Clarisse’s hands held a slight tremble to them as she grasped tightly on the poorly wrapped gift.

Valentine’s Day for her was one of those days that she loathed with every fiber of her being. Seeing all those couples prancing around, flaunting their love so much it was a taunt to her loneliness. Clarisse would sit and brood, grumbling at every affectionate word she would hear. It was the bane of her very existence. It was. That changed when she met her Valentines crazed partner.

She never realized how much a person could love a mere holiday so much. The first year of them celebrating the day of love, Clarisse didn’t expect much. Being single almost her whole life, she didn’t have that many standards when it came to love. The emotion usually never came naturally to her. She always held herself above the simple thought of caring about someone else. Yet, when she saw how passionate her lover was about the day, she couldn’t help but feel the same.

Clarisse since that day would hold an amount of excitement to Valentine’s Day. Not because it was the day of love. Only because she wanted to explore different ways to express herself. For the years the two were together, her partner helped her get her emotions honed, exploring her uncharted territory. She realized she didn’t like words of affirmation as much as the other did but she did enjoy gifting. It gave her a chance to think about what is something good and worthy for her lover, only gifting them the best.

As time flew past them, she couldn’t help feel herself get used to being loved and loving back in her own way. One thing she never got used to was the anxiety of actually gifting them. No amount of reassurance could soothe the thought of them not liking her sentiments. Not to mention how daunting it would be to go back to a loveless life.

Clarisse watched her lover approach her, swallowing back her fear. “Hey.” She said, her gaze softening at the sight of them. “Here. It’s your Valentines gift.” She stated dumbly, mentally smacking herself as she handed it.