Mr. Popular: A Falling For My Brother's Best Friend Romance

by Nicole London

  “Okay, so it was the text messages...” She says softly. “I’ll try to talk to you again when you’re not so mad. I’m willing to give you another chance.”

  I walk away from her before I say something I regret. And as soon as I’m inside the building, I bang my fist against my locker to make sure I can feel something and this isn’t some type of nightmare.

  When the pain radiates from my knuckles, I let out a sigh of relief and make my way to Literature class.

  Mariah isn’t even in her seat and I start to text her, but she suddenly walks into the room carrying a bouquet of red and white roses. She’s wearing a bright grey dress that clings to her hips in all the right ways. It’s the fourth one I’ve seen her wear this month, and as she walks down her row—every guy in the class does a double take.

  She plops down in her desk and doesn’t even look over at me. Instead, she immediately pulls out her cell-phone and starts texting Kelsey. (I know it’s Kelsey because the two of them can barely breathe without telling each other about it. That, and that’s the only other person she texts outside of me and Zach.)

  Her phone buzzes against her hands and she answers it, whispering. “Kels, I’ll tell you about it at lunch. My test is going to start in any minute...” She touches the roses. “He gave them to me this morning and asked to call me later tonight. Can you believe it? He’s so sweet...Yeah, I should’ve known. Now I’m actually excited about the date. I think it’ll be great just like you said...Okay, talk more at lunch.”

  She ends the call and finally looks over at me. “How long were you sitting there?”

  “Long enough to hear you talk about a date. So, that was actually true the first time I asked you?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “It can’t be both.”

  “Fine.” She sighs. “Yes, it was true and it is a date. With a complete and utter gentleman. Something you wouldn’t know anything about.” She picks up a red rose and twirls the stem between her fingertips. “And yes, the guy in question—who I will never tell you or Zach about, did get me these. Before he even takes me out. He even asked for my phone number so he could call me tonight and get to know me better. You know, now that I think about it, you could probably learn something from him and use it on Ashley.”

  I almost tell her that me and Ashley broke up, but I hold back. “I doubt I could learn anything from whoever this guy is, Mariah. And he clearly hasn’t learned shit about you, because last time I checked, you’re allergic to roses.”

  “Well, clearly I’m not anymore. That was years ago.”

  “Right...” I turn away from her, feeling angry for some reason. I know I have no right to ask her any questions about her dating life, but I highly doubt any guy in this school is worth her time.

  Who the hell could she be talking about?

  Our teacher walks into the room and passes out the exams, explaining that we’ll share the same grade with our partner, and that we’re not allowed to talk to anyone else in the class until the bell rings.

  “If you need my help, just pick up one of my beautiful roses and I’ll happily help you,” Mariah whispers.

  “I won’t need your help. Trust me.”

  After half an hour passes, I realize that I do need her help on a question. Sighing, I turn toward her and tap her shoulder. As she looks up at me, I notice her face is bright red and she’s holding a tissue up to her nose.

  “Don’t. You. Dare.” She hisses before I can get a single word out. “Don’t you say a word.”

  “A word about what?” I narrow my eyes at her. “About exactly what you already know about your so-called beautiful roses?”

  “Yes, because I am not allergic to them. I’ve just gotten a sudden cold. Maybe it’s because someone opened the window and let in the cold air not too long ago.”

  “It’s seventy-five degrees outside.”

  “Well, maybe it’s the sudden warm air...”

  Jesus Christ... I pick up all the roses from her desk and place them in the metal rack under her chair. “Maybe it’s not the roses after all. Maybe you got sick from being out all night at the bonfire and it’s just now catching up to you.”

  “Really? You think that could be it?”

  “Fuck no.” I point to the door. “Hurry up and get some Benadryl from the nurse before you die trying to prove a pointless conclusion. You’re allergic to roses, always have been, and you damn well know that.”

