Side Note: I Think I Love You (Side Notes Book 1) - COMPLETE

Chapter 1 - Attie

I spent most of my time this summer mainly going back and forth between reading a book that my bestie Amy had lent me the last time I saw her and writing ideas for my next big project in my school's animation club. So instead of sticking my nose into my sketchbook or laptop, I crack open the book that Amy had lent me. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han may no longer be as popular as it once was but I'm only just getting into the realm of reading outside of school.

And it's a good one. Fake dating, secret love letters, and Korean culture? I think I may have fallen in love with Peter Kavinsky already, too. I'm also definitely not Korean—I'm the most white-looking Cuban you'll ever meet—but I've noticed that interracial romances in YA books are far and few in between.

It's not until I reach chapter thirteen that I start to feel parched. I mark the page that I'm on and head downstairs for a glass of water. Just my luck, I hear the garage door open and just know that Jason is finally home. My Ryder radar is never wrong.

Knowing better than to stand in the middle of a war zone, I walk out of the kitchen and find myself a suitable place to hide. Far enough to where I could not be detected yet close enough to hear my brother's horror when he reveals the surprise hiding in those lovely Oreos of his.

I'm drinking my water when I hear footsteps. I wince when I hear more than one set of feet pitter-pattering around the kitchen.

"Hey, thanks for telling me this," Jason's voice rings as I hear the door to the pantry open. "I'm glad you came to me."

"I'm glad you didn't belittle me when I told you." Wait a minute, I know this other voice...

Derek!

Shit! He brought Derek over??

I give myself a mental facepalm before quietly sipping my cup of ice water. I can't do anything to give myself away.

"It's still crazy you've kept it for so long," my brother is saying. "When did you know?"

"Honestly? I think I've always known."

"Is that why you turned down Macy when she asked you out last month?"

"Yep."

What could they be talking about? The suspense is killing me!

But my question is never answered because only a second later, I hear an eerily quiet crunch before Jason practically shouts, "fuck! Bro, give me a napkin." I'm pretty sure he's spitting the toothpaste-filled Oreo out of his mouth.

"It can't be that bad," Derek's voice says before biting into another cookie. "Nope. It's worse. Yuck!" He spits the cookie out of his mouth too.

I'm only going by sound here but I can tell that both of them are a little angry—if not both of them then definitely Jason.

I really hope Derek's not angry.

I quickly run upstairs to grab my headphones and blast Taylor Swift's rerecording of her Speak Now album in my ears so that I act all clueless to the events happening and then walk back downstairs. This time, I direct myself over to the kitchen, where I grab a bag of jalapeño chips.

Just as I open the kitchen cabinets for a bowl, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Taking a headphone out, I turn around to find my brother's glare pinned right at me. His hazel-green eyes are seething with rage. "What happened to the Oreos?"

I cross my arms over my stomach. Not in insecurity—I'm wearing an oversized t-shirt—but to try to assert dominance. And because I'm no longer hungry. "Wow, no greetings? You just got home and all I get is your attitude. Tsk, tsk."