Jayden and Leo huddled together in Jay’s backyard, plotting their next move. They had been working on their scheme to get Angie and Ash together for weeks. The first phase was already in progress, with a few fake love letters.
Fortunately for them, the second phase stood right before their eyes. A few nights back, Jay caught his elder brother red handed for staying up late thinking of his crush. He offered to help him confess, as long as there was nothing too elaborate in mind. Little did Ash know that the boys had a secret agenda behind this generous offer.
“So, this is the plan,” Jay said, tapping his finger on the piece of paper in front of him. “We’re going to invite them to the park, and then we’re going to make sure they spend the whole time together. By the end of the day, they’ll be so close that they’ll have to be together.”
Leo nodded. “That’s a great plan, Jayden. I think it’s pretty good.”
“I know it is,” Jay said confidently. “We’re going to make sure that Angie and Ash are the bestest of friends.”
“Right,” his friend hesitated, “but won’t it be weird if I just went up to my sister and said, ‘come with me, Jay and Ash to the park’?”
Jayden bit his lip. “You… have a point. But you won’t believe what I found out a few nights back.”
“I’m listening,”
“Ash has a crush on Angie. I saw him last night looking at a picture of her.”
Leo’s eyes widened. “Whoa! That’s awesome!”
“You didn’t let me finish!” Jay grumbled. He cleared his throat and continued speaking. “Anyways, he asked me for help confessing to her. So?”
Leo was awestruck at what Jayden had just found out. He was left speechless. He ran upstairs and fetched Ashton. The brown haired boy went down reluctantly, wondering why Leo was dragging him.
The two boys high-fived each other, then they went inside to start planning the perfect day at the park.
“We had the most brilliant plan to get you two together!”
Ashton looked confused and nervous. He had no idea what Jayden and Leo were talking about. He glanced at Adelaide, who was sitting on the couch, reading a storybook. She looked up and smiled at him.
“Hey, Ash, what’s up?” she asked.
“Uh, nothing much,” he stammered. “Just… hanging out with these guys.”
He gestured to Jayden and Leo, who were grinning like maniacs.
“O… kay?” she questioned him.
“It’s a secret,” Leo mouthed.
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “You guys never cease to amaze, and-or annoy me with your antics.”
“What’s it this time?” Ash teased.
“I don’t even know what you’re up to yet.” she shrugged, and returned to her book. “And I don’t even want to.”
Jayden and Leo explained their plan to Ashton, who was shocked and embarrassed. He didn’t want to confess to Angie in such a public and awkward way. He tried to protest, but the boys wouldn’t listen. They said it was ‘for his own good’, and that ‘he would thank them later’.
They dragged him to the park, where they had arranged a picnic basket, a blanket, and some flowers. They also brought a Bluetooth speaker and a playlist of romantic songs. They told Ashton to wait by the bench, while they went to get Angie, who was hanging out with her friends.
Meanwhile, Kaitlynn was sitting on the bench with her brother, enjoying her book, as Angie passed by. Angelina heard a voice call out her name. She turned around and saw Jayden and Leo standing there, smiling innocently.
“Hey, sis, we have a surprise for you,” Leo said.
“What kind of surprise?” she asked suspiciously.
“You’ll see,” Jayden said. “Just come with us.”
They took her by the hand and led her to Jayden’s two siblings, sitting on the bench. She was confused and curious, but she decided to go along with it. She liked spending time with her brother and his friend.
She saw Ashton sitting on the bench, holding a bouquet of roses. He looked up and saw Angelina walking towards him. He felt a surge of nervousness and excitement.
“Hey, Angie,” he said softly, standing up and dusting his pants.
“Hey, Ash,” she said back, her voice flat and uninterested.
She noticed the flowers in his hand and wondered what was going on.
Jayden and Leo pushed them towards each other and said, “We’ll leave you two alone. Have fun!”
They ran away, leaving Ashton and Angelina in an awkward silence.
Ashton cleared his throat and handed her the roses. “These are for you,” he said.
She took them and frowned. She hated roses. They were cliché and overrated. She hated flowers in general. They were pointless and better off thriving on, rather than plucked by people to give to the ones they love. She hated dates. They were boring and stressful.
