Three days had passed and Madeline was still fixated on the blue masked boy from the Masquerade Ball. She continued to pass out flyers but this time, she was permitted to staple her flyers on bulletin boards inside the school. As she stapled one of her flyers on a board inside the hall by the school lobby, she was approached by an unfamiliar teenage boy.
"Hi," he greeted.
Madeline turned around. "Hi. Do I know you?"
"No, I'm Jerry."
"Oh, well, hello, Jerry. Do I know you?"
"No but I just wanted to ask about your paper."
Madeline took a glance at her stapled flyer. "Oh. What about it?"
"Why are you hanging up paintings of cantalopes?"
"For your information, this is not a cantalope; it is a boy. Why is everyone saying it looks like a cantalope?"
"Because it does."
"Well, it's not. I met some dude at a dance here and that resembles my memory of him. Does he look familiar?"
Jerry squinted his eyes at the flyer. "Hmm, I don't know. No, I don't suppose so."
Madeline groaned. "Figures. I meet the best person of my life and I let him slip away from my fingertips."
"Do you even know him?"
"No! But when I looked into his eyes, I felt like I've known him for a decade. But you don't want to hear that. It's too girly."
"No, not at all. I think it's sweet."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Sometimes, if something feels right, you just have to go with it. Follow your heart, not your head."
"That's exactly what I was going for."
"And I do that every day I can. And to make you feel better, your mystery man is closer than you think."
"But you said you didn't know him."
"Actually, I know him a lot better than you think."
"Then tell me."
"Well, he goes to this school, he's been thinking about you as well and his name is Jerry."
Madeline paused. "His name is Jerry?"
"Yep."
"And didn't you say your name is Jerry?"
"Yes, I did."
"Oh." She froze for a while before punching Jerry in the shoulder with force.
Jerry covered his shoulder and made a face of pain. "Ow! Why'd you do that?"
"For making me obsess over you!"
"Look, I'm sorry."
"Why did you kiss me and make me create ugly flyers?"
"Well, me and my friends at Tech club--"
"Ew!"
"--are aware of your popularity here."
"Huh, I'm popular?"
"When people talk about you like we do, yeah. And since the Ball was coming up, I made a bet with my friends that if I get a kiss from you, they would polish my robots for a whole year. It sounded a lot better when we declared it."
"So I'm just usage?"
"Well, when you put it like that--"
"Jerry!"
"Sorry! But when we were dancing, I could not get you out of my head after that. That kiss we had was special and even though we did not know each other that well, I wish we did."
"But why did you leave so early?"
"I had a curfew."
"But you were at school. And it was barely past ten."
"My parents are strict. Listen, I like you and that bet means nothing. I'm sorry for hiding away for a little bit but I didn't know how to approach you after that."
Madeline hugged Jerry, laying her cheek on top of his shoulder. "I forgive you. I am just so glad to have finally found you. Now we can be together."
"Yeah, about that. I'm moving."
"Then I'll move with you. I know how to hug."
"No." Jerry picked Madeline off of his shoulder. "I mean that me and my family are moving away... tonight."
Madeline pulled away from the hug. "Tonight? Boy, what is wrong with you?!"
"I don't know. Look, I'm sorry. It's just that it all happened so soon and... I'm really sorry."
"I can't believe you're moving and I barely know your last name."
"My last name is--"
"Yeah, I don't care right now. I-- I'm going to miss you."
"I'm going to miss you more."
Jerry and Madeline threw out their arms at the same time and embraced each other once more.
"What do you say?" Madeline inquired. "One kiss before you head to Neverland?"
Jerry pecked Madeline on the cheek.
"Yeah, that's what I was expecting."
"I don't want to hype you up."
"I'm already hyped."
The two released and took one more glance into each other's eyes.
"Goodbye, Madeline."
"Goodbye, Jerry."
Jerry walked away, breaking his gaze from Madeline, into the hallway. Madeline looked at him walk a distance before ripping her flyer from the bulletin board.
"Why do I get to be Rose in this movie?" she asked herself.
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