over the course of three rehearsals and five facetime calls, walker and ayesha were already good friends.

today they had set something up, not necessarily a date, just a simple friendly hang out, at least that was what it was in walker's eyes.

to others, ayesha included, it was a romantic outing.

of course, paparazzi and press had to get in the way, and spread the word of ayesha and walker's little relationship.

strangers, much older than the two of them snapped photos at the two as they walked down the street.

although this was only meant to be something casual, ayesha had spent countless hours doing her makeup way before walker was due to arrive, and she had been preparing what to say.

on the outside, ayesha may be seen as calm, and confident. but really, she was a mess.

she would spend hours a day practicing what to say to people, running different scenarios in her head.

all her life, she's been mocked for her either too dull, or too bubbly personality. and she could never be in the middle, that was just impossible.

so in every movie and show she watched, she would pick out the fan favorite characters, and copy what they did. studying their mannerisms, their way of speaking, and even their looks.

she sometimes even used the techniques that serial killers would use to make themselves appear more charming or charismatic.

and although these things worked, of course not everyone's gonna like her, but once she started doing these things, she received more attention from others. she started being included in more conversations.

but she was never really happy.

all she wanted was to be herself.

she thought she could do that with walker, but she was too far in deep. she had created this fake persona to make him like her and it worked, walker didn't suspect a thing.

he was happy with how she was, he thought ayesha was polite and respectful, and a great listener.
he thought she was kind, and caring, and funny at the right times.

but this was, in fact, the opposite.

ayesha just had a lot of patience and self-control, this wasn't really her.

she did feel guilty for lying to walker, but was she really lying? she was just altering her personality to fit his needs.
that was all.

"yeah, but, i don't know. that's just how i-"

"are you even listening?"

"ayesh? you there?"

ayesha flinched, "oh, uhm, yeah." she flashed walker a smile. "i just zoned out, sorry."

walker smiled back, "it's fine. but, i'm just really excited to be in this movie. like, i'm famous!"

oh my god, she thought. he called me 'ayesh'. without me even having to ask him. oh my god.

ayesha felt her cheeks redden slightly at the sight of his smile, her eyes subconsciously drifting down to his lips, but she caught herself.

"yeah, same. i'm stoked."
but not for the same reason walker was.

she just wanted to spend more tine with this newfound soulmate of hers.

sure, she's had her crushes, but

1) nine times out of ten, they were usually way too old for her (or worse, dead)
2) she doesn't love them. she thinks they're attractive, sure, but she could never really see herself in a relationship with them.

but walker, he's different. he's special.

there's something in him that makes him seem genuine. he's real, and he could understand ayesha.

he would accept her for who she is, and he wouldn't judge. he likes her, and ayesha likes him.

the only thing ayesha doesn't like about him though, is that he likes her, but not in the way she wants him to.

she wants him to like her more than a friend.

hell, not even like her, she wants walker to love her. liking isn't enough.
she wants walker to reciprocate the feelings.

she wants him to feel what she feels.