Stupid Cupid

Just let me wallow in my love-life agony and teen angst

“Barney’s,” Zephyr answered, giving me an incredulous look. I should’ve known better, since Barney’s was the diner that Zephyr and I always went to. They made the best burgers and milkshakes in the world, and I was willing to fight anyone on that fact.

Five minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot of Barney’s. After parking, Zephyr and I walked into the diner, and we were seated immediately.

“So,” Zephyr drawled as she slid into the booth, “Tell me why you look like utter shit today.”

“Wow, thanks,” I said sarcastically, but Zephyr just gave me an annoyed look and gestured for me to continue.

The problem, though, was that I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell her. Not because I didn’t want Zephyr to know, but because I hadn’t actually said that I was falling hard for Parker out loud. However, it was a fact, and Zephyr was the person I wanted to tell first anyways.

Before I could say anything, though, the waitress came over to take our order. “What can I get you?” she asked in a bored voice.

“Can I get a cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake?” I asked, and the waitress wrote down my order without so much as a second glance at me. She took Zephyr’s order, which was identical to mine, save for her ordering a vanilla milkshake, and then we were left alone once more.

“Okay,” Zephyr said, refocusing on me, “Now spill everything.”

“I’m falling for Parker,” I blurted, and I was surprised at how good it felt.

“What?” Zephyr breathed, her eyes growing wide, “I thought your whole dating thing was fake.”

“It is,” I replied, placing my chin in my hands, “I didn’t have any feelings for him at first, which was why it was perfect for Parker to be my fake boyfriend, but he’s just… I don’t know, but there’s something different about him.”

“You know you sound like a twelve-year-old girl, right?” Zephyr replied, grinning in amusement.

“I don’t sound any different than you did when you met Vance, so just shut up,” I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest defensively.

“Point taken, ,” Zephyr said, tipping her head to the side, “and for the record, I already knew that you liked Parker as more than a friend.”

“Really?” I asked, and Zephyr nodded. She started to say something, but our waitress interrupted and brought us our milkshakes. As I took a long sip of the chocolate heavenly-ness, I looked at Zephyr expectantly.

“I’ve known since I noticed the way you looked at him,” Zephyr stated with a shrug.

It was funny, but Zephyr wasn’t the first person to tell me that. Hannah and Taryn had as well, but that was before I had started to officially think that I liked Parker. Other people might have seen it as well, which just made me think that I’d liked Parker even before I knew it.

I really hoped that he liked me back.

*

Being parked outside of Maya’s house was the last thing I’d thought I’d be doing.

I’d dropped Zephyr back off at her house about ten minutes ago, but instead of driving back home, I found myself pulling onto Maya’s street. I knew she was home because her bedroom light was on, and Maya was a freak about turning off lights in vacant rooms. She’d flipped out on me on more than one occasion because I hadn’t turned off my bedroom light on the way out.

If I told you I didn’t know why I was at Maya’s house, I’d be lying. I knew exactly why I was here, and I knew exactly what I wanted to say to her. I wanted to clear the air between Maya and me, and I wanted to tell her the truth. That didn’t mean I was going to be nearly as close a friend to her as I had been before, since, you know, the girl had stabbed me in the back as soon as she had the chance.