"Wow. We need to have football players with appendicitis more often!" she says, winking at all the guys. "Well as much fun as I'm sure you're having, Ryan does need his rest if he wants to go home soon."
Gretchen gives a gasp of joy.
"Sweet! Do you think he'll be cleared to play next Friday's big game?" Barry, one of the linebackers on the team, asks.
"Well, I'm going to let the doctor answer that one." Her response is received by a unanimous groan from the entire room. "Come on, boys, let's go," she says as she starts to heard them out like cattle. Thankfully, the nurse ushers all of us out so there is no time for further questioning from my brother, yet.
Chapter 4: Detention
The room is musty and filled with fifty years’ worth of teenage sweat. They use the older wing’s classrooms for detention and, as much as they try to cover them with layer after layer of paint, the smell gives their age away. How can anyone concentrate in here? Luckily, unlike in the movies, we don’t have to write an essay explaining who we are, we just have to do our homework.
The most interesting thing about detention is Blythe, the girl sitting in the desk next to mine. She just moved here from Nashville, Tennessee. We rarely get new students, so she’s definitely been getting a lot of attention. Strictly based on outside appearances, she seems pretty cool. Part of me hates her and part of me wants to be her. Apparently, her dad is a music exec and he got a big promotion in the city and they moved here because it reminded them of back home. Even though our town is small, we are actually only thirty minutes outside of Manhattan. Not that I ever get to go there. My parents’ response is always "next year". It's crazy; I've lived here my entire life and I've never seen the Statue of Liberty in person. We might as well be a thousand miles away; it definitely feels like we are in the middle of nowhere.
Blythe has been here for a month and I can’t help but wondering if she likes it. Her beat up backpack is filled with intricate, hand drawn, black swirls. She is wearing an ivory crochet vest over a burnt-orange tank top and faded jeans with big holes in the knees, but not the artificial kind of holes you pay too much for, these are the real deal. She’s way too cool to pay for manufactured holes. I could never pull off even a piece of what she is wearing, never mind the whole outfit. She is a junior, so she must be sixteen, yet she looks like she's twenty-five; I bet she has a great fake ID.
She also has this I've-been-at-the-beach-all-day curly hair. It's the first time I’ve ever really liked curly hair. I have to find out what products she uses! The color also doesn’t hurt; it is a beautiful, strawberry blonde. It almost looks like the orange color of her tank top. It definitely didn't come out of a bottle.
As I try to search for more information on Blythe from my seat without staring like an insane person, I notice a small tattoo of a cross on the inner part of her left wrist. My family isn't overly religious; in fact, we don't really talk about religion at all. There is always this really uncomfortable conversation when someone dies of "where they went". My parents get very awkward. My mom will always talk about Heaven and my dad will always loudly clear his throat in disagreement. My brother and I learned at a young age not to really ask questions when religion is involved. However, if you have a religious symbol tattooed on your body, what does it really say about you? Are you so religious that you want everyone to know or is it a statement for attention? Look at me, I'm a good person, but I'm still bad enough to get a tattoo. I just think, if you're going to get a tattoo, that's an odd one to get. It's like sending mixed signals. Sid catches my attention and over exaggeratedly mouths, "Did you see her wrist?" as she points to her own wrist. One thing Sid isn't, is smooth!
"Cool right?" Blythe says, looking right at me.
CRAP! Did she see me staring at her? "Yeah. Awesome," I whisper quickly, trying to sound as cool as possible.
"My parents don't know I got it. I always wear this leather cuff to cover it when I'm home." A little bit of her southern accent slips through as she points to a studded, brown leather bracelet that is now on her other wrist.
"That must make taking showers tough," I say with a laugh. That is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever said. What does that even mean? She creases her forehead and looks at me as if she is trying to figure it out. I quickly add, "Yeah, I was thinking my parents would never let me get one."
"Mine didn't, either, but what they don't know, won't hurt them." She gives me a sly smile. Yup she's definitely way cooler than me. I could never lie to my parents about something that huge. Besides, they'd know, I can’t hide anything.
"Hey, didn't your brother have surgery?"
"Yeah. He's much better, though. He might come home tomorrow." Of course she knows Ryan.
"Cool. Yeah, stinks about his appendix. That happened to me a few years ago, back home. One day, BAM, my appendix decided it was time to come out."
I am so interested in every word she says that I totally forget where we are and that we aren't supposed to be talking.
"Miss Taylor. Miss Brown. Would you like to come back here tomorrow?"
"No," I answer quickly.
"Sure. Why not? I've got nothing to do in this stupid town anyway." Everyone is now staring at Blythe and you can tell she loves it. She has this bring-it-on look on her face and she isn't backing down.
Mr. Frankel looks like he’s completely in shock. He starts shuffling the papers around on his desk saying, "um" a lot. Finally he says, "Great, then make it the entire week; same time, same place."
"Great," Blythe responds, and I think she really means it.
"The rest of you are free to go," Mr. Frankel says to the class, clearly unsure of what to do next.
YES! We still have a full half hour left of detention. Blythe is my hero. I lean over to her. "Thanks!"
She looks back and smiles. "Anytime!"
Sid and I can’t believe our luck. "She's pretty cool," I say as we walk down the hall.
"She's awesome and I totally want that vest she was wearing."
