There's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate

There's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate (25)

"Taking the walk of shame, huh?"

"I wouldn't call it that."

"I would."

I stared at Alex flatly, as if that would make him disappear. For some reason I had told him what had happened with Jesse and Pete, and for some other reason I decided on bringing him along with me. And I realized that that was a mistake almost the second after I had asked him to come along.

"So, no one's asked Lexi yet, right?" Alex asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as we made our way to Pete's cabin, Cabin F.

"No one's asked her yet," I answered flatly, my stomach growling loudly. That didn't usually happen when I was nervous, but now my nervousness was mixed with guilt. I didn't want to hurt Pete, but... Jesse actually asked me to the prom!

"I'm going to ask her right after you break Pete's heart," Alex stated determinedly, and I knew he was making fun of me as well. I couldn't help but stare at him flatly, elbowing him in the side as hard as I could. But as I expected, he didn't seem hurt at all.

"I'm not going to break Pete's heart," I told him, but I didn't know if I was trying to convince him or myself. "I'm just going to break it to him nicely that--"

"That you're dumping him for the super sexy bad boy that used to be in a gang?" Alex guessed, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

I blinked at him, a blank look on my face. "I didn't know you were gay."

Alex's eyes went wide. "I'm not!" he denied, shaking his head at me.

"Could have fooled me."

Alex didn't say anything back, and I knew I had won this round. I let out a triumphant laugh, but that quickly went away when I realized where I was going and what I was doing.

I really wasn't looking forward to telling Pete that I couldn't go to the prom with him. I was sure he would have understood if I was sick or something, but I was pretty much blowing him off. No, not pretty much, I was blowing him off.

"Hey, Pete," I smiled unsurely at him after he had answered the door. It was the day after he had asked me, and t prom was the next day, so I had to tell him then. Would he be able to get another date with such short notice? I sure helped he did. I felt so bad... "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

He looked up at me in surprise before looking over at Alex, who stood behind me. He nodded at me then. "Um... sure."

"Um... it's about prom," I started, playing with my fingers as I tried to think of the right way to tell him. I didn't even think there was a right way... "Well... here's the thing..."

I looked away from him for a moment, trying to think of the best thing to say to him. He seemed kind of fragile, and I didn't want to hurt him or anything. But I really, really wanted to go to the prom with Jesse... That was all that I wanted...

"I... remembered that someone else asked me," I excused, crossing my arms over my chest to try and hide my discomfort. "And, well... I'm sorry, but--"

I then looked back over at him and my breath caught in my throat when I saw tears were in his eyes. There was no way he liked me so much that I'd make him cry! There's no way... I wasn't that special!

"It's okay," Pete told me, wiping at his eyes. "I just won't go."

"No!" I cried, shaking my head. The guilt was overtaking me now as I let out a breath, trying to think of what I was supposed to do. I didn't want him crying over me! "I'll... go with you. I'll tell the other guy that I can't. I'm sure he'll understand."