“You don’t have to come, Alex.” I said, raising a brow at him while he finished zipping up his jacket. He kept protesting that he wanted to come, but yet he wore nothing nice. It was just a band t-shirt, dark jeans, converse and that old, ratty, black jacket.
“But I want to.” He said sternly, running a hand through his hair.
I pursed my lips. Why was he so determined to go along on this date tonight? Earlier today he seemed like it was the last thing on earth that he wanted to do, but after English class today, it seemed like he was dead set on going. It kind of saddened me a bit, and made my blood boil; some other girl would get to spend all day with Alex. I’d just gotten over my Lucy turmoil, now some other chick was about to come in and snatch Alex away. And what was even worse was that maybe Alex wanted to go so that he could meet this girl. My fists balled up, rage coursing through me.
“But you seemed so against it before.” I said, frowning.
Alex paused, “…I-I want to support Parker.” He said, though something in his voice convinced me otherwise. He then turned around at me, staring me over. “Anyway, aren’t you going to get dressed?” He asked me.
I frowned, “Yeah, I guess.” I sighed, not eager to get outside where everyone would get to see me as a girl. I walked over to my bed where I’d lied out the clothes that Violet had packed me the first day; she’d put in some of my old clothes in there just in case something like this popped up. She was definitely thinking ahead.
I grabbed my clothing and ignored Alex’s gaze as I walked into the bathroom, lying out all of the clothes so that I could see them better. There was my wig that I’d neglected to give back to her on Family Day, and there was a pretty, light pink, button up short-sleeved blouse, a knee-length black skirt and a pair of white ballet flats. She’d also thrown in a light pink cardigan with a beaded hem. I quickly disrobed, unwrapped the gauze around my chest and changed into my new clothes, fastening on the wig and added a tiny amount of makeup. I hardly ever wore any before, but for this I needed to look even more girlish then I had before. I sighed, checking myself over one last time before exiting the bathroom.
“Alright,” I sighed, smoothing my clothes with the back of my hand. When I looked up, he was staring at me in shock, his mouth dropped just a tad. My face heated up at all the attention, “What?” I asked him, an eyebrow arched.
“N-Nothing,” Alex said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly, “It’s just that…you look…nice.” He said quickly, under his breath.
My palms grew sweaty and my body stiffened, “Oh. W-Well, thanks.” I said, giving him a weak smile, trying to hide my blush.
Alex nodded, shaking some hair out of his face. “Don’t mention it.”
Suddenly, a knock came from the door and I hesitantly went over to open it. With a turn of the knob, I opened it to see Kale, Drake and Parker both in front of me. Parker’s mouth dropped wide open and he looked as if he was fighting back a fit of laughter, “O-Oh, sweet baby Jesus! You look just like a girl!”
I lowered my eyebrows, “Gee, thanks.” I said flatly. “So where are we going?”
“Spago. It’s that Italian restaurant downtown.” He said.
“Doesn’t that mean ‘yarn’ in Italian?” Drake wondered, his eyes wide.
“Don’t ask me; I’m Irish.” Parker shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s just go get this over with.” Kale said, shoving his hands into his black jeans.
I nodded in agreement and Alex and I both exited our dorm, shutting the door on the way out.
---
“We’re here!” Parker cried excitedly, getting no one else excited with him as he parked the car in the restaurant’s parking lot.
“Woo, now I feel as if I can go on living.” Kale mock cheered monotonically as we all filed out of the car.
I tried to flatten the skirt out, but it still felt odd. I hardly ever wore skirts like this before, and it wasn’t exactly comfortable like it seemed. We walked into the restaurant, and Parker suddenly rushed to my side. I’d almost forgotten that we were posing as a couple. How awkward for him to think that I was a boy in a time like this.
We approached the podium where a petite blonde stood and as we zoomed in closer, my mouth dropped to realize that it was Katie. Her blonde hair was pinned back in a messy bun and her face was void of makeup, only a light amount of mascara. She brushed her bangs out of her face as we approached and got out her reservation book. Parker grew a smirk on his face as she raised her head to see us standing together.
“Hello, welcome to Spago. I’m Katie, do you have a reservation—?” She dropped the reservation booklet as she made eye contact with Parker, her whole face blooming a bright red.
