The Girlfriend Games {Book Two}

20- Break Free

Adalynn ^

Today at school—Wednesday, an official hump day—was so uneventful that I only have two things that I can even pull from it.

One was that my date for the day, Adalynn, had not contacted me back in any manner. I was getting slightly more confident (JOKES) seeing as the first Level was over halfway done with. So, when I got the text in the morning that told me who to go out with, I texted her immediately. It wasn't anything big, I still didn't know what we were going to do, but I at least wanted to get the initial introductions started. As of the ending bell for school, though, that was also where it stopped. I asked Teddy about her, but he wasn't really any help. Today he had a date with Haja, and she was actually talking to him. It stung a little. Actually, it stung a lot. So, seeing that Teddy was too focused on that to help me, I realized that I was on my own and that I didn't know what to do to get Adalynn to respond.

The second thing was that my first period, which was biology, was a very hectic span of fifty minutes. There was panicking, tears, loud music, and yes, of course, studying. It was a daunting event, the looming test and lab that were happening on the following day and Friday. It almost made all other classes seem not worth doing homework, but being the good student that I was, I always did all of it.

When Riv and I were walking to my car, however, I couldn't help but almost get myself into trouble. With Rumor, that is. It was so easy to find her as she walked with her close friends, talking about goodness knows what they do. Today she was wearing a very flattering dress that just looked so good on her, and I couldn't look away no matter how much I tried. So I'm human, sue me. She was the reason that I was even participating in these games, after all, and it was only natural for me to live up to that. Suddenly, I snapped out of my haze. What a creeper! I thought. That was one of the worst, most obvious things I've ever done! And where was my best friend to stop me?

"River!" I exclaimed, shoving him some. His gaze wasn't even towards me at the time, it was almost the same way I had been looking, but he snapped into focus when I said his name. "You're supposed to catch me when I go into one of those, man, where was the help?"

If I didn't know any better, I would think that Riv had blushed when I said that to him. I shook the idea off immediately, it had to be a trick of lighting from the sun. "Sorry, man," he said almost sheepishly, glancing over to where Rumor was walking after she split off from her friends. "You staring at Rumor? Hardly even noticed."

"Yeah, right," I said. Or whined. It was a rather childish sound. Riv's eyes still seemed a bit off, even as we got in the car. That didn't surprise me much though, given all of the issues I knew he kept bottled up inside. I glanced downwards and saw that he was fidgeting with his watch, and it just made me want to know even more what was going on inside his head. I wish he would just tell me so that I could offer my help. So that I could do anything, really, besides just wait for the bottle to burst.

~•~

The get together at Mason's house was full of studying. It was the quietest I'd ever seen our group, actually. Or at least the quietest it's been for a long, long time. I looked around the room and was suddenly very proud of my friends. Sure we were only on the first level still, and in no way did any of us have official girlfriends, but we still all (minus Grey) showed up to whoever's house and spent our hour together.

After I dropped River off at his house, I simply decided to come home. I still hadn't heard back from Adalynn, so I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I had no clue where she lived and even if I did...what? Throw rocks at a window that I hope is hers? Knock on the door and her not even be home? No, it would be much better to just go home and wait for when—if—she called.