by Karla Luna
That’s when he huffed and closed the book, slumping back in his seat to wipe his hands over his face. “Fine, it’s about Joss.”
Jesse grunted at that and rolled his eyes. “Buddy, she doesn’t remember anything, and you know it. So get over it already! Please!”
“But what if people tell her about it?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, no one knows. Hey, Joss!”
“Dude!” Zavier immediately went over to cover up Jesse’s mouth, but we all knew it was stupid since it was already too late. Joss was on her way over and Zavier was practically sitting on Jesse’s lap.
Jesse even tried shoving him off while saying, “Get the hell off me, you motherf—”
“Hi, Jesse,” Joss said, just as Zavier moved away from Jesse and tried to act as normal as he can. She smiled at the group, but it seemed to fade away when she noticed me. I smirked at her and stabbed my food with my fork… hard. She even noticed it and cringed, turning back to the boys with a smile that was probably as fake as her little…
“Hello, Joss. I was just wondering. What are you doing this Friday nierrbeour…” Jesse didn’t get to finish his sentence since Zavier had covered his mouth with his hand. Barbie doll just stared at them as if they were crazy.
“He’s acting up a lot right now, saying things he doesn’t mean or think about first. You should go.” Zavier gave Joss a nice smile, and she nodded before leaving the cafeteria.
Ethan and I shared glances, and then slowly ate a piece of our food. Well then… that just happened, eh?
“Ew! Jesse, gross!” Zavier shrieked and wiped his palm on Jesse’s face and shirt. Jesse just smiled, but it was obvious that he was annoyed about what Zavier had just done.
Me? I was kind of, sort of, doing a happy dance inside my mind. Tee-hee.
“That was your chance, you big wuss!” Jesse said while hitting Zavier on the head as they started to argue and slap each other.
I remembered Jesse telling me about helping Zavier with being more comfortable around girls. But that would mean teaching him a lot. So, should I? Just so he could finally grow a pair and be with Joss already?
The thought still made me queasy, but it wasn’t like I’d actually end up falling for him or being with him, so I guess I’d just have to take the chance and talk about it later with him.
Being Zavier, I was so sure he’d deny the offer right away… or so I thought.
17: Chatting & Shoplifting
•Evelyn•
Finally, Friday night! I excitedly thought as I sat down on the couch with a bowl of popcorn to start my channel surfing. Stormy was gone, and Zavier was coming in a few minutes since he had some nerd meeting again. He asked if I wanted to go with him. But hell, I didn’t want to see his little nerdy creepers, and I didn’t want to bore myself to death again. Sorry, but the stuff was really boring. How did he put up with it? He must really love math.
Hmm, but what if he was just there to see Joss? Oh, it made perfect sense!
Gosh, I just remembered I had to talk to him later. I had been avoiding the talk about our little deal since Wednesday. It mostly involved me helping him with girls, and him helping me with… well, whatever came to mind. I didn’t think he’d help me deal drugs, or any of that stuff, so that was completely out of the question. I’ve been trying to think of something, but if he agreed to my deal, maybe he’d come up with something himself?
Oh fuck, what if he said he’d teach me about each bone in the human body? Hell no!
Shaking the thoughts away, I turned on MTV and decided to watch Awkward. Now, this girl couldn’t decide which guy she wants to be with. Oh, the drama! But I actually liked it. There was nothing else on anyway.
At about 4:30 pm, I heard a knock on the door. But damn, there was a fight going on TV right now! After hearing it again and again though, I groaned and stood up to answer the door. I never removed my eyes from the TV, even when I opened the door. But come on, if it were a robber knocking, I’d kick his ass before he even stepped a single foot in the house.
Gladly, it wasn’t a robber. It was just little ol’ Zavier Coin.
“Thanks for opening the door 5 minutes after I kept knocking,” he sarcastically said as he closed the door right after coming in. The TV had just gone to commercials, so I turned to look at him and saw him holding a plastic bag.
