by Lilly Purdon
What the hell?
Was I missing something?
I was completely baffled.
Why was she touching him like that?
Did he know?
Did he give her consent?
Why wasn't she bullying me?
How the hell were they connected in any way?
Layla looked at me with a blank expression on her face.
“I'm not here to make your life a living hell,” she stated, “I'm here to check on him, so if you excuse us,” she looked gestured over to the door- asking me to leave.
My mouth fell open.
I scurried out of the nurse’s office.
Why wasn't she mean to me?
I was honestly expecting at least a rude remark from her, but I got… nothing?
I left school rethinking everything.
Was she finally growing a heart inside that empty rib cage of hers?
~*~
“But what if she doesn't like me?!”
“Dustin! You do not have to worry about a thing! She'll love you!” I exclaimed throwing both my hands up into the air.
“What if-”
“Cut it with the what if's! She will love you! I've known her since sixth grade.” I sounded like I was trying to reassure myself rather than him.
“But-”
I interrupted him once again, “no buts! She will love you.” I got out of his car and slammed the door shut.
Kasay had agreed to sneak out so that we could talk about everything that happened. And I thought it would be a great chance for Dustin to get to know Kasay too! I was playing Cupid here. I went up to her front door and texted her.
I'm here. –Rosie
My phone beeped in reply almost immediately.
Ugh! Finally!!!xXxX ~KasayxP
I jumped when the front door opened. Kasay got out and shut the door quickly and quietly. She held her index finger up to her lips motioning for me to be quiet. I nodded as we both walked over to Dustin's car.
“Whose car is this?” Kasay asked as I opened the back door and slid in.
“It's one of the twin’s car. I'm sitting in the back, so you should sit in the front.”
She nodded and slipped into the front seat. She turned to meet him before she let out a small shriek and backed away from him.
“What's wrong?!” I asked.
He looked completely shocked from her sudden outburst. He backed away until his head hit the car's ceiling. Kasay started hitting the car's windows trying to get out. I grabbed her by the shoulders making her stop.
“It's thing number one..” she said quietly.
I laughed to myself before shaking my head at how she was acting.
“Firstly his name is Dustin,” I started. "As you already know, he’s one of two twins. The one you might be thinking about is the asshole, this is the nice one.” I explained.
She stayed completely silent.
“He’s very sweet, very kind, and caring. You’ll like him, trust me.”
I nodded, giving Dustin the green light.
Dustin extended his hand out to her for her to shake. She looked down at it, unsure whether to take it or not. Finally, after staring at it for a solid minute, she grabbed it and shook it. I could tell she was squeezing hard on his hand, because his face was clearly in pain.
She was enjoying every minute of it. She grinned as she squeezed harder onto his hand making him wince aloud. I slapped her shoulder and gave her a don't-you-dare look before she let go and laughed.
“So,” Kasay started grinning at him, “nice to finally meet you, Rosaline’s crush!”
~*~
Chapter 20 KASAY’S WAY
Dustin looked utterly confused.
“No!” I exclaimed to prevent any further misunderstandings.
An evil little smile tugged at her lips.
“Sure,” she said in a disbelieving tone.
I gave her a flat look.
“What?” she played innocent.
“He’s not my crush-”
She gasped, “he’s your boyfriend?! CONGRATS!”
“NO!” Dustin and I exclaimed at the same time.
Dustin played with the collar of his shirt uncomfortably.
“Sure,” she smirked.
“I’m serious, we’re not dating.”
She kept smirking, “uh huh.”
“You don’t believe us?”
“Us?” she winked.
I groaned in frustration.
Kasay just loved teasing me about boys or getting information about who I liked, but she' always failed to find out. I knew exactly what's going on in her head right now.
“Cut the crap Kasay,” I snapped.
She jerked back and hit her head against the car ceiling.
“Damn! You on your period or something? No need to be so harsh.”
I sighed and leaned against the back seat.
“And if it's not true, why so aggressive?” she smiled.
