( the cole effect )
"What?" I replied.
"Come on, you have to. There's no way I'm third wheeling your sister and my little brother," Cole said.
"Who said you'd be third wheeling?" I try to fight back.
He scoffs, "Don't pretend you haven't seen them. It's only a matter of time before they go full PDA on us."
I roll my eyes, "I still don't see why I have to go just because you have to fill in for Will."
He smiles at me like a devil, "Because I refuse to suffer alone."
"Just so you know, I hate you for this."
"Nah," he says as I start to walk with him. He puts his arm around my shoulders, "I think I'm growing on you, New York."
I stick out my tongue at him, pouting like a child and he just laughs.
Cole and I are walking into the fair and I see a bunch of booths and carts offering different items. I'd never seen anything like this in New York. People were wearing red and I was matching unknowingly. Suddenly, I heard a man speaking into a microphone at the end on a big stage.
"Welcome, everybody, to the Silver Falls High Homecoming Huddle and charity drive!" He said as people cheered. I shivered in the autumn cold and wrapped my arms around me. Of course, I forgot to grab a sweater. The man continues, "Let's get this started! Give a hand for the Bighorns cheerleaders!!"
I'm trailing behind Cole like a lost child when he turns to me all of a sudden, "Are you cold?"
"What?"
"You're shivering and you have your arms around yourself."
"Oh. Yeah, I forgot my sweater."
He shakes his head in mock disappointment, "Here." He hands me the flannel he has over his gray hoodie.
"Thanks," I say quietly. "So, where are the two lovebirds anyway?"
"This way," he takes my hand and leads me through the crowd. I don't which of the two is making me dizzier.
"How we doing Bighorns?" I hear Erin's voice through the speakers and as I see cart that says 'Walters,' I drop Cole's hand. Erin keeps talking to the crowd, "Today would not be possible without our Silver Falls Alumni Association, so please welcome the SFAA President and Bighorns quarterback, class of '92, Mato Summerhill!!"
I watch as the crowd yells louder and a curly haired man takes the stage. I look to Cole, but his eyes seem glued to the cider barrel as Mato talks.
"Wow, thank you for that warm welcome! I just want to take this moment to give my deepest gratitude for everyone coming out to support the school football team. And a friendly reminder to you all that this year's worthy cause: giving the school auditorium a much-needed makeover! So please give as generously as you can! Go Bighorns, whoo!!"
I clap and turn to see Cole already started selling cider. I step behind the cart and poke his side, he turns to me, "What?"
"Are you sure you need my help? The cart's pretty small anyway."
"You are not leaving me alone with them," he glares at me playfully.
I sigh sarcastically, "It was worth a try."
Then, a red haired lady stops and buys a cider.
"Now, you didn't hear this from me," Cole says as he closes the lid and hands her the cup of cider. "But, our cider pairs very nicely with rum." The lady smiles as she hands him the money and when she turns, I slap his arm.
"Cole Walter!" He just laughs and we look to see Jackie and Alex. I eye them, "And where exactly have you two been?"
"Just checking out the events," Jackie replies. I hum, but I'm not convinced.
"I thought you weren't coming," Alex says to Cole bitterly. What is up with that anyway?
"I had a change of heart," the blonde brother responds.
I joke, "That would require you to have one."
Cole rolls his eyes playfully, "I'm happy to leave, you know."
Before I can reply, Jackie does, "But... another pair of hands couldn't hurt. And he did fix the cart."
I furrow my brows at this reply, since when does Jackie care about the cart?
"Right, guys?" she turns to Alex and I.
I just nod and Alex says, "Right."
Then, Jackie asks Cole what was wrong with the tap and he offers to show her. I stand next to Alex feeling weird. My stomach is knotty again.
"Hey, Alex, did you bring any books with you? I don't know how much help I'll be honestly and besides, I only came because Cole dragged me here."
"Yeah, I have a copy of 'The Lord of the Rings.' I don't know if you read that."
