“He’s even hotter in person,” an unrecognizable face whispered loudly, earning herself stern looks from the group. I smiled though. For some reason it was amusing to see them flustered whilst trying to look good.
“Are you guys big science fans then?” I asked, referring to the science fair underway. A few mumbles and grumbles sounded around the group and I could tell that wasn’t the reason they were even here. To deter from the awkward silence settling, I nudged someone beside me and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “It’s okay if you only came for me.”
That caused a frenzy, sounds of agreement met my ears and I noted a few nods, as everyone excitedly told me their reason for coming. I was a good sport and listened as intently as I could to the buzz of words dancing around my ears. Soon, a small crowd had joined us, and everyone was babbling with chatter. I could hardly understand my own thoughts—practically everyone around me was incoherent. I absentmindedly gave vague replies to the people fighting for my attention. It was a good distraction from what I actually came to do.
Curly-haired and freckle-faced, a girl standing at average height defiantly pushed her way through the crowd. I smiled at how much of a rebel she was and a little at how curvy she was as well. Who could blame me? Eyes were on her, either in envy or appreciation. She appeared to be oblivious though and smiled eagerly at me, thrusting an oversized phone in my face as soon as she was beside me. I was a bit surprised when she wrapped her arm around me, smiling for the camera. I decided to humor her by giving a 100-watt smile and bending to her level.
The phone snapped and she let out an appreciative squeal, thrusting the phone into my face once more. I smiled at the photo; it was cute. We looked like a couple—a very happy one. My smile faltered slightly at the sight. When would such an image even be true?
The girl jabbered excitedly about getting another picture, stating that she would die if she didn’t. I rolled my eyes subtly but obliged anyway, although taking a romantic picture right now was incredibly bittersweet for me. I lowered my head to give her a peck on her cheek while she smiled at the camera in bliss. The moment past quickly and audible whoops sounded throughout the crowd. Pretty soon, everyone was pushing to join the picture-taking madness and I was swallowed up by camera flashes and fake smiles. Someone even requested I lift them bridal-style. I turned them down though, ensuring I sounded sincerely repentant.
After a while, my face had gotten numb and I was slightly sweaty from the pulsating sun. I quietly excused myself, much to their disappointment. I had come to do Dylan a favor and it didn’t help luring everyone to the parking lot. Besides, I still felt guilty because of that infamous kiss Avery and I shared that seemed so long ago. There was a small queue paying admission prices and I frowned a little, reluctant to pay for something I didn’t even want to come to in the first place, but I conceded and got a cheap paper armband in return.
Inside was scantily occupied, with a few posters boasting scientific facts about marine life. Thankfully, it seemed as if everyone was following my lead and making their way inside. The few persons already inside were bobbing their heads to the light music playing. I felt strangely that someone was watching me, so I turned and Gina’s eyes met mine. For some reason, I got tense. Although I knew Dylan was friends with her and I probably should have anticipated her being here, it was still unnerving. I felt somewhat nostalgic, staring at her casual wear and friendly smile. I returned it uncertainly, unsure what time lapse would be appropriate for things not to be awkward between us.
To my immediate right, I heard a familiar voice and my eyes snapped away from Gina and toward the sound. As usual, my breathing hitched, and I immediately heard Marc’s mocking voice in my ear. This had been the first time I had seen Avery this casual—in shorts. It seemed so out of place for her as she was always cloaked in modesty. Although it wasn’t nearly as snug or short as all the others I had seen, it was still different for her; not to mention her spaghetti straps with a bikini top underneath.
She noticed my gaze and her eyes grew steely behind her sunglasses, but she didn’t look away as I expected. It was if we were waging a silent war which was much too difficult for me, especially since I couldn’t see her eyes properly.
I decided to go with the least expected conversation starter and gave her a cheeky grin. “Nice shorts,” I commented, making my eyes look innocent.
