Thin Lines - Chapter Eleven
After school that same day was the next time Trish and Dez interacted. With hours of nothing eventful happening, it was as if time was dragging out more than usual.
As Trish was ruffling through her locker for a chemistry book she'd 'apparently' borrowed from Ally two months earlier and never given back, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around with rude remark on the tip of her tongue for whoever was bothering her, but stopped short once she was met with a pair of sky blue eyes that she was beginning to secretly love.
"What're you doing, Moody?" Dez asked her, a smirk dawning his lips. Trish made sure to school her expression. He didn't need to know she was excited to see him or anything...not that she was anyway...so more like he didn't need to think she was excited. She convinced herself that this was the case.
"What's it to you, Freckles?" Once she uttered the nickname, it dawned upon her that she hadn't called him that in a while; she made a mental note to pick that up again.
"Just curious, that's all." He swept a hand through his red hair. Like every other time he did the action, Trish didn't fail to notice how good he looked while doing it.
"Hm. Well, it's nothing of your concern." Forgetting about her task of finding Ally's Chemistry book, Trish shut her locker and leaned against it to fully face the tall boy in front of her. If he stood any closer, he would easily be able to lean his hand on the locker next to hers. A gesture that was done between people who flirted. Unbeknownst to the other, they both thought about this fact briefly, but as quickly as the thought came it was brushed away.
"So, uh..." Dez tried to think of anything else besides the possibility of flirting with Trish De La Rosa, "I missed you at lunch today."
Trish raised both her eyebrows at his words. Did he mean to phrase them in such a way? From the look of realisation on his face, it was clear he hadn't; she wasn't exactly happy about the sinking feeling this caused in her stomach.
"Missed as in, I didn't see you or the others." He fixed. Dez wouldn't dare admit to missing her at this stage in their growing friendship if it meant she'd scoff or hit him afterwards. Besides, even if they were some what friends now, were they even ready to admit such things?
"Well, we were sitting where we always do. Where were you?" She knew the answer of course, but it wasn't like he knew that she did. Words were failing her and she just needed something to reply with.
"With the guys. It has been some time since I've sat with them, you know?" She nodded in understanding but that didn't mean she was happy about it. There was a short pause before she broke the silence.
"It was uh, actually kind of weird without you today." Trish wouldn't dare look him in the eye. She silently hoped that luck was on her side and that he'd assume this was due to the fact he was so tall. Maybe she wasn't bothered to strain her neck.
Obviously she was deluding herself. He knew the real reason.
"Really?" Trish missed the flattered smile that flashed across his face for a few mere seconds. Was this her way of saying she missed him? Was it wise for him to even jump to conclusions for that matter?
"Yeah. I'm so used to listening to your lame attempts at a good joke that it was actually a big difference not hearing them today." She glanced at him for a second before looking away from him again. She couldn't understand why it was so hard to look at him directly.
"You know you love my jokes." Dez said, poking her in the shoulder. Her eyes met his so that she could glare at him, and she was glad that she could finally do so with ease.
"My shoulder is off limits to you."
"I don't see your name written on it." Trish let out a laugh over how immature he was being.
"It doesn't have to, you doof. It's attached to my body!" Dez leaned in slightly closer with a grin and poked her other shoulder.
"You better stop doing that, you idiot."
"Or what?" He was so close to her now he wasn't even speaking at normal volume any more. It quickly reminded Trish of how he sounded when they were at the beach. It was at the tone of his voice both teenagers snapped back into reality. They were finally aware that Trish was leaning against her locker and Dez's hand had indeed found its way to the locker next to her own.
The flirting pose.
With an awkward cough from each of them in turn, Trish and Dez moved a safe distance away from each other. There was a another short pause, only this time it was tense.
"Want to get out of here?" Dez offered, trying to mask his embarrassment. The school day was over after all, and they were among the few students that were still here.
"Please." Trish replied with a short laugh, following suite in pretending nothing unusual had just happened. She leaned away from her locker and fell in step next to the tall boy.
They both left the school building side by side, cheeks tinted red in a blush.
-TXD-
"Ugh. Why the heck is this place so crowded?"
"Well, Trish. It is a Saturday and we're at the mall so you do the math."