“Thank you,” she said, forcing a fake smile. “They’re… nice.”
Ashton smiled back and said, “You’re welcome. You’re nice too.”
He blushed as he realized what he had just said.
Angelina’s eyes narrowed. “Umm… okay?”
She wondered if he was trying to flirt with her or insult her. She wondered if he was serious or joking. She wondered if he was stupid or naive. But she knew, he just couldn’t take a hint.
She decided to ignore him and focus on the picnic basket. She hoped there was something edible in there.
They sat down on the blanket and opened the picnic basket. They found sandwiches, cookies, fruits, and juice. They ate and drank, making small talk about school, hobbies, movies, and music. They found out that they had a lot in common and, believe it or not, seemed to enjoy each other’s company.
They heard some familiar tunes coming from the speaker. They checked their playlists and saw that they matched. They realized that Jayden and Leo had sneaked into their accounts and created a mix for them. They shook their heads at their brothers’ mischief.
They laughed at their little brothers’ meddling, but deep down, they had other contrasting opinions. Ashton also felt touched by their gesture. Angelina, on the other hand, was partly furious at her brother for setting her up with her rival, but she had to admit, the date wasn’t all that bad.
They decided to ignore these mixed feelings and focus on eating.
They finished their meal and lay down on the blanket, looking at the sky. They saw clouds shaped like different things, and birds flying like planes. They pointed out what they saw and made jokes about them.
“That looks kind of like a dragon,” Angie pointed to a big, thick cloud.
Ashton chuckled. “And that one next to it, sort of looks like a person lying down… a girl, I guess.” he pointed to a thinner cloud.
Angie raised an eyebrow. “A girl with horns?”
“Oh, I thought that was a crown.”
“A princess?”
“You know, that reminds me of–” they said in unison, before realizing the fact.
“What does it remind you of?” Angie asked, her voice cold and sharp.
“The Art Contest drawing, and first grade. What about you?”
“Uh-huh, same.” she said, turning away from him.
She didn’t want to talk about that. She didn’t want to remember how he had ruined their chances of winning the contest by losing his sketchbook.
She didn’t want to remember how his dragon received all the attention. She didn’t want to remember every ‘L’ she took. She didn’t want to remember how she had hated him ever since.
She wished she could get up and leave, but she knew that would be rude and suspicious. She wondered why her brother had set her up with him. She wondered if he knew about their rivalry. She wondered if he was trying to make peace or make trouble.
She decided to ignore Ashton and focus on the sky. She hoped he would do the same.
Ashton felt a pang of regret as he saw her expression change. He knew she was thinking about the Art Contest drawing, and first grade. He then realized he had hurt her feelings back then. He knew he had been mean and childish. He knew he had been wrong. He didn’t know that all this did the opposite of impress her.
He wished he could take back what he had done. He wished he could apologize and make things right. He wished he could tell her how he really felt. He didn’t know that all this made him fall for her.
He wanted to apologize to her, but he didn’t know how. He wanted to explain to her that it wasn’t all his fault, but he didn’t know if she would listen. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t hate her, but he didn’t know if she would believe him.
He wished he could make things right with her, but he knew that would be hard and risky. He wondered why his brother had set him up with her. He wondered if he knew about their rivalry. He wondered if he was trying to help or hinder.
Ashton looked at her dreamily, and said, “Do you remember the first time we met? It was in first grade, during art class. You drew a princess, and I drew a dragon. I thought your drawing was amazing, but you didn’t seem to like mine. You looked so angry when I showed it to the class. I didn’t know why, until later.” He looked at her with a look of genuine concern.
“You were jealous of my dragon, weren’t you? You wanted to win everyone’s attention, and you thought I stole your spotlight. But you know what? I didn’t care about the contest. I just wanted to draw something cool. Something that I loved. Something that made me happy.”
Angie tried ignoring him, and turned the opposite way.
“And you know what else? I think you did too. You drew a princess because you loved princesses. Because they made you happy. And that’s why I admired your drawing so much. Because it showed your passion, your personality, your heart.