  For once, she doesn’t argue with me. Sneezing, she stands up and grabs the hall pass, but not before giving me her trademark middle finger as she walks out of the room.

  5

  Liam

  “You told me you needed my help with your chemistry homework, Zach.” I shake my head at him and lean against the door frame. “You said you wanted to finally use part of a Thursday for studying.”

  “And you believed me? Really?” He laughs. “Please. This is far more serious anyway. Feel free to pitch in and help me anytime now.”

  “I’m not helping you find Mariah’s diary.”

  “Why not?” He opens all of her dresser drawers. “You’re the one who told me about her having a date this Saturday. When I asked her who the guy was, she just walked away. This is the only way I can find out whose ass I have to beat this weekend.”

  I try to laugh, but I can’t because he’s dead-ass serious. He carefully lifts her shirts and jeans, getting increasingly frustrated with every second that passes.

  “I don’t think this is what your dad meant when he said, ‘Look after Mariah for me.’ I don’t think beating up every guy she likes is the way to go, and I think it just makes her shut down in that department.”

  “Trust me,” he says, opening her closet. “This is exactly what he meant, and you want to know how I know that for a fact?”

  “How?”

  “Because as he was laying there on his hospital bed, he said, ‘Try to keep her from boys until she graduates from high school. She’s going to get even more beautiful as she gets older, and I don’t want any assholes who are underserving getting a second of her time.’ Then he looked into my eyes and said, ‘You won’t get it now, but you will later...Between you and me, boys in high school only want one thing and I don’t want any of them getting it from my daughter.’ He said those exact words. Verbatim.”

  “You do realize that you’ve changed this story every single time you’ve told it to me, right?”

  “Well, that’s how I’m choosing to remember his words today.” He empties one of her purses, and her diary and a tube of red lip-gloss fall to the floor. “I’m just looking out for her. I personally know what all the guys at our school want, and I don’t think I could ever handle seeing her get hurt.”

  “You mean you don’t want to see her end up with someone like you.”

  “Exactly.” He picks up the diary and flips through the pages. “She hasn’t updated it in over six months.” He tosses it to me and I toss it right back.

  I’ve never felt comfortable accompanying him on these “diary raids,” especially since they almost always end in the two of us threatening whatever guy she has a crush on. That, and I’m pretty sure she’s wised up to Zach’s antics by now and knows he reads her entries so this is pretty pointless.

  “You think it’s a guy in the tenth grade?” He taps his chin. “I might be okay with it if it’s a guy in her same grade.”

  “I think I regret telling you.” I close her dresser drawers so she won’t suspect anything. “I doubt it’s anything serious.” At least I hope it’s not...

  “Zach! Liam!” His mom calls from downstairs. “Come downstairs and help me with my van in the garage please!”

  Zach returns Mariah’s diary where it was and places her nightstand back against the wall before we head down to the garage.

  Without Miss Dawson having to tell us what to do, we carry the crates of flattened pink boxes from her trunk into the kitchen and set them on the counter. When we’re done, we begin building the boxes and teari
ng off sheets of cooking paper to line them.

  “This is the third time you’ve enlisted me and Liam for free labor,” Zach says as his mom ties on an apron. “Do you not realize that we’re celebrities in Blue Harbor? We could sue.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.” She smacks him across the head with an oven mitt. “I just received a mass order I need to deliver tonight, so I need you to come along and help me. Especially since you’ve skipped out on three assigned weekends at the bakery, and counting.”

  “I haven’t skipped. I’ve just traded them with Mariah.”

  “Well, you’re not getting out of helping me tonight, so don’t even think about ‘trading’ it. We have to drop Mariah and Kelsey off at the mall first, though.”

  “On a Thursday night?” he says. “Can’t they just go tomorrow?”

  “No, they really need to go tonight. They want to make sure Mariah has everything she needs for her date.”

  “Who’s the guy?” Zach asks.

