by Sharlay
“Are you ok?” I asked, just as we stopped outside of Courtney’s house.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said in a sincere voice as he smiled at me.
“See, that right there,” I said as I pointed at him.
“What?”
“You being nice and smiling at me, it’s not normal,” I said as he burst out laughing.
“I’m just tired, remember, I was woken up to a thunderstorm this morning,” he said as he raised his eyebrows at me.
“Oh, yeah,” I said as I chuckled to myself. “I, erm, usually go in for breakfast, do you want to come?” I asked, nervously. I have no idea why I was nervous about asking Caleb to come inside but it just felt strange. I wasn’t yet used to having normal conversations with him. Since he had moved in we had occupied all our time with pranks, and now that they were gone, it felt strange.
“Don’t you think that you should ask first?”
“No, it’ll be fine. They are practically family, and you’re my guest,” I said as I smiled at him.
“Ok, then,” he said as we both stepped outside of the car.
“And since when did you adopt manners?” I asked as I raised my eyebrows at him.
“Do you know how many girls I’ve dated, and how many parents that I’ve met? I’ve had to get good at this-”
“You’re such a jerk,” I mumbled before knocking the door.
“So you keep telling me-”
“Caleb, hey!” Courtney said as she began patting down her hair and began giggling like a hyena on crack.
“Hey,” he said as he gave a wave of his hand.
“Come in,” she said as she scooted to the side to let us in.
“It’s a shame that I don’t get that warm welcome evr-”
I was suddenly interrupted as I felt a sharp stab in my butt cheek.
“Ouch!”
“Is everything alright?” Caleb asked, turning around to face us.
“Yup, everything’s perfect,” Courtney said with her fake smile as she pointed towards the kitchen, so that Caleb would know where to go.
“Did you just poke your nail in my butt cheek?” I whispered.
“Yes, now shut up,” she whispered back as we both put a fake smile on our face as Caleb turned around to look at us again.
“Here we are, the kitchen,” Courtney said as we came face to face with the smell of Aunt Mel’s cooking.
“Hey, guys,” Aunt Mel said as we all walked in saying our own versions of hello.
“So, you must be Caleb?”
“Yes, nice to meet you,” Caleb replied in his ‘fake’ voice. He was right about one thing; he was good at pretending to be all sweet in front of parents.
“Ok, take a seat guys, and I’ll get you all a plate. Cale, hurry up!” Aunt Mel said as we all followed her instructions.
There was a slight awkward moment where I didn’t know whether or not I should sit next to Caleb. Courtney happily made the decision for me, by sitting next to him herself. I couldn’t believe that she was shamelessly flirting in front of her mom, however it provided me with some entertainment. Caleb gave me a few looks, that I knew meant ‘is she always like this’. I quietly chuckled to myself as I thought about how weird Courtney was acting. You’ve got to love the girl, even though she is crazy. At least she hadn’t accidently said one of her made up words yet.
After about five minutes, Cale finally made his appearance. He strolled in with a stupid grin on his face, just like he always does. He paused for a minute as his eyes scanned Caleb.
“See something you like?” Caleb asked, sarcastically. Only Caleb could walk into somebody else’s house and insult them, so openly. Remind me to never take him anywhere again.
“Are you dating my sister?” Cale asked in a threatening tone.
“Not the last time I checked,” Caleb replied with a smirk on his face.
“Then I like you,” Cale said as he gave him a ‘man shake’. I should have known that these two morons would get along. He then proceeded to mess up Courtney’s hair which caused her to try and hit him, but she missed.
“Calm down lil sis, we have guests,” he said with a smirk on his face.
“Hey beautiful,” Cale said as he kissed me on the cheek before going to sit down. After knowing me for seventeen years, you would think that Cale would learn not to do these things to me but he never learns. Of course, I was not about to allow him to get away with that, so, I very calmly moved his chair just as he went to sit down. He of course landed straight on his butt before screaming out in pain.
“Whoopsy,” I said as I smirked down at him.
“That was great!” Courtney said before we slapped our two hands together in the air. I also caught the amused look on Caleb’s face as he watched the whole scene before him. He was probably just happy that he wasn’t on the receiving end of my creative come backs for once.
“Mom, did you see what she did?” Cale moaned as he slowly rose to his feet.
“Yes, and you deserved it. Never kiss a lady without asking her permission first,” she said as she winked at me.
“She is not a lady,” he said as he scowled at me.
“Now, now let’s not get personal, Cale the whale,” I replied, making him even madder. Cale the whale was the nickname that I had given him when we were about ten years old, and he hated as much now, as he did back then.
“Don’t call me that,” he moaned as he pulled his chair back under the table and started to tuck into the eggs, sausages and French toast that Aunt Mel had cooked.
This should be a fun breakfast.
* * *
The time to leave came around pretty quickly since we were all busy talking, and eating. Caleb and Cale were busy talking about girls, soccer and a bunch of other boring stuff. Aunt Mel rushed off to work after we had all convinced her that we would tidy up, to her standards. She is seriously OCD, I guess that comes with running your own restaurant, you like everything to be clean and in order.
