roses are red.— [peter/sabrina]

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P E T E R    W E B S T E R - V Ă D U V A

I was nervous the entire train ride. We had written a couple of letters back and forth and exchanged pictures. I tried to take a good one in a nice suit, but what if it was too nice? What if she was disappointed once she actually saw me in person? She was beautiful in her pictures. What if she expected the confident guy she saw on TV for Panems Got Talent? What if…

Before I left Six I brought some flowers. A bouquet of pink roses. I hoped she liked them. My parents were for the idea as long as I got all of my homework for any classes I might miss done ahead of time. And I did it. They said they trusted me. That I was responsible and they knew I could make good choices. All of that fun parent stuff. And of course I promised Willa and Gabriel I would bring them back some cool stuff from the beach.

I had never been to four or seen the ocean so I was excited to see it for the first time. But I was more excited to see her. Sabrina Elle. Even her name was pretty. I wondered what she was like. I hoped we were similar enough, that’s why we got paired up together. I hoped she liked science or math. Maybe we could talk about comic books together too. Or maybe this was a big waste of time and money.

I tried to stay optimistic though, optimism is key. And what are the chances my soulmate just so happens to be born in the same district as me? Slim. I want to believe in soulmates and love just as much as I want to believe in good in the world and joy. As the train began to slow I couldn’t help but wonder if believing was enough. I can believe in unicorns as much as I want, it won’t make them real.

Yet as I got off the train and saw her waiting for me, suddenly my doubts began to vanish in thin air and I felt myself smile. She was here, she was waiting for me. And she didn’t instantly frown the moment she saw me, that was a good sign. I went over to her, flowers in hand. C’mon Peter, you can do this! Just talk to her! Don’t be a wimp like that time in middle school when those guys locked in your locker in school and you were stuck there until the morning!

”Hi Sabrina? I’m uh Peter. Peter Webster-Văduva. These are for you.”

[kap]

s a b r i n a . e l l e

He had a simple name with a nice twist to it at the end. I liked the sound of it. Or at least, what I thought the sound of it was. We'd written each other letters, and I'd seen his name written out. It looked like it sounded nice.

The picture he sent me of himself made me look forward to meeting him even more. He had a good sense of style, from what I could tell. Not that that was the most important thing in the world, but it was a nice bonus. He seemed really friendly though his letters, too, which was even more important to me. Sweet guys were what I liked most.

I'd told him I'd meet him at the train station, so I did just that. I wanted to bring him a little gift, but wasn't really sure what to get for him at first. So, the night before, I decided to bake him some sugar cookies. I really hoped he liked sugar cookies. It wasn't something I'd thought to ask ahead of time, but most people liked sweets, right?

When the train arrived from District Six, I waited for him to step off of it. I was beyond excited to meet him. Was is really possible I'd met my soulmate from another District? I supposed it certainly could be. I just had to hope that was the case, and work hard at making sure he liked me as much as I already was pretty sure I liked him.

As he got off the train, he had a bouquet of pink roses with him. A sense of joy flushed through me, and a smile crossed my face. I rushed over to greet him, but he greeted me first.

”Hi Sabrina? I’m uh Peter. Peter Webster-Văduva. These are for you.”

I gave him a joyous smile and took the flowers, my face flushing red.

"Thank you so much, Peter. I'm so glad to finally get to see you in person!" I said excitedly. I probably sounded cheesy, but I truly was excited.

"Oh! I have something for you, too!" I said, holding out the container of homemade sugar cookies for him.

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P E T E R    W E B S T E R - V Ă D U V A

When she handed me the container, I was surprised. Other than to like prom and homecoming girls didn't really bring me stuff on dates. I didn't date a ton of guys, but one of them brought me flowers once. It was before I started working out when I looked a bit more... feminine is a nice way of putting it. Other people would put it more of you looked like a fucking twink. Which, I'm glad I don't have that descriptor anymore.

Getting muscular really changed people's perceptions of me. Even though I'm still the same Peter, just with more muscles. I still act the same way and like all of the same stuff. I'm just harder to give swirlies to now. Would Sabrina like me had she met me my Freshman year or in middle school? I was still the same Peter, but some people put a lot of weight on appearance I've noticed. I wanted to believe the best in her.

