Am I being weird? Totally!

"Hello?"

"Cynthia?", Tian spoke softly, her voice sending calmness spreading through his body, "Hey? It's me. Tian."

There was a sound of shuffling from the other side for a few seconds before she replied, "Hey, Tian? How- How are you doing?"

The subtle panic and stutter in her voice made him smile, "I am doing fine." 'as much as I can without seeing you', the rest of the sentence was left unsaid.

"Well, I got to know that you are sick and I didn't see you around as well so I called to check up on you. Are you okay?", He asked, trying to sound as 'friendly' as he could.

"Oh god, I think Nia just made it look like something serious.", Cynthia chuckled, her embarrassment evident in her voice, "It's just a normal headache and I took medicine so I am completely fine now."

"That's good then.", Tian noted, his eyes roaming around the class, aimlessly as he tried to think of something else to say, "Yeah, it's fine now."

"Well, if the issue persists then, let me know." before he could control himself, the words flew out of his mouth, followed by another moment of silence.

"I meant to say that I know some techniques to get relief from headaches and I thought it woul-"

"Sure.", Cynthia's confirmation made him halt. "Huh?", Tian looked at the floor with furrowed brows, his mind taking a little longer to register her words.

The sound of Cynthia's small laugh from the other end made him smile as she spoke, "I assume that those techniques are not something that you can demonstrate over call so, community park at um 7?"

Tian was practically over the moon, his fists gently clenched in quiet celebration. "You got that right and sure, 7 in the evening sounds good."

Tian bit his lower lip, in an attempt to hide the overflowing joy in his voice. "Well then, see you later?", Cynthia asked as he took a look at the clock and realized only one minute was left for the next class to start.

"Yeah, sure. Take care of yourself.", Tian reminded her before hanging up rather reluctantly. Slowly, the corner of his lips pulled up, as he took a deep breath, glancing at Cynthia's empty seat.

Tian took his seat, getting a hold of his literature notebook as he kept it on the desk. Looking at the distant Ferris wheel, he smiled, "See you soon, Cynthia."

Cynthia, let out a long sigh, as soon as she dropped her phone on the bed. She placed her head on the pillow, spreading her arms wide on the bed.

Gradually, she felt her face turning hot as she remembered her bold suggestion during her phone call with Tian, which she conveniently blamed on her headache.

Reminding the headache, her fingers gently pressed her temples in a circular motion, her eyes closed shut.

The unexpected headache that had hit her this morning brought an unpleasant taste to her mouth as she disappointedly thought about the lost opportunity of seeing Tian all day in school.

Dismissing the dull ache in her head, she rolled onto her stomach and stared at the open window of her room. Sadly, this window did not give her a view of Tian's backyard.

The thought of Tian made her smile, her eyes falling on her bedside table. She moved forward, her hands opening the upper drawer to take out a small notebook, its outer cover being brown.

The brown color of the notebook's cover was awfully similar to Tian's eyes, her fingers moving slightly to caress it. She opened the book, her eyes skimming her latest entry before she grabbed a pen to start writing.

----

Entry 005

Dear Future Me, you had just talked to Tian over call. To be precise, he called me! me!? By himself? Does that mean he cares about me? Given that, he had called me because Nia might have made it look like I was very sick and it's normal for friends to call each other in such instances but it's…him.

Something about how he does things seems very special to me or maybe it is him who makes them mundane things special. I mean, it was a normal phone call but when I heard his voice from the other side, my heart did something weird. I can't describe it.

And of course, my headache just had to make things worse- I had asked him to meet me at the park today. I mean WHAT WAS I THINKING?? But it's normal for friends to meet each other, right?

Anyway, now my tummy is being weird just by thinking of the possibilities of what might happen this evening. It would be a friendly meeting, right? It's nothing different. He will just let me know some sort of technique to relieve my headache.

P.s.- I am secretly hoping that my headache stays at least until I get to meet him. Am I being weird? Totally!

----

Cynthia sighed, her lips pursuing in deep thought. Today's entry was as messed up as the state of her mind. There was something unusual and she could, well, feel it.

The thing which had started as a mere attraction at first sight, seemed a bit more intense now. She had a crush on him, sure but does she like him as well? She wasn't sure about that.

But somewhere, she knew it wouldn't be long before she would start liking him as well. Or maybe she already does. Or maybe not. What is it like to like someone? Is it similar to having a crush or is it different?

Cynthia groaned, her eyes shutting close as the pain turned more intense. All the confusion was making her head hurt more. She looked outside the window once again, her stare fixated on nothing in particular.

Having a crush on someone must be different from liking someone. Crushing involves being attracted to someone's looks- it is based on outer appearance.

Liking someone involves something more. When you like someone, it may involve deeper feelings of affection, appreciation for their personality, and a desire to spend time with them beyond just physical attraction.

At least that is what she has gathered from the internet and she knew that she didn't know Tian that much, at least not till now. Sure, they know each other as friends but to like someone, they must know something more special about them, right?

Her brows furrowed further, a sigh escaping her lips as she thought. 'But why does the thought of not liking him feel so wrong?'