"...Touche."
Trish and Ally stood in one of their favoured clothing stores, trying to figure out where to start looking first. It was two in the afternoon, and Ally had called Trish earlier that day with what she deemed an emergency: She was out of new clothes 'Austin hadn't seen'. Trish had refused at first, almost opting to stay on her couch and stare adoringly at Ryan Gosling on her television screen some more, but once Ally promised to pay half of whatever Trish wanted at the store, the shorter girl was more than happy to tag along.
"Ooh, I see cute jeans! Let's go over there." With a sharp tug on Trish's wrist, Ally dragged her best friend towards the skinny jeans rack. Trish tapped her foot and checked her phone repeatedly, as Ally took her time to find what had to be the perfect high waisted pair. She of course wasn't checking her phone to see if a certain red head had texted her anything funny. Maybe she just wanted to know the time.
Maybe this, maybe that. These lies are getting old Trish. Her mind decided to speak up.
"You're going to burn a hole through your phone if you stare at it like that any longer." Trish looked up to see Ally smirking, though her eyes were on the jean rack in front of her.
"Staring? I'm just checking the time, Als." Trish said, trying her best to sound as innocent as possible.
"Uh huh. Right. I'm sure wherever Dez is, he's just checking the time too." Ally snickered. Trish tried not to give away any look of embarrassment at getting caught. Besides, there was nothing to be embarrassed about anyway. Was it a crime for one person to check their phone?
"Well if he is, that's swell for him isn't it?" Trish's smile was sarcastic and Ally rolled her eyes. She knew her friend would admit the truth to herself sooner or later.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the store, two adolescent boys walked in with disdain.
"Let's just get this over with." Austin sighed, not exactly happy this was how he was spending his Saturday afternoon. Dez, feeling exactly the same way turned to Austin with his arms crossed.
"Please explain to me why I have to be here again?" Dez still didn't understand Austin's reasoning behind why his presence had to be here.
"Because we're best buds, and they stick through this sort of thing together." Austin replied as if it were obvious. Dez raised his eyebrow.
"That sounds like something girls would say, but put in a slightly more manly way." Austin shrugged.
"Well you're here now anyway." Dez grumbled and followed Austin further into the store. He could have simply refused and stayed in his room watching Netflix, yet somehow he ended up surrounded by cute T-Shirts and Miniskirts...and he wasn't entirely sure how.
Twenty minutes later, they had managed to walk around the same general area in circles.
"This is way harder than girls make it look." Austin complained with a shake of his head.
"What did your Mom say she wanted?" Dez asked, not really sounding like he cared.
"She didn't. My dad gave me the money to get her something from here. Probably scared of her reaction if he bought something she didn't like for her birthday." Austin rolled his eyes. His dad could sometimes be a wimp when it came to his mother.
"Well it's not like she can't return it anyway right?" Dez deadpanned, shrugging his shoulders. Austin thought about this for a moment before a reassured smile settled on his face.
"You're right, Dez! And then everybody wins. You're the best dude." Dez smiled, feeling appreciated. The two proceeded to do their famous 'What Up' handshake.
"Ooh. I see dresses over there! Let's just grab one and head over to the food court or something."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
As they trailed closer, they noticed two girls standing near the endless racks of dresses closest to the changing rooms. Funny thing was, they looked oddly familiar. Dez squinted, noticing the shorter one of the two rolling her eyes and walking into the dressing room with something black in her hands.
He'd recognise that eye roll anywhere. It had been aimed towards him for the last four years.
"Hey, Austin I think that's -"
"Ally?!" Austin exclaimed, sounding both surprised and excited to see his girlfriend standing there with jeans and a blouse in her hands. Ally whipped her head around at the call of her name, her eyes widening comically once they settled on the two boys she knew so well.
"Austin?!" She shrieked. Hastily she put the articles of clothing behind her back. "You weren't supposed to see these yet!" She scolded. Austin laughed at her typical behaviour that made him like her so much. Dez however, simply looked puzzled.
"Why wasn't he supposed to see them? They're just clothes." Ally looked at him momentarily before shaking her head. He wouldn't understand anyway.
"Is Trish here with you?" Austin asked suddenly, before Ally became more agitated.
