ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

as soon i leave niki's room, i book it up the stairs to start getting ready. i do everything i usually do, but take extra time with my outfit and end up choosing this:

i go down the stairs and spot tommy on the couch. he's wearing a white collared shirt and black jeans. he's also wearing white high tops.

oh my god he's so pretty.

and is this the most dressed up i've ever seen him.

i walk over to tommy and it next to him on the couch. the second i sit down, he looks at my dress and turns bright red.

"hi," i say softly.

"you look gorgeous," tommy blurts out. he covers his mouth. "i mean, uh, sorry i didn't mean to say that... not that it's not true... you look REALLY pretty... not that you don't always look pretty it's just-" i laugh.

"thank you, tommy. you look pretty too." tommy gasps.

"pretty? i'm a man, i don't look pretty."

"yes you do. it's a good thing, everyone loves a pretty boy." i nudge his shoulder with mine. he smiles, bites his lower lip, and nods.

"well then, thank you."

a few minutes pass and everyone is ready to go. everyone climbs into the van and we make our way to the park.

when we get there, it's even more beautiful than i had imagined. there are many trees and flowers scattered throughout the grass, along with bushes and benches to sit on. but niki leads us past the trees to a huge open area. there aren't any trees, just lots of grass and flowers.

"woah," karl mutters. everyone nods. woah is right.

clay spreads the large picnic blanket on the floor and everyone sits down. wilbur puts the large basket in front of us and nick slides the portable cooler over. i grab a lemonade out of the cooler as our bags of food are being passed around.

"what are we eating?" george asks.

"there's a sandwich, chips, and fruit in the bag. we also have snacks in the basket, like crackers and candy if anyone wants that," niki says. my stomach grumbles as soon as i hear that.

when we all get our bags, we open them up to start eating. we all got grilled chicken sandwiches, but everyone has different fruit. i toss my apple back and forth between both of my hands and tommy stares in disgust at his orange.

"trade with me?" he pleads. i look at his orange and scoff.

"nope. enjoy your orange," i reply with a wink. he rolls his eyes.

"i hate you."

"me too."

"what?"

"nothing." i let out a hearty laugh.

during the picnic, i can't help but notice tommy feeling slightly more awkward than usual. he stiffens when our knees brush against each other, he's having more trouble keeping eye contact, and he's stumbling on his words a lot. i furrow my eyebrows together while i try to figure him out.

music plays softly from a speaker that niki brought. the current song playing is straight face by younger hunger. i've heard this song a few times, so i try to relax and listen to the lyrics.

you know that i can't keep a straight face

i wanna kiss your neck and touch your face

my eyes widen at the lyrics and my heart starts pounding as i look at tommy through my peripheral vision.

i wanna hold you on a cold day

you know i'm falling fast, falling your way

i blink and sharply inhale. why am i thinking about tommy? i can't think about him while listening to these lyrics!

"are you okay?" tommy asks, noticing my sudden shift.

"huh? oh, sorry, yeah," i say, rolling my eyes and smiling. "was just thinking."

"about what?" he asks. i shrug.

"not important."

but it was important. it was oh so very important.

wilbur stands up with niki and they make an announcement.

"so, if you guys wanna walk around... you can," wilbur says, throwing glances tommy's way. "you can hang out with each other, just have your phone on so we can call you if we're all meeting somewhere."

i nod swiftly, as does the rest of the group. tommy taps my hand and i look at him. he motions his head towards me, as if asking if i wanted to leave with him. i nod and we both stand up.

maybe a nice little walk will clear my head.