The next week progressed at an odd tilt. Aspen spent her time at home nervously tiptoeing around her older brother and regrettably spent her time at school tiptoeing around several people. Elle was on her case about the whole Charlie thing, Jay was ranting and raving about the upcoming school events, and the few times she had seen Mei in the hallway had been increasingly awkward. She had exchanged smiles and small talk with Charlie, but almost all of his flirtation had disappeared. It would've been easy to talk to him, had she been able to still her erratically beating heart. Delanie was constantly sending her sympathetic glances, as if she knew exactly how she felt.
It seemed like she couldn't catch a break.
On top of her social issues, her score on her most recent math test was not the least bit desirable. She hadn't realized how stressed she was becoming until the paper was placed on her desk. She couldn't stop herself from pressing her forehead against her palms, and aggravated sigh leaving her lips. Connie reached over and rubbed her back, but it didn't do much to alleviate her discomfort. As if the grade wasn't bad enough, the words See me after class that Mr. Penn had scrawled across the bottom shimmered up at her tauntingly.
So much for high school being how she had expected it.
She hovered around her desk as all of her classmates left for lunch. Connie gave her a soft smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. It was sympathetic, but it didn't do much to aid the nervous sweat that was pooling on Aspen's forehead. When nearly everyone had gone, Aspen gripped her test tightly in her fingers and made her way to the front of the room.
Mr. Penn sat back in his chair, his dark eyes fixated on her pale face. It was silent for a moment before the man sighed. "What's going on, Aspen?" he asked tiredly, holding a hand out for her to pass along her quiz.
She begrudgingly handed the now-crinkled paper over. She clasped her hands together in front of her, her thumbs anxiously pressing against one another. "This unit was completely lost on me. I even went to Joey for help. The homework seemed to make sense, but then I got the test and it felt like I was reading a different language," she vented timidly. For the first time, she realized exactly how grateful she was to have Mr. Penn as a teacher. If it were anyone else, she didn't think she'd have the gumption to explain how much she was struggling. At the same time, if it were anyone else, she didn't think they'd ask.
"It's a hard unit," he agreed without a smile. He eyed her work for a moment before setting the paper down. He lifted his gaze to study her demeanor once more. "But the math isn't why you struggled. It's hardly been a month since school started. What on earth could possibly have you so stressed?"
Leave it to him to see right through her. He was always able to do it on the ice, and it seemed like he had only gotten better at it since her accident. She sighed and shook her head. "High school is just hard to adjust to. I'm sure I'm not the only one struggling."
Penn nodded contemplatively. "I'm sure," he agreed after a small moment of consideration. He perked an eyebrow. "You said you asked Joseph for help?"
Aspen nearly frowned at the use of her brother's full name. No one called him Joseph, not even their parents. She hadn't heard anyone use it in years. Once she recovered from her momentary surprise, she gave a meek nod. "Yeah. He tried his hardest, but I guess I just couldn't figure it out."
"He excelled in my class, but perhaps the two of you just think differently. What worked for him may very well be lost on you," he mused. Aspen nodded along with his words, though she wasn't entirely sure she knew what he meant. He rubbed his chin for a moment before tapping his fingers against her exam. "In fact, I think you might be better off seeking assistance from your other brother."
Aspen snorted involuntarily. When Penn raised his eyebrows at her, she felt an embarrassed blush spread onto her cheeks. She murmured an apology before clearing her throat. "Caine doesn't have the time or desire to help me. We don't exactly... get along," she admitted.
To her surprise, her teacher nodded. "I'm aware of that, actually," he confessed, entirely catching Aspen off guard. Noticing her shock, he gave her a small smile. "You'd be surprised how often I speak with Joseph."
Aspen figured she probably would be surprised, but she knew it wasn't her place. She trusted that anything she needed to know -- or anything that Joey wanted her to know -- would come directly from her brother himself. That's just how their relationship was.
Penn let out a sigh upon noticing Aspen's silence. He pushed her paper back towards her. "In our new unit, should you need assistance, it might be wise of you to ask a different source. My door is always open, and I'm sure Jalen would be happy to help as well." That was another full name she wasn't used to hearing, but she supposed that she had always just assumed that Jay's parents called him Jalen. It would explain his disdain for it.
Aspen found herself nodding, her fingers reaching to retrieve her paper. "Thank you, sir," she murmured. When he gave her a curt nod, she turned towards the door.
She had almost exited the room when she heard Mr. Penn call her name. She turned with raised eyebrows, only to find his face nearly expressionless. He paused a moment before his deep voice returned. "High school can be stressful. Both socially and academically. As I said before, my door is always open."
Aspen nodded, but took his words with a grain of salt. If she needed help, she had two best friends and a wise older brother to turn to. She knew the man's heart was in the right place, but she figured he should be more concerned with being there for his own son.
