“Do you think it’s from Colin?” I asked Zane as we sat at our lunch tale.
Zane shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know Ant. Maybe. Hell, maybe it’s from Collie,” he said, glancing over at the table the Archer twins sat at.
I glanced over as well. Colin was smiling and talking to Emma, shaking his hands at her in excitement. She was laughing and shaking her head at him.
Collie was sitting across from them, absentmindedly playing with a water bottle. He had headphones in and was nodding his head along with the beat.
I turned my attention back to Zane and frowned. “I could always just ask Collie if he knows who it’s from,” I said. I had tucked the letter safely into my backpack.
“Well what about the hand writing on it? Why not try to look at Colin’s handwriting, and Collie’s handwriting. See if it matches either of them,” Zane offered. “If you can’t tell whose handwriting it is, then you ask Collie if he knows who it’s from.”
“Good plan!” I cried eagerly. “Yes! That can totally work!”
“What can totally work?”
“HEART ATTACK!” I yelled, almost falling out of my chair as I jumped away from Collie. “Holy shit Collie! Quit sneaking up on me!” I slapped a hand over my chest.
“Come help me with my English homework. I didn’t do it,” Collie said, motioning at me to get up.
“The poem she gave us?” I asked in confusion.
Collie nodded. “Yea. I don’t get poetry,” he said.
I got up and shrugged. “I’ll be right back Zane,” I said before following Collie over to his table. We sat down together, and Colin ignored me as he continued to talk to Emma.
“Hi Ant!” Emma said, smiling at me.
“Hi Emma,” I said, returning the smile. She really was a nice girl. I wasn’t going to hate her or be jealous of her. It wasn’t her fault Colin had a crush on her.
Collie pulled out his homework and I began to help him with it. Emma and Colin were still talking to each other.
“What’s your favorite song Colin?” Emma was asking him.
Colin pulled out his iPod and flicked through it for a minute. He grinned and tapped the screen, music started to play out of the iPod.
“This,” he announced happily.
“You came for every single second I had. The way I loved you from just under my breath was a constant reminder that what beat in my chest wasn’t mine anymore I’d guessed…”
I froze as the song continued to play. I looked over at Colin as he mouthed along the words to the song.
“You, uh, you like Go Radio?” I asked him.
He glared at me, his gaze flickering between me and Collie. He ignored me and turned back to Emma.
Emma rolled her eyes and playfully punched him. “Yes, Ant. Go Radio is one of Colin’s favorite bands,” she explained.
The song on the letter was by Go Radio.
“Ant? Come on, you’re helping me. Quit trying to talk to that immature asshole,” Collie said, nudging me and gesturing at his homework. “Colin’s giving you the silent treatment like the 5 year old he is.”
“Collie, quit it!” Colin said, frowning at him.
“Collie, quit it,” Collie mocked.
“Not funny,” Colin said, getting angry. “And you call me immature!”
“Because you are immature. Ant asked you a question. Answering him politely wouldn’t kill you,” Collie said.
“Well he shouldn’t be sitting with us anyways. He’s just a stupid faggot,” Colin said flatly.
“And you’re a stupid asshole, but you still sit here,” Collie said with a shrug.
“Collie, stop. I hate fighting with you,” Colin mumbled. “I’m sorry.” He got up and walked away from the table.
“Finally,” Collie grumbled in annoyance.
“Collie, shouldn’t you go check on him?” Emma asked with a frown.
“Calm down, Emma. He’ll be fine. I know my brother,” Collie said.
He turned back to me and I read him the answer to one of the homework questions. As he started to write it, I watched his handwriting carefully.
“Colin left his backpack here!” Emma said with a sigh. “That idiot.” She grabbed his backpack and set it on his chair. She pulled a folder out of it and leafed through the papers in it. “Here Collie, he meant to give this to you but he probably forgot.” She handed Collie and essay, and he set it on the table before going back to writing.
I mentally groaned as I looked between the handwriting on Colin’s essay and Collie’s homework. Oh god I hate twins.
Their handwriting was exactly the same. I couldn’t see a single difference between it. And it matched the handwriting on the letter I had found in my locker.
“Wow, your handwriting sure is similar,” I said casually.
“It’s the same handwriting,” Collie said, looking between his homework and Colin’s essay. “We’ve always had the same handwriting. Our mom used to make us practice writing the alphabet every night when we were little. So we learned how to form letters the exact same way, and we still do it.”