  “Zipped lips.” His mom smiles. “I’m not supposed to tell you, but I spoke to him on the phone briefly and he’s nice.”

  “Does he have a name?”

  “Not since I made a promise.”

  “You didn’t make that promise to me. I feel like I have a right to know...”

  She kisses him on the forehead. “You are ten times worse than your father would’ve been about this, I swear.” Then she looks at me. “Liam, would you mind dropping the girls off at the mall and bringing them back home for me? Free cupcakes and gas money if you’re interested.”

  “Sure, I’ll do it.”

  Zach gives me a look that says, “Find out who it is,” and for an hour the two of us help his mom prepare boxes for delivery.

  Mariah and Kelsey return from the lake right as we’re getting done, and to my surprise they don’t seem upset about the sudden change in travel plans. They slide into the backseat of my car and whisper for the entire ride, practically ignoring me.

  When I pull into the parking lot at the mall, I start to get out so I can open their door, but Kelsey beats me to it.

  “We’re only going in for one thing,” she says, pulling Mariah out. “We’ll be right back out in like, five minutes.”

  I cross my arms and lean against my car, knowing damn well the two of them have never learned what the word “five minutes” means.

  I’m not surprised that twenty minutes later the two of them emerge from the mall with bright blue shopping bags and ice cream cones.

  “That looks like more than one thing, Kelsey,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “We got distracted.” She shrugs and offers me an ice cream cone. “Here’s something for your trouble.”

  “Gas money would be preferable. That, or at least a thank you.”

  “Thank you.” She licks the ice cream cone and keeps it to herself as she gets back into the car.

  Mariah follows her lead, and I crank the engine, I see her glancing at me through the rearview mirror. She mouths “Thank you” and returns to whispering to Kelsey. This time it’s a little louder than before, so I can make out most of the conversation.

  In all of ten minutes, I learn more than I’d ever want to know about what type of shoes look best with what dress, what type of eye shadow makes “eyes pop,” and what type of kiss Mariah should “try to go for” at the end of the night.

  I almost turn around and tell Kelsey that there’s no point in giving this type of advice to Mariah. It’s not her at all, because if Mariah is still who I think she is, there won’t be a kiss at the end of the night. She’ll probably talk the guy to death before he can even consider it. And whoever the “dream guy” is who she’s going out with, it’s destined to fail after a week or two for three reasons.

  For one, Mariah thinks too damn much and everything she knows about relationships comes from Kelsey. For two, she’s anti-sex and believes the fairytales from fictional novels can actually happen in real life. And three, she’s Mariah. Not many guys can put up with her for more than an hour at a time, and if anyone knows that, it’s me.

  6

  Mariah

  Hell has officially frozen over, and the devil is dancing with the angels.

  All week I’ve looked forward to Austin picking me up for my first date, to him bringing me more flowers (please not more roses), and giving me a kiss to remember after we left the theater. Or maybe even after dinner if he decided that he didn’t want the night to end.

  I’ve dreamed about all the different ways our date would unfold, but now all those daydreams are pointless because his car is in the shop and I need to ask Zach to drop me off at the theater.

  I stand outside his bedroom with my fist raised and poised to knock, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I know he was in my room looking for my diary the other day, and I know he’d flip his shit if he knew I was going out with someone who was older. Hell, he might even tell me to change into a pantsuit if he saw what I was wearing for my date.

  Ugh, he’s such an overprotective hypocrite...

  Sighing, I return to my room and look at myself in the mirror one more time. The dress me and Kelsey picked for tonight is a light blue one-shouldered number that stops right in the middle of my thighs. It matches my silver sandals perfectly, and sparkles beneath the bright lights of my mirror.

  Even though Kelsey helped me pick out tons of make-up and spent three hours showing me how to put it on, I’m only wearing red lipstick. I run a comb through my loose curls, and put on a jean jacket before returning to Zach’s door again.

  No...I still can’t do it...

  I pull out my phone and text Kelsey instead.

