Brad looked at me with a worried gleam in his blue eyes. My heart fluttered. Sure, this wasn't real, but he's mine...
"You're sure?" He asked. I nodded. "As sure as I am the cults are coming down." Brad blushed and had a sudden interest in checking for cult spies. While he poked around in the bushes, West and Jess headed down to the creek, and Sam excused himself to leave, claiming homework(like anyone actually does their homework), leaving me alone with Veronica. "You like each other, you know." She said.
I shook my head frantically, and I could feel the heat on my face. "No, we don't." I said quickly. Veronica laughed. "Your face is bright red. Yes, you do." "Shut up." I suggested. She shook her head. "No, I think I'll help you plan. West is gonna help Brad. Your 'relationship' needs to be convincing."
"Convincing how?"
"Get caught trying to sneak away with each other. Kiss him. Have your face light up and add a bounce to your step when you see him."
"How do you know what is convincing and what's...flat?" I smiled at my cheesy Band humor.
Veronica thought for a minute. "An actor gets very good at faking things." She answered, but I didn't believe her.
BRAD'S P. O. V.~|~.V .O .P S'DARB
I poked around the bushes importantly. I had to get away from her. Yesterday, I hated her. Today, she's my girlfriend. That's messed up. And I'm not complaining nearly as much as I should.
I honestly do like her, but I don't think she likes me back. Trumpet is...complicated I guess. But, then again, she's a woman, and women are complicated. But they're no way she doesn't like me! I mean, who could not like all of this? But who am I kidding? I can be a real jerk.
"Yo, Brad!" I heard. Perfect. West and his dating advice. "What?" I called back. "Stop messing with the leaves and get your butt down here!" Growling, I turned and saw him beckoning from the edge of the creek. Throwing a glance and Veronica and Trumpet, I jogged down to the creek to join West and Jess.
"There he is!" Jess clapped his hands together. West smirked. "Looking for a place to get serious with her, huh?" I glared. "What do you want?" I said bluntly. "Well," West said," I specifically remember you asking me how to fake a relationship."
"And?"
"I can tell you...for a price."
"What do you want now?"
"When the cults go down, she's mine."
"Wait, wait wait, you can't be serious. You? Liking Trumpet? Yeah, that'll go over real well."
"Deal or no deal?"
I bit my lip. Why not? It'll be her decision in the end. "Sure. Now, spill." I commanded. "Well, you have to be all protective and stuff. If some dude is hitting on her, you gotta stand up for your girl." West said. "You've gotta be all happy to see her every time you meet. Kiss her, hug her, hold her hand. If you skip class, have her do it, too. Be together. At least act like you're in love."
"And you know this...how?" I asked. "Let's just say someone, coughcoughJESScoughcough, is an awful matchmaker." West answered, elbowing Jess. Jess shoved him playfully.
Sometimes you'd think those two were brothers, not best friends. "Okay, then." I said, uneasily.
"Hey, boys! It's getting late! We should all head home!" We all looked up as Veronica yelled. She was right. The sun was going down. West look at me with raised eyebrows. Of course.
I ran to catch up with Veronica and Trumpet, West and Jess behind me. We walked in silence to the trailhead, where West and Jess, along with Veronica, turned left. I offered her my hand. "Allow me, madam, the pleasure of walking you home." I said teasingly. "Only if you promise to drop the old fashioned junk." She smiled. I nodded and laughed, and she took my hand.
We walked down the street in silence. "Brr." I commented. "It sure is cold... I think we've got some warming up to do before school tomorrow." "You actually read the Hunger Games?" She looked at me, surprised. Ouch. She doesn't think I read. Wow. Insulted. "Of course I did! I'm not a tuba player!" I objected. Trumpet laughed.
All too soon, we got to Trumpet's house. I insisted on walking with her to the path, and she rolled her eyes. As soon as we got there, she dropped my hand like a hot rock. "So, see you tomorrow? Bus stop?" She asked. "It's a date." I said and winked. She laughed again and walked to her front door, keyed it, and went inside. Her laugh was sweet. Like...honey. Timeless.
I shrugged and started walking home. Four houses away from hers, I approached the front door. I found the key in the plant, unlocked the door, and dropped the key back in its place. "Brad's back!" A small, squeaky little voice announced with delight. I nearly fell over as a big yellow Lab puppy and my little sister crashed into me. My sister hugged me and the puppy tried to get to my face to lick it.
"Good to see you guys, too!" I said, pushing the puppy off of me and scooping up my little sister. I gave her a crushing bear hug and set her down. The puppy saw his chance, and charged my face. He knocked me over and proceeded to 'wash' my face. With dog spit. "Gross! Get off, Whiskers!" I pushed the puppy off and got up. I walked into the kitchen, where my mother was busily preparing dinner.
"Hi, Mom." I said. She smiled at me. I raised my eyebrows. It was an unspoken question. Dad? She shook her head. I pursed my lips. Every day, the same answer. It had been like that for nearly five years. And I hated him for that, and for what he made me do.
I was distracted by my little sister pulling on my hand. "Come see what I learned in preschool today!" She squealed. "Okay, I'm coming." I smiled. "I'll call you when supper's ready." My mother said.
"Alright, Jay, lead on!" I said. She excitedly pulled me to her room and sort of pushed me onto the bed. "I wrote my name today!" She said proudly, showing me a paper. Sure enough, there it was, scrawled in bright yellow letters. "J-A-M-I-E! Jamie!" She giggled. "Great job, Jay!" I praised. God, if only my Dad would come back... But I'm not sure I want that.
TRUMPET'S P. O. V.~|~.V .O .P S'TEPMURTS
My fingers were still buzzing when I got to my room. The warmth of Brad's touch lingered on my fingertips. I blushed just thinking about it. But, alas, I will flunk out of Spanish if I don't get that homework done. I dragged some paper out of my bag and started writing. Somehow, I wrote a love song in Spanish. Oh well. I'll turn it in anyway. Maybe I'll get some sort of extra credit.
I checked the time on my alarm clock. It read 7:00. Yay, I get to make dinner. I went to the kitchen and skimmed through the pantry. The words of my song played back in my head.
No sé por qué no puedo ver la mirada en tus ojos
I don't know why I can't see the look in your eye
I gritted my teeth and dragged out some cereal. I busied myself with making a bowl and flopped down at the table to eat.
No quiero entender
I don't want to understand
I suddenly lost my appetite. I stuck the cereal in the fridge, because that's how stupid I can be, and go to my room. I flop down on the bed. So much happened today, and I wasn't sure I was ready for any of it.
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