Avery’s mouth fell slightly and she dropped her head to examine her shorts, making her ponytail swish around her head. She straightened up and folded her arms, completely oblivious to her surroundings. “I didn’t think you’d have come,” she said condescendingly.
I slung the bag over my shoulder and met her gaze levelly. “I keep my word,” I muttered, my words alluding to what both she and I knew. Avery lifted her sunglasses onto her head so I could get a better view of her ocher colored gaze. “I sense some animosity here, how about you?”
She stepped closer to me but still very distant, very cold. “There’s always animosity between us. It is never anything else, so what do you expect?” she snarled, her words dripping with irritation.
I pressed my lips together and shook my head slowly; she didn’t get it. I assumed she wouldn’t have felt it, that buzz, the uncanny chemistry. “There is something else actually,” I muttered, subconsciously blocking everything out. “I’m sure you feel it too.”
Avery began shaking her head but stopped midway, she stared at me with her lips slightly parted and her wonderment etched on her face. I watched as the stray wisps of hair danced around her, face but her eyes were still fixated on me. A moment of immobile chemistry, one that left its participants disoriented, passed. As cliché as it sounds, the only thing I saw was her in that passing moment.
Then Dylan appeared, wrapping his arms around her shoulder, breaking me from my transfixed state. I looked around casually to see if anyone had noticed but everything was still the same. It didn’t even look as if two minutes had passed actually. Avery’s eyes were planted on the ground while Dylan chattered on. I couldn’t make myself focus on his words; they were unintelligible.
“…really big crowd,” he finished, grinning at me, not even noticing my lack of attention.
“Yeah,” I answered vaguely, unaware of exactly what he was even saying.
“It’s a good thing I managed to drag her here,” he commented lightly, nudging Avery and genuinely smiling at her. “She just lights up the whole place.”
I coughed uncomfortably while Avery scratched her cheek in embarrassment. The room suddenly felt hotter, more smoldering. “I would’ve come anyway,” Avery put in lamely from beside him.
“I knew you would’ve,” he said adoringly, nuzzling her neck. That was more than I could take. Avery met my eyes and I could see the pain flitting through her eyes, pain that I inevitably inflicted. Before I could look away, she closed her eyes and forced a giggle.
I made some lame excuse about going to change to get away from them before something catastrophic happened. There was a key in getting the opportunity to leave as early as possible. Getting changed and getting everyone pumped was basically all I had to do now because the faster I got to swimming and giving the crowd what they came for, the faster I could leave and avoid any more romantic condoling with Dylan and Avery. Before I could make a clean escape to the undoubtedly unsanitary changing room, Gina held onto my hand forcing me to stop. I looked at her expectantly.
“Good luck today,” she whispered fleetingly, almost sadly.
I stared at her in confusion for a moment before bending to hug her. “That means a lot. Thanks.”
I wasn’t lying, it certainly meant a lot for Gina to be wishing me luck, especially for something as unimportant as this. I had a nagging feeling that it wasn’t just about today but the future as well. It seemed as if she was convincing herself that shoving me behind was the best thing she could’ve ever done. But to me, we were still hung up on the past, too afraid to let it go and move on. Too afraid of something new. I smiled sl
ightly at her as I stepped around her. She had her arms wrapped around her as if fighting some foreign cold despite the smoldering heat. Obviously I had no idea what was good for me or what I wanted.
Chapter
XXIII
It was obvious at this point that having me here to ‘swim’ was just a ruse on Dylan’s part because there was no point. I had to race no one. It was odd thinking about going swimming with people standing around watching me. But I’d already made my way here so there was no point in leaving without doing what I originally planned to do. By the time I changed into my swim trunks, there was an audible buzz by the poolside and the music was now blaring. I couldn’t be at a pool party without the awkward remembrance of what took place that night and the accompanying plaguing guilt. I had an extra eye on Gina, making sure no one was passing anything her way.
