It Used To Be Different

[Chapter 2]

"Who are you? And how do you know my name?" I asked the guy.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Caleb Birch. And like I said before, everyone knows your name." He explained, while putting out a hand to shake.

I ignored his hand. "Stop saying that!" I demanded.

After realizing I wasn't going to shake it, he dropped his arm and slid it back to his chest. "Stop saying what?" He asked innocently.

"That everyone knows me! It's my first day here, and your the only person to say a word to me." I said, a little louder than I intended.

"Listen, Evelyn, in this town, everyone knows everything about everyone because it's so small--the graduating class last year was only a little less than 400. This school is like a bush. Some branches intertwine more than once. Others don't even bother to intertwine at all. The branches you haven't intertwined with are the people who know exactly who you are, but just have no intention to talk to you or get to know you."

My jaw must have been down to the floor because I had never met anyone this decent-looking who could talk like that.

"Quit gawking at my gorgeousness. I'm trying to help you out here." He joked.

"I wasn't gawking at you gorgeousness, I was gawking at your analogy." I admitted.

"So you think I'm gorgeous?" He said with a smirk.

"I never said that." I protested.

"But you implied it." He said as his smirk grew even larger.

"I've literally just met you and I can tell that your very difficult. " I emphasized.

"There's way more to me than what you've already witnessed. How about we hang out sometime?" He offered raising an eyebrow.

"Sure." I shrugged casually, but in my mind I was doing kart-wheels of joy. Then, he passed me his phone and I put my number in.

I really, really, hope that Caleb didn't want to become anything more than friends. Although it could be funny to joke and "flirt" with him, I just wasn't ready to start another relationship. I wasn't even close to forgetting about Eli.

"Penny for your thoughts." Caleb blurted out, obviously desperately trying to wake me from my daydream.

More like a nightmare.

"I was just thinking, that's all. Nothing in particular." I lied.

"Fine. Here's your penny." He said, tossing over a coin. I didn't even bother to catch it, I just let it roll underneath a bookshelf.

"Nice catch." He spat playfully.

"Now how about a penny for your thoughts?" I questioned.

"I was thinking about what we would do if I brought you home tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll give it to you, that was smooth. And sure, I'd love to." I said, digging into my bag for a penny.

"Keep your penny. What number is your locker?"

"527." I replied.

"I'll meet you there tomorrow when the last bell ri..." He trailed off as the bell rung.

"Oh wow look at the time! Gotta go to history, nice talk Evelyn. See you tomorrow!" He yelled to me with a wave as he left.

******

The next day, I knelt down and put in my locker combination. Since Caleb wasn't here when I was done switching out my books, I played with some binders and decorations in my locker until I saw him walking towards me with someone who I assumed was one of his friends.

"Evelyn, this is my best friend, Caspar." Was the first thing Caleb said to me.

Caspar seemed like one of the kids that were ugly in middle-school but matured into a drool worthy teenager in a matter of weeks. He was wearing a muscle tee and some sweatshorts. The color of his full lips was the perfect contrast to the color of his strawberry blonde hair.

"Caleb, you didn't tell me she was this pretty! I'm Caspar." He said, while picking up my hand and kissing it softly.

I was practically praying that his turquoise--yes turquoise--eyes couldn't see how flustered I was.

"I'm....uh...hi Caspar." I muttered while biting on my lower lip and adjusting my sleeve so they couldn't see how much my hand was trembling.

"Is it okay if Caspar comes with us somewhere before I drop him off at his house? He lives down the block from my family and I." Caleb explained.

"Sure thing." I shrugged.

"Wanna go to DQ?" Caleb asked, after we slid into his Jeep.

"Hell yeah!" Caspar was practically jumping out of the back seat.

"Whatever you want to do." I offered innocently.

"Dairy Queen it is!" Caleb announced.

After getting ice cream, the three of us sat down.

"So Evelyn, tell us both about yourself." Caspar asked, but it didn't really come out as a question.

"Well for starters, my favorite show is Glee, I have a sister named Veronica, and I am in love with Sawyer Hartman." I confessed.

"What else?" Caleb wondered.

"Hmmm...I want to have 3 kids. 2 boys and a girl." I stated.

"Well, if you want them to have eyes like these, I'm your guy." Caspar joked, pointing to his own eyes.

"Please. Don't joke about that Cas. And calm yourself--I don't think Evelyn's looking for a boyfriend just yet." I was so happy for Caleb's relaxed, down-to-earth personality and the fact that he could read me like a book right now.

"Damn, then why did you invite her?" Caspar countered.

"Because she's my friend. And friends get ice-cream together. Right Ev?" He disputed.

"Right." I agreed and divulged into my ice cream.

~~~~~~

A/N:

That's it for this chapter, I hope you enjoyed!