Valentine's Day is one of those few holidays I truly hate. Red and pink? Hideous. Are you kidding me? Valentine's isn't even a real holiday, just some fake rip-off used to commercialize candies and flowers. And get guys laid.

It's only second period and already I can't wait for the day to end. Here, stuck in a class full of Valentine decorations, hopeless romantics, and hormones in the air, I restrain the urge to hurl.

"Happy Valentine's Day! Do you want a kiss?" Haley popped up from behind my shoulder, arms linked behind her back playfully. I smirked, already knowing of this plot; she's done it this at least once every year.

"Sure, why not." She motioned for me to close my eyes and pressed a foil-covered chocolate against my cheek. She winked and flounced off toward a group of freshman. I stared at the chocolate in my hand, wondering if I should play this prank on someone else or just eat it.

"Hey." I looked up. He smiled at me and shrugged. I smiled back and pretended that the strange feeling in my stomach didn't exist. A few months ago, I told him that I liked him. I never got an answer back and automatically assumed the worst. I even avoided him for a while, and I was over him, honest. …At least, I thought I was.

"Hey, what's up?"

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a Fun Dip. "Here. 'Cause chocolate is just cliché."

I laughed and hugged him. Just as he was leaving though, I turned around and asked him. "Do you want a Kiss?"

"W-what?" He laughed nervously, hoping it was a joke. I laughed as well, and if it was a little flat and hollow, well, no one but me would know.

"Yeah, a Kiss." I held it out.

"Yeah, s-sure?" His fingers clasped the chocolate quickly. "Look, I have to go to class now…talk to you later?"

"Sure."

He quickly walked down the hall, trying his best not to outright run. It would have been hilarious had it not hurt so much.

A year later and yet another day of gushing girls and nervous boys, leading to none other than one thing: Valentine's Day. Oh, can you feel the joy rolling off me. After two hours of this madness, I was more than happy to have even a fifteen minute break from all this. I made a quick trip down to my locker only to find a note slipped in. It fluttered to the ground as I yanked out a binder. I stared at it for a moment and picked it up.

Happy Valentine's Day! I rolled my eyes. Yes, yes, I know. I hate this holiday too, but I decided to get something for you anyway. I blinked, intrigued against my will. Since I don't have the confidence to give this to you in person yet…I arranged to give you something in your third period, something in your fourth, and at lunch, I'll give you the last. I hope you like them.

The note was not signed. It didn't surprise me, considering how reticent this person. Besides, it's not it was honestly real. Seriously, April was still about a month and a half away. I rolled my eyes again and crumbled up the note.

In my third period, however, I found a black rose in full bloom, wrapped in a bag of water, on my desk. Okay, to be honest, I wasn't charmed. It freaked me out. I mean, seriously, black roses? But my biology teacher told me that that meant that my admirer will "love me even after death."

Less creepy but still not all that appealing. In fourth period, I found a huge teddy bear on my seat, and when I said huge, I meant the size of my torso. Girls squealed around me as I picked it up. I might have blushed. Okay, so that guy was growing to be more interesting by the moment. The bear was soft, cuddly, and a good source of heat. I hugged it closer as I made my way to my locker. When the rose was arranged to my satisfaction, I closed my locker and leaned against it to wait.

"I wish I was the bear."

I whirled around and stared at him while I tried to process the words. No way. It couldn't possibly have been him. I laughed anyway and hugged him. If he hugged me any longer than usual, I thought nothing of it.

"Better now? I have something for you." I pulled out a lollipop and handed it to him. He accepted with a grin and placed it in his backpack, but instead of zipping it up, he yanked it further open.

"Thanks. Say…do you want a kiss?"

I froze, but shook off the feeling of déjà vu. He was just playing as usual. "Sure, which kind?"

He grinned. It was the same lopsided smile that used to make my heart spin. "Does it matter?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure."

"Close your eyes."

The weight of a box placed in my hands shocked me into opening my eyes even as his lips brushed my cheek. I jerked back automatically and blushed and he laughed quietly.

"Look at the box."

It was a large Kiss, and when I looked up at him, he glanced away, blushing as well. I smiled. "Thank you."

He smiled a little. "Say…do you want to walk somewhere?"

"I…" The bear in my arms reminded me of why I was here. "I'm waiting for someone here. The person who gave me this bear." I didn't want to betray the feelings of the one who gave me these things.

His lips twisted lopsidedly. "If I told you that I was the one you're waiting for…would you believe me?"