‘What about her?’ I asked after a while of silence.
After the shocking confession, I had sat back on the hood of the car, Chris sitting beside me, leaving a considerable space between us. I still couldn’t wrap my head Chris liking me, despite the fact that it had passed my thoughts a while back. A million questions were going through my head... When did he start liking me? How did he start liking me? Why was he still with Debby? Did he like her too? Where did that leave us?
I heard him sigh beside me but I couldn’t muster enough courage to look at him yet. But I could still see him from the apple of my eye as he shifted to sit up on the hood, looking up at the sky.
‘Debby and I... when we got together, it wasn’t because we were crazy for each other. She’d just been dumped by her boyfriend and she wasn’t in a good place. I’d known her for a little bit over a month and we were friends of some sort,’ he said. I was a little confused but I didn’t interrupt as he went on talking. ‘So one day, out of nowhere, she asks me to be her boyfriend...she um, she has trouble staying alone...because she’s kinda all alone, her parents died when she was 8 and she lives with her grandma.
‘When she asked me, I knew why she did and so I accepted. But she made this condition; if any of us were to find someone we’d want to be with then we should let it each other go.’
I cast a glance at him before turning to look at my hands. ‘Oh,’ was all I said. What else would I have said? I didn’t expect all this!
‘Say something, Cecelia,’ Chris pleaded, moving to seat closer to me.
I laughed, ‘To be honest, I have nothing to say...really. This wasn’t what I expected you to say.’
Chris chuckled nervously and I turned to look at him with a shy smile, ‘So you like me, huh? Why?’
He returned my smile, ‘I’m not even sure how I began to fall for you. When I realized, I kinda freaked out.’
‘You and me both,’ I murmured, but he heard and chuckled. ‘So what next?’
He shrugged, ‘I don’t know...I didn’t plan to confess,’ he rubbed the back of his neck.
It was getting pretty awkward and I didn’t like it.
‘I’m going to get a soda or something,’ I said, jumping off the hood and going to the back, where the cooler.
Chris freaking Edwards liked me! I thought, doing a little dance, a stupid grin appearing on my face. What were the odds of that?
I took out a can and opened it, my mind still on the wonder that was Chris. If he really did like me...where did that leave us? Like seriously... Technically he was still together with Debby...so nothing was going to happen until that is sorted out, even if it wasn’t a real thing they had going on.
I thought back on the time I first saw Debby...they didn’t look like they were not together at all, in the sense that it was all pretend. Maybe they were just putting up a show for Mrs Watson.
I gulped down the soda, not really because I was thirsty or anything but because I was beginning to feel anxious. So what would happen if he did break up with Debby? Would he ask me out? Do I want him to ask me out?
The soda had a little tart taste beneath the cherry-pineapple taste but I thought nothing of it as the stream of questions filled my mind. Other people would call it over thinking... I chose to call it ‘looking at things from different angles.’
When I finished the can of soda, I decided to go back and face Chris and hear him out. Grabbing two more cans from the cooler, I stood up rather quickly and felt a little light headed.
‘Woah,’ I said to myself, laughing, as I walked back to the front of the car where Chris now stood, looking to the distance.
‘What kind of soda is this,’ I asked, handing Chris a can and opening mine. ‘I feel fine...but I feel funny too.’ I told him laughing, wondering why I was finding this funny.
Chris had a strange look on his face as he looked at his drink, my drink then me. ‘Are you just drinking this, Cecelia?’
I shook my head profusely, before stopping the action since I was getting dizzy, ‘I drank the whole can when I was back there...why?’ I asked, sipping on the delicious drink with the funny taste. I hadn’t even bothered to check its name when I had drank it.
Chris cleared his throat, a look of amusement and apology in his eyes. God, his eyes were beautiful even in the dark. ‘I’m glad you think my eyes are beautiful,’ Had I said that out loud? ‘But I have some rather not so good news for you. Depends on how you take it.’
I laughed, ‘Go ahead and tell me, silly! It can’t be thaaaaat bad!’ I said, dragging on the ‘a’ in that.
A smile played on his lips, before he pointed to my drink, ‘That’s not soda, Cecelia. It’s vodka. And judging by the way you look, I’d say you’re way past buzzed.’
***
‘You wanna know something?’ I asked Chris.
‘Yea?’ Chris turned to me.
‘I have never ever ever ever...in my eighteen years on this earth...gotten drunk!’
‘Really?’ Chris asked amusement in his eyes and in his voice.
‘Imagine! Is that, like, really bad?’ I asked pouting at him, before laying my head on his shoulder.
‘Naah,’ he said, throwing an arm over my shoulders. I sighed in content as I snuggled closer to his chest. ‘It’s actually okay that you’ve never gotten drunk. Although according to me, it’s part of life experience, you know.’
We we’re sitting in the back seat, all doors open, just enjoying each other’s company while the radio played. About an hour ago when the alcohol had really kicked in, I went into full hyper mode, singing songs off key at the top of my lungs, dancing although I’m damn sure I do not have a single dancing bone in my body. Chris played along and sang and danced with me although not so crazily.
‘You’ll have to drink about two bottles of water before you sleep though. Unless you want to wake up with a silly hangover,’ he said, chuckling. I giggled as I felt the vibrations of his chest as he laughed.
‘Hangover, hangover, hangover, hangover...party’s over, it’s hangover,’ I sang Snoop Dog and PSY’s Hangover song.