“You should really carry your house keys. What if no one was home?” I’d easily slip inside since I knew how to pick locks, but would he actually break a window? Or stay outside and wait because he was too scared to?
“One, I knew you were home. Two, I always lose keys for some reason. And three, if you didn’t open the door for at least half an hour, there’s a secret passageway in the backyard, used for emergencies only.”
Oh really? I had to check that out someday.
But right now I was curious what he had in those bags. I smelled chocolate. Yum!
“What’s in here?” I tried to peek inside the plastic bag, but Zavier gently slapped my hand away, making me frown at him. Well, jeez, boy! I just wanted to know. I was a very curious girl.
“No touching. Mom told me to pick up a cake from this lady’s house. I don’t know what she wants it for, since it’s no one’s birthday. But no eating it before mom comes home. It looks really tasty, but if I can control myself, then you can, too.” He gave me a serious look, and when I burst out laughing, he started to smile.
“You looked so serious,” I said between giggles.
“Well, I was trying to be,” he replied, as he clutched his backpack and started to walk toward the stairs to probably head up to his room for the rest of the night.
“How was the nerd meeting?” I blurted out, teasing him as I innocently looked around. He turned and looked rather annoyed. But I was expecting that.
“It’s not a nerd meeting, it’s a Mathletes meeting.”
“Same difference,” I joked, biting my lip to stop from laughing out loud. “How was it? Freaked out over Joss again?”
He sighed and looked down, biting his bottom lip. Oh, I wanted to bite that damn, yummy lip. When I kissed him, I should’ve bitten him! No wait, that might’ve been bad. Ha! Since when did I care if I did something bad? But I didn’t want to hurt him at the moment either.
“It’s stupid. The whole thing,” he said, looking at me with those adorable brown eyes. He looked like such an angel right now, no matter how stupid that might’ve sounded coming from me.
“What? Liking someone?”
“Liking someone for years, and not doing anything about it.”
I frowned at his words. He was just a shy kid, and he was afraid of rejection. Well, the truth is, everyone is afraid of rejection. But Zavier was just very self-conscious, so putting himself out there was way harder for people like him. If I told him Joss actually liked him, then he’d just think I was lying to make him feel better about the whole situation.
“She told me at the party that she liked me but…”
I gaped at that. “What!?” I went over and playfully slapped his arms. He looked taken aback. “She did!? Well then, come on, boy!” That’s when I grabbed his backpack and threw it across the room as I started to push him out the door. I was practically at his heels. “Go get her!”
“Wait!” He turned and grabbed my wrists to stop me. “She was drunk, she doesn’t really like me.”
“Don’t be stubborn. When people are drunk, they tell the truth!” Everyone except me. Like I had told Davne, why did I have to tell the truth while I was drunk when I already tell the truth while I was sober?
“Either way, I’m not ready! I’m still too shy and nervous around her. How am I even supposed to talk to her and do all that lovey dovey relationship stuff?”
This was my chance. I could offer him my little deal to help him. I mean, he was more comfortable with me, even though he’s known Joss a lot longer. But maybe there was something different about me that made him feel comfortable so fast?
Still, it was clear th
at he was shy around any girl when it came to the kissing and the relationship parts. So, I wanted to help him with that. I honestly think he’d make a great boyfriend, too. Joss would be one lucky girl.
“Maybe I can help you, Zavier,” I finally said with a serious face. He only frowned, looking at me as if had a third eyebrow. I actually met someone like that once. “You know, I’m a girl, obviously.” I laughed at that, but he still seemed to be confused about my words. Oh, how should I put this, so that he’d say yes in an instant? “And I can really help you with being more comfortable around girls. I can teach you about relationships and what girls are like and stuff like that.”