I was glad to have changed my speedos for more appropriate trunks and didn’t cringe as much as I would’ve as the first person turned to look at me. There were indistinct mumbles as I stepped in full view of everyone. I had no idea what I was going to do. There was no plan to rigidly follow, so I simply made my way to the lower diving board. Everyone was watching breathlessly as if I was making some new scientific underwater discovery. I subtly rolled my eyes before preparing a dive, this was not going to be spectacular in any way, I could tell. Instead of planning something that would gain some kind of reaction from the crowd, I hurried onto the board. I was surprised at how slippery it was.
A grunt of surprise left my mouth as I skidded on the diving board. I faintly recalled hitting my head at the end of the diving board. The water was relaxing, peaceful even, a nice getaway but my ego was still bruised with no return. I stayed under for a few moments to decipher how I could leave this completely mortifying situation. How could I react—unaffected as usual or solemn? I resurfaced to a quiet crowd, murmurs of concern drifting through the air.
The funny thing is, no one looked even the slightest bit amused, and if they were, they did an excellent job at hiding it. Instinctively, my eyes roamed the crowd and met Avery’s gaze. She was biting down roughly on her lip as if the laughter was choking her. I raised a brow and she lost it, bending over to slap her knees as her raucous laughter bounced off the walls.
Everyone turned to look at her in disdain and watched her doubling over with laughter. I chuckled a bit, mainly at how unafraid she was of being different. While the uncomfortable silence ticked on, I inconspicuously climbed out of the pool and headed to where Avery stood, every footstep leaving marks on the concrete ground. At the last moment possible, she looked up and the laughter died in her throat, a huge smile still on her face. It was hard to look as menacing as I wanted to because of my amusement. Avery cocked an eyebrow at me while straightening up.
Before she could make an escape as the realization hit her, I grabbed her legs and lifted her onto my shoulder. There were simultaneous gasps as she pounded on my back and demanded that I put her down. I snickered a bit at the fact that she was telling me to put her down as if she didn’t realize who had the upper hand in the situation. I effortlessly flung her off my shoulder and into the water, clothes and all, where she landed with an audible splash. Again there was noticeable silence while Avery flapped around and blubbered inarticulately. Everyone was eyeing me suspiciously as if they were wondering what possessed me to throw Avery in— of all people. Crap. I didn’t want that reaction.
I covered pretty quickly by hurriedly grabbing another girl by the legs and throwing her in as well. Large cheers erupted as everyone realized that the pool party had ‘officially’ started. Most persons made their way to the pool, making splashes and creating a ruckus, everything a scientific pool party needed. At the extreme right of the pool I noticed Avery had climbed out, gripping her shoes with both hands. Water dripped from her clothes and hung off her. I stifled laughter; she looked like a drowned cat. Her eyes met mine in a snap and I tried my best to look remorseful.
I could tell she was trying to look frightening but she could hardly manage to do so in her bedraggled state. I raised my eyebrows expectantly as she approached me menacingly. As expected, Dylan bounded over to where I stood and grinned brightly, I struggled to keep an easy smile on my face.
“Good job,” he commented, appraising the crowded pool. “Pretty soon they’ll be hungry, and they’ll have no choice but to buy snacks from us.”
I raised a brow at how demented that sounded. I half-expected a well-timed evil laugh to follow his sentence but he just stared at me with a big grin. I nodded all the same. “Glad I could help.”
Dylan nodded and lapsed into silence. For anyone else, it would’ve been a comfortable silence but, for me, standing with Dylan at any given time was really awkward. I felt guilty for not making half an effort to talk to him. I suddenly wished someone from my small group of ‘friends’ could’ve been there to rescue me from any further social humiliation.
Thankfully, Avery pushed her way into the invisible bubble around the both of us.
“You little—”
“Hey!” I exclaimed lamely, mainly to cut her off. “How was the water?”
Avery narrowed her eyes at me, and her top lip slowly began to curl unflatteringly. Before she could retort, a girl who I vaguely recognized from my World History class, tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, still amused, but my smile dropped as soon as I saw her holding my phone.
