Night Shift:

Simone’s Notes:

Interpersonal attraction is the attraction between people which leads to friendships and romantic relationships. In a colloquial sense, interpersonal attraction is related to how much we like, love, dislike, or hate someone. Interpersonal attraction can be thought of as a force acting between two people tending to draw them together, and resisting their separation. According to a personality psychologists' view, interpersonal attraction is a person's qualities that tend to attract by appealing to another person's desires. When measuring interpersonal attraction, one must refer to the qualities of the attracted as well as the qualities of the attractor to achieve predictive accuracy. The study of interpersonal attraction is a major area of study in social psychology. They suggest that to determine attraction, personality and situation must be taken into account. Repulsion is also a factor in the process of interpersonal attraction, one's conception of "attraction" to another can vary from extreme attraction to extreme repulsion.

Second Lieutenant Nately Reed roamed the streets alone one summer night. The man didn’t want to go home yet. He was suffering from a minor heartache. Back in the spring, Madeline blurted out the guy’s true feelings to Lady Kathleen Gates. Ever since then, he couldn’t look her in the eye. Whenever Kathleen was in sight, Nately would hide like a criminal from the police. He was really worried about rejection. “Why did Maddie have to open her big mouth?” he thought to himself in worry. “Now, Kathleen’s going to think I’m just a desperate little love-sick loser!” “Aw, don’t be hard on yourself!” Havoc told him repeatedly. “She probably feels the same about you and doesn’t really want to marry the other great.” The lt. looked up at him. “Oh, that’s easy for you to say, Jean!” he replied in misery. “You have a girlfriend who isn’t marrying someone who’s possibly better than you!” Ian offered him a little trip to the Red Light District, but the lieutenant wisely rejected. “No whore could take away my pain!” Reed told the brigadier general. Ian just shrugged at him. “Okay,” he said. “But if you change your mind,” Fisher set down the card down in front of Reed and left the room. Nately just threw it in the trash and left for home.

Nately looked down at the ground as he walked. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kathleen’s sweet reddish-blonde hair, marble greenish-brown eyes, and slender body. Her beauty haunted his sleep. “I love Kathleen so much!” Nately thought. “But I can never have her! Now, she might avoid me like the plague!” Oh, the man didn’t know how wrong he was! Nately had just made it past the park when he heard a low whistle. The man looked up to see his eye of affection looking right at him. Reed blinked hard to see if he wasn’t going crazy. There she was! Beautiful Kathleen Gates was standing there in the flesh. Her beauty overtook the summer night in a heartbeat. Her marble greenish-brown eyes lit up the darkness like fireflies in the night. Her reddish-blonde hair was like silk curtains in the gentle breeze. She was dressed in a light blue sundress decorated in sunflowers. Nately tightly froze at her mere beauty. He could barely talk at all. His crush smiled sweetly at him. “Evening, lt.!” she called out to him. Her sweet voice added more panic in him. Reed just didn’t know what to do! So, he turned and ran away as fast as he could. Kathleen smiled to herself out sympathy. “This is turning into a game!” she thought. “Well, I’ll keep trying!” Then, the heiress went after her future man.

Nately disappeared around a dark corner. He was panting hard to catch his breath. “You idiot!” the lt. thought to himself. “Why did you run away from her like she was a ghost or something? She possibly just wanted to talk to you and ask why you keep running away from her! Now, Kathleen-chan thinks you are a nut bag and a loser!” Reed was about to go home when he felt someone grab him tightly on the shoulder. The man froze in nervous fear and looked behind him out of the corner of his eye. Kathleen was standing behind him on her tip-toes. Nately was stunned. “She has a strong grip for a tiny thing!” he thought in shock. Kathleen smiled at him sweetly. “Good, I have you now!” she said. “I want to ask you something!” Silence passed between. “Okay…” the lt. said uneasily at last. “What?” Kathleen stepped closer on her toes. “Why do you keep avoiding me?” she asked. Nately didn’t know how to answer that one at first. How could he? Lady Kathleen Gates was his crush! How would she understand what he was thinking? But the truth would have to come out soon!

“I’m afraid,” he answered slowly. “Of what?” the heiress asked. Nately swallowed hard before starting up. “That you’ll reject me for having a crush on you and think that I was a loser!” he answered at last. Kathleen let go of him in complete shock. Reed turned to her to see his eye of affection staring back at him. His mind quickly filled with fear. “Oh shit!” he thought nervously. “Now, she’s going to think you’re a big loser and start avoiding you like you are a psychopath!” “Reject you?” she asked instead. “Why?” The lt. stared at her in shock. This woman seemed to be interested into him. But why? He wasn’t attractive, but he wasn’t ugly either. Reed had short sandy blonde hair, deep chestnut-caramel eyes, strong board shoulders, charming average boy next-door look. Nately couldn’t understand why a high-class princess like her would be into a normal soldier like him. No matter! Lady Kathleen was here and demanded the truth for his odd behavior. Judging by the actions she was taking tonight, this chick wasn’t leaving until she got it. Nately drew in another deep breath. He couldn’t hide anymore because of some silly fear of rejection. If she didn’t feel the same, so what? Lady Gates would at least know how he felt about her again. And if she did, well, he’ll just have to see what happens afterwards. “Well,” he thought. “Here’s goes nothing! Don’t hold back Nately!”

“Because,” he asked boldly. “I’m in love with you!” Kathleen’s eyes grew big in shock. The lt. felt that he had to continue no matter what. So he did. “I know you’re getting married to someone else,” Reed kept on. “But I have fallen in love with you! I have loved you since the spring! I love you! By God, I’ll love you until I die!” Nately went quiet. “There!” he thought. “It’s all out! Now, bring on the rejection!” But instead, the lt. got this from his crush: “Well, I’m flattered. I like you too.” Reed fell into complete shock. “You do?” he asked. The heiress nodded as she smiled at him. “But, I want to take my time with you first and get to know you.” she confessed. Nately’s heart leapt up in complete joy. “You really mean it?” he asked. The heiress nodded again. “Come and take a walk with me.” Kathleen replied. “Y-Yes!” the lt. called out. Then, the heiress stepped up next to him. “Well then,” she said. “Let’s go!” Then, she headed back into the night city. Nately froze for a moment and then followed behind quickly. He seemed to finally be getting his wish.

The pair spent the night walking together. They talked all night long. Kathleen some to be a girl who just loved to have fun. She had a developed a small crush on him ever since Madeline told her while the nympho was drunk. But, they couldn’t get together because of her fiancée. Her family really wanted her to marry him because of his inheritance. Kathleen liked him, but that was all. “I don’t really love him,” she told her crush. But sadly, her father wouldn’t approve of his only daughter marrying a dog of the military. “He wants me to marry a man with a decent living!” the heiress told him. They both silently wished that her parents would call off the engagement and let her be free to date whoever she pleased. “So,” Nately spoke up at last. “Do you still want to try things with me after all?” Kathleen turned to him smiling. “Does this answer your question?” she asked bravely. Then, the heiress leaned forward and lightly kissed the lt. right on the lips. A happy fire was lit in Reed’s soul instantly. He softly kissed back. After a few seconds, Kathleen slowly pulled away. She smiled at him sweetly. “Well?” she asked. The lt. smiled back at her in joy. “Sure!” he called. “I’m willing to try anything to be with you!” The heiress kept smiling at him. “Good night then, Nately!” she called. Then, she gracefully headed home. Reed watched her do so. “My love…” he thought in true happiness for once since the spring Madeline blurted out his feelings to his crush. It was official! Nately Reed and Kathleen Gates were going to give this crazy thing called love a try!