I mentally sighed. I would just have to ask Collie next period when we were away from Colin’s friends. Maybe Collie had written the letter.
I went back over to my table when I was done helping Collie. Zane looked up at me and cocked his head to the side curiously.
“Well?” he asked.
“They have the same freaking handwriting!” I whined. I looked over at the table. Emma and Collie were talking. Emma was blushing and I could tell that she was crushing on Collie. The look on her face announced that fact.
“Are you going to ask Collie?” Zane asked.
I sighed and nodded at him. “Yea. I want to know who this letter is from. But the lyrics on the letter are from a Go Radio song, and apparently that’s one of Colin’s favorite bands,” I said.
The bell rang and we got up. I waved to Zane and went to English class, taking my seat and waiting for Collie.
Collie entered the room and sat down next to me. I dug around my bag and produced the letter, turning to Collie.
“Hey Collie…I found this in my locker this morning. I’m asking you because it’s, uh…well, it’s in your handwriting,” I explained, handing it to him.
Collie unfolded the letter and his eyes scanned over it. He shook his head and handed the letter back to me.
“I didn’t write that,” he said with a shrug.
My eyes widened a little. “But…then…Collie, do you think this is from Colin? I mean, you guys have the same handwriting and…” I trailed off, my thoughts spinning around wildly. Had Colin really written me a love letter?
“That would be the only explanation. Unless someone has the exact same handwriting as me and my brother,” Collie said. “But judging by what the letter says, he was hoping you wouldn’t find out who it was from. So I’d play dumb if I were you.”
“A love letter from Colin Archer,” I said in wonder. It hadn’t really sunk in yet. That there was even a small chance that Colin liked me the way I liked him.
“Play dumb, Ant. Give it time,” Collie warned.
Did Collie know something I didn’t? Had Colin told him that he liked me? Before, Collie had been telling me to just get over Colin. But now he was basically telling me to give Colin enough time to admit it me in person.
“I’ll give him all the time he needs,” I promised.
The bell rang and we paid attention. Once class was over, I hurried to my last period and gripped Zane’s shoulders.
“Zane, it was from Colin!” I whisper-shrieked. “Colin fucking Archer!”
“Ant, I’m happy for you. I really am. But…well, it’s weird. He’s always so mean to you.” Zane frowned. “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”
“Shush! Do not be a Negative Nancy!” I said sternly, flicking his nose. “Colin and I are going to date and fall in love and get married and live happily ever after!”
My smile slipped off my face, though. “Oh god. My mom,” I groaned, burying my face in my hands and shaking my head.
I pulled my face away from my hands and sighed. “Shit. I never even thought about my mom. You know how she is, Zane. Ever since that thing with my dad, she’s terrified of me falling in love with someone. She won’t want me to date,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “Great. I’ll have to have a long talk with my emotionally crazy mother. How fun.” I sighed again.
“Well, after what happened with your dad, can you blame her?” Zane asked. He pat me on the back reassuringly. “I’m sure she’ll freak out at first, but you know she would end up letting you date and be happy for you. She loves you Ant.”
“And apparently so does Colin,” I said dreamily, the smile returning to my face.
“Ant, just…don’t get your hopes up too high, okay? Honestly, something about this just doesn’t feel right to me,” Zane said nervously.
We fell into silence, focusing on our work as class started. When the end of the day came, we went to our lockers.
I looked over and spotted the twins and Emma standing by a set of lockers. Collie was leaning against the lockers looking lost in thought. Colin and Emma were looking at something on Colin’s phone and laughing.
I clutched the letter in my hands tightly. Collie was right. I would have to keep up my patience with Colin. I knew that someday he would return my feelings, and now it was finally happening!
“And the bonfire,” I mumbled to myself, my eyes widening. The bonfire at the Archer’s house was just two days away!
“What’s with the look of revelation on your face Ant?” Zane asked as he came over to my locker.
“The bonfire is in two days, Zane!” I said in excitement. What if Colin admitted his feelings to me at the bonfire?!
“Ant, promise me you’ll be careful?” Zane asked seriously.
“I promise,” I said, waving my hand at him dismissively.
I looked over at the Archer twins. I couldn’t get the thought of Colin and the letter out of my mind. What if he really did admit he had feelings for me on Wednesday? Oh man. Now I couldn’t wait for this bonfire!