"Yeah. She's in the changing rooms trying on a dress for your birthday party this year." Austin nodded while Dez raised his eyebrows. Trish? In a dress?
"Dress huh? That's not something you'd imagine Moody in everyday." Dez tried his best to stiffle his snickering once he saw the defensive look on Ally's face.
"Hey, Dez. Why don't you go check on her? See if she needs help or something?" His snickering quickly turned to choking on saliva. Had he heard his best friend correctly? What if she wasn't even dressed yet and he accidentally saw...oh god.
"I...uh, I think I'll pass." There was a waver in Dez's voice. Austin smirked and Ally bit her lip to stop herself from giggling.
"Hey Ally. What do you think about this one?" All three friends turned to the sound of Trish's voice with different reactions.
Austin and Ally with looks of approval.
Dez however, was simply dumbstruck.
He hadn't expected her to step out in a black mini dress that hugged her curves so well. The right amount of leg was showing and the only thing that would make the look better for him would be if matching black heels were on her feet.
Then again, his severely startled heart could only take so much.
And speaking of startled. Trish's brown eyes were sporting a similar look.
"Austin, Freckles? What are you doing here?" The question was directed at the both of them, but her eyes were trained on Dez. He at this point had lost the will to speak, so Austin answered on the behalf of both of them.
"We were shopping for my Mom. We just happened to see Ally over here." Austin was almost certain his face would break from the grin he was bearing. Dez's reaction to Trish was just too priceless.
"And might I add, you look awesome in that dress, Trish."
"Absolutely amazing!" Ally gushed. Trish smiled faintly, and did a semi turn. For once without hesitation, she felt herself agreeing.
"Thanks. I think I like this one on me too."
"You'd look even better with me helping you out of it." Dez muttered, but not quietly enough. His eyes were still on her body and he could feel his hormones ranging and his dirty mindset kicking in at the wrong time.
"Excuse me?" Trish looked up from her examination of the dress she was wearing to stare at the red head in front of her. First he'd been staring at her like a gaping fish and now he was mumbling to himself. What was up with him?
"Nothing." Dez replied sharply. "I said nothing." He laugh uneasily and rubbed at the back of his neck.
"You uh, don't look so bad, Moody." Shit. Did that sound bad? His thoughts were ringing loudly in his head as Trish stared at him with suspicious eyes. She did so for a moment longer before letting it go.
"Thanks...I think." As Trish turned to listen to whatever Ally was saying, Dez inwardly sighed with relief. He also prayed Trish would change back into her normal clothes soon before he really did go into cardiac arrest.
-TXD-
Half an hour later, the foursome found themselves at the food court. You could sense the awkwardness between Trish and Dez a mile away, and not only because their respective best friends were feeding each other spoonfuls of icecream.
"I think I want some more fries." Trish decided, finally breaking the silence. Her words were directed towards Dez, but her eyes held disgust for how cute Austin and Ally were being.
"If you're getting up, could you get me a milkshake too? Thanks." He winked at her, causing Trish to roll her eyes. She nodded none the less, before standing up and making her way to the counter.
Not really wanting to gag internally at his loved up friends, he kept his attention on Trish as she ordered for the both of them. He had already admitted to himself that he thought she was pretty, but why was it suddenly more noticeable? After seeing her in that black dress he had found it hard to look at her directly without breaking into a sweat. Was it always going to be like this now?
As thoughts conspired in his head, he noticed someone walking over to Trish with a dirty smirk on their face. The sound of cowboy boots could be heard from even where Dez was sitting.
Chuck.
His already intense dislike for the boy is what caused his thoughts to evaporate and for a frown to dawn his face. But then he watched as Chuck tapped Trish on the shoulder and the sudden urge to run over to them and stand in front of her was overwhelming.
He quickly noticed the look of disdain on Trish's face when she realised it was him. That also bothered him a great deal. They exchanged words for a while and it wasn't long before it seemed as if Trish was trying not to laugh. Something flashed in Dez's eyes. Was she warming up to him? Was he going to have some competition?
Wait, competition? Dez what are you -
Once Chuck grabbed onto Trish's hand, Dez's thoughts were ceased again. He couldn't sit on the sidelines after that. The attack of the green monster had consumed him.
