Romancing the Nerd

by Leah Rae Miller

  Zelda pulls my attention back to her as she reads from her character’s backstory. “‘Bella the elf has a history with Craytor the dwarf. He killed her sister, and Bella would not hesitate to attack Craytor on sight.’ What’s that all about?”

  I lean back in the chair. “Just spicing things up a bit. So, will you play her?”

  Her gaze wanders over the other players then back to the sheet. “Okay. Um, thank you?” I hear the question in her words and wonder if she doesn’t trust me still.

  “You’re welcome. Have fun.” I stand, nudging the manual toward Zelda so she can look up the special powers her character has, and go over to Tommy.

  He looks up from his as-always thick stack of notecards. “Hey Dan, glad you’re back.”

  “Yeah, um, I’m going to need a gamemaster right off the bat tonight for a fight.”

  He tucks the notecards into a big pocket on his wizard robe. I’ve really got his attention now. “Oh really? You’re fighting someone? Who?”

  “Zelda’s new character.”

  Zelda

  My immediate reaction to Dan creating a character for me is suspicion. But I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, right? I’m not judging people anymore. I have faith in people now.

  I wasn’t even going to come tonight because Bronla’s death was still so fresh in my heart, but Maddie was insistent.

  “You can’t let a character death get you down. If you don’t get right back on that horse, you might not ever come back. You need to start a new character immediately,” she’d said, and I couldn’t argue with her logic. I came, but I did myself a favor and wore all my favorites. A lacy, cream cardigan went over my Jane Austen quote T-shirt. A navy skirt with tiny white polka dots contrasted perfectly, in my opinion, with knee-high black-and-white striped socks. Classic Converse and a rainbow scarf completed the ensemble. I twirled in the mirror, my skirt fluttering just like the princess dresses I used to wear when I was five years old and felt totally comfortable. Screw a bunch of fake armor, knowing Jane is with me is all the confidence I need.

  The game starts and it seems like there’s nothing special going on tonight. It’s just one of those games for the players to work on the overarching plot of the season. When Dan comes over to me with Tommy in tow, I really start to regret coming. His fingers aren’t crossed so his character is actually approaching mine. Why is he doing this? Why would he create a character for me that’s no match for his, then add that my character would attack his on sight? Is he really that cruel? He’d have me go through a second character’s death so soon after Bronla? It’s the height of asshatiness.

  I cross my fingers to signify that I’m speaking out of character. “Is Craytor really walking up to Bella right now?”

  He nods solemnly. “Yep.”

  I want to run, but I have to stay true to the character. I take a deep breath, resigning myself to my fate. “Okay, I attack.”

  I roll the dice and get a pretty decent number. Despite the good roll, Craytor barely takes any damage.

  “I take my helmet off,” Dan says, never taking his eyes from mine.

  I cross my fingers. “Why would you do that? It’ll reduce your defense.”

  He just shrugs.

  “Okay, that’s your one action for this turn, Dan. Zelda, your turn.”

  I attack again and still don’t do anything more than a scratch.

  He removes his chest plate this time. It goes on like this until he’s gotten rid of his full suit of armor. Now that he’s practically defenseless, he’s going to do something crazy, right? He’s going to whip out some new spell he got with the XP from our big mission, thereby rubbing it in my face that I died and he didn’t.

  I don’t cross my fingers when I ask, “Why are you doing this?”

  He looks at his feet, then back at me, and his expression has completely changed. It’s become something I’ve never seen before. Dan always has something going on in his eyes. There’s always a quality of mischief or sarcasm behind them. The corner of his mouth is frequently quirked up, conveying condescension or an upcoming clever quip. But right now what I get from his expression shocks me. All I see is sincerity.

  “I betrayed you, Bella. I know the reasons don’t matter to you. I betrayed you and I’m sorry. Our feud has raged on for years now, but in that time I’ve been charmed by you. I’ve fallen for you. I want our anger with each other to end, and the only way that can happen is if one of us dies. Since I would rather slit my own throat than hurt you, I put my life in your hands.” He swallows hard, and I feel like the sense has been knocked out of me. He’s not talking to Bella, he’s talking to me.

