A Christmas Carol

Chapter Three

              “You could shower here if you wanted to,” he offered, looking at me the way a friend looks at another friend, his way of welcoming me to stay there. I nearly face palmed at this proposition.

              Was he stupid? I mean, he’s in honors classes and he seemed fairly bright. But today he was acting purely moronic, seeing as he couldn’t seem to comprehend through my not-so-subtle hints that I had no intent on staying at his house any longer.

              “That’s okay, I bothered you enough. Really. I’ll be fine at my place.”

              “I don’t think you staying over there by yourself is a good idea, especially since it’s so cold,” he blurted. I stared at his face in astonishment, wishing on every star that was currently impossible to view in the daylight behind all the white puffy clouds that blanketed the sky that this was either a joke or a really bizarre dream. I inconspicuously pinched my elbow to make sure this was happening, and instead of jolting awake, I was only greeted with the harsh reality that Noel Henley didn’t find me to be able to handle myself home alone.

              Just like my mom.

              And that ticked me off. A lot.

              Finally, I had had it. Enough was enough. I glared at him hotly. “Listen, Noel,” I all but seethed, my eyes narrowing on his puzzled green ones. Remember Carol, I silently told myself, he may be hot, but now is not the time to get flustered. Give him heck and then scram. “I can handle myself, okay? Last night was a onetime only thing. Get it? And the only reason I came over was because I thought your parents were here. If I had known it was just you, I never would have come. I can take care of myself; I don’t need a babysitter worrying over me. I don’t know why you feel the need to watch over me and protect me or whatever the heck it is that you’re trying to do to keep me over here, but I’m leaving. Okay?”

              His brows furrowed in confusion before he realized I was telling him off and then he glared right back at me angrily. “Woah woah woah,” he began, throwing a hand up in the air to quell my sudden outburst that had even taken me by surprise. Though I couldn’t say I regretted exploding at him, because I didn’t. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m just saying that there’s no point in you going home when you can just stay over here. I mean you said your house is cold and your parents aren’t home and I assumed you wanted to chill over here. So sorry that I’m just trying to be polite. I won’t do it again.”

              I practically rolled my eyes. “Please. You think I can’t handle myself home alone because I followed my mom’s instructions and came over here last night. Why else would you be so adamant on me staying? I’m not a little kid, okay? I’ll be fine.” I paused and peeled my eyes off of his face, giving myself a chance to try to calm down a bit. “See? This is exactly why I knew staying here was a bad idea. We’re too different. And you clearly don’t trust that I can handle myself, which is ridiculous since you don’t even know me. I’m out.”

              I turned and opened the door, but he grabbed my arm, stopping me for the third time now. This time, I didn’t have the patience to deal with it. The frigid air outside was already overpowering my unprepared body and I felt an involuntary shiver creep its way through my spine. “What?” I spewed at him irritably.

              “Nothing,” he mumbled, clenching his jaw. “Go on; leave since you’re so sure that I don’t trust you to be home alone. See if I care.”

              I scoffed. “I will. Merry-freaking-Christmas. And don’t expect me to be coming back again. I’m not.”

              “Good,” he shot back, running a frustrated hand through his brown bedhead that was still sticking up at awkward angles. How he managed to look attractive with his hair all mussed up, I’ll never know. Not that it mattered to me. I wasn’t attracted to him in the slightest, and in that precise moment the only attraction I even felt towards him was the urge to kick him. Hard.