“Oh, hi there, Katie!” Parker said, trying to sound surprised. I rubbed my temples, trying to relieve my stress; how this chick could think that Parker was an actor was beyond my capacity to figure out.
Katie clasped her mouth with her hand in shock. She removed it for a moment to speak, “Oh! H-Hey, Parker. W-What are you doing here?” She asked accusingly, as if we were intruding.
“Nothing really,” He said nonchalantly, “We’re all meeting some girls here. Your friend Jamie is coming here to meet my main man, Drake—” He pointed to Drake off in the corner, playing his Nintendo DS I suppose he carried with him in his pocket—“Yeah. He’s a catch. Like me.”
I think Parker was trying a little too hard. I spoke up, hopefully trying to give the poor girl a break, “I’m sorry. We were just wondering if they’d gotten here yet.” I said, punching Parker’s arm under the podium, hearing him let out a little grunt.
Katie frowned at me. A look of jealousy passed through her eyes. Was Parker’s plan actually working…? “No, they haven’t.”
Then, as if on cue, behind us, the entrance doors opened up wide and from them emerged three girls, Jamie dead center. Her bright blue eyes lit up as she saw Drake, “Hey, Drake!” She greeted, her smile stretching a mile wide.
Drake put away his Nintendo DS to talk to Jamie, “Hey, Jay.” He said, grinning.
Jamie smiled, but it quickly dissolved; her mouth dropping as she saw Katie behind the podium, a look of “Oh, shit, I forgot you worked here on Fridays” etched in her face. Katie didn’t seem to mind, though; she kept her cool.
Jamie tried to stay calm, so she brought out her two other friends, one a brunette and the other a blonde. Her smile came back to her face as she introduced them to both Alex and Kale, making my blood boil.
“Kale, meet Casey.” She said, bringing the tall, dirty blonde girl closer to Kale. She was a cute girl, with freckles dotting her nose and a blush rising to her cheeks. Kale looked more than pained to be here, but he kept the smile for appearances.
“Nice to meet you.” He said, shaking her manicured hand.
As they said their introductions, Jamie moved onto Alex, and I could feel my heart race. “Alex, this is Melanie.” Jamie introduced, shoving the small brunette towards him. Melanie’s short hair was in loose curls, reaching her chin. Her bright green eyes looked up to him from a height even shorter than mine. Good luck with that, I thought. “And these guys are Parker and Sam, and Drake.” She said, batting her eyelashes towards Drake. Drake smirked.
“So, do you have a reservation?” Katie asked us impatiently, tapping her nails on the podium loudly.
Parker turned back around to her and scoffed, “Of course we have a reservation. Me and my girlfriendalways think ahead.” He said, shoving a thumb towards me as I inched slightly away from him. I’d made it clear in his mind in the car ride that we’d have to stay at least a 5 inch radius away from each other at all times tonight.
Katie’s eyes looked at me piercingly, as if I had committed a grievous crime against humanity. “Girlfriend?” She asked, an eyebrow raised, “It’s been a day.” She said, turning her piercing gaze back to Parker as if he were the accusing one now.
“And what a day it’s been!” Parker said, grinning like a madman, knowing his plan was working.
Katie rolled her eyes, “Whatever. Anyway, your table’s over there.” She said, grabbing a load of menus and leading us through the restaurant. I looked over to Parker who was still grinning. His gaze flickered to me and I gave him a thumbs-up. He smirked and returned the gesture.
I turned around, looking back to see Alex’s and Kale’s dates. Alex seemed honestly bored by his date; but I wondered why. He wanted to badly to come tonight, after all. It didn’t make sense at why he wouldn’t be happy now. I saw his gaze quickly meet mine, and I turned around awkwardly to examine Kale’s date. She and Kale seemed to be having a satisfactory conversation. I saw Kale with a half-smile as Casey talked, going on and on about something. I sighed and turned around. I just couldn’t wait for this night to be over.
~*Alex’s POV*~
“Whatever. Anyway, your table’s over here.” Katie huffed, turning on her heels.
“So,” The girl, Melanie chirped, “You go to the boy’s school that’s uptown?” She asked me curiously.
