Part XVII - 7: Romancing a Lonely Heart

I was waiting outside the school building the next morning before anyone even was there to unlock the doors. After two hours of hard work, I was finished decorating her locker, then found a spot down the hall to hide and yet stand guard over my decorations so they wouldn't be messed with until Jennifer could see them.

It still amazes me to recall how long I waited patiently before Jennifer finally came down the hall. The time was well spent, however, for not only had I stopped five assholes from messing up my work, I got to witness Jennifer's reaction which was very positive to say the least.

She never saw me of course, and I didn't sign my work, so for the time being she wasn't sure who could have decorated her locker with hundreds of paper hearts and a small box of chocolates which I happily found she liked.

The next morning she found her locker covered with pictures of flowers, filled with the sent of roses, and another box of chocolates inside. I allowed her to catch a fleeting glimpse of me walking down the hall after her initial thrill, but I gave no indication that I was the least bit interested at what was going on at her end of the hall.

I spent the entire night there alone painting roses, butterflies, and hearts on the insides and the outside of her locker, using thick water based paints so it could be washed off and also wouldn't stink the next morning when she opened it.

That caused quite a stir, I must say. All day long, people, albeit mostly girls, were talking about who this mysterious secret admirer some nobody freshman had could be. If I hadn't managed to get some caffeine capsules to keep me wide awake all day at school, I think a couple of people would have suspected me, especially when I noticed a group of girls carefully checking to see if anyone was asleep during lunch.

Suzi of course knew, and I can't tell you how... good I felt from her approval of my methods, and even felt a little tenderness towards her from her affectionate kiss on my cheek just before we split up to go home for the day.

I went home and collapsed, and slept until I got up three in the morning to go to work. After washing off my handiwork from the outside of her locker, I filled it with the real thing this time, but then had trouble fitting the box of chocolates in after getting all seventy-two roses inside, each one I had personally dethorned.

This time after I watched her approach her locker and saw she was visibly disappointed by its external undecorated appearance, I abandoned my hiding place and slowly made my way to her locker for the show.

Her shout followed by her wonderful and giddy laughter told me she had opened her locker, but I waited patiently outside the circle of curious onlookers looking for the right moment.

I was absolutely filled with pleasure listening to her giggle and feeling her joy. She pulled every one of those roses out just so she could hold them all in her arms, several people helping her once she had so many in her arms that she couldn't grab and hold anymore without dropping the ones she had.

The last rose had just been inserted into her out stretched arms when the five minute bell rang and people started to wander away. Her two girlfriends helped her as long as they could to get the roses back inside her locker, but ended up having to leave her with more than half of them still in her arms.

"Oh! I can't just throw them away!" she pleaded with herself, then desperately started to pack them in as best she could. The bell rang just as half of them tumbled out, and I saw it was time to intervene from her frustrated cry.

"It took me four hours to get them all in without them falling down, so stop wasting your time and have a chocolate," I said to her while holding the open box in front of her.

"So it was you," she said, timidly glancing at me before taking a chocolate.

"Do you believe I'm sincere?" I asked her.

"Sincere of what?" she asked cautiously.

"That I... That you... I just think you're wonderful."

"Why?" she asked honestly.

"Why? Because. You're... I mean, you have... And... "

I paused to consider telling her the truth or not, finding that for once I didn't want spoil it by showing off my abilities. It occurred to me that it would probably make her think I was trying to trick her if I used my abilities somehow to explain what I could see and feel about her. In fact, I decided right then and there that because I couldn't actually affect her with my telepathy directly, she would probably reject a demonstration as something I had arranged.

"Can't a guy just fall in love with a special girl and don't know why?" I finally said.

"You fell in love with me?" she said with the most embracing and hoping look I had ever seen.

"Ever since I first saw you, I knew you were special. And when I first heard your laugh, I felt like I wanted to love you. And now, after seeing your face light up, hearing you giggle and gasp from my little attempts to let you know how I feel, I honestly can say, yes, I love you Jennifer."