“So, you want to catch a ride with me?” Cale asked Caleb as we all walked outside, towards my car.
“I can’t, I’ve got to ride with Addy today,” Caleb replied.
“Ok, cool.”
“You’re coming round for dinner later though, aren’t you?” Caleb asked.
“Oh, look it’s a bromance,” Courtney chuckled, causing me to start laughing as well.
“You’re going too?” Cale asked in a surprised tone.
“Yeah, I’m sort of staying at Addy’s house at the moment-”
“Seriously? What’s it like living with her?” Cale asked in disgust.
“Not bad, once I tamed her, you just got to show her who’s the man around the house,” he said as they both burst out laughing.
I instinctively raised my hand, ready to slap Caleb around the head for his stupid comment. Much to my dismay, he ducked down, grabbed my arm and then swung me around, until my back was pressed right against his chest. Moving his mouth right next to my ear, he said, “I’m always one step ahead, Princess, never forget that.”
“Yeah, and I keep telling you that I’m always two,” I said before slamming my foot down on top of his, causing him to cry out in pain.
“I don’t usually encourage violence but that was a proud moment, Cutie Pie,” Courtney said as I walked back towards my car.
“Why thank you,” I said as we both chuckled.
“I need to sit there,” Caleb said as Courtney’s hand reached for the door of my car.
“Huh?” She asked in confusion.
“We’re dating-”
“No, we’re not,” I interrupted as I rolled my eyes at Caleb before stepping into my car. They were both talking as they got into the car, and I couldn’t make out a word that they were saying.
“Shut up, I can’t hear you both at the same time. Caleb, you go first,” I said as though I was talking to a pair of kids.
“I was just saying that we are dating-”
“She’s my best friend, I’m not
going to lie to her besides, she won’t say anything,” I replied as I watched him stare at Courtney, curiously.
“Of course I won’t say anything because I don’t know what the hell you are talking about,” she replied, sarcastically.
“It’s a long story but basically, I dared Caleb to send a text to all the girls that he had been dating, telling them that he was a no good rat-”
“Funny,” he muttered.
“Then he dared me to be his ‘fake’ girlfriend to get them back. Now, I’ve got to act like I’m not revolted by lover boy here,” I said as though he wasn’t in the car.
“Yeah, thanks,” he replied.
“Oh, this sounds fun. It’s like a secret agent mission, I’m so in,” she beamed with excitement. I just rolled my eyes at her comment while Caleb seemed to find it rather amusing. The rest of the journey consisted of Courtney giving us tips on how to look like a ‘real couple’ and me repeatedly telling her that I didn’t want her advice, and to shut up.
* * *
“Addy, he is right, you’ve got to hold his hand,” Courtney said for the third time as we stepped outside of the car.
“No,” I said without hesitation.
“This needs to look real and its part of the agreement,” Caleb said.
“I don’t recall signing any contracts.”
“Come on, Addy, it’s just a hand, unless you want to give up and back out.”
“I never said that I was giving up,” I said in frustration as I stared at Caleb.
“If it’s too hard for you-”
“Fine, I’ll hold your stupid hand, happy?” I growled as I allowed my hand to roughly grab onto his.
“Ecstatic, girlfriend,” he whispered as an amused grin fell onto his face.
“Right, my work here is done, I’m off,” Courtney said as she began to walk away with a stupid smile on her face.
“Erm, where are you going?” I asked as I tried to free my hand from Caleb’s grasp, but failed as he held on tighter.
“I’ve got to return some books before I go to homeroom,” she said as she began walking very quickly away from us. “Bye, I’ll catch you later!”
“Moron,” I muttered, causing Caleb to chuckle beside me.
“Ok, so here’s the deal, I’m going to walk you to homeroom and then I’ll meet you in the cafeteria at lunch and then-”
“Please can you stop talking about how much time that I have to spend with you today? It’s giving me a headache,” I moaned as we walked through the entrance doors of our high school.
“Listen, don’t hit me but one of the girls that I dated is over there, so it’s time to put on a show,” he said before pushing me against some lockers and pressing his body right up against mine. I am definitely going to kill him.
“There you are!” A short, blonde girl with a big butt screamed as she approached us at full speed. She must be ‘Butt’. “So, this is why you sent me that pathetic text, you’ve been cheating on me!” She screamed as she looked at Caleb, angrily.
Ok, so I understand that there are some guys in the world that say things to make a girl fall for him, just so that he can get what he wants. Caleb, however, had only moved into my house a few days ago, how on earth can she even begin to think that she is in an actual relationship with him?
“Look, babe it is no reflection on you but this is what I want now,” he said as he pointed at me. Not a romantic bone in his idiotic body. Who refers to a girl as this?
“What does she have that I don’t?” She asked as an actual tear escaped her eye. You have got to be kidding me. You have no idea how badly I wanted to grab her, shake her around a little and tell her to get real. She cannot be crying over this jerk that she’s known for a few days!