“You mean…” He took a pause to think it over. He narrowed his eyes and I bit my lip, hoping he’d think it was a pretty good idea. “Like, telling me about what they’re really like deep down, and teaching me how to be comfortable as in…”
“As in… kissing properly? Umm…” What else could I say? I wanted to talk to him about what a girl liked and hated, but I also badly wanted to teach him how to be with a girl physically. As in kissing, touching…
Oh, how I was getting hot and bothered just by thinking about those hands feeling me up and…
Snap out of it already, Evelyn! Your hormones are going wild, seriously. Get it together!
“K-kissing?” he asked, stumbling a bit over the word, as his cheeks turned bright red. “Would you teach me the right way if I didn’t know?”
I hummed a yes to him. “Only if you want to. I can show you how to properly hold a girl. How to be gentle with her, and take care of her.” Although I was sure he’d try to save any girl whenever he finds them in grave danger.
I inwardly laughed right then. I’d actually be the one to take care of my boyfriend if he wasn’t the fighting type. Though, I’d really prefer to get one who’d fight side by side with me. That would be more fun.
I glanced at Zavier.
No way were we both going to end up being together. It was possible, yes, but if you ask me, it was impossible.
Zavier just kept looking at me, until he shyly looked down with those adorable rosy cheeks. Goddammit, could he stop being cute for just one second!? He really didn’t know how attractive he was.
“I…”
“I-if you don’t want to do it, it’s totally fine. Just forget I ever asked,” I quickly said, tightly pressing my lips together, as I nervously balanced myself on one foot. Why I was nervous? I didn’t know. But I think it had to do with his answer.
Did I actually want to do this? Yes, it gave me a reason to be with him. Kiss him, feel him, teach him... everything.
I sounded dumb and clichéd right now. I seriously had to stop. It was a Friday. I guess I was just going crazy after a pretty long week.
“I’ll, um… I’ll think about it,” he said in the lowest voice ever. My eyes went a bit wide, but I beamed on the inside. He’ll really think about it? Did I possibly hear right?
“Okay,” I said with a small smile, grabbing the hem of my shirt, as he ran up the stairs to his room.
Well then, I guess I’d have to wait for his final answer. But hopefully he’d choose the one I want him to.
•Zavier•
Once I got to my bedroom, I threw my backpack somewhere on the floor and stumbled to my bed on my back, thinking over what Evelyn had just offered me.
Was I really going to think this over? I mean, it wasn’t such a bad idea, to be honest. I don’t know, maybe I was just crazy at the moment, but it sounded like it would really help me with my shyness and self-consciousness. I shouldn’t even care about the kiss anymore. So what if she technically stole my actual first kiss? It didn’t matter anymore.
I kind of wanted to do this, too. Evelyn was the only girl I actually felt quite comfortable with. So if she taught me all of these different things, it wouldn’t make me feel too weird. Well, maybe in some instances. But should I let her teach me about kissing and such? Wouldn’t that make us feel awkward again… only more this time? Because I knew she hated us being all awkward with each other.
Gosh, I didn’t know anything anymore. And I didn’t know how long I stayed like this, staring at the ceiling and thinking everything through more than fifty times. But when I heard footsteps getting close, I knew it must’ve been hours. Though I didn’t even bother looking up when I heard my door slowly creak open.
“Zavier, can you help me get a few things from the market?” Evelyn asked, looking around my room as if she was just seeing it for the first time. Some things were thrown all over, so there was a slight mess. But I didn’t care right now. I was still thinking. Maybe a little bit too much.
“Uh,” I cleared my throat and slowly sat up while scratching the back of my neck. The market? The heck did she want from the market? We had enough food here. Or wasn’t it enough for her? “I guess…?” As long as we walk and not use that motorcycle.
She nodded and smiled, but when she spotted something at the right side of my room, she gasped. And I realized she was looking inside my closet.
“Awww, you have beanies?” Before I could stop her, she walked right in and went over to my collection of Peruvian beanies hanging on the inside of the closet door. She beamed adorably and grabbed one of my favorite ones. It was a soft, fluffy white hat with black little panda ears at the very top. The flaps on each side reached my collarbone, too. “How come I haven’t seen you wear them?”
