The first encounter

(10:00 am, Saturday)

"Oh no no no! I should've taken more time to proceed with this outing plan. I might fuck up today." Derek cried. "Help me Jas, I need you to come with me today."

" I Do Not want to be a third wheel!." Jasper replied in total disagreement to his request. " What am I supposed to do with the two of you? Take pictures of you both? Be a cameraman? No thank you. I'm good. I have to play a match with my squad today." He added.

"Your friend is going on a date-ish.. date

 With his crush, why won't you accompany me!?? I need moral support." Derek wailed.

"Exactly dude! You're going out with YOUR CRUSH why the fuck would I accompany you? Usually people like to be left alone but you're one weird ass to be asking me to come with you." Jasper responded.

It was the big day! Derek felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. He changed his clothes several times, brushed his teeth twice, and even flossed twice. He had some regrets about asking Melissa out because he didn't feel fully prepared to face her, but he couldn't cancel now that she had agreed to come. There seemed to be no way out for him; it was a do-or-die situation.

Derek was moving to and fro in the room and having a little panic attack. Seeing this Jasper agreed to go with him.

" Alright I'm coming-" Jasper sighed and before he could finish Derek jumped to hug him.

"Don't celebrate yet because I have a condition." Jasper finished his sentence .

"What is it?" Derek asked.

Jasper looked at him for a second and replied, "I won't take pictures of you two and don't include me in the conversation much."

Without hesitation Derek agreed,"Done."

With Jasper by his side, Derek was a little confident. He trusted his friend and knew that if something goes wrong he'll be there to back him up.

They got ready and hurried to the location.

(11:00 am)

They were waiting for Melissa at the location he sent her which was at the park.

"I hope she isn't ghosting you or something. It'll suck to get stood up on your first date." Jasper said mockingly while sitting down on the park bench.

"Aww come on man, I brought you here to help me boost my confidence, not bring it down!" Derek complained.

"I'm just saying," Jasper chuckled.

Jasper saw a girl at a distance waving towards their direction. He gave Derek a nudge with his arm "Is that her?" He asked.

"Yes", Derek responded. He could feel his heart starting to beat faster as she approached them.

She wore a white dress with yellow floral prints. Her hair was tied half up clipped with a yellow bow tie. Her outfits exuded an aura of simplicity, yet it possessed a captivating charm. A radiant smile graced her lips as she warmly greeted him, saying, "Hi! It's great to see you!"

Derek found himself momentarily stunned by her presence. He experienced a brief freeze, as his mind struggled to process the sheer beauty before him and the fact that she stood right there in front of him. The dress she wore accentuated her overall appearance, transforming her into a vision reminiscent of a goddess from a tranquil oasis.

He snapped back to his senses and acknowledged Melissa,"Hey there! I thought you wouldn't show up."

'Fuck I shouldn't have said that!' Derek cried internally and looked at Jasper with the face seeming to ask if he fucked up.

Jasper nodded his head agreeing that he did.

Am I late!?? I'm so sorry!" She apologized.

Derek didn't know what to say further and so he decided to introduce Jasper to her.

"This is my best buddy, his name is Jasper and we are roommates too."

She put forth her hand for a handshake while introducing herself to him," Nice to meet you, I am Melissa."

Jasper froze for a second at the abrupt introduction that his friend had initiated. He thought he'd just be a tagalong and not be an actual part of their "date". His friend threw him under the bus just because he couldn't come up with a better response. He had never been in this situation before where he would shake someone's hand as a part of introduction. He reluctantly shook her hand for a few seconds and quickly retreated but not so quickly that she felt weird. "Nice to meet you too" he said.

He was quiet the entire time they walked around the park and tried to maintain distance between the two. Melissa made sure he didn't feel left out and kept him engrossed in the conversations she and Derek had. Ironically Jasper wanted to be left alone and didn't want to be engaged in any of the conversation they were having but he had to put up with it for the sake of his friend.

Melissa kept taking a lot of pictures of them together, portraits of each of them, selfies and of the things they ate and the places they went to.

"I like to capture little moments like this, it feels nice to look back at." She said scrolling at the pictures on her phone.

"Yeah I agree", Derek nodded. He was completely smitten by her smile and her laughter. He felt genuinely delighted to be in her company. He was truly having the time of his life. 

Jasper just kept sighing at the sight of his friend simping over a girl and continued to tag along. 

In the evening before going back Derek asked Melissa to wait for her at the park bench and went somewhere leaving her with Jasper.

They were both sitting on the bench silently and a little far from each other.

"I had fun today," she said, trying to initiate a conversation.

"Hmm" he nodded.

"What is your major? I don't see you in my class." She asked again, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Business." He replied nonchalantly.

"Ouh.." she nodded. She could feel that he was not interested in a conversation so she didn't ask anything further.

At this point Jasper was wishing Derek would return quickly. This was the most he had ever spoken with a stranger and that too a girl. He kept leaving Derek multiple text messages asking where he was and why did he leave him alone with the girl.

Derek returned a few minutes later with a gift bag in his hand. 

"I'm sorry I took so long," he said, huffing and trying to catch a breath.

He handed the gift to Melissa,

"This is for you, thank you for coming today. I had so much fun." He said.

