It seemed like we stared at each other forever, although it was probably only a few seconds. Still, the eye contact was long enough for Evan to be weirded out by my flabbergasted expression that was no doubt painting my face. If he was indeed weirded out, though, he didn't let on because he didn't break eye contact. Now, you might think it was a 'romantic moment' or whatever, but I swear to you it wasn't. There was no electricity that flowed between us, the thumping of my heart caused by the embarrassment coursing through me rather than the butterflies in my stomach from seeing those beautiful eyes.
"So...was there something you wanted to plan or..." he said, finally breaking the weird staring contest we were supposedly having.
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "Um...no. I mean, yes," I stuttered out, mentally slapping myself about how stupid I was acting.
"Very articulate," he muttered softly, probably not for me to hear but I did nonetheless. Still, I wasn't about to confront him about it because he was right of course. If I was in his position, I'd probably be thinking the same thing, and I couldn't help but kick myself for it. Strike one.
"Um...so...how do you wanna do this?" I asked, trying my best to come up with coherent sentences. He probably already thought I was a weirdo, no need to make him think I was stupid too.
"It's due in two weeks so, how about we meet a couple times this week and the next?" he suggested, making the plans. I wasn't complaining however, knowing that I would have made a bigger fool of myself if I tried.
"Yeah, sounds good."
"We'll delegate workload when the meeting comes around? If need be, maybe we can have more meetings?" he added. Oh, I would love to have more meetings with you, preferably without the pretense of a school assignment. Of course, I'd first have to get over this...whatever this is. I can't exactly get to know him better if I can't even speak in his presence. It didn't occur to me that during this little internal monolog in my head, I hadn't really answered Evan until he said, "Is that okay?"
"Oh yeah, it's good," I quickly spewed out.
"Are you sure? Because if it's not, I can—" he started but I cut him off.
"No, it's perfectly fine."
"Okay, if you're sure," he said, eyeing me as if waiting for me to argue that fact. Instead, I nodded. "Okay um...so...you want my number, right?" he asked, his question surprising me a little. Yeah, I wanted his number, but I didn't think I was being that obvious that I liked him. Shit, that's even more embarrassing.
Did he already know about my crush on him? I mean, he basically skipped the part of me asking for it and went straight to offering it to me. Talk about a rookie mistake; I should not be so inexperienced with things like this. You see the things this boy does to me?
"Your number?" I asked, feigning ignorance. I wasn't about to admit my crush to him just like that. Besides, playing hard to get is a legit flirtation technique...right?
"Yeah, you know so we can make the plans?" He said, his brows furrowing in confusion. "My phone's dead so you can have my number and text me yours." I stared at him for a few seconds before realizing he wasn't offering his number because he thought I wanted it, but purely for the sake of this project. I wanted to slap myself right there for being so stupid.
"Oh...uh...yeah," I stuttered out, reaching into my pocket to pull out my cell phone. Weak fingers coupled with increasingly sweaty palms made me fumble with it as I took it out, almost dropping it on the floor. That would have been bad. Fortunately, I managed to catch it but unfortunately, I was certainly painting myself as a bumbling idiot to Evan. Strike two.
Evan accepted the phone, an eyebrow raised as he eyed me for the briefest of moments. It was quick, but I managed to catch the puzzled expression before he entered his number into my phone.
"Here, I saved it into your contacts," he said as he handed the device back to me.
"Cool, you saved it under...Evan?" I asked, only realizing how stupid that question was after it had left my lips.
"Uh...yeah...that is my name after all," Strike three, you're out.
"Right, I just...never mind. Um, so...well...see you," I said before quickly grabbing my bag and high tailing it out of the classroom. I could picture Evan in my mind, looking at my departing form, an eyebrow raised as he pondered the weird behavior the supposedly popular guy in school had. I groaned as I thought about the botched first impression I had just made.
I trudged to my locker, already seeing Brian and Sam there. "Hey," I said, sounding a lot more dejected than I was intending. It was embarrassing living through the experience, I didn't want to relive it again.
"Whoa, what crawled up your butt," Sam said.
"Not a dick, that's for sure," Brian replied, to which I responded with a glare.
"It's not funny," I muttered, slamming open my locker and carelessly tossing books into the metal cabinet.
"What happened?" Sam asked as she laid a hand on my shoulder, her tone now soft, ignoring her snickering boyfriend just behind her.
"Nothing."
"We all know it's not nothing," Sam said.
I sighed, closing my locker door. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Evan?" Sam asked, me giving her a nod. "Oh, don't feel bad about it, many people can't talk to their crush. Granted, most of them aren't one of the most popular kids in school but you know, to each their own. Believe me, one of these days you'll get the nerve to talk to him."