"Wow," she breathed. "I've read things like this, but I never... Wait a minute. Now I know who you are. You're that Tim somebody. The one that was supposed to be... "

"Dead?" I said smiling. "Yeah, but lucky for me I'm not, otherwise I wouldn't be here talking to you. Uhm, I know this isn't the most romantic thing to say, but we both need to get to class."

"Oh my GOSH! I have a TEST!" she said before staring down at the pile of roses.

"Then I'll take care of your roses and clean up your locker while you're taking your test. Don't worry. I won't let a single rose get tossed."

I watched her hurry down the hall, her throwing glances back over her shoulder every few yards and giving me this hopeful look. When she finally went out of sight, I sighed and sunk down to the floor with a smile on my lips.

But once I had given myself a few moments to reflect, I got moving, picking out the best fourteen roses to leave in her locker, then quickly disposed of the rest. Yes, I know I had lied to her, but I had another sixty roses in my car that I could give her to replace them. Of course I didn't know when I would have time to dethorn them.

I treated every morning like it was our anniversary, always finding something new to do while always providing her with a small box of eight chocolates. Every day I felt her get a little closer, every night I dreamed of us sharing our first kiss. I spent hundreds of dollars on the little things that made her gasp in delight. Whether it was jewelry, expensive candies, or one of the several love poems I wrote every night, her response was always the same. Happy and giddy with eyes full of life.

On our one month anniversary, I met her outside her house on the way to her bus stop in a hot air balloon. As the balloon made its descent towards the big open field behind her house, her expression looking up at me filled me up with a feeling of magic, knowing she finally had accepted my love as simply that.

"Need a lift to school?" I said as she ran towards me once the balloon had touched the ground.

"I can't believe you did this!" she exclaimed with a smile from ear to ear.

"You said you've always wanted to go for a ride in a hot aired balloon, and your wish is my command," I said, offering her my hands to help her in.

"Ewwww!" she said excitedly as I picked her up and sat her down on the rim of the basket.

When she turned around and hopped in, she found herself right there in front of me, her face stopping an inch from hitting my chest. I clearly heard her deeply inhale my sent before timidly backing up with her eyes pointed at her feet.

"Hey, turn around and watch the ground as we take off," I said gently while turning her around with my hands.

She was very aware of how closely I was standing behind her while the ground shrunk from under our stare, then once we were high enough in the air, I signaled down to the man waiting by the road below.

"What is that?" Jennifer said when the buzzing noise became noticeable.

"That is our way to get this unsteerable balloon to go where we want it to go," I said just as Midge popped into view.

"It's a little helicopter," Jennifer said over Midge's buzzing sound. "How can that little thing pull this big thing?"

"Don't be calling my baby little," I said defensively. "She may not look like much, but she has it were it count's."

Just like we had practiced the evening before, Brad launched the harpoon like gun through the five foot loop at the end of the tow line, then slipped the other end of the harpoon's rope to the reinforced tie off I had installed.

I inwardly sighed with relief when the balloon jerked under Midge's pull, having actually never tested pulling the balloon under full weight.

"It's not quite as fast as the bus," I said, resting my chin on her right shoulder, "But you have to admit it's a nice change in scenery."

"A very nice change," she said softly.

"Would you like your box of chocolates now?" I asked.

She slipped herself out from under my chin, then turned to face me with a troubled face.

"What's the matter? Don't you like your balloon ride?"

"I love it. I've loved everything you ever done for me. I just... "

"What?" I said, lifting her chin so she would look at me.

"I just don't understand... Why me?"

"Oh, baby," I said, wiping the tear from her cheek. "I know it's hard for you to see, but you _are_ beautiful to me. When you look in the mirror, you see what you think everyone else sees. The larger than average nose, the slightly crooked eyebrows, the freckles plastering your skin, the thin pasty lips...