I sighed again and buried my face into my palms.
“Sorry for being a total bitch.”
She smiled and nodded, accepting my apology.
“How was your day?”
“Peachy,” I replied.
I almost forgot Dustin was there until he cleared his throat.
“Ladies, where are we going?” Dustin asked politely.
“The mall,” Kasay answered.
He glanced over at me to make sure I agreed, “wherever she says.”
~*~
“I don't get it, so what is it are you depressed about in this thingy?” Kasay asked again for the hundredth time.
I groaned in frustration. I told Kasay about how I got suspended again for 'accidentally' throwing a book at someone's head, then I told her about Ricky, and how Jaxon got the living shit beat out of him… but I didn't have the guts to tell her who did it.
“Rosie, you've got to tell her the whole story if you want to get if off your chest,” Dustin said, looking at me straight in the eyes.
His ocean blue eyes found a way to break a barrier I was holding up down. He was right, but he was the only soul who knew about how much I liked Axel, apart from me.
“Rosie, what are you hiding from me in that little head of yours?” Kasay questioned putting a finger on her chin pretending to think.
I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my latte which was sitting on the table. Dustin ran a hand through his hair before he looked up at me.
“Can I please excuse myself to give Rosie a little prep talk?” he asked Kasay politely.
She had a weird look on her face from the language he chose to use with her, and then nodded. Dustin had been acting really odd with Kasay. It was like he was becoming someone he wasn't just for her. He was acting like a guy from the 1950’s… it was just peculiar.
If I were her, I'd find it pretty creepy to have a teenage guy talk to you like he's an old professor. I would even think he was possessed by an evil demon of some sort. Dustin got up from his seat and motioned for me to follow him.
After exchanging weird looks with Kasay, I got up from my comfy seat and followed Dustin outside of the coffee shop. When we were a few shops away, he turned around to face me.
“Rosie, if you want her to help you with your problems, you've got to tell her everything.”
“You don't get it, I can't!”
He shook his head, “you can, you’re just choosing not to.”
“It’s not that simple! She’ll think…” I trailed off.
“What are you afraid of? That she’ll see you differently? She’s your friend, Rose. There's nothing to be afraid of.”
“But-”
“No buts,” he interrupted me. “What is there to be afraid of? She seems really trust worthy and I'm sure she won't tell anyone about how you’re in love with-”
“Shut up!” I hissed. “We're in public.”
“Sorry,” he lowered his voice. “But I mean, what is there to be afraid of? The only person who knows about your whole
situation and how you’re in love with Axel is me. No one else. It wouldn't hurt for you to tell her instead of keeping her in the dark. Secrets make friends, right?”
“She’s already my friend.”
“Doesn’t she tell you everything about her life?”
“Well I’m starting to doubt she does.”
“That’s beside the point. I just think she’s been your close friend long enough she deserves to know.”
I sighed giving up.
“Fine, I'll tell her.”
The edges of his lips curved upwards forming a smile showing off his left dimple.
“Then, I guess we should head back!” he grinned, getting a heads start back to the shop.
“Wait.”
He stopped walking.
“Why do you act that way when you’re with Kasay?” I asked.
He looked confused, “act like what?”
“You talk like a guy straight out of the 50’s."
He furrowed his eyebrows.
“Your choice of language is just odd. You talk like an old man, and a creepy one too" I tried explaining.
“I do?”
I nodded.
“I thought Kasay would like a gentleman.”
I shook my head. “You couldn’t be more wrong, but even if she did, she wouldn’t understand what you’re talking about. She doesn’t even understand basic vocabulary. Do you really think she’d understand half of the words you’ve said today?
“Then what kind of guys does she like?” he asked.
I took a moment to think. What kind of guys did she really like?
I had never seen her with the same guy longer than a month.
Wait, no.
I had never seen her with the same guy longer than two weeks.
From what I had gathered, she had never taken a relationship seriously. I guess she liked easy going guys that didn’t complain, and guys who were older than her. She seems to like guys who were free and allowed her the freedom she wanted. The kind of guys who didn’t want commitment.