Her words did nothing to comfort me, seeing how it just reminded me of my horrible conversation earlier. I groaned and walked off.
Seconds later, Sam and Brian caught up with me, raised eyebrows on their faces. "Did I say something wrong?" Sam asked.
"No, it's just...I talked to Evan," I admitted.
"What? Where? When?" Brian asked, suddenly a lot more interested in something other than teasing me.
"In English lit. We're working on a project together."
"Holy shit, you're joking, right?" Brian asked.
"I wish I was joking."
"But that's a good thing...right? I mean, now you can talk to him and stuff," Sam added, finding it hard to see why I was so down about something like this. If I was in her shoes, I would be wondering the same thing.
"Except that I completely made a fool of myself just now," I said, arriving at Brian's car, leaning against it and running a hand down my face.
"You? Made a fool of yourself? I would never have guessed," Brian said, sarcasm oozing from his tone. I rolled my eyes at him but otherwise kept quiet. "But seriously, though, you've chatted up plenty of guys. Why is he any different?"
"That's the thing. I don't know why he's different. He just is," I sighed, climbing into the back seat as Brian unlocked his car.
"So, give us the scoop. What exactly did you say to him?" Sam asked, probably already thinking about ways in which she can try to salvage the damage that I had done.
"It's not just what I said, but how I acted as well," I said, seeing Sam turn in her seat, her unspoken words for me to continue. "I basically stared at him like some creep, after which I promptly decided to show him how much of a bumbling idiot I really was by saying stupid things, all this while fumbling with my things like I'm a klutz."
"Aww poor thing," Sam cooed, seemingly genuinely sorry for the plight I had landed myself in. "But on the bright side, now that you're both partners, maybe something can blossom out of it."
"Yeah right. After that performance I just gave, I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks me anything but a weirdo."
"Some guys like weirdos, just saying."
"I don't even know if he's gay."
"And when has that ever stopped you?" Brian asked.
"When have I ever pursued a guy, who wasn't at least interested in men one way or another?"
"Nick Danforth? That ring a bell?" he asked.
"Nick was so not straight...okay maybe he was but he was curious. He wanted to experiment, I didn't force myself onto him," I defended.
"Whatever. So, who knows maybe Evan would want to experiment too, if he isn't already attracted to you at least," Brian finished.
"Now that you mentioned it, I don't think anyone at school knows which team Evan plays for," Sam said, the thought suddenly coming to her.
"You think I don't know that? I've been semi-stalking him for the past three years. If anyone should know anything about him, it would be me," I said, although unsure if that was a fact that I should be proud or embarrassed about.
"He is a very solitary person, isn't he," Brian mentioned as if he didn't already figure this out long ago. Everyone knew Evan was reclusive. He may be smart and hot but damn did that boy keep to himself. Not even a close friend that I can try to milk for information.
I sighed, looking over to my right to notice that the seat beside me was empty. "Um...was Tim with us?" I asked, wondering where my little brother was seeing that we usually hitched a ride with Brian.
"Dude, you only just realize that he wasn't here?" Brian asked, incredulous to the fact that I had been clueless about my brother's absence.
"Uh...maybe?"
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the brother of the year," Brian mocked.
"He had something on in school. He's catching a ride with the twins after cheer practice," Sam filled in.
"Oh...Well in my defense, I had other things on my mind," I tried, though even I could tell what a lame excuse that was. I was a crappy brother, wasn't I? As I thought this, I saw Brian pulling into his driveway. Wow, we made it all the way back and only then did I realize Tim wasn't here. Yep, definitely a crappy brother.
As the three of us exited the car, I didn't question the fact that we were at Brian's house instead of mine. After finding out about the little predicament I've landed in with Evan, I was no doubt about to be put through some sort of intervention, hence why I was at Brian's.
Brian's house was moderately sized; larger than mine but smaller than the mansion the twins lived in but let's face it, most houses were smaller than their mansion. The home had a sort of rustic charm to it, an aura of warmth seemingly permeated its walls, something I could never really explain. Probably just because I kinda grew up in this house. The Tanners were a jovial bunch, which kinda explains Brian's upbeat personality. It was actually Mrs. Tanner who helped my mom out a lot when my dad left, becoming almost like a second mother to me. Hell, Mr. Tanner was as good as a dad to me and I definitely saw Brian as a brother. I guess we were family in our own way.
Walking through the living room full of Ikea furniture, I could smell the aroma of something baking in the oven. "Oh man, I hope your mom's baking an apple pie," I commented, hoping that it was one of Mrs. Tanner's famous pies.