“Uh, what are you doing with my phone?” I asked with furrowed brows.
Her smile faltered and the good Samaritan act she was trying to portray fell flat. “It was in your pants buzzing so I thought…,” she trailed off, watching my expression of disbelief. How she even recognized blue jeans that blended in so perfectly and a phone that could’ve very well been someone else’s was beyond me. Besides, I was sure my mother didn’t stitch my name onto articles of clothing—well, not anymore.
I plucked the phone from her outstretched palm suspiciously and took a look at the screen. The name on the highlighted screen was Chantal. I grimaced. I wish she’d have chosen a better time to call, which was any other time apart from whenever I was with Avery. To be completely honest, I thought Chantal had forgotten about me. A call from her was a thorough surprise, especially after a few attempts of texting conversations going south.
“Hello,” I called into the receiver, immediately noticing the flat look Avery was giving me. Dylan, on the other hand, looked curious. I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I wanted at least one conversation where people wouldn’t eavesdrop. I was glad enough that the girl who had brought my phone had retreated.
“Jace,” Chantal called breathlessly. I smiled fleetingly at the familiarity of it. Gina was the only person who called me that. “Wow, you’re a hard guy to get a hold of.”
I smiled at the easy, casual conversation. “Yeah, I’m at a pool party at the community pool because…,” I trailed off as her heavy breathing sounded over the phone. “What exactly are you doing?”
Chantal giggled and I smiled in return; it was endearing, so musical. “I’m at a marathon for the Children’s Foundation charity. I’m almost finished.”
Chantal exuded perfection, a little too much perfection I surmised, but of course I was still impressed at her nobility. I cleared my throat to minimize the silence consuming the conversation. “That’s… that’s amazing actually.”
Chantal laughed yet again. “Thanks, I guess.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “Anyway, I was wondering if you were busy later?”
This was new. I was surprised that she was asking me out, and so oddly at ease about it. “Uh, no, I’m not.”
“Good, I’ve been so swamped with school lately. I didn’t have time to call earlier. Do you want to go to that diner that’s close to the community pool? I figure that would be easier for you.”
I got hung up on the sound of her voice and missed an opportunity to answer right away. I tried to quickly make up for it. “Yeah…yeah, that sounds great.”
There was
strained silence on the other end and I belated hoped I hadn’t messed things up irrevocably. “It’s okay if you don’t want to come,” she said dejectedly.
I quickly interjected. “No, I want to come…I just… I’m really looking forward to it.”
I could hear the relief through the phone. “Okay, I’ll see you around six then?”
I looked up just in time to see Avery roll her eyes and tap her finger on her already folded arms. “See you then.”
Chantal said goodbye and we hung up. For some reason, Dylan seemed relieved, probably because he was assuming that I was interested in someone else instead of Avery. Avery, on the other hand, was doing everything but looking at me. I sighed quietly and looked out to the pool where the party continued undisturbed. The dilemma was only a figment of my imagination. There was no way I could’ve possibly turned down Chantal. Anyone would’ve been crazy to turn down a dinner offer from someone like her. Yet, here I was wondering if I had made the right choice.
I made a lame excuse to retreat in the opposite direction away from them and back to where I had left my things. I noticed how my swim bag looked rummaged through and sighed deeply, gathering my pants and shirt in a ball before stuffing them where I should’ve left them in the first place. If I actually had focused on the pool party instead of my inner turmoil, I probably would’ve enjoyed it. I had a sneaking feeling I wouldn’t be able to focus on Chantal later.
The music blared and the orchestrated party games continued. I chose a vacant seat and put the sunglasses I had taken along, on. I planned to spend the rest of the party dozing and then it hit me. I could spend some time with Avery after all—if I played my cards right. I knew what I was planning on doing was pretty low, even for me, but I couldn’t resist. I tried to justify it by surmising that Chantal seemed a little too perfect and that would only feed people’s misconceptions about me. I knew it was a lame excuse, but I couldn’t think of anything to convince myself not to.
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