No Strings Attached

6

"Cool," I said, then turned my attention to the rest of the group's conversation.

"So," Parker said. "How've you been liking Bellinger so far?"

"It's not bad," I said after a moment. "I like it better than my old school for sure," I responded.

"And you're adjusting to San Francisco pretty well, right?" Jane asked. I nodded. "But do you, like, miss Pennsylvania? Or your old friends?"

"Uh...." I started. "No, not really," I said mildly, and everyone laughed, as if I was joking. I sat there uncomfortably, until I noticed that Aiden wasn't laughing with them. Instead, he was staring at me curiously. I flashed him a weird look, and he responded with a half shrug before reaching forward to grab a bottle of water from the table and take a drink.

"Alright, well that's good," Jane said after the chatter died down, and I nodded. "I guess San Francisco is just way better, huh?"

"I guess," I said, a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

There was a change in subject before Parker spoke up. "Have you guys started your english project yet?" he asked.

Naomi groaned. "No," she responded. "I don't really understand why we have to do it," she mumbled, and Elliot nodded in agreement.

"Who's your partner?" Jane asked her.

"Eleanore," she responded, and Jane shrugged.

"That's not bad at all, she'll work hard. She's smart."

"Yeah, but I don't know her at all. We're supposed to meet up tomorrow to work on the project at her house, and it's going to be so awkward," she whined.

"Get over it," Aiden suggested to her, and she rolled her eyes.

"Who are the rest of your partners?"

"I'm partners with Evan," Parker spoke up.

"Kelly," Elliot added, and then there was a silence. "What about you, Jan?"

She rolled her eyes and hit his arm lightly before responding. "Uhm, Will," she said quietly, her cheeks tinging slightly red. I immediately looked at Elliot, but he kept a straight face and a cool composure, seeming unaffected. I guess Naomi had been right.

Jane continued to blush as Naomi groaned and threw a pillow at her. "Hey! It's not like I got to choose," she protested.

"So?" Naomi chuckled, and Jane stuck her tongue out at her. I bit my tongue to keep from laughing at their immature exchange before Naomi spoke to me. "Oh, who's your partner, Lucy?"

"Hmm? Oh," I started.

"Me," Aiden piped up from across the couch, raising his hand in the air, then running it through his dark hair.

"Yeah," I said unhelpfully.

"Oh, that's great! Since you guys are already friends, and all," she said happily.

"Yep," I responded plainly.

"Yeah, we should actually get started on that," Aiden told me from across the room. "I forgot to tell you, but I kind of have to finish it this semester because school soccer is in the winter, and I play so I won't really be able to work on it too much then. And then I don't want to work on it in the spring."

"Okay," I said simply to respond.

The topic of conversation switched again, this time to school sports, and I listened along as we talked and laughed. What seemed like half an hour later, Parker stood up. "Hey, guys, it's seven, so I gotta go. I told my parents I would be back home for dinner."

"It's seven?" I asked, and he nodded. "Oh, crap. I have to get home too, then," I stood up as well, surprised that the last five hours had passed so quickly without me noticing.

"Okay. Aiden, Naomi and Elliot, do you guys want to stay for dinner?" Jane asked, and they all nodded. "Cool," she said, standing up anyway before addressing Parker and me. "Okay, we'll all walk you guys out." At her words, the remaining people stood up and followed us out to the front of her house.

"Bye, guys, I'll see you later," she called, and I nodded, starting to step out the door behind Parker. Suddenly, I felt someone grab my arm and pull me back inside. I turned around and saw Aiden holding my wrist, then stepped back inside the house.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Hi, sorry," Aiden scratched the back of his neck. We were alone in the foyer, as Jane, Naomi and Elliot had returned to the living room. "I just wanted to talk to you about the project really quickly."

"Oh, yeah. What about it?"

"You're cool with the whole finishing it before the end of this semester thing, right?"

"Yeah, no big deal," I said awkwardly. He smiled.

"Okay, cool. Can I, like, can you..." he started. "Here. Can you give me your phone so I can put my number in? And then I can text you and we can plan to work on it?"

"Uh. Sure," I mumbled, feeling even more awkward as I handed him my phone and he tapped his number in quickly.

"Alright, cool. I'll talk to you later, Lucy," he said as I resumed walking out the door. "Have a good weekend!" He called, and I smiled slightly.

"You too!" I called back before I got in the car, closing the door shut behind me.