Chapter One - Lance and Me
(This is the Book II of A Dummy's Guide to Love)
“Lance, hey,” I say slightly fatigued with my voice hoarse and eyes stung from barely waking up. I was feeling a little woozy and if I wasn’t careful, I might trip like a fool.
Lance, however, looks even worse than me. His eyes were stoic and huge bags were apparent under his eyes. It also didn’t help that his nose was red and stuffy.
In short, we both looked like two monsters who crawled up the Earth’s surface.
“Why do you look horrible?” I point out, letting out a yawn as Lance finally takes a step and I helped myself inside, eyeing him intently. “—not like you didn’t look horrendous in the first place.”
He doesn’t reply and instead scoffed, showing indifference to me. He heads back to couch and hops in, not muttering a single word.
I followed pursuit, taking a seat beside him and we both sought. I glanced at him. “I thought you were supposed to be happy?”
“Likewise,” he grumbled under his breath, looking annoyed. “---I thought you and Tom got together.”
“No!” I immediately denied, looking away. “---nothing happened ..okay? Anyway, I thought you and Emily had a great time yesterday?”
I mean they spent some time together and with him having a huge crush on her like an eyesore, isn’t that like a present to him? Unless something happened.
“I told her,” he speaks after a long minute of silence.
“That I like her.”
I blinked, trying to process what he just said, then it finally clicked like a key finally twisting open a knob. I screech, my eyes slightly widen in shock. “What?! You told her?!”
“Yeah, stupid I know,” he rubs the sleeves of his hoodie---one which I doubt if he ever washes frequently. He smiles sourly, eyes strained to the television blaring some show I couldn’t care less.
“---and she told me she didn’t see me that way.”
I sucked the air in between my teeth, feeling quite uncomfortable and weirded out on what to say.
Me and Lance, have a complex relationship. We don’t…console each other or don’t really show compassion as much we like to admit.
I lift my hand, hovering it in mid-air before stiffly planting it on his head, rigidly patting it with my lips wry. This is so embarrassing. “…cheer up…?”
“Geez, Avery. You suck at comforting other people,” he scoffed, a sarcastic smile was plastered on his lips. Then he grabbed my hand and yanked it off his head.
So much for trying to be nice.
He sighs, pulling his hood over, covering his face as he pulls it down. “—I knew it already. To her, I’m just some little kid. But I said it anyway.”
“What did she say?” I leaned against the arm rest, staring at the white ceilings that was frequently cleaned by Angie.
“She said she’s sorry and that I’m a nice kid, just that she can’t see me anything but that,” he grumbled, slouching on his seat and extending his feet to the floor.
“This suck,” he kicked the leg of the table. “---why couldn’t I be older? She thinks I’m like her little brother or something; that’s even worse than being friendzoned.”
“Well, she does make a good point,” I added salt to the injury. “---I think she just doesn’t see you as a guy since we’re young. Maybe once you mature, I guess she’ll start to see that?”
“You’re saying that I have to wait two years to look like a guy to her?” he retorts, chuckling sourly. “---she’ll probably be with someone by that time comes.”
“Hey, it’s just a small crush, right?” I nudged his shoulder. “---so you’ll eventually forget her sooner or later.”
“What if I don’t?” he says in dread. “---I mean I reallyy really like her.”
“You don’t even know her that much,” I replied, blinking. “---is that how liking someone works? You only meet a couple of times and you start to like them more and more?"
“Ow! What the hell, Lance?” I hiss when he uses one of his leg to kick me in the shin. I glared at him but he only chuckles, savoring my misery.
“Forget it. You’re perfectly fine,” I scoffed.
“You’re such an idiot Avery,” he shakes his head. “---it’s because you’re so inexperienced in the romance department, that’s why.”
“So what if I am?” I raised a brow.
“You just don’t get it,” he leaned against the couch, his lips were the only visible since half of his face was covered with his hood. “---you can like someone, even if you don’t know them as much, you know?”
“Sorry if I don’t,” I sarcastically replied, rolling my eyes.
“So? Why do you look gloomy today too?” he slightly lifts his hood with his right index finger, one eye peeking to look at me. “---did Tom finally dump you?”
“Why am I getting dumped?” my face scrunched. “—as if.”
“Because you’re unlikable?” he says it like it’s the obvious answer.
I gotta admit, that was good. I rolled my eyes, nudging him with my elbow, making him yelp in pain. “Geez! I was kidding!”
“Serves you right,” I smirk.
“So?” he lifts his hood, then he scoots forward, eyes squinted as he eyed at me meticulously. I look away, unease by his weird actions. What the hell is he trying to do?
“You..” he points a finger at me, after being weird and staring closely at my face. “---you’re in love, aren’t you?”
My cheeks turned slight pink, then I scowl, slapping his finger far from my face. “No!”
He blinks, then breaks into loud fits of laughter while I stare at him, grabbing a pillow and chucked it to his face, making him retract.
He stops laughing, grabbing the pillow that was thrown onto his face and places it on his lap. He sighs, giving me his ‘I told you’ look, which I hate very much. I can’t believe how a kid like him acts like he’s so much wiser than me.
“I swear I’m gonna tell Tom,” he glanced at me smugly, raising a brow. “---oh Avery. Told you, stupid girl.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying,” I huffed, feigning ignorance as I turn the other way, my eyes darting to the family picture on the table. “---I’m not in love with anyone.”
“Oh really? I’ll call Tom then,” he taunts, then I hear shuffling to find him fishing for his phone and then loud noises of numbers being dialed ringed my ears.
He’s surely not gonna do it….right?
“Hey bro!” he says enthusiastically to the other line. “---so Avery wants to tell you something..and that she l----”
“Sgskfhaodnalal---” I immediately lunged over him and covered his mouth with my bare hands like my life depended on it. I lock my arms on his neck and grab his phone, pressing the end button in a haste.
He taps at my arm which I realized, choked him. I let go, taking a step back and darted a glare at him. He chuckles, snatching his phone back. “I knew it! You love Tom!”
How do I get rid of brats like him? It’s pointless. He knows anyway. This kid is too perceptive it’s scary. I grumble under my breath, eyeing the television with my ears slight flushed. “So what?”
“Everything will be like usual,” I added. “---so don’t bother.”
“You’re so stupid, geez,” he face-palm himself and then tugs at my shirt vehemently. “—just admit your feelings to him! Do you want to torture him, you sadist?”
I revert my gaze to him, shoving him off to the other side of the couch. ”I won’t! I will never confess my feelings to him okay?!"
“It’s easy Avery!” he widens his eyes at me like it’s easy as breathing. “---he loves you! You do too! What’s keeping you from saying it?”
“I can’t just say it okay?” I eyed him annoyance, grunting as I place a hand on my temple. “---I’m fine with how things are.”
“You better tell him or I’m telling him,” he taunted.
“Then tell him,” I retorted. “---you’re just going to make things worst if you do.”
He groans audibly, obviously pissed at me. He murmurs things under his breath before springing up from the couch and headed somewhere.
I grab the cushion beside me and hugged it to my chest. I’m not ready for things like that, okay?
This is going too fast for my liking. It was hard admitting my feelings for him and to suddenly dive in the coursing water would drown me.
“Here,” I turn to find Lance with a tub of Double Dutch ice cream and two spoons. “---let’s just binge our sorrows away.”
He hands me the spoon and I take it. What’s gotten with him? One moment he’s sullen, angry, and now he’s being nice? Is this kid on his period?
Nevertheless, he takes a seat beside me and we spent the entire day eating ice cream and wallowing our sorrows.
One with rejection, and one with feelings.