  Maddie lets out a long sigh from next to me, and I realize for the first time that a crowd has gathered.

  Everything has just flipped, and I can’t face his sincerity any longer. I don’t deserve him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dan

  I totally blew it, is all I can think as Zelda turns on her heels and fast walks into the house. I look around, and everyone’s face is either full of pity as they stare at me or shock as they watch Zelda leave. Maddie is the only one smiling in the entire backyard.

  “What the hell? Why are you smiling?” I yell at her.

  She smiles and shakes her head like I’m not understanding something.

  Logan puts his hand on my back and shoves. “Go after her, you dumbass.”

  It takes me a second to gather my courage, then I nod and take off. I weave through players and dart to the front yard. I’m just in time to see Zelda pull away. Well, she’s not getting away that easily. I jump into the monstrosity while I keep an eye on her taillights. She turns right onto the next street, and I’m pretty sure she’s heading home.

  I try to get her to stop because if she makes it inside her house before I can catch her, I’m done for. I flash my lights, I honk, I even call her, but she hardly even slows down and she doesn’t answer her phone.

  We make it to her house and she pulls into the driveway. I’m right behind, but she crosses her lawn in a sprint. “Zelda!” I call as I reach the door right as she slams it behind her. “Zelda, come on! Talk to me, please!” I bang on the door and wait, but there’s no answer.

  I’m about to bang again when the door thankfully opens. Mrs. Potts stands there.

  “Um, good evening, I was wondering if I could speak to Zelda?”

  She looks down the hall then back at me. “She said to let you in, but—”

  I don’t allow her to finish, which is rude, I know, but I have to press my advantage. “Please, Mrs. Potts. I just want to talk to her and make sure she’s all right.”

  She stares me down for a second then takes a cautious step back to let me in. I make it down the hall to Zelda’s room and peek in. I find her on the floor by her bed, her computer in her lap.

  “Z?”

  She looks up, and it hurts so much to see her cheeks damp with tears. I sit down next to her, and that impulsiveness that she stirs in me takes control. I wrap an arm around her and her head falls onto my shoulder. I wait and wait and not once do I get impatient. If it were up to me, I could sit right here like this with her for years. Ya know, as long as people brought us some Hot Pockets and apple juice every once in a while.

  Soon, she gets her breathing under control and sits up. “I can’t lie to you anymore. Here’s the truth. I’m effyeahFinityGirl and I did it so I could get back at you for being a jerk and now I realize you aren’t the jerk I thought you were. I mean, you can be a jerk, but not too bad, and definitely not as big of a jerk as I can apparently be and just… Here.”

  She turns the laptop so I can see what she’s pulled up. There are tons of screen captures of our chats. Every instance I was even the tiniest bit insulting to anyone, she caught it. Clever girl.

  I close the laptop and put it on the bed behind us. “I don’t care.”

  She blinks a few times out of shock, causing another tear to roll down her cheek. “What? How can you not care? I’ve been
tricking you for weeks and you don’t care?”

  I shrug. “Well, technically, you weren’t tricking me for as long as you think you were. I’ve known for a while.”

  She leans away from me, her expression slowly transforming from shock to disgust. Then she slaps my chest so hard that I know I’ll have a Zelda-hand-shaped red mark there for at least a few hours.

  Zelda

  “How long have you known?” How long has he let me live with this guilt? How long did he allow me to suffer?

  He scoots about three feet away, rubbing his chest. “Since the day after The Super Ones premiere.”

  That was a week ago. He let me feel horrible for a whole week. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  He straightens, his chin tilting up a little. “It’s like Wipoo said—”

  “Who the hell is Wipoo?”

