Chapter 3
"I swear you're not human; it'd be unfair to the rest of the human race if you were," Allie was still talking the dodgeball game we'd played in PE. "First off, you're already freakishly smart then you have to go off and be athletic too?"
I laughed.
Jenny just shook her head at her sister who, even fifteen minutes after the game had ended, was still yapping on about my apparent 'fierceness' on the field. She made it sound like we'd just come out of a war.
Then again, Allie and I had been playing on different teams and I've always been competitive.
In all our years of high school, this was the first time all three of us shared a PE class. We'd skipped on the school showers – a perk of last period PE – because we were all heading off to my house to work on a particularly difficult AP Math problem set due Friday. We'd shower there instead.
"Today was nothing. That flag football game in freshman year still blows everything else out of the water," Jenny laughed.
I didn't make any move to deny it because the game Jenny was talking about had been brutal.
The left side of my body was black and blue after being tackled by four girls from the opposing team. I'd sprained my wrist and bruised a few ribs but my team had won. While scoring the winning touchdown though, the same four girls had managed to sprain my left ankle too.
"Don't blame me, Allie, blame Nate and all those years of -" I stopped walking. We'd just exited the school. My truck should have been in my immediate field of vision but it was blocked by the sight of a gaggle of boys standing around and leaning on it. I could feel the beginnings of anger creep into my head.
Jenny laughed when she saw what caught my attention. "Since when has your car become a magnet for football players?"
I hadn't noticed it earlier but she was right. It was the football team standing around my truck. That only meant -
"Nate, what the hell?!"
The sea of boys parted to reveal Nate leaning against the hood of my truck, a casual smile on his face. I felt the vein in my temple tick. He was going against one of the few rules when it came to my truck – absolutely no leaning on the truck. This was the one secret to why the truck didn't look its age.
"Oh, right. I forgot. I'm sorry." As he stepped forward so he was no longer leaning against the hood, he flashed a gorgeous smile in my direction.
The mythical eyes behind my head could see Jenny and Allie worriedly looking at each other. That was the same smile that threw me off my rocker in freshman year.
I steeled myself. There was no way that stupid smile was getting to me now.
"Those two things seem to be recurring themes as of late." I glared at the rest of the football team and they all cleared out. Nate stayed behind, still smiling obliviously at me. "Look, I know that this is your parking spot so there's no need to stake any claim even with my car in it."
"What?"
"That's why you're here isn't it? When you don't have practice, this is where the team hangs out before you go off to do your cool kid stuff. Don't worry, you'll get your spot back tomorrow," I dumped my gym bag into the truck bed, opened the the driver side door and dropped my school bag on the passenger seat.
Nate was frowning as he moved my school bag to the back seat and sat down right next to me. "I'm not staking some stupid macho claim on the stupid spot," he laughed. "You're my ride home, remember?"
My head snapped when I turned me head to face him. "Excuse me?"
"I told you this morning that I was catching a ride home with you, remember?"
Oh, yes, you did. In fact, you yelled it right after making me wait in the car like a stupid limousine driver while you were happily shoving your tongue down your girl friend's throat.
That was it. There wasn't even a sorry for what went down this morning. I closed my eyes, took in one deep breath and rolled down my window to call Jenny and Allie over. "What are you two waiting for? Get in!"
I wasn't the kind of person who could hold a good poker face so it might as well have been written in Sharpie on my face that I was mad. Jenny and Allie knew enough about me that they stayed quiet when they entered the truck. Each of them was holding onto their school bags like it would shield them from any blow back from my anger. If I wasn't so mad at them, I would have been laughing. I drove the truck out of the parking lot in silence.
Nate, despite our many years of friendship, had never fully grasped the idea that it was better to let me brood when I was pissed off. His tone was still inappropriately cheerful when he asked, "What are you ladies up to this afternoon?"
I sighed. "Math homework," I answered for Jenny and Allie. They were choosing to stay quiet.
