A few minutes later, I'm having the best ice cream I've ever had in my entire life. Evander was right—this did make me feel better.
"So, listen, Pyra, I've been meaning to ask… It's kind of weird, but… could you help me with something?"
"If I can," I reply
"So… you're a girl."
"Great observation," I remark.
Evander fidgeted with his fingers, clearly nervous. I try not to laugh, but it's hard to take him seriously when he's blushing like that.
"So, my question is… how do you ask a girl out?"
I snort, genuinely surprised. That was definitely not what I was expecting.
"You walk up to her and say, 'Hello, do you want to go out with me and maybe bake cupcakes and watch the sunset?' Then she'll either say yes or no. I'm pretty sure that's how it works."
"But… what if she doesn't like to bake cupcakes?" Evander asks.
"Then, I don't know, ask her to go ride ponies with you or something."
"I don't know if she likes ponies," he says.
"Fine, then what's her favorite thing to do?" I say, exasperated.
"She likes… using her brain and… building things."
The realization comes very quickly.
"Evander, she likes you."
"How do you know?" he asks, genuinely curious.
"I know I've only seen you together once, but I noticed the way she looked at you. She wasn't just listening—she was really paying attention. And she kind of… lit up whenever you spoke. Trust me, that's a sign."
Evander looks doubtful. "You got all that from one meeting?"
"Sometimes, you can just tell. Plus, she didn't seem nervous like she does around other people—she seemed comfortable with you. That's got to mean something."
"Do you promise?" Evander asks, with a slight hint of excitement in his voice.
"I can promise that Fiora is going to be teasing you incessantly."
Evander then smiles. "You know, Pyra, you're pretty cool and, weirdly, you give very good relationship advice."
I smile in return. "I'm a bit surprised about that myself."
We eat the rest of our ice cream in happy silence, Evander no doubt thinking of all the ways he could ask Farren out.