Patron Saint of Lost Causes

chapter 21: seven

And I've been meaning to tell you
I think your house is haunted
Your dad is always mad and that must be why
I think you should come live with me
And we can be pirates
Then you won't have to cry
Or hide in the closet
And just like a folk song
Our love will be passed on

Please, picture me in the weeds
Before I learned civility
I used to scream ferociously
Any time I wanted

-"Seven" by Taylor Swift

sunday

"Um. Hi. Excuse me. What are you doing in our common room?"

James glanced up from his phone. "Well, first of all, this isn't your common room either, Penelope," he said. "You live on a different floor."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Minor details."

"Second of all, I'm waiting for Hotch and Alex," he said. "They borrowed my car for the day."

Penelope's eyes gleamed behind her lavender glasses. "Ooh! What are they doing?" she asked. She plunked down on the common room couch beside him in a flurry of clinking plastic bracelets. "Are they going on a date?"

"No!" James said, a little too quickly. "No, no, no, they're not going on a date."

"I heard they were dating," Penelope said. She paused. "But I also heard that they're actually twins. So I really hope that both of those rumors aren't true."

"Well, they're not dating, and they're not twins," James said firmly. Penelope frowned, and then after a moment scooted a little closer to him. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"I just realized we haven't had much one on one bonding time," she said. "Where were you born? What are your hopes and dreams? Why didn't you tell us your family owned literally the cutest, most Instagram-worthy bakery in the world?"

James laughed. "I was born in Auden's Ridge, lived here all my life," he said. "Hopes and dreams...going to medical school and becoming an emergency room doctor. As for the bakery...I don't know, I guess to me it's just a part of my life and I don't think about it as anything special."

"All right, those are good answers," Penelope said. She tucked her feet underneath her and shifted her weight. "This whole Alex thing, though. You're going to ask her out at some point though, right? Some of us have a lot of money riding on this."

He sighed heavily. "I don't know, it's complicated, I guess," he said. "She-" He stopped. "Did you say money?"

"Don't worry about it. Keep going."

He eyed her carefully, but he sank back in the couch and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Alex has been my best friend since the first day of ninth grade," he said.

"I thought Dave was your best friend."

"Well, he is, but like...you know. It's different."

"Different because you have a crush on Alex and not on Dave?"

"All right, yes, fine, I've had a crush on Alex since the beginning of ninth grade," he said, sinking further down into the couch. "It just...it was never the right time, you know? She's always been so focused on school and her grades and getting into a good college. And honestly, I kind of did the same. Dave was the one who was always asking girls out, Alex and I have had scholarships to maintain."

"So...you never asked her to anything?" Penelope asked wistfully. "Not a coffee date at the Honeybean, a school dance?" Her eyes widened. "Not even prom?"