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"You are putting way too much effort into this," March said as she hoisted herself onto the counter across from where Stelle was working.
"I want it to be perfect," Stelle shot back. "And get off of there; my mother would kill you if she saw you."
Currently the two of them, along with Firefly, were in the kitchen of Stelle's house, making chocolate for Valentine's Day. Well, Stelle and Firefly were. March was there for "moral support" as she had put it. They had the house to themselves as Stelle's parents were still at work, her brother was at baseball practice, and her sister was at an e-sports meeting, so they didn't need to worry about anyone walking in to see what they were doing.
Which was good. Caelus didn't need to see what his girlfriend was doing to surprise him. He also didn't need to see what his sister was doing and report it back to the person she wanted to surprise.
In the beginning of the school year, March had introduced their little friend group to Dan Heng, a transfer from Xianzhou who was staying with her family. He had been hard to read and very closed off at first, but as the year went on, his walls started to come down and he had slotted himself into their group like he had always been there. Next thing Stelle knew, he was partaking in their shenanigans (mostly as a self proclaimed chaperone so they didn't get into too much trouble) and laughing at their jokes.
And then came Stelle's crush.
In hindsight, it had been building up for a while, but the realization had hit her like a train. It had been just the two of them in the spot on the roof where they ate lunch everyday. He had laughed at one of her jokes. Like actually laughed. Not the small chuckle she usually heard out of him. It was one of the most magical sounds she had heard.
And that's when she realized how down bad she was for him.
That had been before winter break, and she spent the entire break trying to decide if she was going to say something. Even after returning to school, she couldn't work up the nerve. Firefly had given her the idea to confess her crush with chocolate (indirectly, as all she had said was that she was making some for Caelus and wanted to know if Stelle could help), which led them to this moment.
"I'm sure he'll like whatever you make him," March said as she dismounted the counter. "I'm half convinced the guy doesn't have working tastebuds."
"That's a mean thing to say," Firefly replied.
"He drinks Himeko's coffee every morning."
"……..Okay, you may have a point."
"Neither of you are helpful right now!" Stelle shouted. She felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack.
"Sorry," March muttered. "But I do mean it when I say that he will like it no matter what. Especially from you."
Stelle couldn't tell if March was saying that genuinely or to make her feel better, but it did work a little bit.
For now, she focused on the task at hand. The chocolates were turning out nicely, and even if Dan Heng didn't like them, she at least tried and made her feelings known.
It wouldn't be hard. Right?
Stelle was the first to their spot on the roof. She knew Firefly and Caelus would be somewhere else, and that March would be making herself scarce, which would give her the opening to do this in private. And yet, she desperately wished someone else was here right now.
"Hey, Stelle. Is it just us today?"
Not him!
Whirling around, she saw that Dan Heng had arrived. He was usually the last one to show up, so her being here alone must have led him to that assumption.
"Yep!" she replied, cringing when her voice cracked in panic. "Caelus and Firefly have a date, and March is…… somewhere. I don't actually know what she's doing."
He hummed in acknowledgement, and somehow that little noise set her nerves ablaze. Ever since she realized she had a crush on him, she had been hyperaware of every little thing he did, all of which contributed to her crush.
She thought about the gift in her bag, and suddenly she felt too panicked to function.
"Stelle, are you alright?" he asked. She must have really been a wreck if he had noticed.
"I'm fine!" she said a little too loudly. "Are you?"
"…….yes." He sat down in his spot next to her, heaving his backpack onto the ground. "I will admit, though, I was not expecting the girls in this school to be so…… passionate about Valentine's Day."
"What do you mean?"
He opened his bag, and Stelle's heart dropped a little in her chest. Inside, there were at least a dozen little bags of chocolates, no doubt from girls from his classes.
It wasn't lost on Stelle that Dan Heng was popular among the…. female population in Graphia High. Even before she realized she was crushing on him, she would admit he was handsome. He was also cool and mysterious at first, which cause many girls to try to get his attention.
"I have been approached by at least 15 classmates with gifts like these. I dread to think what my locker looks like."