  Me: Austin’s car is still in the shop...My mom is working until 10 tonight, so that means me asking Zach...

  Kelsey: Ugh, god no...Can you call an Uber? A cab?

  Me: No...That costs $12 and I only have $10 after everything we bought yesterday :- (

  Kelsey: Okay, hold on. Give me a few minutes to think about options. (DO NOT ASK ZACH!)

  Me: Thank you. (OKAY :- ) )

  Five minutes later, she texts me again.

  Kelsey: Don’t kill me for suggesting this, but do you think Liam would take you?

  I almost call her and ask her if she’s been experimenting with weed again.

  Me: That’s just as bad as asking Zach! You can’t be serious right now...

  Kelsey: Well, it’s either that or catch the bus, which will take **forever**. I refuse to entertain Zach as a viable option...Look outside and see if Liam’s at home. It doesn’t hurt to ask...

  I groan and walk over to my window, seeing Liam sitting at his desk. He’s wearing his reading glasses and highlighting notes in a book.

  Before I can text him, two messages from Zach pop onto my screen.

  Zach: Don’t forget to tell me when your date gets here so I can check him out for you. Just knock loud enough so I can hear you over my music.

  Zach: And if he stands you up, let me know so I can see that he suffers for wasting both of our time.

  Ugh...

  I roll my eyes and decide to get this over with. I decide to call Liam instead of texting to save time.

  “Ryah.” He answers on the second ring, looking at me through his window. “What’s up?”

  “I need a favor. A really, really huge favor.”

  He stares at me for a long while, holding his phone up to his ear. “I’m listening.”

  “Long story short, my date is having car problems tonight so...”

  “So, what?”

  “So, I was wondering if you could take me.” The words rush out of my mouth faster than ever. “We’re supposed to go to the Park Hill theater that’s thirty minutes outside of Blue Harbor, and I swear to god, I would’ve caught the bus an hour ago if I knew this would happen, but I didn’t. And I’m working next weekend at Dawson’s so I can totally give you gas money then, but I only have a ten on me and I might need it so—”

  “Mariah, stop. Just stop talking.” He cuts m
e off, and I watch him through his window as he grabs his jacket. “I’ll take you.”

  “Thank you...And um, can we not—”

  “Tell Zach?”

  “Yeah, can you just tell him that you saw my date pick me up?”

  “Sure,” he says. “Meet me at car in five.”

  I end the call and send Kelsey a quick text, thanking her for her quick suggestion. Then I brush a light layer of lip gloss across my lips, double check that I have my wallet, and quietly head downstairs.

  When I make it over to Liam’s driveway, I notice that he’s holding the passenger door open for me. That he’s also looking me up and down with every step I take. I follow his eyes as they rake over my outfit one last time.

  “Are you going to get in the car?” he asks.

  “Oh, right...” I’m not sure why I’m blushing, but I get inside and he shuts the door after me.

  He slips behind the wheel and pulls out of the driveway, speeding out of our subdivision. The second we make it onto the main road, he pulls out his phone and hits call Zach.

  Ugh, I should’ve known...

  I cross my arms and shake my head, hating myself for thinking he wouldn’t immediately give my brother a play by play recap.

  “Hey...” he says. “Yeah, I was just calling to let you know I saw her leave a few minutes ago...Do me a favor. Please don’t ever have daughters if you ever fucking grow up.” He laughs, then he looks right at me. “No, I think something must be up or maybe she changed her plans.” He pauses for a second. “I saw Kelsey’s mom come pick her up. Pretty sure it was her. She’ll probably be there all night and try to pretend she was elsewhere when you ask about it.”

  I hear Zach faintly through the speakers, hear him say, “Good. Guess I’ll head out and meet Rachel now. Thanks for telling me.”

  “You’re welcome. Talk later.” He ends the call and turns on the air conditioning. “So, what was the reason why your date couldn’t come pick you up? This is supposed to be your first real date, right?”