"That *pant* was *pant*–"
"AMAZING!"
"No, NOT amazing! That was terrifying!"
"Yeah, but it was SOOOO much fun!"
David took his hands off his knees and shot a disapproving glare at the girl. He wanted to yell at her, scold her for including him in her problem. This was supposed to be his peaceful walk home, his one moment to let the stress wash away. Instead, he had to fend off a belligerent gang of geese, and he even lost his favorite hoodie in the process! He wanted to be mad at her, and he tried to be, but he just couldn't — not after seeing her beaming with joy.
David sighed and decided to let it go — she was just way too cute.
"So what was that all about? You have a thing for geese?", he asked while scratching his head.
"Huh? Isn't it a little too early for that?" the red-haired girl responded playfully.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you don't even know my name yet but you're asking me what I'm into?"
"I– uh, wha– um, that's– that's not what I meant!"
The red-haired girl's face grew into a massive smug grin. David had fallen for her trap and his face turned bright cherry red. He wished he still had his hoodie so that he could bury his embarrassment in it.
"I'm only joking! Stop blushing so much," she teased, "Anyways, I'm Lucia!"
"Lucia?"
"Yes, Lucia! That's my name. Pretty, isn't it? What's your's?"
"Oh, well I'm David."
Lucia straightened and stiffened her body as if to mimic a professional businesswoman. She held out her hand gracefully and looked David in the eyes.
"Alright, David," she grinned, "you and I are friends now, ok?"
Perhaps David hadn't noticed it earlier because of all the commotion, but now it was clear to see — Lucia was seriously, dangerously cute. The setting sun lit up her vibrant red hair and gave her skin a faint yet mesmerizing glow. Her infectious smile was accentuated with a dash of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Everything about her face looked soft and symmetric except for her eyes — they were not the same color. Her left eye was a cold, piercing blue while her right eye was a darker, warmer green. David had never seen a girl like this before, she was absolutely stunning.
"I won't let you say no," Lucia declared, "Not after what we just went through."
David was brought back by Lucia's words. A friend, huh? He had a couple of friends back in his hometown, but they drifted apart when he moved to the city. He never thought that they were that close anyway — they would just hang out if they saw each other. Besides, David was always much too busy studying to find time for friendship.
"I... don't have any friends," David said sheepishly, "I'm kind of a lone wolf."
"Oh, are you like… some creep?" gasped Lucia with a disgusted look on her face.
"NO! I–"
"Then we don't have any problems! As long as you never refer to yourself as a 'lone wolf' ever again, that is. I don't have any friends either, so we'd make a great pair!"
For the first time in forever, David let out a genuine laugh. He couldn't believe that the person in front of him was real. She was sweet and bubbly, yet she claimed to not have any friends. He couldn't think of a single reason as to why someone as charming as her would be as alone as him. He had no reason to believe her, yet he's certain that she's telling the truth. He knew this because she had that look in her eyes. That look that's desperate for someone to come and end their loneliness, the same look that he saw in the mirror every day. He decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to let a cute, albeit slightly dim-witted, red-haired girl into his life.
"C'mon, don't be shy all of a sudden!" Lucia teased, "You already held my hand earlier!"
"Yeah, yeah," David chortled, "Well, I guess we're friends now."
Lucia grabbed the timid David's hand and shook it vigorously. Thus marked the establishment of their unbelievably odd friendship.
David was teased by a cute red-haired girl and somehow made a friend along the way.