Work Text:
Colin met Penelope in class. Math had never been his strength, so he usually spent most of the time daydreaming. Then, suddenly, he noticed her. Unlike everyone else, who seemed bored by the teacher's monotone voice, she listened attentively. Her eyes showed real interest, which made her even more beautiful. As if it were even possible for her to be more beautiful.
Every day, he memorized more of her features. How she smiled widely when she solved an equation correctly. How her eyebrows furrowed when a concept was difficult to grasp. The color of her eyes, which many might mistake for blue, had gray rings.
He wanted to talk to her, to catch her attention somehow, but he was shy. Sometimes he felt it was impossible not to notice the connection between them, as if it were made of something real, tying them together with invisible strings. But it was possible. Maybe she hadn’t noticed anything at all.
He remembered his first heartbreak. He was about four or five years old, and Marina, his teacher’s daughter, was the same age. They went to the same kindergarten. He had wanted to get her attention, to let her know he liked her. So he offered her his favorite toy, the dinosaur. She didn’t take it.
And now, holding the dinosaur in his hand in the middle of class, he wondered. Was today the day? With his heart pounding, he walked up to Penelope’s desk and placed the dinosaur on top. She looked surprised and picked it up. Then she turned to him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
When he woke up, the dinosaur was still there.