Without hesitation he got up and strode over to the scene. Trish had let go of Chuck's hand at this point, but Dez didn't care. Chuck needed to get it once and for all. Trish was...his.
"Chuck." He greeted coldly, effectively ending whatever conversation they were having. Chuck turned to Dez and his happy expression turned dull in a matter of seconds.
"Red." Trish looked between the two, wondering if they remembered she was still here.
"Is there a reason you're bothering, Trish?" Dez questioned rather rudely. Chuck let out a laugh.
"Bothering? I don't think she sees it that way. Do you Trishalicious?"
"Well - " Before she could respond she was cut off.
"Yes bothering. And you know why? Because she doesn't like you, and she never will. Is that so hard to comprehend?" Dez let out a laugh of disbelief before continuing. "It's been four years Chuckster. FOUR. When will you realise your obsession is one sided? If she liked you she would have said so. No one plays hard to get for that long."
Chuck glanced at Trish seemingly unfazed before trying to justify his way of thinking. "You might see it like that but - "
"But nothing!" Dez slammed his hand on the counter making both Trish and Chuck jump.
"Just leave her the damn well alone. For once! Because it's starting to look really pathetic now." Whatever excuses Chuck had planned to say we're now far from his mind. The shorter boy was speechless. Trish was also in a similar state, not expecting such an outburst from Dez. After a good minute of awkward silence Trish's order arrived, and the free moved to the side.
Chuck cleared his throat and turned to Trish with shame written across his face. "Well...Sorry for bothering you all these years, Trish. I genuinely did think that maybe I'd have a chance with you someday."
"Chuck, I -" Trish paused before speaking again. As rudely as Dez had put it, he'd been right. "It's okay."
Chuck gave her a small smile before glancing at Dez with unexpressive eyes and backing away. Dez was still too fuelled with jealousy to care. Once Chuck had finally disappeared, Trish turned to face Dez again. Under her stare, Dez quickly grew uncomfortable.
"What?"
"I think we need to talk." Now calm, Dez fully took in what he'd done. He cursed himself silently while Trish lead them over to their table to put their stuff down. Without word to Austin or Ally, they walked away from the crowded food court to somewhere more quieter.
"What was that?" Trish asked him plainly once they'd finally stopped walking. Dez decided to play dumb.
"What was what?" He was looking anywhere but her, it made the whole process easier. Trish didn't say anything for a while, instead she studied the sceptical boy in front of her.
"You know I can fight my own battles, right?" Dez sighed, finally looking at her.
"I know but...he didn't have to touch you. Doesn't he know anything about personal space?" Dez sounded agitated, as if he was trying to understand himself why he was so annoyed.
Trish squinted at Dez, genuinely confused. "Why does that bother you so much?"
"I don't know it -" Dez caught his slip up with widened eyes. As quickly as he could, he schooled his facial expression and tried to cover up his mistake with a nonchalant rephrase of words. "It doesn't."
But it did. It bothered him a hell of a lot.
Once again Trish didn't know how to respond. He was acting so weird, but did she really want to question it? The possible thought of Dez being...jealous, didn't sit right with her. That was a new territory even she wasn't ready to handle.
"Whatever, freckles." She eventually said with a roll of her eyes. Maybe it was best to go along with it.
"Next time, let me handle the creepy crushes alright?" She punched him in the shoulder lightly before walking back in the direction they came from without a word. A small smile found his lips, as he watched her walk ahead. It was like smiling about anything she did was inevitable these days and he couldn't figure out why. The only other reason he could claim was the case was something he wasn't comfortable with admitting. And so that's why he followed behind her repeating a mantra fiercely in his head.
I don't like her, I don't like her, I DON'T like her....I can't like her.
Author's Note: The cause of delay for this chapter was a mixture between a busy life, semi writer's block, and good old procrastination. As always, I'm sorry for taking so long. I am trying my best with this story and I'm very determined to finish it, but I still have quite a few chapters left before that's the case. I appreciate all the comments and votes I get so a huge thank you for that! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter :)
I edited some of this on my phone so I apologise for mistakes (autocorrect can be a pain)