His face was flushed. Maybe it was all the running he did for the gift or the fact that the girl he liked was right in front of him about to accept the gift he bought.

"You didn't have to go through the trouble of getting me anything!" She responded.

"Now I feel bad for not getting anything for the two of you." She said, reluctant to take the gift from him.

"It's fine, besides that I was the one who invited you." He assured her.

She took the gift bag and opened it. It was a bear soft toy.

"Aww… thank you so much. I love it."

"I'm glad you like it." He smiled.

Just then Melissa received a call from her driver who had come to pick her up.

"I'll have to go, my driver's here to pick me up." She said.

Derek offered to walk with her till the car. As they were walking side by side he wanted to hold her hand. He thought of a hundred reasons to do it but ended up not doing it. He didn't want her to think he was some creep or that he was like all the other guys but mostly because he was nervous and his hands were also sweaty.

She got into the car and thanked them once again.

"See you in class." She said and waved at both of them. Melissa gave Jasper a quick glance wanting to say something but didn't.

"See you soon too!" Derek waved back.

Jasper just stood at a distance without any reaction and just watched them both.

As soon as she left, Derek jumped onto Jasper, "We did it bro! We did it!" He exclaimed in excitement. 

"We?" Jasper scoffed. " You did it." He corrected him.

"Sorry for leaving you alone with her without any warning. It just occurred to me that I needed to get her something to remember this day and also me." Derek apologized.

"Ughh..it's fine, I'll let you off just this once. I'm hungry, let's go grab some food." Jasper responded.

"It's on me," Derek offered.

On her way home, Melissa was scrolling through her phone looking at the pictures that she has taken, particularly those of Jasper.

She noticed him standing next to Derek when she arrived and his air of aloofness captivated her. The closer she got, the more she observed his striking physical features, especially those enigmatic eyes that seemed to pierce her soul. "Those eyes," she murmured to herself, her mind replaying the memory of their brief but intense gaze. It was as if he held a secret within those deep, mysterious eyes, and his deep voice resonated with every question she posed. Melissa couldn't deny the magnetic pull she felt toward him; something about him had an undeniable hold on her, leaving her yearning to unravel the mysteries he held.

'Does he have a girlfriend?' she asked herself and giggled.

Melissa looked out of the car window, a smile gracing her lips. "Is this what people call love at first sight?" she pondered. At that very moment, it wasn't just butterflies fluttering in her stomach; it felt more like an entire zoo had come alive within her.

Once she arrived home, she immediately texted Jessica. She couldn't contain her excitement; she needed to tell someone, to unburden herself and share the news that she had finally fallen for someone.

M: <Jessica you need to come over now! SOS>

J: <Are you okay!? Where are you?? I'm coming…>

M: <I'm not okay…. I'm at home come quick>

Jessica quickly grabbed her jacket and rushed to Melissa's house. 

They lived three blocks away from each other. It usually took her 15mins to get to Melissa's place but she reached there in 10 mins because she forced the cab driver to drive as fast as he could. She was worried that Melissa might be in some kind of trouble.

As the doorbell rang Melissa ran down to open it. 

"Millie! Are you okay?" Jessica asked, looking at Melissa and checking for wounds on her body.

"I'm fine but my heart is not!" Melissa replied dramatically.

"Are you having some kind of heart problem??" Jessica asked again and this time she seemed very worried.

"Let's go inside, I'll tell you." Melissa responded.

They went to Melissa's room and sat down.

"Are you really okay?? I'm worried Millie will you please tell me what is going on?". Jessica asked again, bothered by her behavior and the messages she sent .

"Someone stole my heart." Melissa replied dramatically again.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Jessica asked and this time she was furious.

Melissa laughed at Jessica's angry face. 

"You're so cute when you get angry," she said and pinched her cheeks.

"Okay okay, I'll tell you, do you remember the guy Derek who asked me to hang out with him this weekend?"

"Uh huh?" Jessica responded. "Did he do something to you!?? I'll fuck him up!" She said in anger.

"No no no!! He didn't do anything, chill and listen to me," Melissa replied.

"Okay so we went out today and guess what? He brought his friend with him today." She continued.

"Wait what? You went out with two strangers?" Jessica interrupted.

"Derek wasn't a stranger, you heard him the other day, we were classmates in junior high," she said. "This isn't even the best part, So… you know his friend, I think I like him," she muttered indignantly while looking at the floor.

Jessica was taken aback by the news. It was the first time she had ever seen Melissa showing interest in a guy. It was almost unbelievable that someone had the power to capture Melissa's heart and make her feel this way.

"Oh my gosh! Tell me everything in detail… spill the beannn!" Jessica said in excitement. At this point all her anger turned to sheer excitement hearing that her friend finally liked someone.

Well, you know," Melissa began, "he didn't talk much, and he was quiet. He had this aloof personality, just so mysterious. His face, it was so sharp, and his eyes, oh, they were so deep and dark that I felt like I might drown in them. And his aura... his aura was incredibly strong and irresistibly attractive. My mind was a complete mess today. I've never felt like this before," she confided in Jessica

It was a lot for Jessica to process. She just looked at Melissa in amazement.

She was happy for her.

"Finally huh?" Jessica said.

"Finally" Melissa repeated.