"Thank you, we'll have to snack on some. As long as I have some to bring back for Willa and Gabriel of course"

I completely forgot to tell her who Willa and Gabriel were. Peter you idiot!

"I should probably mention, Willa is my little sister and Gabriel is my little brother. Do you have any siblings?"

It would be cool if she did have some, and if I got to meet them while I was here. But also the idea of meeting her family terrified of me. I got so awkward around the family of dates, sometimes my voice even cracked and it was like I was in middle school again. I've been trying to work on my confidence but it all just vanishes the moment a parent of a date walks into the room.

[kap]

s a b r i n a . e l l e

Peter thanked me for the cookies, and mentioned that he'd have to save some for Willa and Gabriel— his siblings. It was nice to be learning more about his family. I realized I honestly didn't know all that much about him. Neither of us had mentioned our siblings to the other when we'd been writing back and forth before. He asked if I had any siblings, and I nodded.

"Yeah! I have a sister, Ariana. She's a year younger than me, and we've always been super close. I take it you're close with your siblings?" I said to him.

I felt like these sorts of questions were good for getting to know each other, but they weren't always the ones that developed into the most interesting of conversations. So, I had an idea. It was about time to leave the train station anyway, since the next train would be coming in soon, so I decided to make a suggestion.

"You've never been to Four before, right? Would you like to go to the beach? It's really nice, especially this time of day. We can drop your stuff off at my house first, if you'd like, or you can just bring it with you," I suggested to him. I hoped he'd go for it. I loved spending time on the beach, and my ideal date was a beach date. I just hoped he'd brought something to swim in.

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P E T E R    W E B S T E R - V Ă D U V A

Sabrina had a sister she was close with? That's a good sign! I loved my younger siblings, I wanted to be a teacher, and one day a father. So someone who was good with kids was something kind of important to me. I know some people don't want to bring kids into a place like Panem. But I don't think that means we should give it. It means we should work for a better future. To make Panem, to make the world, a place we would want our children to live in.

"I'm pretty close with them I'd say. I try to help them out with school whenever I can, and I just like talking to them, guiding them. Willa can be a bit wild, but she's a good kid. And I think sometimes my parents forget what it's like to be fourteen so when they can't get through to her, sometimes I can."

I was so lost in the daydream that was Sabrina Elle that I didn't even notice the train whistle in the background until she brought it up. She was right, we needed to get going. I nodded to her, "Beach sounds nice, I was hoping we could go! I've never had a chance to see the ocean before and seeing it with a pretty girl sounds like the best case scenario. Let's just drop my stuff by your place first so I can get changed."

[ 237 words ]

[kap]

s a b r i n a . e l l e

He said he was close with his siblings, which I had assumed, but it was nice to hear. A guy who's good with his family is something I like. I'm not sure how well I'd handle being with someone who has a lot of family drama in their life. That's just not what I'm used to, I suppose.

Peter agreed that we should go to the beach, and said that he'd never seen the ocean before. Even better, he called me pretty. My cheeks flushed red when he said this, and I tried to hide it, but it was definitely obvious. He said we could drop his stuff off at my place first and let him change, and then we'd go to the beach. It sounded good to me.

"I- that sounds good to me!" I was stumbling over my words. "You know, you're rather handsome yourself."

I already really liked this guy.

"Sorry if I seem a little weird, I guess I'm just not used to getting compliments very often."

We headed in the direction of my house, and I opened the door for him when we got there.

"After you," I said, allowing him to walk ahead of me.

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P E T E R    W E B S T E R - V Ă D U V A

District Four was... a lot. The houses here were like super nice. There were some wealthy families in Six with nice houses. But career districts were on a whole a whole other level! I wondered if she was a career. She seemed really sweet, but it also was expected of these upper districts to have careers. And she definitely seemed athletic with her body being so- Peter get your head out of the gutter!

She beat me to opening the door for her, so I made my way inside. It didn't seem like anyone was home which was good for me. I wasn't sure if I was ready to meet her family quite yet. I knew I probably would after we got done at the beach, but until then I wanted to delay it. I got nervous around dates families and didn't want her to think I was awkward already.

I got my stuff in the guest room and got changed into swim wear, after I finished up I let her know, "Alright I'm ready to head out."

[ 176 words ]