"Homework? Really? We're two weeks into the year, we don't have that much homework," Nate scoffed.
"We have AP Math. We got homework on the first day and every day since then." No need to mention that I also had AP Chem, AP Physics and AP English. My only non-AP subjects were History, French and my Creative Writing elective.
"Really? So that just means you're done with Geometry, right? I skipped on it last year for that Environmental Science elective Mr. Gershwin offered. This is great! You could help me out just like the good old days."
Because he'd begun rummaging around in his backpack, Nate stayed oblivious to Allie's nervous squeak, Jenny's widened eyes and my flaring nostrils. He pulled out his math notebook to show it to Allie and Jenny.
"If you two ladies don't mind, I'm sure it'd be OK if I borrowed Sara here for thirty minutes or so, right?" He flashed them one of those smiles.
Jenny and Allie, for all the teasing they'd done to me about how I easily fell for Nate's good looks and movie star smile, were now nodding their ponytailed heads off. Traitors.
Nate had dark blonde hair cropped close to his head so it wouldn't get messy when he had his football helmet on. Apart from functionality, it showed off his strong jaw and hardlined, symmetrical features. His green eyes were so dark that a few people thought they were black and he had a smile capable of lighting up the New York City skyline. He was just as tall as Daniel but he had the lean muscle of a star quarterback. To top it all off, the idiot had an unlimited reservoir of charm. He knew how to play each and all of the cards he'd been dealt.
I still sometimes got sucked in even after years of being friends with the guy so I couldn't fault Jenny and Allie for falling for his charm and his smile in the confined spaces of my truck. It didn't, however, stop my anger from swelling up. Channeling it by irrationally and dramatically slamming on the breaks would not be wise since we were in the middle of ongoing traffic but screaming seemed like a good, solid second choice.
"They might not mind but I do! Is that what I've been reduced to now – your homework helper anddriver?"
"Jesus! Calm down, woman. Indoor voice, why don't you?" Nate joked then he turned to actually face me. Nate wasn't fazed by my screaming – I'd screamed at him too many times over the years for it to have any effect – but it was the blotchy, angry red hue of my cheeks that got to him. He blinked and was quiet for a while.
"Wow. You really are pissed off about this, aren't you?" Nate's voice had gone soft. "I really am sorry. I know I was being a jerk this morning. I never should've ... let you just wait here," he sighed. "It was stupid, I know; but next to you, I always am."
My shield of anger cracked a bit at those words but I stayed quiet, letting my anger die down throughout the rest of the car ride. I finally cleared my throat when I'd stopped the truck in front of his house.
"You're not stupid. Frustratingly oblivous and frequently horny –absolutely freaking yes –but definitely not stupid." I let out a heavy sigh. "You can come over later. I'll help you with your Geometry but just ... just give me a chance to shower and cool off."
"Don't drown yourself on my account," Nate smiled weakly as he exited the car and walked up to his front door. I didn't respond and parked my car in the driveway two houses down. My parents' and brother's cars were already in the garage.
The house we lived in was huge but before you go thinking it: we aren't loaded. The house has just been in our family for generations. The first floor had an office, a formal dining room, a small library and a large kitchen that was connected to the den. There were six bedrooms on the second floor. The first three were for me, my parents and my brother and his wife. Our housekeeper stayed in one bedroom whenever my parents were at work and the other two were reserved for guests. The attic on the third floor functioned as nothing more than a storage area though years before, it had been where Nate and I hung out when he came over.
The size of the house wasn't the reason why we had a housekeeper. A cleaning lady came in once a week to tidy up the place. Our housekeeper, Ginny, has always been for me and my brother's sakes. Our parents spend the first half of each month away for their jobs as pilots at a private airline company. During those two weeks, Ginny stays with us so we wouldn't, you know, starve to death or something.
