Chapter Four: I Almost Imagined Him as a Puppy!
"Eve, are you listening?"
I heard Rosetta's voice the first time in the crowded cafeteria, first because I haven't heard if she had been calling or talking to me or not.
If I tell positively, yesterday was nothing compared to everyday, but if I say negatively, well ... it was quite bad actually. Not that mom has scolded me cause I did something, but it was because she had a fight with a customer and was making fuss about that the whole evening. There was no point of calling me actually.
Honestly, I have no idea what Rosetta said the whole time, I was too busy to swirl in my thoughts. So instead of not knowing anything, though I don't know what she had said, I picked up an apple.
"Yeah. Go on." She beamed and again began to blabber, this time I listened properly, about Tyler that how he helped her in lab and his chemistry homework.
My phone vibrates in my back pocket when we found our seat in the cafeteria. I place my tray on the table which we sit everyday and excused myself from Rosetta and went behind a wall, away from everyone. Bringing my phone from the pocket, the first thing I noticed was an unknown caller ID. And second, everyone was looking at me weirdly, as though something was written on my forehead.
Forget it.
I picked up the call and slowly said. "Hello?"
"If it isn't my queen!" A chirpy yet raspy voice came though the other side of the phone and didn't take a second to realize who was it. Yes.
Jayden.
Flynn, if you're confused.
"What do you want you stupid?" I snapped, not worrying about the fact that Rosetta has already started to sneak out from our table. I signaled her that I'm coming, thus she sat down on the table and bit a fry.
"Nothing much. How was the ride by the way?" I heard he munched something after that. Hey, hold up. Munch? It means he's here already. I rotate my head everywhere to see if he is here and...
Yeah. No doubt he's that. He's piercing blue eyes are already staring at me back, Blake, who's there too. A smile crept up to my lips recalling the memories of yesterday night.
"I hated it." Abso fricking lutely not meaning it, I said to him. I actually did like that. Not to mention that he's a good driver too. He smirked at me back at that.
"Nice to see that I've made you smile." And here he goes again. I blew a raspberry with my mouth. "Anyways, why did you call me ..." and abruptly stopped there. And that's when it hit the dimwit brain of mines.
Why didn't I notice first? My eyes widen and my mouth opens in shock. Oh gosh!
"Hey! Where did you get my number?" I asked him sternly. I saw he let out small laugh, baring his perfect teeth, still, it looked like he had been watching a slapstick. I'm freaking out here and he's smiling? How can person be this strange?
"So, you've noticed." He at last says, his voice full of humor. "Jayden..." I said warningly that caused him to stifle a chuckle again.
"I won't tell you, queen. Secrets have costs."
I waved my hands in the air. "Tell me now."
He shrugs and moves the phone from his ear, and I just watched, only to see him hang up the call.
Glaring at him, I went back to my table, ripping apart our eye contact. Rosetta watched me sit as she asked, scrolling on her phone, of course checking Tyler's Instagram account. "What was it about?"
I grunted exhaustively. Definitely she'll probably shoot up from the chair and be like, 'Are you for real!' if I tell her.
"It was Jayden."
Forgive me, God.
The grape juice she was drinking splashed outside from her mouth, some of them also sprays on my face. Exactly as expected. Why she have to be like that when it comes to boys? I wriggled my nose in disgust as I reached my hands for some tissue papers and wiped my face with it. "What was it for?"
She looks at me with plate-like big eyes and gaped like a fish, opening her mouth then closing it and opening, closing and opening. "It was who?"
"Jayden, I guess?" I reluctantly answered. She whiled around, pointing her hands at the direction where Jayden was sitting and grinning like an nincompoop.
"That Jayden?"
Biting on my apple, letting the sweet-sour taste fill in my mouth, I nodded. "Yeah. So what? He's an asshole."
She seemed to realize my words just now as she squealed horribly that I had to press my hands upon my ear, while the whole lunch room turned their heads on our direction. I weakly smiled, indicating that nothing have happened. They gave us a face of disgust and went back to their eating or gossiping. I death glared at Rosetta, who was still jumping up and down in excitement. "Do you know who am I talking about?"
I twisted my lips. "Yup. Now sit down, will you?"
Yet stomping her foot like a child, she said. "He called you?"
I nodded again. "Yeah. What's so surprising bout that? He's idiot anyways. Didn't tell me where he got my number."
She dug her nails in her cheeks and that trailed down to her chin, so hardly that three stein of her fingernails plants there. Choking on my orange juice, I said awfully. "Don't do that!"
"Eve, don't you understand?"
I raised an eyebrow. I really don't understand her talking, all the times. "Understand what?"
"He likes you!"
There was a really long pause of her statement before I started to laugh like I have never laughed before, flipping my hands up and down, trying to control it. My eyes almost closed for laughing so hard and eyes became watery gradually. Rosetta snapped, ragged.