She liked guys who slept around, guys with experience. Guys who couldn’t stay with one girl too long, guys who wanted a no strings attached kind of thing.
A light bulb lit in my head, “she likes assholes.”
Dustin's smile vanished off of his face.
“Assholes?”
I nodded in confirmation.
“So… she’ll like me if I act like an asshole?”
“Well, you have to be a specific kind of asshole- not just any random asshole like your brother.”
“Assholes,” he repeated again, “not being cocky, but I’m probably the nicest guy I know.”
“You’re one of the nicest guys I know too.”
“Do I have any ‘asshole’ qualities in me?” He seemed a bit hopeful.
“Definitely not,” the answer slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. “But, there have been exceptions…” I thought back to the orthodontist dude who temporarily ruined my teeth. He wasn’t that bad to her. “Just be yourself. If she likes you, she likes you. If she doesn’t, she doesn’t. Rather her like you for who you are, than like you for who you’re not.”
He smiled. We shared a moment of peaceful silence, before he excused himself to the bathroom.
I made my way back to Kasay.
“It's about time you came back,” she huffed.
I took a deep breath, “I have something to tell you.”
“You kissed him didn’t you.”
What?
“I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU TWO HAD A THING!” she fist pumped the air, “MY INSTINCTS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT-”
“Kasay-”
“MIXED BABIES ARE SO ADORABLE! I SWEAR I’LL BABYSIT IF I’M NOT IN JAIL-”
“Kasay-”
“I’M SO PROUD OF YOU, HE’S NOT UGLY EITHER-”
“KASAY!”
She stopped talking and blinked at me twice.
“I don’t like him!”
“What?”
I sighed, “I have something to tell you. Please don’t interrupt this time.”
She made a zipping motion over her mouth, and nodded.
“Remember how I said I didn’t like anyone? Well… lied.”
She started squealing aloud, causing some nearby people to turn and glare at us. She placed both hands on my shoulders and shook my fragile body.
“Who is it?! Who’s the lucky bastard?!”
I grabbed both of her hands and pulled them off of my shoulders.
“Calm down.”
She was far too excited, and I was far too nervous.
“I can’t! I mean- this is so exciting! I really need to know who it is!” She bounced up and down excitedly. It reminded me a tad bit of Trent. “Now TELL ME ALREADY! Who’s the bitch?!”
Getting the name out of my mouth was a lot harder than I had anticipated. I had to practically pry myself open to get a single word out. So I just didn’t.
“It’s the same person who beat up Jaxon…”
Her excited grin turned upside down, literally. She kept her eyes glued to me. I decided to keep talking even though she was completely silent.
“The first time I talked to him was at the dance.... but I was someone else. The first time talking to him as Rosaline,” I gestured down to my nerdy self, “was in I.S.S, he didn’t know I was the girl he met at the dance…”
Her lips were slightly parted as an unknown emotion shone in her eyes. I kept going on with the story anyway.
“I passed out after he beat the living shit out of Ricky and ended up at the nurse's office. Jaxon then misunderstood and thought he had caused it by hurting me, so Jax gathered a few people to try to jump him. But he was stronger and beat the living shit out of Jaxon too..." I trailed off.
“Rosie, I have a question,” she lifted her index finger up.
I nodded for her to continue.
“This guy you’re talking about.”
I nodded for her to continue again.
“Is he hot?”
I blushed a little and nodded.
“He’s a blonde… right?”
I nodded again. This time, she sucked in a deep breath and looking very concerned..
“Is this guy… Axel Storm Spencer?”
Silence.
After a few moments of silence, she broke the silence.
All her excitement was gone, “I'll take that as a yes,” she said, placing both hands on her lap and avoiding eye contact. Her reaction wasn’t a positive one.
“So, what do you think?”
Another moment of silence passed between us.
“Honestly?” she questioned.
I nodded frantically.