I nodded, “Uh, yeah.” I said, distracted by Sam and Parker. It sucked that the only way I could watch after Parker and Sam was by going on this date. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but how else was I going to keep Parker’s hands off of Sam? What if he knew she was a girl and just plotted this to get close to her for some sick, perverted reasons? If Kale knew that Sam’s secret, there was just a big a chance of anyone else being able to figure it out. It did sound rather paranoid, but it was true. I needed to keep Parker away from Sam at all costs.
“That’s really cool! Were you at the dance yesterday?”
I averted my eyes away from Sam as I saw her eyes on Melanie and I. Sam kept asking questions as to why I wanted to come here. Did she know that I was trying to protect her? Or worse, did she know that I was in love with her? My mind involuntarily flickered back to yesterday night when she kissed me, and my cheeks flared bright red.
“Alex?” Melanie said, curious as to why I kept zoning out.
“O-Oh yeah. I was there.”
She grinned, “So was I! Too bad we didn’t see each other!”
I nodded my head, “Y-Yeah. Too bad.” I said, my eyes still glued on Sam, feeling my stomach lurch as she quickly smiled at Parker, giving him a thumbs up for some reason. I needed to kill Parker when we got back to school for using Sam this way.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Melanie trace my eyes back to Sam, “Oh…” She said softly, her face getting a bit cold.
I turned to her, confused. “What?” I asked her.
She frowned, hanging her head in a bit of a sad way. “Do you like that girl?” She asked me.
My eyes got wide; my palms sweaty. “W-What?” I asked defensively.
“That girl, Sam. You keep looking at her like you’re jealous of that Parker guy.” She said, chuckling and giving me a small smile, “You like her a lot. I can tell.” Melanie paused, “She’s pretty; seems like a nice girl.”
I felt my cheeks get red, and I turned around, back to Sam. I ran a nervous hand through my hair, wondering how I was ever going to make it through the night when she looked like that. “Y-Yeah. I really do.”
Melanie’s sad eyes suddenly regained their shiny, green luster and she smiled at me, “Don’t worry, Alex. Your secret’s safe with me.”
~*Sam’s POV*~
“Here you are.” Katie said, ushering us to a table and waiting for us all to be seated. Once we all took a seat around the table, she passed out the menus. “I’ll bring you all some water.” She said bitterly, sparing an angry glance at Parker one last time before she walked off.
“Well, I think the plan’s working.” Kale said to Parker the moment Katie stormed off.
Parker’s grin multiplied in size, “You think?” He said giddily.
“What plan?” The girls asked curiously. Was it bad that I felt like punching them in the face?
Probably.
“Parker’s trying to make Katie jealous.” Drake said, looking over the menu after telling a joke to Jamie. Jamie giggled.
Melanie’s big green eyes looked over to me curiously, “So you two aren’t dating?”
I shook my head, “God, no.” Parker and I scoffed in unison.
Melanie flashed a look to Alex, smiling wide. Alex nodded back to her, a smile tugging at his lips. I felt myself claw at the table. I wondered where the closest anger management classes were.
“Aw, that’s too bad. You two make a cute couple.” Casey said, frowning while Kale grimaced at the thought.
If I had any water, I’d spit it out right now (probably all over Alex and Kale’s dates). Eww! That was disgusting to even theorize about! Parker was the last person I’d ever date! Not only was he only my friend, but he was madly in love with Katie. Not to mention he thought I was a boy.
“No, we really wouldn’t.” Parker shook his head determinedly. I suppose he was sticking to the plan to make everyone think I was a girl. If they thought I was a boy, that would be rather awkward to know the lengths that Parker went to to make Katie jealous.
“Well, I think so.” Casey disagreed cheerily, clasping her hands together. Chalk it up to the one getting to date everyone I loved to make me mad. It was destined to be.
Speaking of Alex, Alex pursed his lips, his face getting rather angry. I turned to Kale, who seemed like he was about to have a tantrum as well. They both seemed peevish. I raised a brow. What was wrong with them?
“Alright. I’ve got your water.” Katie’s voice suddenly came from behind us as she walked up closer. The round of drinks were on a tray and she went around the circular table, distributing them one by one. Once she reached Parker and I, she handed Parker his drink reluctantly. The last drink on the tray she had was mine, and her eyes pierced through mine. I felt rather intimidated by her with her bright green eyes that narrowed into slits like a snake and I was her pray. Just then, as she went to grab the water, it seemed to slide out of her palm when it fell, spluttering all over me. I let out a girlish yelp and jumped from my seat as the cold water hit my stomach.