‘Right,’ Chris laughed again, ‘I should get you drunk more often, Chubbs.’
I lifted my head off his shoulder, ‘I’m Cecelia Chubby Chubbs...what’s my last name again?’
Chris laughed.
‘I’m serious,’ I pouted at him. ‘I think I forgot.’
‘Could it be...Edwards?’ he asked a mischievous glint in his eye.
‘Isn’t that yours?’ I asked, confused.
‘Well, it could be ours,’ he said, bringing his face close to mine. How do you breathe again? I held my breath as I watched him watch me.
Then I pushed him away, ‘You’re such a tease!’
He smirked, raising his hands in surrender, ‘I can’t help it.’
I sighed, ‘Sure you can’t.’ Looking at the time from the car’s dashboard thingy, I sighed again. ‘We should probably be on our way...it’s almost 11.’
‘Yea,’ Chris said, but made no move of leaving. ‘Cecelia?’
‘Mmhh,’ I answered, my eyes closed.
‘Gimme a chance, will you?’
I stayed quiet for a little bit. Of course I knew what he was talking about despite the alcohol in my system. Did I want...? Of course I wanted something with him...but would it work?
‘Let’s talk after you sort it out with Debby, okay?’ I opened my eyes to face him. He was looking forward, although I knew he could see me.
‘I’m going to make you mine, Chubby. Just wait and see,’ he said, turning to face me, a smile on his face, his eyes twinkling.
***
‘I just missed the exit!’ Chris exclaimed a few moments on, stepping on the brakes, suddenly. The cars were really few on this part of the town, so I wasn’t really worried when he’d stopped on the road. My head was clearing a bit since I had just drank a whole bottle of water.
‘It’s alright, you can take the next one,’ I said, shrugging. I didn’t see the big deal.
‘There’s no next one. We’d have to circle around and that’ll take ages,’ he said, switching gears to reverse.
‘What on earth are you- Chris!’ I exclaimed as he started reversing towards the exit. A car passed us, honking furiously as it passed. ‘Chris! This is madness...just circle around!’
Chris ignored me and continued reversing. Finally he reached the exit and he turned into it and continued driving.
‘I want to call you all sorts of colourful words right now...Are you crazy? What if we’d run into a cop?’
‘Cecelia, chill,’ he said calmly. ‘Nothing’s going to happen.’
‘Easy for you to say,’ I humped, crossing my arms over my chest. I think it was safe to say that had sobered me up pretty quickly.
‘Don’t be mad, Cecelia,’ Chris said with a laugh. ‘I just wanted to save us the trip of having to circle back.’
I didn’t say anything as I stared out of the window.
‘Cecelia, you’re breaking my heart, you’re shaking my confidence daily,’ he sang softly, nudging my side with his finger.
I resisted the smile that was threatening to break out, ‘Shut up.’ I mumbled instead.
‘Oh Cecelia, I’m down on my knees-‘
‘No you’re not,’ I scoffed, interrupting him.
‘I’m begging you please...to forgive me,’ he continued, changing the words of the song.
Before I could reply, I heard a siren behind us, and then the police lights came on.
‘Shit!’ Chris cursed as he pulled over on the shoulder.
‘Chris, what have you done? I told you...I told you,’ I panicked as the police car came to a stop behind us. ‘I’m going to jail...in a different state... I’m not going to finish school...I’ll never get a job because my resume will be tainted...’
‘Cecelia, just calm down, okay?’ Chris, murmured before he opened his window to reveal a cop, shining a flash light in our faces.
‘Can I help you, officer?’
The cop, a large burly man with a buzz cut, switched off his flash light, ‘I’ll need to see your licence kid.’
Chris obediently removed his licence and handed it to the officer. All this time, I was sweating, internally panicking.
‘Arizona, huh?’ the cop said, smiling, handing Chris back his licence. ‘What brings you to Albuquerque?’
‘Just a break from school with our family. And we also came to check out Tim’s place,’ Chris answered calmly.
‘That’s great, yea. So where are you headed this time of the night?’
‘We we’re just going back to our hotel...we were just looking around the place,’ Chris said with a smile directed at me.
‘You best be on your way then. Have a good night, both of you,’ he said, waving at me.
I murmured a goodnight as he walked to his car and drove off. We sat there in silence. I, on my part, was trying to calm my nerves down, relief flowing through me.
Chris suddenly broke into laughter, ‘You’re face!’
‘Shut up,’ I grumbled, although I was smiling.
‘I’m going to jail, Chris,’ he mimicked me in a high pitched voice, a poor attempt to sound like a girl.
‘I do not sound like that,’ I said, nudging him, playfully. ‘You’re an idiot!’
‘Hey...you do not push the driver,’ he said jokingly. ‘And I might be an idiot, but you like this idiot!’
‘Unfortunately,’ I said, loud enough to for him to hear. That earned me a tickle. ‘Eyes on the road, Edwards and hands to yourself!’
He stuck his tongue out to me.
‘How old are you?’
He laughed, shaking his head. I looked at him for a little longer, smiling to myself as I stared out of the window, thinking that if there was a moment I wanted to live in, it was this one, right here; Chris by my side, liking me back, and my family being whole, with Alex finally having someone she actually liked and possibly liked her back. If things would just stay like this.
A/N:
Heyoo people of earth!
Update!
I have like three more papers to go... then I'm done!
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