  “The big bear in my living room?” He speaks fast, exasperated at having to explain. “He was a bear, like Winnie the Pooh, I was like three and couldn’t get all the syllables in there, hence Wipoo. I dream about him sometimes. Anyway, he and Bob—”

  I throw my hands up. “Who the hell is—”

  “It doesn’t matter! They said that every person has a story and it’s my job to listen to it. I didn’t want to scare you off. I wanted you to come to me. I wanted to hear your story. But I couldn’t wait any longer. But that’s okay because the story isn’t over yet. Our story is just beginning.”

  I see that usual twinkle of mischief in his eyes. “How long did it take you to come up with that little speech?”

  He smiles. “Like most of second period on Thursday.”

  I wipe at my tears and let a laugh escape.

  Everything turns into a happy blur as he leans in, then grabs my face. I wrap an arm around his neck and pull him into a kiss that’s like our first, comfortable and exhilarating, but there’s something new about it, too. I relish the feel of his lips on mine. They’re cool and smooth and everything I want in this quick second. Then I realize what’s new: trust.

  I totally trust him when we slide all the way to the floor. I trust him when he interlocks our fingers then brings them to his mouth for a quick peck. I continue to trust him for the next good fifteen minutes of his mouth on mine.

  There’s a loud bang, causing us to jump.

  “Holy shhhh,” Dan says and looks around.

  My mom’s voice causes my cheeks to heat up even more. “Don’t mind me. Just doing the dishes. Here. In the kitchen. Because I’m still here and stuff.”

  I laugh a little, and he smiles. He takes my hand.

  “Want to go back to the game? If we don’t tell the cheerleader that everything is okay, she’ll start calling and won’t stop until we pick up.”

  I nod. “Good idea, but I have one more question.”

  He rubs a hand over his face. “Dear Lord in heaven, what is it?”

  “Who’s Bob?”

  Epilogue

  Zelda

  February 13th

  I’ve always thought Valentine’s Day was just a corporate scheme to get us to buy more crap, but I kind of get it now. It’s nice to look forward to that special day when you’re supposed to let those whom you love know it. Then again, we should be doing that every day, right?

  Whatever. I like chocolate.

  I wasn’t expecting Dan to want to go tonight. Hell, I didn’t expect to want to go myself, but when he asked me, I grinned and got a silly zing in my stomach. I couldn’t say no.

  I’ve never been to a school dance before and I’m trying to do this one up right. Cara designed and sewed my dress. It’s black and white polka-dotted with a sweetheart neckline and a butt-ton of red toile under the skirt. I made my own pair of ruby slippers using some cheap satin shoes, spray glue, and an entire bottle of red glitter. Don’t judge me. I’m a big Wizard of Oz fan, okay?

  My mom did my makeup, giving me sleek black eyeliner and a classic red lip. My nails are a sparkly red to match my shoes and my hair is very mermaid-ish, down and perfectly wavy.

  “If Daniel doesn’t pass out due to your beauty, he’s insane,” Mom says as we look in a full-length mirror in the bathroom.

  I glance over my shoulder at her. “Sounds like someone’s been working on her latest novel.”

  She shrugs and smiles. “It’s a nice way to pass the time.”

  I’m super proud of her. She’s been writing like a madwoman these past few weeks. She loves it and she’s really good at it. “Those chapters you gave me the other day didn’t seem like just a pastime. I might have to take back some of the things I’ve said about those books. Just do me a favor and keep the sex stuff to yourself, okay? I’d rather not be scarred for life.”

  She shivers dramatically. “Yeah, there’s no way you’re reading that.”

  I put on the final touch, which is a spritz of perfume, and all I need now is my date.

  Dan

  “This is pitiful. You realize this, right, Dad?” I ask.

  He concentrates on the video playing on his tablet, which he’s watched about five times. “We can do this. It can’t be that difficult.”

  “Why don’t we just call Mom? I bet—”

  He holds up a hand and gives me a stern look. “Absolutely not. Let me try again.”

  Mom comes into my room then, and I let out a relieved sigh. “Give it to me,” she says.

