A harmless daisy

As the term progressed, Elizabeth and Nick started spending more time together and started growing closer to each other. Everyday they went to a nearby cafe to study after class. Though Nick didn't need that kind of revision, Elizabeth did. She had good grades, but was one that had to work hard for it and Nick was happy to help if it meant spending time with her. After some weeks they even officially introduced each other to their parents and they made sure to go on a proper date once a week. At a rapid speed their bond grew and soon they were no different than the other couples that made up their friend group. The only thing that had been different was Elizabeth's behavior. It didn't take long for everyone to notice that she was holding herself back. Though she behaved normally when it was just her and Nick, once the others were involved, it was clear to see that her behavior changed. Nick seemed oblivious to it, but her feistiness had disappeared. What had added to Elizabeth's charm and had made them feel like she was adorable, had made place for complete complacency. The thorned rose had turned into a harmless daisy.

She had always been the type to not hold back and voice her opinion whenever. Regardless of what the general opinion seemed to be. But these days, ever since they had returned from their vacation together, she had been oddly quiet. Even with topics that they were certain she had an opinion on. On a day that Nick was delayed by soccer practice, they decided to test her. The seven of them had gone to a cafe after school and Nick would join them after his practice had finished. They picked a seat on the sunny terrace outside and placed their orders. After their drinks had arrived, they started their plan. They deliberately brought forward a topic Elizabeth had expressed a strong opinion about before and Jenny and Jason had the task of taking the position of the opposition. They started with only Julia and Harry speaking out against them. After some time George joined in as well and some time after that Jason pretended to switch sides. With each change they looked in Elizabeth's direction, waiting for her to say something, but she simply looked at them discuss among themselves and smiled.

Finally Jenny turned to her and asked her directly "What do you think Elizabeth? They can't possibly be right, right?". But even now Elizabeth was unmoved and deflected possible involvement. Not knowing their argument was staged, she tried to resolve the issue without actually picking a side. "Oh I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. It doesn't really matter who is right or wrong, does it? He, he, he." Jenny quickly exchanged her surprised look for a cheerful one and said "Yeah.. I guess you are right! We should just enjoy this nice weather." To avoid suspicion they continued the friendly atmosphere that was present. They waited for Nick to join them and used his arrival as the distraction. Nick walked up to the group and waved at them from a distance. Once he reached their table he got up behind Elizabeth's chair and bended his body to place a kiss on her lips from around the chair "Hi..". Catching everyone by surprise, including Elizabeth. "Hi.." she replied slightly awkwardly.

Nick straightened his body and greeted everyone once more as he stood behind Elizabeth's chair. Only now did he see the response they had to what he had done just now. Julia was looking through her fingers from an embarrassed shock, Harry was patting him on the back with a "Well done man" and Jason was snickering from behind his half closed hand. Jenny, George and Sophia were simply looking with a look of surprise. Though they had seen and showed more than this during their vacation, the element of surprise and being here in public added to their reactions. While waiting for him to arrive, they had finished their first round of drinks, giving them the perfect excuse to split up. Jenny exchanged glances with Jason and he nodded to let her know he knew what to do. "Jenny do you want another drink?" "Yes please. Could you bring me along a piece of that good looking carrot cake as well?"

The others caught onto the hint as well and followed suit. "Ah a snack and a new drink sounds good. I will come along, I want to see what they have before I can make a decision. George help me pick!" Harry put his arm around Nick's neck and said "Let's go man. I will walk with you to the bar. I need to order myself a new drink as well." Five out of the eight people present had found an excuse to leave.

The last to leave was Julia, who used having to go to the bathroom as her reason to leave the table. "Lizzy and Jenny, could you guys watch my stuff? I need to go to the bathroom. On my way back I can get a look at the cakes as well. Lizzy do you want anything? I can bring it back for you when I return." "Sure. No problem. The red velvet has been calling me for some time now, so I wouldn't mind a piece of that." With that piece of information, Julia made her exit as well. Jenny was left behind to talk to Elizabeth. Now that they had the evidence they needed, it was time to take action.

"Then there was just you and me" Jenny said jokingly. Elizabeth let out an awkward little laugh as she said "Yeah..That seems to be the case..he, he, he". Jenny wanted to make sure just one more time, so she gave her another chance to voice an opinion different from hers. "Now that I have you all to myself, there is something I want to ask you. What did you really think about that argument earlier? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone or hold it against you. I just want to know." "Like I said before, I haven't really thought about it. Does it really matter what I think?" Jenny let out a sigh and finally asked "What's going on Elizabeth?"