From A to Z

In the middle of the crowd, Zane accidentally bumped into Alice. "Sorry!" she exclaimed and their eyes locked. Time slowed. Thump. Thump. Thump. His heart was beating so fast it was a wonder she couldn't hear it. She smiled at him. It was the same beautiful smile he fell in love with in the first place. Memories flooded his mind.

***

    It was her first day of attending his school as a new student and she kept to herself. He approached to greet her. As she lifted her head, he realized her eyes were swollen. She had been crying. He left. A while later, he returned with a pack of ice, passed it to her and just sat beside her, keeping her company. She nursed her eyes. They never said a word to each other. 

    A week later, she started hanging out with people. They made her smile, though it never reached her eyes. He noticed. He always noticed. She'd wrap her arms around her chest when she felt uncomfortable, especially when others were invading her personal space by standing too close to her. She'd laugh awkwardly when they joked although she didn't approve of their jokes. She'd always find an excuse to hide in the bathroom during recess because she needed to take a breather. Whenever she returned to her seat, she always found a bottle of milk in her drawer. She'd smile. That smile? It was genuine.    

    One day, she stopped coming to school. A day became two. Two became a week. Everyone said she transferred. He thought otherwise. Yet, he never saw her again. Until that fateful day. It was raining heavily and he was stuck at the convenience store, waiting for the rain to subside. A person ran into the store and headed immediately towards the slushy machine. He shuddered when the person took a big sip, already feeling extremely cold from the rain. Then, the hoodie fell. His jaws dropped too. IT WAS HER!

***

"Hey, stranger. Fancy seeing you here," teased Alice. He blushed. It had been a year since that fateful day, but he fell in love with her more every single day. "A-hah! Caught you!" She laughed and then took out a milk bottle from her bag. Then, she dumped a folded paper star into the half-full bottle. "Let's get married once the other 3 bottles are filled," she winked at Zane. He nodded.

Credit: This story is a challenge to make it as romantic and cringey as possible. I died multiple times trying to even get past the second sentence. Thanks.