Something in Stelle snapped, but she managed to pull out her bravado in time before it could spill out. "Awww, you have admirers. How sweet."
"Not really," he admitted. "I have had to let so many girls down today." The wind blew through his bangs. Stelle felt herself drawn to his eyes. "Secret admirers like that aren't what I'm looking for."
Stelle's heart dropped down into her stomach. "Oh."
She looked at her backpack, where her gift to him resided for the time being. He didn't want to deal with secret admirers, huh?
Maybe it was for the best. Even if they never dated like she wanted to, she would always appreciate him as a friend, and she didn't want anything to change that.
"Are you sure you're okay, Stelle?"
She willed her heart to settle and just enjoy the time she spent with him. "I'm fine. I promise. Let's just eat."
The final bell had rung, and Stelle had wanted nothing more than to go home. She was a coward, and she would live with that for the rest of her-
"So? How'd it go?"
March. Shit. Stelle must have missed her approach as she waited for her ride (Normally she rode with Caelus, but the jackass had decided to take the car for his date. Not that she had expected to be waiting for a ride after school anyways. If things had gone her way, she would have probably been with Dan Heng).
"How'd what go?"
"Don't play dumb." March flicked her forehead. "Did you give him the gift?"
Stelle just looked away in shame.
"Oh my god you didn't." March grabbed her shoulders and shook. "Why didn't you? I thought we were going to be brave about it!"
"Look, March, you weren't there," Stelle said as she tried to escape her friend's iron grip. "He has plenty of admirers, and he hasn't exactly been happy about them. What makes you think my confession is going to be appreciated?"
By this point, March had let go and buried her face in her hands. "You are an idiot. Both of you are." She reached into Stelle's backpack and grabbed the package out, dropped into Stelle's hands, and grabbed her by the shoulders again as she scoured the crowded parking lot for her target. Then she dragged Stelle with her.
"March, wait-"
"Nope! I'm not waiting anymore! I have had to listen to both of you talk about your crushes on each other for the past 2 months and I have had enough! This is happening right now or so help me god I am shoving both of you into the river!"
"Wait- both of us-"
"Yes, both of you! Now go!"
When March finally stopped, they were in front of a very confused Dan Heng. Stelle felt her face heat up at the sight of him. She watched as his eyes moved from her face to the package in her hands and back to her face.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Stelle has something to say to you!" She then disappeared to her car, which had been nearby.
"Um…." Stelle said after trying to find words for an absurd amount of time. If this didn't go well she was going to kill March. "I know you said earlier that you didn't want to deal with admirers, but……" She lowered her head and held out the package, a small box decorated with teal and gold with a dragon painted on the side. One that she had spent a lot of time working out the details on. "I really like you, Dan Heng. As more than a friend. I'm sorry if that's too much for you, but if I didn't tell you, I felt like my heart was going to explode. Will you be my Valentine?"
The silence stretched on forever. Stelle didn't dare look up from the ground. She didn't want to see Dan Heng's face right now; was he looking at her in disgust? Anger? Pity? Some mix of the three?
Before long, though, a pair of hands covered hers around the box. She finally looked up at him, and the smile on his face made her feel like she was dreaming.
"Took you long enough," he chuckled.
"Wait, what?" she gasped. "You knew?"
"Of course I knew." He lifted a hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The action made her heartbeat quicken and her legs melt at the same time. "You haven't exactly been subtle. Plus," a bright red blush bloomed across his face, "I feel the same way about you."
Finally, all negative emotions left her brain and for the first time today, Stelle could say she was happy. "Really?"
"When I said I didn't care about the admirers, it was only because I had wanted you to be the one to ask me. So yes, Stelle. I will be your Valentine."
Stelle could die right now and still be the happiest person on this planet. She let go of the box, letting it drop into his hands, before grabbing his shirt collar and planting a quick kiss on his lips.
"No take-backs," she whispered against his lips.
"No take-backs," he agreed, grabbing her waist and pulling her in for another.
But before it got too far, a car horn had sounded. The new couple looked in the direction of the sound to see March had rolled the windows of her car down, her camera in hand.
"Finally! I have been watching you two dance around each other for too long! It's about time!"