"Right now, I'll read anything," I say as he hands me a book and I sit next to the cart and read. I overhear a man talking about the new quarterback, Dylan. I look up to see Cole has stopped talking to Jackie and is now staring at the stage. I frown, but drag my eyes back to the page and start reading about Hobbits.
One of the good things that comes with my chronic fatigue is that I'm an expert at tuning the world out when I need to. That is, of course, excluding when a blonde boy kicks me.
"Huh?" I look up.
Cole looks worried, "I think you should check on your sister, New York."
I got up right away, "Where is she?"
"This way," he nodded and led to me the table for the silent auction. I noticed Erin and her friends walking away as Jackie looked stressed.
"Jackie, what's wrong?" I ask.
"Nothing," She says, but my stare makes her spill her guts. "If people don't start bidding, Erin will make it her personal mission to ensure this is my first and last contribution to the fundraising committee."
Cole laughs and I hit his shoulder, "Erin doesn't have that kind of power, Jackie. And if she did, there are plenty of other clubs and committees."
"Yes, but Princeton looks for consistency and follow-through!" she whines.
I bite my lip, "Give me a minute, I'll think of something." Her eyes fill with hope and she hugs me saying "thank you" three times. I sigh, "Don't thank me yet."
I look around to see if I can find a solution. Some people, including adults and elders, pass us by and say hello to Cole. I hear them praising him and a light bulb goes off in my head.
When they're gone, I say, "Cole. Hear me out, okay?"
He looks confused, "What?"
"You're basically the Silver Falls golden boy, right?"
He laughs awkwardly, "Yeah, I guess."
"Well," I start, unsure. "What if you auctioned yourself? Like, people pay for a date with you. Celebrities do that sometimes and you're the closest thing we've got to one."
He shakes his head, "What? No way."
I reach out, put my arms on his, and look up at him, "Please, Cole. For me? Jackie needs this."
He's quiet for a moment as we look at each other. Then he nods, "Fine."
"Thank you!" I hug him abruptly, but I'm more shocked when he hugs back. I go to explain how it'll work when we let go, but he's already making his way through the crowd. I call out to him, "Cole?"
He yells back, "You owe me for this, New York!"
I laugh as he gets up on stage with a football in hand. He calls out to Mr. Summerhill, "Go long!"
The crowd cheers when Mr. Summerhill catches it and Cole grabs the mic, "Come on, Bighorns, you can do better than that! Let's give it up for the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Mato 'Summer Breeze' Summerhill!"
I smile and it's like nothing else matters as I watch Cole.
"Now that I have your attention," he says. "It's been a little quiet over here at the auction table. So, how about we turn up the volume a little bit, huh?" He looks at me and I smile wider, if that's possible. "Come on, this town couldn't write checks fast enough the year Taylor Field got its new turf. So, now we need you to put your money where your mouth is and support the auditorium renovation project just like you did athletics. Okay?" I clap and give a whoop with the crowd. Maybe the Cole Effect is real.
"I see you over there, Mr. Beattie!" The blonde laughs on stage. "A coupon to Tony's Auto Shop could come in handy next time that Caddy breaks down. You know what I'm talking about." Everyone laughs with him. He's a natural and his charm is irresistible to all who hear him. My smile hasn't faltered once. "Ms. Dworkin, don't hide behind there! I saw you checking out the 90-minute Swedish massage!"
I laugh and say in awe, "What is even happening right now?"
I'm surprised when Skylar's voice chimes in by my left shoulder, "I believe we are witnessing a romantic gesture." He squeezes my shoulders and I smile at him, looking away from Cole for the first time. But my eyes go right back to him and my heart flutter when I see his eyes are already on me. "We now have a surprise item available to bid on: Me."
The crowd cheered and I clapped right with them. "You need your car washed, or your lawn mowed? Someone to teach your kid how to throw the perfect spiral? Well, today's your lucky day, 'cause for the right price, you can have me for the entire afternoon."
"Whoo!" I cheered while laughing. He's too good at this, I joke to myself. Skylar gives me the "ooh" look and I blush. Suddenly, Grace comes barreling through the crowd.
