didn’t. To them, I was just a little mouse trying not to get stepped on while scurrying through the halls. Oh, who was I kidding? A mouse would have gotten more attention than I would’ve. Although, I think I preferred people ignoring me to people running away in terror, afraid of the big, scary mouse.

Then, one thought hit me; it hit me like a ton of bricks. That letter could have easily been put in the wrong locker. It all became clear to me in that moment. What a fool I’d been to believe that someone actually meant this thing of beauty for me. I felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

With a newfound sense of sadness, I no longer flowed through the hall as if on air. Instead, I stepped glumly, watching the linoleum, tile floor intently, as if it would give way and suck me into a black hole. Heck, a black hole would be less lonely than my love life.

Making my journey distractedly through the hall with my eyes glued to the ground, I accidently bumped into a large figure, having not even noticed him until it was too late and we were both in a scrambled mess on the floor, our books strewn about.

Frantically, I reached for my textbooks, apologizing profusely to whomever I’d just caused to fall. When I looked up from gathering my items, I met with the most gorgeous, silver eyes I’d ever seen; flustered didn’t even begin to describe how I felt.

“Are you alright, Lola?” he asked me, with his deep, enchanting voice full of concern. I almost swooned, but then remembered that I was still awkwardly sitting on the floor in the middle of the somewhat-crowded corridor.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, rubbing the back of my head with my palm. “My hair cushioned the fall.” He chuckled, and lent me his strong hand to help me up. I accepted it happily, grateful to be getting up off the floor. “I’m so sorry I ran into you; I wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t hurt you with my clumsiness, did I?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” he told me. The fact that he was actually being kind to me (despite him having every right to be mad) made my heartbeat pick up. Boy, that attractive stranger could do weird things to me. Then something struck me.

“How do you know my name?” I inquired, curiosity getting the better of me.

“You’re in my Chem. class fifth hour.” How I’d never noticed him before was amazing to me, because he was quite possibly the most attractive boy I’d ever seen.

“Really? I guess I never noticed,” I said, before realizing it was probably not the right thing to say. Blushing, I explained, “I just mean that I hardly pay attention to anything in that class, let alone who’s in it.”

He chuckled again, making the crimson color on my cheeks brighten, no doubt. “Well, I noticed you.”

Maybe I was just being a girl about the whole thing, overanalyzing what he’d said, but for some strange reason, it lifted my mood.

For the rest of the day, I was still looking out for any guys who might be glancing at me – checking me out. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any of them that seemed to have any awareness of my existence, confirming my belief that the letter was, in fact, meant for another girl. Still, though, I couldn’t get that cute boy with the amazing silver, grey eyes out of my mind.

From the way his hair was perfectly out-of-place, to his jeans which hugged him in all the right places; I just couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the adorable, brown-haired boy. Why would I want to stop thinking about him? Then I reminded myself that despite the act of kindness he’d shown me earlier, it was totally unrealistic to believe that such a handsome boy like himself would ever want a geeky girl like me.

But a girl could dream, I suppose.

Hours seemed to drag on, and I found myself growing more and more anxious for Chemistry class, which I’d never shown any interest in before. And soon enough, I found myself in the familiar lab; sat next to my partner, whose enthusiasm to be in the class was at about the same level as mine. I, however, didn’t text the entire time.

Sure enough, the mysterious boy showed up just before the bell, and he took his seat two rows behind me, which (I came to realize) was probably the reason why I didn’t notice him before. And much to my disappointment, nothing magical happened.

After the final bell of the day, I’d finally come to the conclusion that the love note was not meant for me. I felt like an absolute moron for getting my hopes up, when all along some other poor girl was probably feeling the same way that I did.

Sullenly, I made my way back to my cluttered locker, dodging the lovey-dovey couples who were holding hands. At the moment, all I wanted to do was go home and watch a cheesy rom-com with buttered popcorn, cuddled up in my favorite PJs.

When I reached my locker, however, I saw the attractive mystery guy standing there, with a single, red rose in his hands. The site totally confused me.

“Hey, Lola,” he said, smiling softly down at me with adorable dimples showing.

“Hi…” I trailed off, still a little befuddled as to why he was there. “I’m sorry, what’s your name?” I asked, feeling a bit foolish for asking.

“Tyler,” he answered, seemingly unfazed by my lack of knowledge of his name, while he so obviously knew mine.

“Well, Tyler,” I started, putting emphasis on his newly-know name, “why are you standing in front of my locker?”

He laughed an infectious laugh, making my head buzz and my knees feel like jelly. “I was waiting here for you, actually.”

“Why?” I asked, completely missing the point.

His smile faltered, seemingly confused by something. “Have you opened your locker at all today?” he inquired.

“Yeah…” I really didn’t see his point.

“You got the letter I left for you, then?” How’d he know about that? Realization hit me, and I looked up at him again, completely taken aback.

“That was from you?”

“Yes, were you hoping someone else left it for you?” he asked, with a hint of humor to his deep, beautiful voice. Suddenly, a rush of excitement swept through me, and a smile found its way onto my face.

“No. In fact, I thought it was meant for someone else,” I told him honestly. He looked at me strangely, obviously baffled by what I’d just said.

“It has your name on it, Lola.” Once again, I was left feeling like an idiot. Of course it had my name on it!

Blushing profusely yet again in Tyler’s presence, I was at a loss for words. A boy I’d never even spoken to had written me a love-letter? With my name on it, no less. I didn’t know what to say. How was I supposed respond to something like that?

“Why me?” I asked simply, wondering what on earth compelled him to give that note.

“Well, for one, you’re incredibly beautiful,” he began, causing my blush to deepen. “For two, you just seem like a genuinely nice person. I just think that a lot of people overlook what is so obviously in front of them.”

“And what would that be?”

“An amazing, smart, stunning girl with a great smile and remarkably enticing, mossy, green eyes behind those glasses of yours.” Hearing him say this, my heartbeat picked up for the second time that day. It all felt like a dream – an unbelievable dream that I never wanted to wake up from.

“Well, thank you,” I stated, uttering the only words I could think of to reply to what he’d just announced.

“So?” he looked at me expectantly, with hope glimmering in his eyes. I urged him on, waiting to hear what he was about to ask. “Will you be my Valentine, Lola Heart?”

“Of course I will,” I answered, making the smile that was gracing his lips widen even more.  He handed me the rose he’d been holding, and I felt like I was floating on air.

Truly, it was the best Valentine’s Day of my life.