"What?"
I stomped my lips together to stop myself from laughing anymore further before Rosetta storms out from the cafeteria. Still a snort escapes from me but I said anyway. "He likes me?"
She throws a piece of bread on my face. "Yeah, dummy. He likes you." A humorous look has began already screaming from my face as I burst into a fist of laughter again. Jayden Flynn likes me who is a failure? It is funny! I cleared my throat in a formal way and air quoted, "See, Rose, there is a thing called reality and live in that. He's a player, and I'm a girl who's virgin and an unsuccessful idiot. So, if you're saying that he likes me, subtly, you're wrong. He likes me? Not even possible. Not even in my worst nightmares or sweetest dreams."
She lifts her shoulders. "Think what you want to. But I'm not standing aside from my opinion."
Stretching, I yawned and moved my tray to the side of the table, my stomach already full even though I didn't want to cause I needed space for eating again.
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Although I've been saying that Andrew Garfield is my favorite actor for my entire life, Rosetta still insist me to like Johnny Depp, but I don't like him. He always seemed too blunt to me although I can bet on my right hand millions of people will disagree. Yet, I found a poster of him resting peacefully in my locker, that was no wonder kept there by her.
You're right. She knows my pass code.
I sighed and kept it inside. I'd probably return it to her next Wednesday. Pulling off my homework, scrapbooks and exam sheets, my hand touches something flabby as I sprinted backwards.
What was that?
Walking towards it again, I sneaked in there as I brought it out and a grin grew up in my face seeing the shiny red packet.
My Doritos.
Jayden must've given it to Rosetta and she kept it here. Grabbing the packet, I let out a small chuckle.
He didn't break his promise.
Smiling myself, I attempted to rip the packet but the next second, my nose scrunched up. What if he poisoned it? I'm sure he's able to do that without me knowing it. I mean, stupid allegation but just to be sure.
"Thinking if I'd poisoned it? For your information, I didn't, queen. You can eat it." A deep, rumbling voice said from next to me that his cherry-ish breath hits my ear shell which caused a shiver to run down from my spine. Elbowing him out of my way, I turned on my heels.
"I highly doubt that, idiot." I scoffed.
He made that click sound with his tongue again and said, "Your choice. I won't tell you anything."
"Yeah thanks, I get it." Ripping off the chips, I grabbed some out, munching it and gave some to him. "Want some?"
The usual smirk came again. He takes it, stuffs the thing in his mouth and chewed. "So, believed I didn't poison?"
I scowled. "Shut up, you dumbass. Eat. There's nothing better than Doritos." Jayden's face turned a bit less smirk-y after eating some of the triangle shaped food. He wiped his face wit his wrists. "I see why you like it, queen. It's awesome."
I giggled. "Told ya."
After some moment, unexpectedly, Jayden spreads his hand forward. "Can I have another one? It's so damn good."
I stared at him blankly for a second before it turned it to a affectionate smile, like he was my puppy who liked to lick my ankle. I reached my hand out to pat his head but in the next second, I bolted it back. I almost imagined him as a puppy! Yikes!
What am I doing?
Shuffling my hands inside the Doritos, I handed him some more of them. He seems to be liking it a lot, cause he almost snatches them away.
"Um... are you done?" He looks up at me and I swear to God, his cheeks turns into a tint of pink as though he was caught doing a crime. But, Jayden blushing? That's definitely a treat.
Pulling my lips in my mouth, I said, amused. "You're blushing, Flynn?" His eyes widened as he snaps his head aside.
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not!"
Watching him in disbelief, I let a snort slip from my tongue. His cheeks now turns into a deep pink shade, and he quickly turned on his heels to get out from the place as I yelled and chased after him, laughing.
"You were blushing! You were so blushing!"
He stops at his spot, I almost stumbled over him in the sudden action. I grumbled angrily, controlling myself. "What's wrong with you?"
His eyes bore into mine, the sea blue orbs almost dark like black. I backed a little, fearing seeing his face which says he can attack me any moment now. I raised my eyebrows. "If I underestimated you by saying that you'd blushed, I did it on purpose because you were back then."
In a matter of second, he pushes me back wards holding my shoulder and my back hits the locker behind me forcefully, a gasp leaving my mouth instantly. "Are you nuts..."
My speeches hung in the mid-air when I realized our distance. "Was I really blushing?"
My heart pace suddenly got a bit faster than usual as his face again appeared in front of me, his blue eyes now looking dark as if an octopus has squirted ink in them. I gulped, my mouth dried.
"I-I just... I just wanted you to taste the Doritos that's all. And saying you were blushing, which was a fact, doesn't mean I offended you. It's not removing your manliness if you are shy. It's okay to be flustered sometimes. It doesn't affect in your attitude for Christ's sake." Pausing for a moment I slyly grinned. "Like how your face looked so girlish when you did."