“It’s not just physical with us, it’s more,” he said as he stared into my eyes, making me extremely uncomfortable.
“Fine,” she whimpered. “I hope that you’re both very happy together,” she said before running off in the opposite direction.
“Wow,” I said as I stood there with my mouth wide open. “Firstly, get the hell off me,” I said as he pushed him away from me,” and secondly, why the hell would anyone cry over you?” I asked in a state of confusion.
“One day you’ll understand, Princess,” he said as he smirked at me.
“I don’t see how this is going to help you to get any of them back,” I said as I rolled my eyes at him.
“Trust me; I know what I’m doing. We may have to turn up the heat a little next time though,” he said as his eyes flickered towards my lips.
“I will tell you now, if you ever put that disgusting tongue anywhere near me, not only will I bite it off but I will also spit it back down your throat, and watch you choke on it,” I said before walking straight past him.
“You’re so hot when you’re angry, Princess,” I heard him chuckle from behind me.
I have no idea why but as he said that, a small smile formed on my lips. I’m so glad that he couldn’t see me. Caleb Gates, what the hell are you doing to me?
CHAPTER 15
Chemical Reaction
The day went by pretty quickly and before I knew it, it was lunch time. I tried my best to avoid Caleb all day, and it was working out great so far. It wasn’t even because he had been annoying me because to be quite honest, his company hadn’t been too bad over the last few hours. The truth was that the news of our new ‘relationship’ had spread pretty quickly around school, and it was starting to get on my nerves. Girls kept following me and asking me what it was like to be with Caleb and how they wish that it was them. Oh, I wish it was them too, believe me. The bottom line was that this whole act with Caleb was drawing way more attention than I wanted to deal with. That is why I was spending my lunch in the library, in peace.
“What took you so long?” I asked as Courtney came walking up to me, suspiciously.
“You should be glad that I even made it. First, I had to fight off all of Caleb’s crazy fans, who were asking where the two of you were then I had to smuggle this food out-”
“Smuggle? Really? Are you some sort of drug dealer now?” I asked, sarcastically.
“No, but I felt like one, it’s quite stressful actually,” she said as she took a seat in the chair opposite me.
“Courtney?”
“Yup?”
“Why is half of my sandwich missing?” I asked as I raised my eyebrows at her.
“You know that I eat more when I’m nervous, and I was very, very nervous,” she said in a serious voice.
“Everything makes you eat,” I mumbled as I took a bite out of my half eaten sandwich.
“So, what do we do now?” She asked, excitedly.
“It’s a library, find a book and read.”
“Well, that sounds boring,” she said before rolling her eyes and pulling her cell phone out of her purse. As I sat there trying to eat my food, without the librarian catching me, I realized how much Courtney was smiling at her phone.
“What are you so happy about?”
“Cory’s relationship status just turned to ‘it’s complicated’. I knew she couldn’t hold him down for long,” she said as she chuckled to herself.
“And you say that I have issues,” I muttered as I took a bite out of the apple that Courtney had given me.
“You do, and your issues are a lot worse.”
“Coming from the girl that makes up words-”
“They’re not all made up, actually, sometimes I just find better ways to use them,” she said with a huge grin on her face. I went to reply to what she had said but I was interrupted by the vibration of my phone. I rolled my eyes as I saw that I had a text from ‘Sexy’. After finishing my apple, I finally decided to read Jerk Face’s message.
Where are you?
I went to text back saying where I was but where’s the fun in that?
Visiting Santa at the North Pole
I replied with a huge smile on my face. In a matter of seconds, my phone was vibrating again,
causing me to read his reply.
Cool, could you tell him that I’ve been a real good boy this year?
I rolled my eyes at his response before writing my own reply.
Are you asking me to lie to Santa?
I asked as I raised my eyebrows at the screen before remembering that he couldn’t see me. I peered over at Courtney but she was so engrossed in her phone that she wasn’t paying any attention to me.
No, I’m just asking you to make the truth sound better :)
I giggled to myself as I read his silly reply and then began typing again.
Maybe I don’t want to...
I replied as I grinned to myself.
Maybe I should scare you into doing as I say then...
I rolled my eyes and then begin typing my message.
Yeah right and how do you plan on doing that?
“Like this,” a voice whispered in my ear, making me scream. This of course caused Courtney to scream which resulted in her dropping her phone, and then screaming again because she had dropped her phone.
“Excuse me but this is a library,” the librarian said as she stormed over to where we were sat. I never understand why the first thing that a librarian says when they want you to be quiet is, ‘excuse me but this is a library’. What do they think, that we thought we were going to the zoo but got lost?
“This is a place for reading and working, and if you can’t abide by those rules then you will have to leave. Food is also not allowed in here,” she growled before snatching the brown, paper bag, full of food out of my hands and walking away with it.
“You moron,” I said as I slapped Caleb on his arm before watching him take a seat next to me.
“I rarely agree with her but you are a moron, you made me drop my phone,” Courtney said as she scowled at Caleb.