--
Elle reached out and grabbed Aspen's elbow as she walked by the jv team's lunch table. "Jesus, Elle!" Aspen gasped, nearly toppling over onto the seated girl. She gave her best friend an exasperated look, "Was that your Caine impression, or were you actually trying to kill me?"
Elle clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Drama queen," she murmured before scooting down on the lunch bench. She patted the newly opened area beside her. "Come, sit for a minute. I want to ask you about something."
Aspen eyed the girl suspiciously. She absolutely noticed the way that Elle had flickered her gaze towards a certain curly haired boy that was seated beside Guy. She had a million reasons to question her friend's intentions, but she relented anyway. With a sigh, she sat down beside the girl. When Elle grinned, Aspen did not reciprocate. She gave her a bored look. "What do you need to ask?"
"So touchy," Elle tsked. She slung her arm around the smaller girl's shoulder, clearly not getting the hint that Aspen wasn't in the mood. After the week she'd had, all she really wanted to do was go home and scream into her pillow. But no, Elle was about to make her day twelve times more interesting. She cleared her throat, "So!" she began, far too loudly for Aspen's liking. Her amplified volume immediately caught Connie's attention, and the girl became interested in their conversation. Elle continued, "I don't know about you, but Jay has been driving me crazy with all of his Homecoming hysteria."
Aspen narrowed her eyes. "Homecoming is a month away," she deadpanned. She was clearly not buying into Elle's banter, and it was beginning to lessen her momentum.
"Yes, I am aware of that," Elle seethed with a roll of her eyes. She raised her eyebrows at Aspen, who was blinking deadly back at her. Elle sighed, "I'm just saying. I have a lot going on right now, with hockey and school and stuff. Maybe you should be the one to entertain him. Maybe you should start thinking about Homecoming too," she hinted loudly and blatantly.
A gruff sigh left Aspen's lips. She glared in disinterest at her friend, who had a mixture of annoyance and excitement glistening in her eyes. When Aspen didn't say anything, Connie leaned forward. "You know, I've been thinking about Homecoming a bit this week," she admitted, glancing at her boyfriend out of the corner of her eye. Guy's cheeks had reddened, but he was trying his hardest to appear as though he wasn't paying attention to the chatting girls. Connie turned her attention back to her female friends. "It's kinda funny how uninvolved so many people are. Like, it's a big deal. Why do none of the people we know care about it?"
Elle snorted, "Well, no one except Jay. I know I definitely don't give two damns about it."
"Why not?" Connie asked, her tone littered with offense. She gaped at Elle when she shrugged. "Are you serious? I've been looking forward to high school dances since I was in elementary school!"
"So has Aspen," Elle teased, laughing loudly when the shorter girl glared in her direction. When they were younger, the pair actually had discussed what it would be like to go to Homecoming and Prom. And, in their own ways, they were looking forward to it. But as Elle got caught up in hockey, she became less and less interested in getting all dressed up. And after her accident, Aspen became less and less interested in embarrassing herself on the dance floor.
Connie laughed as Aspen rolled her eyes. "Why is this relevant right now?" Aspen asked, her gaze darting between the two friends, "I think I personally need to be more concerned with passing math and figuring out how to not want to kill my older brother."
Elle grimaced. "Caine?" she asked. When Aspen nodded, Elle and Connie exchanged a look. Aspen would've asked about it, had she not already had a pretty good idea as to what it meant. She would've loved to get involved and tell Caine off for them, but seeing as how that went swimmingly last time, she had officially decided to let the hockey team fight their own battle.
Aspen sighed, "Anyway, this has been fun, love you guys, but I have three boys to go be annoyed by."
As she stood, Connie sent her a pout. "Do you have to go? Aren't we more fun?" she asked. Her puppy dog look was good, but it was nowhere near as effective as Charlie's. Therefore, Aspen was less inclined to sit back down.
"You're definitely more fun, but I think Roland will lose his mind if I leave him with Peter and Jay for too long," she mused with a small smile.
Elle rolled her eyes. "I think Rollie would survive. But whatever," she snarked. After a moment of over-exaggerated pouting, she gave Aspen a sincere smile. "I'll see you later. But seriously. Talk to Jay or something. He's driving me nuts."
Aspen chuckled, "No promises." She waved at Connie and, perhaps against her better judgement, sent a glance in Charlie's direction. As she began to walk away, she caught the boy's gaze. He immediately smiled at her, though he looked a bit surprised.
When she turned her gaze away, Charlie leaned over Guy to poke Connie's shoulder. He furrowed his eyebrows. "How long was Aspen just sitting over here?" he asked.
Connie looked to Elle for help. The girl made a face as she tried to judge how long their conversation had lasted. Eventually, she gave up on specifics. "A few minutes. Why?"
Charlie just shook his head. "No reason," he muttered before slumping back into his seat. He was appalled by the fact that he hadn't noticed her. He glanced over in the direction of Aspen's normal table, his disdain only growing when he watched Peter throw his arms up in celebration of her arrival. The boy moved over a few inches, motioning for her to sit down beside him. Charlie pretended like he didn't see the elated grin that had appeared on Roland's face as Aspen exchanged greetings with him. He didn't realize he was staring until Elle cleared her throat, sending him a look that made him flush.