Her narrowed eyes continued to stare me down, “Oops.” She said, not one hint of regret in her voice.
The whole table stared at her in shock, completely surprised at her. I turned my head back to her angrily, “What the hell is your problem?” I shrieked, flapping my arms to try to get the water off of me.
Katie set the tray on the table angrily, her face contorting into a scowl, “I don’t have a goddamn problem!” She hissed.
“Alright, Kate.” Jamie said, getting out of her seat, “Why don’t we go have a little talk…” She trailed off, seizing Katie by her arms and dragging her off in the other direction as Katie babbled on about doing nothing wrong.
“Oh, man.” I mumbled to myself, sitting down, trying to dab the water with the napkins at our table.
“That was horrible!” Melanie said, covering her mouth with her hand, shocked.
“Rude!” Casey agreed.
I tried to ignore their babbling, when I suddenly felt another hand on my arm. I looked to my right to notice it was Parker with a load of napkins at his disposal. “Here…” He said, dabbing off where the water had splattered on my face. “I’m sorry that she did that.” He apologized, “It got a little out of hand.”
“You can say that again.” I muttered, miffed, under my breath. I grabbed one of the napkins and continued to dab the water on my lap. I was just glad I was wearing a dark skit so it didn’t leave a mark that looked like I…had an accident.
I looked up to grab some more napkins when I met eyes with Alex. He shot me an irritated look, a saccade of his eyes flickering to Parker, where he looked like he was about to murder him. What was wrong with him today? He seemed madder than ever.
“She’ll apologize later, I bet. I’ll make her.” Parker said, smirking at me.
I grinned and nodded. “Thanks.” I said as he drew himself back away from me, putting all the wet napkins away; off to the side.
“Well, that was unpleasant.” Alex said, glaring at Parker, however I didn’t know whether he meant Parker helping me, or the water falling all over me.
I nodded in agreement, and Parker handed me his glass of water, “Keep it; I’ll get a new one.” He smiled at me.
I felt a smile rise to my lips, “Thanks again.” I said, taking a sip, the cool water happily rushing through my dry throat.
Parker sighed, looking at the others, “Should I go apologize to her for the whole…fake dating thing?”
“I think I should.” I said, putting the drink down. I knew how bad it felt to feel jealous, and we’d still done it. Granted, she didn’t handle it that well, but we still played with her emotions.
Parker sighed, nodding. “Alright. Which way did they go?” He asked.
Suddenly, Alex was standing up and in almost a second, he showed up at my side. “I’ll show you; I saw them go.” He said, suddenly grabbing my wrist. He automatically grabbed my wrist and pulled me off , away from the table. I was about to grab Parker so that he could come with us, but we were already too far away for anyone else to follow. What was Alex doing?
“What’s wrong with you? We left Parker back there!” I snapped.
“We’re not going to find Katie.” Alex said sullenly, without so much as a glance in my direction.
My mouth dropped. What? “Then where are we going?”
“Somewhere.” Alex snapped, yanking me down another hallway, barging through some double doors. I frowned nervously, wondering if we were allowed back here.
“A-Alex…” I said as we went down the long corridor, “I don’t know if customers are allowed back here—”
“What makes you think that I care?” Alex wondered aloud. I frowned deeper. Touché.
I furrowed my brows, “Well, I just thought—”
“Well, you’re wrong!” He interjected rudely.
I wasn’t about to be proven wrong, “But I saw a sign back there that said: Employees only!”
He sighed, “Then I’ll tear the firetrucking sign down! Happy?”
I sighed back, “Not really.”
Suddenly, as we reached the end of a hall, on out right sat a supplies closet. Alex opened it quickly and ushered me inside as I struggled. What was he doing?! Why was he locking us in here? I could feel my heart rate increase again as he locked the door. This closet was too small. I felt myself only about an inch away from him.
My breathing got louder and heavier, “Alex, what are we doing in here?” I asked, raising my head so that I could look him in the eyes.
He frowned, a solemn look on his face. He rested a hand on the shelf above me, making me feel like I was a trapped animal. He looked down at me, all 6 feet of him, with those blue eyes that even in the dark, shone brighter than the moon. He frowned. “We need to talk.”