Calling Cupid

➶1. I Meet My Secretly Sworn Enemy and Manage Not to Strangle Him

I tucked my folder filled with Love Letters into my worn book bag. I quickly walked to class, and noticed everyone talk in their own respected friends groups. Suddenly, a force collided with me and pushed me back. I fell onto the ground, my books falling out of my hands. I looked over to whoever I had bumped into, and I immediately regretted it.

Sitting just several inches away from me was Aiden Booth. The head of Kendal Creek's opposing school's newspaper team. And also the writer of their love advice column. What was he doing so far away from his keyboard?

Aiden picked himself up and began gathering his books. He walked over to me and held out his hand to me. I stared at it for the longest time before he broke the awkward void between us. "Are you going to take it or not?"

Um, you're my ultimate rival and all, so, um, no thanks. I gave a small smile before grudgingly taking it. He pulled me up and we began collecting my books. He handed me the last of my books before giving a toothy smile. His teeth looked like they were ripped out of The Grinch's very own mouth and embedded into his. Gross.

"Sorry about bumping into you. You just came out of nowhere." Aiden laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah," I laughed along with him, "I haven't seen you around here. Aren't you that guy that's head of Mills High School Newspaper?" I asked, acting completely oblivious to the fact that my secretly sworn enemy was standing right in front of me, and that I couldn't strangle him right then and there.

"Yeah, I am." He sounded kind of ashamed of the fact that he ran his school's newspaper. I mean, he may be my sworn enemy and all, but I give the guy props that he was able to claw his way to the top in a school like that, and to think he was still decently respected was a mind blower.

"But you're here,"

"Yup, I'm here." A crooked smile appeared on his face. "I gotta go, maybe I can catch up with you sometime, um,"

"Allie."

"Allie, right. Well, see you later, Allie." He waved to me and walked down the hall. I didn't return to wave, I just stood there in a state of complete and utter shock. Allie Black, you just came face-to-face with your newspaper rival and you weren't even able to strangle the guy. Shame, Allie, shame.

I rolled my eyes. I'll get him next time. I then began toward my class.

* * *

"Oh my gosh, Allie, you seriously did not!" Mac playfully punched me in my arm as we were walking home.

"I'm serious, Mac! He was so close it was almost unbearable! I wanted to strangle him so badly!"

Mackenzie patted my back. "I know you did, Allie, I know."

I groaned and hung my head. "Sometimes being a normal teenager is so hard." I placed my hand at my forehead in a cliché 'help me! I need a dashing prince to save my princess butt!'

Mac snorted. "You? Normal?"

"Is it that hard to believe? Well, I'm offended!" I gasped and gave Mackenzie a shocked look. She simply rolled my eyes and playfully punched me again.

"Shut up. This is my stop, see you later, weirdo." She turned on a street branching off of the one we had walked on for several blocks.

"I'm dreading it, Sunny."

She gave me a death glare at the nickname. I raised my hands in a defensive gesture. "Sorry, sorry." I laughed. She shot me a smile before entering her house. I sighed and walked home.

After a while I walked into the townhouse. "Knock knock." I tapped on the door. Our smoke detectors were ringing throughout the kitchen as smoke poured out into the living room. I coughed before heading into the kitchen to find my dad patting out a frying pan that had been through one too many pancake fires.

"Dang it!" He muttered and I ran up to him and kissed him on the cheek. Dad turned to me and smiled. "What's that about?" He asked, rubbing the spot I had given him a peck on.

I shrugged. "You just needed it."

"Thanks." He grinned before scraping off the pancake, or at least from the looks of it, a piece of charcoal. I sat down at the kitchen table as Halyn walked in the front door and plopped her book bag onto the dated beige couch before sitting down next to me and getting a charcoal pancake herself.

Serenity came walking out of her bedroom, eyes glued to her phone, and sat down with the rest of us. Dad sat down across from me and Halyn and asked about our days. "Good." We both agreed and managed a couple bites of the essentially inedible food.

"Well I'm full, I've got some homework to do." I headed upstairs. Halyn followed after me and we entered our bedroom. I sat down at our desk and she hopped onto the bed and spread out like a sheet blanket onto the covers. I pulled out several Love Letters from my folder and set them onto the desktop. "Here they are."

Halyn sat up and flipped through them, carefully reading each and every one of them. She then gave them back to me and took a pen before balancing it between her upper lip and nose. Halyn began pacing around the room, readjusting the pen every once-in-a while.

The first letter read:

Dear Cupid,

Crisis! A cute guy shares PE with me and he just asked me out. I've had a crush on him for as long as I can remember and I don't know if whether or not I should go. What if I mess up? What if I make a complete fool of myself? What if he doesn't like me? Please help me!

Your awkward friend,
Scaredy Cat

"First thing's first," I began, "let's start with Scaredy Cat's letter." Halyn nodded. She then took the pen from her lip and grabbed her notebook before writing down something on the paper.

She handed the slip of notebook paper to me and I carefully read over the message.

Dear Scaredy Cat,

I think you should go. Why miss an opportunity like this?! You might not get another, especially if you ditch him on your first date. Here's a few tips that I found out while in the dating world,

1. Wear something semi-formal. A short dress with maybe a jacket or something? You get the idea. Don't try to overdress if it's just going to some burger joint (and if that's the case, maybe you should reconsider the dude's priorities in dating)

2. Make small talk. You don't want awkward silence on the first date. Get to know him!

3. If he asked you out, don't worry about him not liking you. The dude asked you out. I'm pretty sure if a guy likes a girl then that's a sign they're into them.

Cheers!
Cupid

I looked up from the paper and nodded to her. She then smiled before writing another Love Letter.