How to Date a Nerd

Chapter 20 - How to Crash Your Archenemy's Stupid Party

“I’ll get you!” she yelled angrily, skirting the bed to get her hands on me.

I smirked, wagging my index finger at her before vaulting to the opposite side of the bed. As she was about to charge again, Sarah tripped on the books she left scattered about the floor. Before she broke her neck on the edge of the bed (or worse, get another amnesia) I rushed to catch her. Unluckily, her head hit the carpeted floor with a muffled thump faster than I’d imagined.Cursing under my breath, I kneeled beside her and tapped her cheek lightly.

“Sarah!” I called her, my heart pounding inside my head.

Still, she didn’t open her eyes. She wasn’t moving. All of a sudden, a horrible memory flashed through my eyes—the night Sarah had the accident. Feverishly, I cradled her head in my arms, about to scoop her from the floor to get some help, mindlessly holding my breath as I gazed at her for any sign of life.It must just be a mild concussion, I kept telling myself. But for some reason I couldn’t make myself believe that. Oh, maybe, now she’d remember, a part of me voiced out. But that was total, utter bull. That never really happened in real life.Before I was able to yell out for help, Sarah’s hand lifted up and slapped me on the forehead.

“Gotcha,” she said grinning, opening her eyes.

Without thinking, I pulled her in and folded my arms around her in a tight embrace. I swallowed the swelling in my throat that seemed to be preventing air from coming into my lungs. Sarah just froze in my arms. She didn’t try to push me away. Like I’d let her go. I couldn’t seem to do so. I won’t.It just dawned on me how I missed this—being able to hold her.

“L-leon?” she stammered, barely a whisper. “Y-you’re… shaking.”

“You scared me,” I murmured. With my chest still pounding, I raised my good arm and offered it to her. “If you want to bite me, go ahead. I won’t move a muscle. Just… don’t do that again.”

I forced myself to let go of her, sprawling weakly onto the rug. Staring at the ceiling, I caught my breath. It was hard to calm down but I tried.Silently, she took my hand and placed it on her lap. She bit her lip, unable to look at me as she traced something on my palm. She was spellingS-O-R-R-Y. I grunted in reply, half-heartedly annoyed that she got me fooled and worried sick.

“Go get me a glass of water,” I muttered, putting on my stoic face. “Before I die of heart attack.”

Bossing Sarah for the rest of the day was more fun than I thought it’d be. She was eager to make up for what she did. She offered a back massage which was more painful enough to break a few bones. Cleaned up all her clutter from my room. Made me some snacks for the first time in two years—slightly burnt microwave popcorn. And she made me gobble it to the last bit. What could I say? The girl couldn’t cook to save her life. Could anyone please remind me why I fell for her? At least she tried.

I made up some excuse about getting us some drinks from the kitchen. Truth be told, I went straight to the toilet to throw up. Remembering to stop by the kitchen to get us a couple of soda, I eavesdropped a familiar tune coming from the basement studio. I sneaked down the steps and pressed my ear against the sliding door.

“Okay, great stuff.” It was Freddy’s voice. “Reed, can you do that again? This time, try it two notes higher and hammer the E in the intro.”

I heard a short drum solo fading before Reed went on with the lead guitar intro that was later joined by a rhythm strumming with keyboard accompaniment. The tune was so familiar I was literally singing it in my head. But instead of mine, I heard Nathan’s voice singing. He wasn’t much of a singer but he managed to stick to the tune.