Ed moved up the stairs in the stadium, with long lines in front and behind him. Finding a seat would be difficult. His eyes rapidly scanned each passing row, estimating how many people would take up each row to determine whether a seat would be available. Suddenly, one showed up, and he moved for it. Ed narrowly cut off someone going for the seat and sat down next to a girl. As he settled in, he angled his head to look at her from the corner of his eye.

She was beautiful. With soft golden hair glimmering in the light, a kindly face whose eyes spoke of intelligence beyond her years, and a figure to die for, there really wasn't anyone else he would rather be sitting next to.

Writers who go on about "love at first sight" don't really capture what a man feels in that moment. Reality is sillier, yet at the same time more poignant. The emotional side of Ed decided that sitting next to such a lovely girl could only be Destiny. Coincidences didn't happen; she was Fated to be his girlfriend someday. But his rational side slapped him upside the head and ten ways to Timbuktu for thinking such ridiculous nonsense. She probably already had a boyfriend. Who was he kidding? Pretty girls never stayed single for long. And even if she didn't, she probably wouldn't like him, or they wouldn't be a match. Chances were slim to none that he'd ever sit next to his Soul Mate by chance.

Still, it couldn't hurt to be friendly with her, right? You never know. Maybe it [i]is[/i] destiny, and you just gotta seize it by the horns. Test the waters a little. He was about to strike up a conversation with her when he observed the boy sitting on her other side make a move on her. The boy reached out and touched a lock of her hair, an intimate gesture that she did not immediately repulse.

[i]As I thought. She does have a boyfriend.[/i] He was about to give up when it occurred to him that chances were also slim that she'd find and sit next to her boyfriend in a crowd like this. He did a double-take. Her body language was closed off, not receptive to his advances at all. Could it be? This was his chance! He could be her Knight in Shining Armor and save her from the nasty man! Maybe this was Destiny after all!

But this was not the time for grandstanding gallantry. He had to handle this situation with care, lest he create more enemies out of thin air. Ed shivered when he thought he could see himself in the other boy's shoes. Had not he, as this boy had, got excited by the prospect of meeting a pretty girl? Could not nervousness have prompted such indelicate behavior in any other person? Armed with a modicum of empathy, Ed concocted a plan to rescue her without arousing enmity in his opponent.

"Joe?" Ed declared, pretending to recognize the boy.
"Um, what? Me?" The boy looked behind him, thinking Ed was addressing someone else.
[i]Think fast.[/i] Ed "realized" that this wasn't a friend and feigned embarrassment. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else. My name's Edward Valentine. Call me Ed."
The boy laughed. "No harm done. My name is Bergson Somerset. Nice to make your acquaintance."
"Likewise."
The two guys offered a mutual two-fingered salute. Ed turned to the girl and introduced himself. "And may I learn your name, Miss?"