Adrian Gonzalez knows the painful truth about liking someone you have no chance with-they never like you back and you're left heartbroken. Ever wonder why it's called a 'crush?'
But when the hopeless crush he has is on Parker Thompson-nonbinary scho...
Suddenly, he brightened up, rubbing his palms together. “Okay, eh, I’ll help get you interviews, like what happened today. If you need brawn, I’m your guy.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Only that?”
“N-no. No, I... I’ll drive you around. I don’t suppose you can drive with the cast on, and I don’t think you have a lot of experience with public transport either. Please.” His voice came out in a desperate croak. “And I’ll try harder to help with the Journal, I promise.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t say no. “Come pick me up tomorrow morning. 7AM.”
“Sweet! I owe you one.” He reached across to ruffle my hair, smiling wildly.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Dinner was pizza and several bottles of soda, which I ate in my room. Martha, the lady who regularly cooked for us, was on leave. And since it wasn’t a Friday, my mom would not bother with the kitchen.
Wiping down my hands after the last slice, I texted Adrián to let him know I was home and free to talk. My phone rang almost immediately.
“Wow, I didn’t know you missed me this much,” I said with a laugh when his face appeared on the screen.
“Is that wrong?”
I smiled at the fact that Adrián didn’t even think to deny it. “No. And it’s reciprocated.”
I formed half a heart with my left hand, and he completed it. We both broke out in laughter. Some moments later, he propped up his phone on his desk and gathered his art supplies.
“What are you working on?”
“Finishing this painting so I can start with the props for the drama club,” he answered.
Right, that painting. It was the one he’d told me was making for a study—his rendition of The Kiss. I’d been turned down enough times after I asked to see it. He told me to trust the process and wait until he was done.
So instead of asking about it again, I addressed the other issue. “You joined the drama club?” It seemed everybody was getting involved with an extracurricular that wasn’t so typical of them. Micky, who read nothing apart from his school books, was now interested in being a part of the Newsroom squad. But Adrián’s was even more surprising. He was rather reserved and shy, and I couldn’t think of any situation where he’d willingly jump at a chance to be on stage. It was all too out-of-character.
“Not exactly. Laura told a lie that she’s in the play they’re doing this fall. It included me, you know, the lie. It was stupid and rushed, but I kind of leaned on it again twice. And now I really have to help with it because my mother’s invested. I told her it was the reason I came later today.” Okay, Adrián wasn’t exactly going to be in a play, but him joining the drama club was strange as it is. And it was also partly my fault.