I liked wearing them, just not at school. I’d get teased because of it, mostly by Jesse. He always wondered why I loved the hats so much. “I… because the weather’s not really cold,” I replied to Evelyn with shrugged shoulders, though I sounded more like I was asking her.
“But it’s chilly outside today. Put it on!” She excitedly said, grinning from ear to ear as she hopped on the bed.
She was extremely close now since she was on her knees, with one of them even touching my thigh, as she put the hat over my head. I shyly looked down. She then fixed my exposed bangs a bit and afterwards put her hands on the little flaps, very close to my neck. “You look adorable! Well, you always do, but the hat makes you even more adorable,” she said as she winked at me, causing me to blush and swallow hard.
She was looking at me so intensely that I started to feel nervous. I couldn’t even bring myself to make eye contact with her. Perhaps it’s because she’s really beautiful.
That’s when she suddenly kissed my nose and giggled, like it was nothing out of the ordinary. And it wasn’t, at least for her. I remembered she did the same thing to me on her first day at school. I didn’t know if it was possible to turn even redder. Thankfully, she almost immediately jumped off my bed after that. But before she left the room, she grabbed my Domo beanie and swiftly put it on. “Let’s go!”
Since I was never, ever again in my life, getting on that Ducati, I asked Mom if I could borrow the car. She asked why since she was a bit suspicious of us leaving all of a sudden (and since I didn’t usually use her car). But I just told her we were going to go shopping, which was true. Though, for some reason, I felt like Evelyn had something up her sleeve.
Nah, I could be wrong. Maybe she just wanted some Nutella or some Honey Buns. We didn’t really keep that much junk food in the house anyway.
Of course, Mom trusted me completely that she didn’t hesitate handing me the keys to her gray Cadillac Escalade. But outside in the driveway, Evelyn tried to snatch them away from me.
“Ep, ep, ep,” I said as I held the keys tightly in my fist. “I’m driving this time.”
She pouted and hunched her shoulders then, making a small smile form at my lips. She was just so cute. Why was I having all of these thoughts about her? I’ve always, even from day one, thought she was beautiful. But I didn’t even remember the last time I called Joss cute or adorable. It wasn’t about the looks though. I mostly liked Joss because of her inner beauty, but the looks were a definite bonus. Evelyn was just a friend, even though we were very different.
I drove to the market at the ri
ght speed and I could see Evelyn was annoyed. “You know, teddy bear, we’d get there a lot faster if you stepped on the accelerator just a biiit more.”
I licked my upper lip. Teddy bear. It didn’t make me as annoyed as it first did. I liked that I was the only one she had given a nickname to. Or at least I thought. “That’s great to know, but I’m not planning my death today.”
“Whatever,” she said, though I could hear the humor in her voice.
We got to the town market, which always seemed to be busy, in about seven minutes. But today, there weren’t that many people, which I was grateful for. I really hated shopping when there were very long lines. Seriously, sometimes I would just leave the stuff I was planning to buy and walk right out because I got impatient.
“All right, so what is it that you need from here?” I asked as we started walking toward the entrance. Evelyn smiled and waved at a few random people, and some old lady even chuckled and pointed at us, clearly amused.
It was then that I realized Evelyn had grabbed my arm and it kind of seemed like we were a couple.
Oh great, not this again.
It was a good thing we weren’t at school. But there is a possibility we might see some people from school around here. Did they all know Evelyn was living with me? And that she wasn’t a family friend like I had first told Joss?
I shook the thought away when I noticed Evelyn getting a cart and hopping right on, even when a sign nearby clearly said not to do that. But hey, since when did she actually follow the rules?
“Just some Nutella,” she responded with a shrug. I knew it! “And a few other things. We need junk food, Zavier. We need it all.”
I was right. But hey, I was kind of craving some myself.
“All right then! I’ll pay for them so don’t worry. Just don’t get too many things,” I said with a smile, though she only smirked at me while placing a couple of brownies, honey buns and donuts onto the cart.
