(...continued)
****
"We're fighting again" Sandra lets out sadly. We all wait for her to elaborate but she doesn't. It's like she enjoys saying these things randomly so that everyone pays attention to her. But that's okay. We're all sitting around our usual table in the cafeteria and we're just talking about random stuff. At least we were.
"Fighting? With who?" Sharon asks when no one else does. Me and Kayla glance at her the same time, and roll our eyes. Sometimes Sharon can be so dense.
"Why are you fighting with him?" I ask, ignoring the fact that Sharon had just asked something.
"Because he's a jerk?" Sharon says and lets out another sad sigh.
Again, we wait for her to elaborate, but she doesn't. I wonder why she brought it up in the first place if she wasn't planning to tell us much. Sharon and I share a look. It is pretty obvious that Sandra doesn't want to talk about it in front of us. So we both quickly excuse ourselves so that we can give Kayla and her some privacy.
"Why do you think they're not talking?" Sharon asks me, when we're out of earshot.
I shrug. "Don't really know, probably over something stupid. We both continue walking down the hallway.
As we continue walking, I see Aiden. There were a lot of people I could have actually noticed, but somehow, his presence is the only one my mind registers. I keep looking at him, not able to take my eyes off.
How did he get this gorgeous? I swear to god he wasn't this good looking last year.
He hasn't changed, I realize. He hasn't changed at all. The only thing that has changed here is my feelings for him.
I continue ogling him. He's just so...how do I even describe it? Now that I think about it, I can totally understand why so many girls at school drool after him. His eyes are this really deep shade of brown that reminds me of those dark chocolates my dad brought from this trip to Switzerland he once went to. His hair is slightly wavy and curls at the tips ever so slightly and stands straight up on his head. And there's his smile...It's so...perfect.
And currently, he's giving me that perfect smile.
I feel the butterflies in my stomach almost instantly. I forget to breathe for a second and my heart plummets inside my chest. All this causes my heart to start beating erratically for a moment, and then fills me up with warmth which confuses me yet makes me feel good.
God, I like him.
I like my best friend.
Oh, and he has a girlfriend.
I feel scared admitting these feelings to myself. I don't want to have these feelings. It just feels wrong. And for him of all people! We are just friends. I am probably like a sister to him. He's crazy for his girlfriend. There is absolutely no hope. Then why—?
I need to control my feelings before they get out of hand. And he can never know—never. It'll make everything so much more awkward than it already is. I sigh.
Why him? Why him of all people? How long have I liked him, really? Maybe weeks or even months, and I didn't even realize it.
"Scarlett! Hello—? Hey!" Sharon exclaims to catch my attention. My eyes snap back to Sharon, my heart running miles a minute. I'd been staring at Aiden. Did she notice? God, I hope not. I don't want my friends to know that I like him. They don't think very highly of him. They don't even understand how I'm friends with someone like him.
"Huh, what?" I ask, looking at Sharon.
"You spaced out a bit. And you were staring off at the lockers."
"Uh...yeah...I spaced out, ha-ha!" I exclaim nervously. Sharon rolls her eyes. Thank god Sharon's so...dense.
I shift my attention back to the lockers and see Aiden; except he's not alone this time. He's talking to her—Hailey. Just a second ago he was smiling at me and now he's passing her that same smile. God, what does he see in her? I stifle a groan. It's just a tiny crush; it shouldn't make me feel like this at all. I shouldn't act like a jealous freak.
"C'mon let's go Sharon," I say. I feel suffocated, like the walls are closing in on me—not a good feeling to have. I just want to get out of here.
"Um Scarlett, we haven't taken our books from the locker."
"Oh" I realize and resist the urge to tell Sharon that I don't care, that I just want to get out of here. I follow her towards the locker. I hope Aiden doesn't notice I'm still here and come over. I don't want him to do the unthinkable—like introduce me to Hailey. That would completely suck. I'll have to pretend to be genuinely interested in knowing about her and pretend to like her; which is clearly not the case.
I open up my locker and hope the locker's door hides my face. Not a problem I guess since I'm on the short side. I shuffle through my stuff, looking for my books. I was never an organized person. My locker is a complete mess.
"Hey, Scar!" Aiden's familiar deep voice exclaims. It totally takes me by surprise and my heart beat doubles up in response.
Crap.
I turn around, causing my hair to flip dramatically "Oh, hey Aiden!" All the hopes of it being some other guy whose voice I'd mistaken for Aiden's crashed down. It really was him and he was standing in front of me—with her.
God, why are you torturing me?
"I didn't formally introduce you to Hailey, did I?" he says, smiling like an idiot.
"Uh, no you didn't." I mumble, feeling awkward for some unknown reason.
"So Scarlett, this is Hailey—my girlfriend."
Ouch. That hurts.
"—and Hailey, this is Scarlett—my friend."
Friend.
This hurts even more.
"Hi!" Hailey chirps in her sickly sweet voice. The worst part is she's a good girl, and not a bitch. If she was a mean bitch, I would actually have a proper reason to despise her. But she's genuinely a good person and the only reason I dislike her is because he likes her. Pathetic, I know.
"Nice meeting you Scarlett. Aiden's told me a lot about you. He also told me how you helped him plan my birthday surprise." She giggles as she says so and looks at Aiden. I notice Aiden is already looking at her, with an adoring look in his eyes. He really likes her.
"Nice finally meeting you too, Hailey," I lie trying very hard to smile but probably failing. I hope she doesn't notices how strained my voice sounds right now.
She smiles at me. "I'm glad I finally met you too. We'll talk again later sometime, yeah? Bye!" she chirps.
She's just so...bright—and bubbly, so happy and outgoing. She's like the complete opposite of me. How can I compete with someone like her?
I nod, not saying anything. "See you later Scar!" Aiden says and heads off with Hailey, probably to drop her off to her class.
As they both vanish out of sight, I deliberately bang my head against the locker.
Ow!
Why, why, why, why, why did he introduce her to me of all people?! I can't even say I despise her. I just have to pretend that I like her.
"What's wrong?" Sharon's suddenly comes up to me, and my body stiffens.
"Uh, nothing," I say, urging her to get going to her next class, silently walking off to my own. I need to clear my head. I need to get what happened out of my head right now.
But I know I'll probably be reliving this many times—in my nightmares.
*
YOU ARE READING
A Flirtationship | ✔ (Sample)
Teen Fiction[Now Published!] "God, I like him. I like my best friend. Oh, and he has a girlfriend." He's an attractive football player with a penchant for stealing hearts. She's his socially awkward best friend. They share a relationship that is difficult to d...