Jayden looks up at me for a moment, then his eyes turned into the usual blue as he said, frowning, but his voice full of teasing. "You don't known the definition of diffident." Pulling himself off of me, he intertwined both of his hands with each other, pulled them behind the back of his head.
"I'll just get going then, if you don't mind."
Jayden walked away from there when I called him. "Hey!"
He whirled around. "Yeah?"
Shaking the chips and clutching some of them, I cackled. "Thanks for this. Want some?"
Jayden's eyes twinkled but probably for resisting the temptation, he simply shook his head in a sign of no. I nudged his shoulder with my wrist. "Come on, I know you want it."
He tilts his head to the side, frowning deeply. "You're unbelievable."
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"Did you put this filthy thing under my pillow?"
I screamed at my older brother, pinching the nasty sock with the tip of my index finger and thumb, holding it as further as I can from my face.
No one in the world seems to understand me properly, never. If they did, they would never put a smelly, filthy, disgusting sock under my pillow, which is none other than Blake's. It was sometimes worse than what one of my maternal cousins did.
It makes it clear when someone enters his game room. I never realized how Owen, Kai or even Noah- his best friends- stayed in his dreadful room.
Blake, however, tossed his phone on the mattress, yawning with an unnatural loud noise, howled. "What is it now?"
Throwing- even though my true intention was to compress the filthy little thing into his nose to suffocate him- the sock on his face, I sassed.
"Keep your sickly things outta my room." Yelling the last word with extra force, I walked to my room, at least I thought I was, but the sentence from Blake roots me in my spot.
"You were with Jay today. After school."
It sounded more like a statement than a question in fact it was one. I probably forgot how to speak that moment. My jaw slacked open and I tried to walk back to my room. In a matter of second, Blake was front of me, his arms crossing on his chest.
"Aren't you going to say something bout that?" I looked up at him. So screwed now. Good God. Just great.
"So? It's not like he's my boyfriend or something."
Blake raises an eyebrow when I realize what I just said. I gasped in surprise as I pushed his chest, making him understand that I didn't mean anything.
"Gosh, Blake! He's not my anything okay? He's just a ..."
I trailed off. I actually don't know what Jayden is to me. Friend? Nah. I just met him like two days ago. Then acquaintances? No way. "Friend?"
That was the last thing I could say. Blake smiled slightly which made me feel like I would've been comfortable if I was inside in a hole, all curled up like a earth worm. He made an air quotation and said dreamily. "As in, friends with benefits?"
I punched him further away from me by his stomach. "Blake, I just met him like two days ago. It's nothing, stop making a fuss."
The dreamy look suddenly changes into a hooded one as he whispered smugly, making me flinch a little. But as soon as I heard him saying my full name, I gulped the knot in my throat that build up in the second when I heard that. "Evelyn Bree Joan."
My body fumed in anger. I couldn't stand when he said my full name. I couldn't stand when anyone said my full name like it was a threat.
"Don't be so careless around him." He said the words bluntly. "It's a reminder, friendly you know."
He leaves the place, not letting me to say anything in return.
Clenching my fists over and over, I endeavored the feelings of rage and fury to get away. Was it wrong even to talk with him? And he was the one who talked to me in the first place. So why is he blaming me for this? The anger inside me seemed to explode. But I don't do nothing. Nothing at all.
Standing there for the next two or three minutes, I sighed, at last letting the rage go away eventually. What would be the benefits if I laugh or get angry? No one doesn't care. No one has the time to care. Or maybe they do, just don't show it much.
Stomping upstairs in my room, I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, slowly sliding onto the floor, my knees folded up on my chest. Friends with benefits with Jayden? Impossible. He's just a jock who doesn't think of anything except for himself. I mean, yeah it's a normal thing that girls fall for his looks, but do they care about his stupid mannerism? Well, I do! What's the matter if he is good-looking? Didn't you hear the phrase 'Don't judge a book by it's cover'? I highly believe that of course. That is why I didn't have any boyfriends in my life.
Why am I overreacting. Why the hell am I overreacting so much.
I snorted. To be honest, the first jerk I've ever met is only Jayden. He's pervert, self-obsessed, player and many negative things at a time. And the girls still like him only to stay with him a single freaking night! Unbelievable! He hooks up with a girl only to stay with her for a week or two and then throw them away like garbage.
Okay agreed. If you want to be with a girl, he can just say that he likes her! It's just a one time thing, like no strings attached. The stupid cheerleader party knows it. Then why does they still throws themselves onto him knowing he'll treat them like a piece of shit after some days?.
Thinking about Blake, I sighed slightly, having nothing to do.
And then, I just couldn't help but face-palm myself in frustration.
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