honey » david dobrik au

two

"Hey, I didn't see you at lunch," Ester slid into the seat next to me in our last class of the day. I had no clue she was even in here until we started talking about my schedule at the end of biology.

"Oh yeah, I ate in the library. Cafeterias usually stress me out," I replied, only realizing how loser-ish it sounded when the words left my mouth.

"You should sit with me tomorrow. I usually sit alone unless my brother decides to grace me with his presence," she rolled her eyes at the thought. "Oh, I met your brother. He's officially my partner for a math project."

"I'm so sorry," I giggled at the idea of Ben even trying to help in a math project. "He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I'll help him; don't worry."

"You're too nice, Honey," she told me before the teacher got us started on the English lesson. We sat silently for an hour while our teacher droned on about Of Mice and Men, which we had a week to read. I couldn't understand why she thought it was okay to spoil the whole book before we even got started, so I zoned out.

By the time the bell rang, I was halfway into my story about myself and a tall handsome blonde who asked me to homecoming. It was unrealistic, and it would never happen, but that's why I daydreamed. To escape the boredom of my life.

"Are you parked in Lot A or B?"

"Oh, no, my dad's the football coach and he drove us," I explained. "I have to sit in the library and wait for practice to end."

"Oh... well, if you wanted to come to my house, you could," she told me, and I froze for a second. Every part of my introverted brain was telling me to go sit in the library alone for the next two hours. There was a tiny voice in the back of my head, though, that urged me to go. She was the only one who had shown an interest in being my friend in the last few days. She was like me, in a way, with an older brother she could never live up to.

She was my best shot at an actual friend, so I said, "Sure, that'd be fun."

"Really?" she seemed shocked that I even said yes. I nodded. "Oh, cool! I'll drive you home whenever you want."

"Can we walk down to the field and tell my dad?" I asked, and she agreed. We walked and talked about where I moved from and my past two weeks of sitting in my room, unpacking and watching Netflix alone. I made it to the field, and Dad was nowhere to be found, but I could spot Ben's giant head from a mile away.

I opened the gate to walk onto the field to get him, but Ester grabbed my shoulder. "Um, I don't think we're supposed to walk on the field."

"My dad's the coach. I could do donuts on the field, and he would still find a way to explain it away. He loves me," I grinned cheesily, pulling her along with me onto the field. We seemed to gain the attention of many of the boys.

"What're you doing, Little Dobrik?" someone yelled, and Ester just frowned at them. I grabbed Ben's arm just as he pulled it back to make a pass. He turned around, already glaring at me.

"What do you want, Honey?" his eyes shifted to Ester, and his lips curled into an easy smile. "I see you've met Baby Dobrik."

"Yeah, um, I'm going to Ester's," I told him. "I couldn't find Dad, so... I don't need a ride home."

"Dad's in the locker room breaking the news to Todd," Ben seemed to smirk just as the words left his mouth. "Guess who's the new starting quarterback."

"Ah, I love the smell of nepotism on a Monday afternoon," I sarcastically breathed deeply and let out a loud, exaggerated sigh. "I thought you and Dad said Todd was good this morning."

"He is good. I'm just better," the cockiness that radiated off of him just gave me a headache.

"On that note, we're going," I sent him a wave. "I'll be home for dinner!"

I didn't hear whatever probably dumb joke he yelled after us, and I didn't care to turn around and ask him to repeat it. We made our way off the field and up to one of the parking lots where Ester's Jeep Cherokee was parked.

She drove to her house, which ended up being only a five-ish minute drive from the school. It was a little subdivision with fairly nice houses, and she parked us in front of a white one with a red door. I had a thing for white houses with colored doors, so I was already excited to see the inside.

The inside was pretty simple; it looked like your basic middle class, subdivision house. It pretty much looked exactly like our new house. I asked, "Do you have a phone charger I can use?"

"Oh, yeah," she led me into the kitchen where she set her bookbag on the counter. I followed suit. "Wait here. I'll be right back!"

I sat on the bar stool, playing with my fingers, when I heard footsteps. I glanced up to see a boy with brown hair staring at me from the door frame.

"Ester?" he yelled.

"She's my friend! Leave her alone!" she yelled back, a bit more harshly.

"I didn't know Ester had friends," he laughed, making his way to the fridge. "I'm David, her older brother."

"I'm Honey," I awkwardly replied, feeling the blush come to my cheeks for no reason, as it always did.

"Oh, you're Ben's little sister!" it all seemed to click in his head at that point. "Damn, you got the good genes. He's ugly as fuck."

"Um, thanks," I began picking at my nails, a nervous habit I had been trying to kick since the fourth grade. David pulled out a water bottle and a plastic container half full of strawberries.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"Um, not really," I forced a laugh, trying to make the whole situation less awkward. There was no reason for it to be awkward in the first place, other than the fact that I was just an awkward person.

"Well, Honey, let me give you some advice if you want to make it out of junior year alive," he leaned down on the counter in front of me. I felt like I was in an interrogation room, not talking to my new friend's brother. "Don't let Todd Smith fuck you."

"What?" I frowned, already confused.

"You'll know when it happens, and trust me," he looked me up and down. "It will happen."

With that, he took his snack and left me alone in the kitchen.