  “I’ve got this, Layla.” Dad holds the object of our frustration out of her reach.

  She shakes her head. “Why don’t you just borrow one of your dad’s ties, Daniel? I’m sure you can tie one of those.”

  “Nope,” I say for millionth time. “It has to be a bowtie.”

  “Why?” Dad whines.

  “Because bowties are cool.”

  After a couple more tries, we finally get it perfect. The red bowtie looks great with my black suit and, from what Beth told me, Zelda and I should match. I mean, that’s what couples are supposed to do at these things, right?

  Couple. The word still throws me for a loop when I think about it in connection to Zelda and me. We’ve been together a little over a month and it’s been kind of the best month of my life. I know it sounds cliché, something I’ve strived to never be, but I gave up that ghost the second I saw her reaction to the belated Christmas present I got her.

  She was a little confused when we drove to my MeeMaw’s house, which is farther out in the country. I’d spent hours at Kaffie-Fredricks general store looking for the right one, so I wanted to have as much space as possible for the first time she used it. When she pulled the glossy, wooden slingshot out of the zombie-themed bag, the smile that lit up her face was a freaking vision. I instantly regretted all that time I’d spent trying to rile her up just so I could see vibrant fury in her eyes. This smile was glorious, a million times better. We spent the day practicing shooting bottles and cans. I’m almost ashamed to admit that by the time we left, she had better aim than I did.

  That day super confirmed that making her happy made me happy, and when I find something that makes me happy, be it video games or comics or being the cause of Zelda’s smile, then I go at it full force. And that’s why I’m attending this dance. Plus, there are still a few girls who won’t leave me alone. I have to pull Zelda close every time we’re together at school in hopes of sending a message to Carrie Danvers that I am off the market.

  Okay, maybe I don’t have to pull Z close. A simple arm around the shoulders or holding her hand might do the trick, but I like to hear her soft sigh when I plant a kiss on the top of her head.

  Zelda

  Dan’s parents arrive at my house before he does. Normally, I’d be pretty uncomfortable with all this fuss, but I’m getting used to receiving positive attention. That’s all Dan’s doing. Maddie was so right when she said that he’d be a great boyfriend because he doesn’t do anything half-ass.

  I see his “go big or go home” attitude hasn’t slacked at all when he gets here. He looks super handsome in a black suit and red bowtie. He’s even
styled his wavy hair. His dad is straightening his bowtie when I step out onto the lawn and he turns in my direction. I don’t think I’ve ever been ogled before. If I have been, I didn’t know it. Now, I feel completely and utterly ogled. In a good way.

  He smiles and offers me his arm. When I take it, he whispers, “‘Hear my soul speak. Of the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly at your service.’”

  My mouth drops open. He finally got a quote right. “How long have you been planning to say that?”

  “Can’t get anything past you, can I? One of these days, you’re going to have to give me some slack.”

  I let out an evil chuckle. “Never. So, how long?”

  He goes to run a hand through his hair, but I stop him so he doesn’t mess up the perfect disheveled-ness of it. “Since the day after I asked you, okay? People talk about how romantic Shakespeare was, but most of his comments on love and beauty are pretty depressing.”

  I nod in agreement.

  We can’t say much else because the parents want their photoshoot. We do all the standard poses, then he runs to the monstrosity. When he comes back, he has a couple of props in hand.

  “Now we can do a couple of shots that I will actually frame and put up in my room.” He hands me a purple lightsaber and he brandishes his own blue one.

  We do combat pose after combat pose, but I think my favorite one will be where we’re pretending that I’m pulling a Darth Vader force-choke on him.

  When we’re done, Mom stops me before we leave. She does those mom things like patting my shoulders and fixing my hair even though it probably doesn’t need fixing. “Have fun, honey. Be safe. I trust you. Be good.”

  I stop her just as tears well up in her eyes. “Mom, it’s just a Valentine’s dance. This isn’t prom or my wedding day or anything.”

  “I know. Just… Be careful, okay?”