That’s why I invited you to join the after-school art club. Because I wanted to see more of your drawings. Because I wanted to be your friend. Because I wanted to share my love for art with you.”
Meanwhile, Kaitlynn watched them with curiosity. She remembered every art club session, every argument between the two she had to mediate. She got up, walked over to the picnic, and said to Angie, “But you didn’t see it that way. You saw it as a challenge. A competition. A rivalry. You joined the club, not to learn from me, but to beat him. To prove that you were the best artist in class, maybe even at school. But more importantly, to make him regret ever showing off that dragon. Right?”
Angie nodded up at her. “Yeah. I’ll admit, in hindsight, it was sort of petty. But I still do want a way to beat him at something.”
“But you know what?” Ash trailed off. “I don’t regret it. Not one bit. Because without that rivalry, we wouldn’t be here today. We wouldn’t have grown as artists, as people, as… friends. We wouldn’t have learned from each other, challenged each other, supported each other. We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for all those silly fights.”
She looked at him with a cold glare. She couldn’t believe that he had the nerve to bring up that memory, as if it was something funny or cute. She couldn’t believe that he had the audacity to act like they were friends, or worse, something more.
She clenched her fists and said, “You know what?”
“What?”
“I think this ‘date’ is over.” she replied, air-quoting the word.
She got up and grabbed her bag. She threw the roses on the ground and trampled them mercilessly. She said, “You can keep your stupid flowers and your stupid picnic. And you can tell Leo and Jayden that they can go to hell for setting us up like this.”
She turned around and walked away, leaving Ashton speechless and stunned.
She didn’t look back, not even when she heard him call out her name.
She didn’t care, not even when she felt a tear roll down her cheek.
She hated him, she told herself.
She hated him more than anything.
The boys noticed this scene. They began whispering to each other for a brief minute, before Leo began running after his sister.
“Wait, sis!” he called. “Ash really needs to tell you something! It’s super important! Just listen!”
She sighed. “What the hell do you want?” she said in a deadpan voice.
Ash took a deep breath, and began talking.
“I’m sorry, Angie. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just trying to share a memory with you. A memory that I thought was important to us.
Look, I know we’ve been rivals for a long time, and I know we’ve hurt each other a lot. But I also know that we’ve grown as artists, as people, as lovers. Yes, lovers. I’m not afraid to say it. I love you, Angie. And I think you love me too.
You don’t have to run away from your feelings, Angie. You don’t have to hide behind your anger, your pride, or your hate. You can face them, and face me. You can tell me how you really feel, and what you really want.
And what you really want is to settle the scores with me, isn’t it? You want to end this rivalry once and for all, don’t you?
Well, I have an idea. A challenge. A final showdown.
Let’s have a drawing contest, Angie. A drawing contest like no other.
Let’s draw each other.
Let’s draw each other as we see each other, as we know each other, as we love each other.
Let’s draw each other with everything we have.
And let’s see who wins.
What do you say, Angie?
Will you accept my challenge?
Will you draw me?
And will you let me draw you?”
She stared at him blankly, listening to his monologue. She had to admit, it was impressive. He really had a way with words at times. But none of that mattered.
“Fine,” she said. “I accept your challenge.”
Ashton smiled. “I knew you would.”
“Nuh-uh. Not just yet. First tell me, what do you plan to get out of it, if you win?” she asked.
“If I win, then you have to go out with me on a real date. A date where we’re not just pretending to be friends.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And if I win?”
“If you win, then I’ll give you anything you want.”
She thought about it for a moment. She could ask for anything in the world. She could ask for money, or fame, or power. But there was only one thing she really wanted.
“If I win, then you leave me alone. Forever.”
“I don’t think that’ll be so easy, considering you’re literally the one before me in alphabetical order.” he replied.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. If I win, then you have to stop drawing me. You can’t even look at me. You can’t even think about me. You have to forget I exist. Switch to a different class if it'll help."
“Deal.”
She thought about it for a moment. She knew that this was a risky move. If she lost, then Ashton would have won the ultimate victory. He would have proven that he was the better artist, and that he was the better person. But if she won, then she would finally be free of him. She would finally be able to move on with her life.
They shook hands, and the drawing contest was on.
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