"Finally, I'm free. Okay, tell me, what'd I miss?"
Skylar smirks at me, "Cole is auctioning himself for charity."
"It was my idea," I say proudly. I hear the bidding start and the price immediately starts skyrocketing.
Grace starts to back away and Sky asks her where she's going, to which she says, "An ATM!"
I laugh and turn to see a lady stepping forward in the crowd, "Five benjamins for the handsome gentleman!" I turn to Jackie and see her mouth agape.
I smile so wide, I can barely feel my face as I watch Cole say, "Going once! Going twice! Sold, to the beautiful Mrs. Edna Mutshnick!"
I clap as Cole and I make eye contact once more. Once he makes it down from the stage and we're at the cider cart again, I turn to him trying to bite back my smile.
"It was sweet of you to sacrifice an entire afternoon with Mrs. Mutshnick to give the drama club a new theatre. It helped Jackie a lot, too. Thank you, Cole."
"Well, one of us had to hold onto our dreams," he smiles. I remember Jackie telling me that Cole smashed his leg up last winter and lost his football scholarship.
"Cole, I know what it's like to be held back by something you can't control or fix. But, you shouldn't let that define you." I give him a kiss on the cheek, "Now, let's go home please. Jackie said they're breaking the cart down tomorrow. Are you gonna come help?"
He's still smiling from the kiss, "I don't know, New York, something tells me Edna runs a tight ship." My smile drops a little and he bops my nose causing me to scrunch it, "I'm kidding. I'll be there."
I roll my eyes playfully, "You better. Now, let's go." I tug his arm and we head to the car.
"Hey, we could go to Monty's and grab some pizza. What do you say, New York?"
I smile, "Sure."
Cole opens the door for me as we walk into Monty's and I see Skylar, Grace, and Jackie at a table. I turn to ask him if we should sit with them, when Erin blocks our path and stands in front of him.
"Hi," she says.
"What's up?" He responds, his smile is gone and he seems kind of like a balloon that's deflated.
Erin pulls him to the side and asks him if he's okay. He says yeah and I stand to the side awkwardly. Then, she asks him if he wants to go over to her place and I feel like I'm going to shrivel into the floor from embarrassment.
"I actually have plans," he says, briefly looking at me. But I can hear the waver in his voice. He's going to leave me here. He's going to desert me. Again.
Erin looks at me and I can see her heart start break. "Plans?" Am I a bad person? Technically, they're not dating... but then why do I feel queasy?
He looks at the window and I see Dylan being celebrated. I guess the Bighorns won. Cole turns back to Erin and says, "Yeah. Let's get out of here." Now my heart is the one to break.
Before he can leave, I call his name, "Cole!"
He looks back, like if he forgot I was there for a second, "Oh shit. Ch-"
"Your flannel," I say. I shrug it off and put it in his hand, "I don't need it."
He looks at the flannel then back at me, "I forgot-"
"Bye," I say abruptly and go sit next to Grace, facing away from the door. I wait, but the next thing I hear is the front door slam shut. I squeeze my eyes shut so I don't cry and I feel Grace hug me. A few minutes later, someone puts something in front of me and I open my eyes to see Kiley. She's put some ice cream in front of me with a face of pity. I hate feeling like this. I walk outside and call Katherine.
"Hi," my voice sounds small.
"Honey? What's wrong?"
"Can you come pick me up? I'm at Monty's and I wanna go home."
"Um, of course sweetheart. I'll be right there."
"Thank you."
When we get to the house, I stop before going upstairs, "Katherine?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it okay if I just stay in tomorrow? Jackie asked me to help break down the cart, but I just..."
"Of course, sweetheart," she comes towards me and puts her hands on either side of my head. "Get some rest. Sweet dreams," she kisses my forehead and I smile.
"Good night."
elle speaks !
idk if y'all noticed but she called it "home" twice🙈🙈 also her giving him back the flannel and parker giving him back the jersey???? omg???? (second part is in the episode, not this chapter, but it did happen.)