Adam, my brother, has never really moved out of the house – and mostly, I think, for my benefit. Our town was an hour's drive from a university offering a good architecture program. He could have stayed in a dorm and saved himself the two hour drive everyday but I don't think he could stomach the idea of me practically living alone in our old, big house.
Even when he got married three years ago to Becca, he still had no desire to move out and my parents shared his sentiments. I needed an authority figure, they'd said, and Adam needs the practice for when he becomes a Dad. Now that Becca was four-months pregnant, they were talking about turning one of the guest bedrooms into a nursery for the baby. I'd already volunteered my services to paint the walls once they found out if they were having a boy or a girl.
"Sara, is that you? Ginny and I are in the kitchen," Becca called out when she heard the front door open then shut. While Jenny and I went to join my sister-in-law and Ginny in the kitchen, Allie headed off to my room. She'd called first dibs on the shower.
"Hi, Jenny," Becca smiled warmly. "You girls have a bit more homework to do?" We'd spent most of the three out of five afternoons last week working on homework.
Jenny nodded. "Our math teacher hates us. He gives these really long problem sets on Mondays about things he hasn't even covered in class yet," she helped herself to one of the cookies Ginny was offering.
"Hey, now, Mr. Vasiri isn't that bad. He gives us the problem sets so we can do some advanced studying," I felt like I had to defend one of my favorite teachers.
"Trust you to see the silver lining of homework, Sara," Becca joked to which Jenny and Ginny quickly agreed.
Seeing that my cheeks were starting to redden again, Jenny changed the topic. "On a lighter note, Allie and I were able to convince Little Miss I-Heart-Homework over here to go to the dance with us on Friday."
Becca's eyes widened while I groaned and closed my eyes. This was exactly the opportunity Becca had been waiting for since she married my brother and had unofficial parenting rights over me. "This is great!" she jumped off of the barstool she'd been sitting on –something a pregnant lady shouldn't be doing, by the way – and gave me a soft hug. She had to stand on tip toe since she was three inches shorter than I was. "We can finally go shopping! Yes! You don't have any excuses now.".
I held up one finger. "I'm not going shopping in the middle of the week. I have four AP classes and a ton of homework in each one," I exclaimed. "You have dresses," I told Becca and Jenny. "Couldn't I just borrow one of them like I do everytime you blackmail me into going to one of those stupid dances?"
Truthfully, I hate shopping. I hate it with a passion. I was the kind of girl who went into a store knowing exactly what I was going to buy. I didn't browse and I sure as hell didn't like to mull over which shade of turquoise blue looked better with my complexion. I'd gone on too many shopping trips with Jenny and Allie to know that I'd be trying out a minimum of twenty dresses before buying one of the first few we'd picked out. Furthermore, I'd seen the effects that shopping with Becca had done to Adam. She was far worse than the twins.
Jenny was about to protest but Becca held up a finger. "Now, now, Jenny. This is Sara I-don't-go-to-the-mall-on-weekdays-because-I-have-to-study Preston we're talking to here. Convincing her to go to the dance was easy but convincing her go shopping – and on a weekday when she's got homework to do – well, that's just damn near imposible ... " Becca paused as she thougth something over. Then, she smirked.
Immediately, I knew this wasn't good. Becca's smirks were never a signal to start happy dancing.
"But it's fine. I already have the perfect dress for her to wear to the dance."
"That was almost too easy, Becs. What's the catch?"
Becca smiled innocently. "There is no catch. We just have to get the dress drycleaned but trust me, you'll be the belle of the ball. There won't be an eye in that gym that won't be zeroed in on you once I'm done with you."
Again, this wasn't good. I had the sinking feeling that Becca was going to make me over into something that didn't even resemble me and put me in a dress that I wouldn't normally wear unless there was a gun to my head. I wanted to ask to see the dress now but Allie came walking into the kitchen just then telling me it was my turn to shower. While I was gone, I had a feeling that all Jenny, Allie and Becca were plotting something. Ginny was probably in on it too since she'd tried more than once to wrestle me into a frilly, lacy (and itchy) dress in elementary school.