Entirely unaware of the boy's gaze, Aspen felt the tension drain from her shoulders as her friends welcomed her. Peter's unwavering excitement almost entirely distracted her as he flung an arm over her shoulder. "Perfect timing. Really. Perfect," he was babbling, his smile only widening. "Rollie and Jay are having a debate. We need your opinion."
"Oh boy," Aspen muttered, sending Roland a stern look.
Roland's smile became sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "I wouldn't say it's a debate..." he began to preface, but he hardly got half of his sentence out before Jay was talking over him. As the boy began to blab, Roland sent Aspen a helpless look that made her laugh.
She interrupted Jay's tirade with a wave of her hand. "Earth to Jay!" she all but shouted, laughing when the boy's facial expression froze in place. She shook her head at him, "Are you gonna tell me what you need my opinion on?"
Jay frowned, but didn't say anything. Peter rolled his eyes. "I have to do everything around here," he grunted, slightly tightening his arm around Aspen. He pointed at Jay, "Jay seems to think that the most important part of Homecoming is the planning. You know, the decorations, the playlist, all that. The dance itself." Jay nodded emphatically as Peter listed his points.
"O...kay," Aspen mused, her eyebrows furrowing. How was it that all of her friends were talking about Homecoming? She turned her eyes to Roland. "And I'm assuming you disagree?"
Roland nodded, a quirk of a smile appearing on his lips. "I mean, yeah, all that stuff is pretty important. But I feel like the people you're with matter more. Like, I couldn't care less about the suit I'm wearing or the music that's playing if I hate the people I'm stuck hanging out with," he speculated. Aspen found herself nodding along to his words halfway through the sentence.
She sent Jay an apologetic look. "I don't really care much about Homecoming in general, but I'm on Roland's side here."
An offended look flashed onto Jay's face at her words. "Come on, Aspen! You're telling me that you'd still go to a dance that absolutely sucked just because we'd be there?" he asked exasperatedly.
Aspen mulled over that for a moment before shrugging. "I, uh, can't really say. I'm not particularly looking forward to it one way or another," she admitted, her gaze falling to her lap. She somehow avoided noticing the disappointment that fell onto all three of the boys' faces.
Peter squeezed her arm. "Oh, come on, Hops," he chided, "have some spirit. You know it's gonna be fun."
"Oh, I'm sure," she responded earnestly. She smiled at the boy beside her, "Really, when it comes down to it, it'll be a blast. It's just not really what I'm concerned with."
Jay scoffed and Peter scowled while a look of understanding washed over Roland's face. His shoulders slacked slightly. "Trust me, it's not my number one priority either," he reassured with a smile.
Aspen held his gaze for a moment before her smile mirrored his. It was nice to have someone on her side, especially since she had two separate groups of people putting her through the wringer. She watched as Roland's eyes flickered from her face to Peter's arm, suddenly forcing her to re-acknowledge the boy's hold on her. She turned to the boy beside her. "Peter, why is your arm still around my shoulder."
"You make a good arm rest," Peter responded simply, and the look in his eyes told her that that was exactly why. With a grunt, Aspen shoved his arm off of her, causing him to yelp. He rubbed his shoulder tenderly. "Meanie."
Roland and Jay both chuckled as Aspen rolled her eyes, unable to hide the humored smile that had fallen onto her lips. A sudden surge of energy compelled Peter to launch into a conversation with Roland, leaving the boy staring widely at his best friend who was talking a mile a minute. As they proceeded in their exchange, Jay nudged Aspen aside. His voice dropped as he gave her a serious look. "Homecoming shenanigans aside, is everything okay? Connie said you were staying after in my dad's class. Are you, like, dying? Because he's the last person you should enlist as your therapist."
Aspen wanted to laugh, but all she could manage to do was screw her nose up. She shook her head, "Trust me, it wasn't my decision." Jay gave her a confused look, causing her to sigh. "I didn't do so hot on my last test. He just wanted to talk to me about it."
Jay nodded, an apologetic gleam in his eyes. "I've got you next time," he offered, giving her a friendly nudge and a smile. "I should know this material better than anyone. My dad would kill me if I didn't."
Aspen was able to halfheartedly return his smile. She had unconsciously been relishing in forgetting about her math conundrum for a little while. Now that Jay had forced it to resurface, she was forced to remember that Homecoming was quite literally the last of her worries. All she could bring herself to do was nod at her friend's offer. "I might have to take you up on that."
Jay smiled. "It's what I'm here for. You know, when I'm not annoying the hell out of you."
A real, genuine laugh left Aspen's throat. She reached over and pinched his cheek, the way she and Elle used to do when they were kids. "I wouldn't have it any other way."