Much like we did last week, the twins and I stayed in the den to work on our homework. While Ginny and Becca started on dinner, we managed to knock down two of the fifteen problems before Adam arrived at a little past six. Allie and Jenny weren't staying for dinner so I volunteered to drive them home.
Adam was setting the table when I got home. "Nathan came by while you were gone but I told him to come back after a while," he told me as I poured orange juice into the glasses. "He seemed upset. What did you do to him this time?"
I turned to my brother. "Why do you think I did something? If I was the one who'd done something, shouldn't I be the one going over at his house instead of him coming over here?"
He raised both hands. "I was just asking. You don't need to go all gung ho on me," he said. "Fine, what did he do then?"
Dinner conversation revolved around this morning's events. This was probably why, at eight o' clock, Adam glared at Nate when he entered through the kitchen door. "We have a door out front, Nathan," my brother told him tersely. Ginny was already in her room and Becca was taking a bath.
"It's Nate, Adam, not Nathan," I told my brother for the fifth time tonight as I loaded the dishwasher. My brother, like me, felt it was stupid that Nathan had decided to go by another name just because his girl friend had suggested it. Unlike me, though, my brother resisted the name change.
Nate ignored the small exchange. "I haven't used that front door in years," he reminded my brother.
"Yeah, well you haven't been in this house for years too," Adam grumbled, walking out of the kitchen and into the office.
"What was all that about?"
"Bad day at work," I lied. "Come on, let's get started on that Geometry homework of yours."
"Wait," he pulled something out of his backpack and handed it to me. "This is for you."
I looked down at his outstretched hand. It was a pastry box and I immediately knew what was inside. If Superman weakened in the presence of Kryptonite, I turned to jelly in front of a good cupcake. "You got me cupcakes?"
"Not just any cupcake. I got Mom to make you those tiramisu cupcakes of hers," he beamed proudly.
I whimpered. Mrs. Anderson's tiramisu cupcake was my extra strength Kryptonite. I wouldn't be surprised if I had tears in my eyes when I looked up at Nate. I said thank you around the lump in my throat.
"Yeah, well, I would normally say 'you're welcome' but I know I've been a crappy best friend to you – and not just today. Today though, what I did was really, really stupid but I'm going to be better, I promise."
I looked at him, one eyebrow raised and asked in a voice more fitting for a seven-year-old girl than a seventeen-year-old one, "So we're still bestfriends?"
He slung one arm around my shoulder and gave me a solid hug. For a few breaths, I let myself melt into it. "Still? We've always been bestfriends," I could feel his chuckle more than hear it. His chin was propped on top of my head. "And here I thought you were the smart one."
We stayed like that for a few seconds until he pulled back. "Seriously though, I am sorry. I don't even know why you put up with me but you do and I don't deserve that. I will be a better friend, Sara, you can count on that."
Over the years, there were many times when I felt like giving up on this friendship with Nate. Every time I wanted to throw in the towel, he managed to remind me why we were still – I mean, always – best friends. Even though he was now the cool football captain who dated the hot cheerleader, he was still the boy who kept every single promise he kept.
There were a few things in my life that were pure, unbroken and constant – Nate's promises being one of them.
Hey, guys!
I'd appreciate it if you could do a few things for me:
1. VOTE :)
2. Leave a comment telling me what you liked, didn't like or what you want to see happen next.
3. Spread the word about the story. I'm kind of a Wattpad baby - I haven't been here even a month yet so I don't have a lot of followers (on that note, you could follow me if you want and I'd happily follow back).
If you do all three, I can promise you good karma for days on end.
Check out Logan Lerman who looks 100% like the Daniel I've envisioned.
And, oh yes, one more thing: THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading! Hugs and kisses go out to all of you for that.
Cheers!
- Chompy