"I know. We are free!!! Oh, there’s still time; let's go watch football practice!" Before I realize what has just slipped out, Sid starts to laugh. Phew! She thinks I am joking. I quickly start to laugh, too. Saved again. I have to be more careful.
Just as we turn the corner, Shane comes out of the auditorium holding drumsticks. "What are you guys doing here?" He seems shocked and not at all happy to see us. He quickly hides the drumsticks behind his back.
"It's so good to see you, too, Shane," Sid remarks sarcastically.
"What were you doing in there and what are you holding behind your back?" I ask.
Shane looks so genuinely caught off guard, he doesn’t even have a good excuse planned. "Um, nothing I can tell you about."
This just piques our curiosity. "What?" we both say at the same time. "I thought we didn't keep secrets, Shane?" I squint my eyes at him as our eyes lock.
“Yeah. You know we're going to find out, so just make it easier on yourself and tell us now." Sid and I both glance at each other with a flash of excitement. We love Shane, but we love to give him a hard time even more. Besides, he deserves payback for all the detention grief he’s given us.
"Well, I'm not giving up any information. You have all the clues you need. Figure it out yourselves, if you can. I've gotta go." He turns and walks away, leaving Sid and I standing in the hallway alone. That is so unlike Shane. I'm impressed; he's really not going to tell us.
Chapter 5: Big Secret
Ryan is finally back at school today and, since it is Friday, he is in full letterman jacket gear. On Fridays, all the athletes wear their letterman jackets and all the cheerleaders wear their uniforms. Supposedly it’s to get everyone excited for the game, but really, it’s to give the popular kids yet another reason to flaunt their popularity.
Unfortunately, Ryan figured out why I had to stay at school Wednesday afternoon and, like the loving brother he is, he had to tell my parents since he “is just looking out for me”. Yeah, right.
Actually, even if he didn't figure it out on his own, he would have known as soon as he got back because Blythe had quickly catapulted to legendary status after detention. Since Sid and I were there, we were legends by association; well, really, more like witnesses.
Either way a ton of people are coming up to us in the halls and asking us if the rumor is true. For once, we are the ones with the information and we like it. We’re finally getting a small taste of what it's like to be our brothers. The only bad thing is, this sudden surge of popularity is distracting us from finding out Shane's big secret. Unfortunately, Shane is being a lot more careful and he isn’t letting anything else slip.
The Blythe rumor also cleared up why we were in the hallway earlier than we were supposed to be on detention day. Shane was so shocked to see us, he didn't even ask, however when he heard the rumor, he said, "Oh, that explains it," like everything suddenly fell into place.
Sid and I are dying to find out what he is hiding.
My day can’t possibly get any better until I look up to see Blythe talking to my brother. She is leaning against his locker with one knee bent, wearing these amazing worn-in cowboy boots. They are deep in conversation and she is biting her lower lip as she listens to him. Her hair is flawlessly wild and she has on this great short dress covered in mismatched zippers. I notice Ryan seems really interested in what she is saying. I'm not sure he’s ever been this interested in anything Gretchen has ever said, but then again, what can Gretchen talk about other than cheerleading and lip-gloss?
I’m having an internal battle as I watch them; should I walk up closer to hear what they are saying or should I stay back. Stay back wins, but only because I'm a huge chicken! Both Ryan and Blythe start to laugh. As she is laughing, she tosses her hair from side to side. That's a good move.
Note to self: practice and perfect that move.
Just then, Gretchen comes up behind Ryan and puts her arms around his waist. She is holding this awesome bouquet of miniature sunflowers. I am—unfortunately—now close enough to hear their conversation or Gretchen is just talking super loud.
"Ryan, what a great surprise. Thanks so much for the flowers; they are so pretty." She turns to her friends who are standing by in awe, giggling.
"Sunflowers, my favorite! I just opened my locker and there they were." A collective sigh comes from her group of girlfriends who are, of course, all dressed in cheerleading uniforms.
"See you later, Ryan," Blythe cuts in, she seems as annoyed as I am that their conversation has been interrupted.
"Bye, Blythe." I know my brother, and his look in her direction lingers a little longer than usual as she walks away. Then, he turns back to Gretchen. "I'm so glad you like them."
"Oh, of course! I love them; they are perfect!"
"Just like you," Ryan says as he kisses her forehead. Normally this would sound incredibly cheesy, but I don't know if it’s his delivery or the sheer honesty behind it that makes it completely sincere. She turns back and does a little curtsy with a giggle toward her girls, clearly saying, aren't you jealous? They all let out another collective sigh. Man, my brother knows how to work a crowd. Why don’t I have that gene?
Just then Todd breaks his way into the circle. "Okay, ladies, I hate to break up this love fest, but Ryan, we better get to class or we're both going to get detention."
"Football players don't get detention," Gretchen says with a smile, placing her hand on Ryan’s chest. My brother gives her a quick, sweet kiss on the lips, and with that, everyone starts to slowly disperse.
Then, out of nowhere, Rebecca—a cheerleader and one of Gretchen's "besties"—grabs Todd's hand. "See you later, Todd." She smiles and puts her face right up against his. Hasn't she ever heard of personal space? She slowly pulls her hand away, dragging it across his and holding on just a second too long before she lets go. Their eyes are locked and she is definitely undressing him with hers. Then, as she turns to run and catch up with her friends, she flips her hand to make her cheerleading skirt fly up and reveal a little extra something for him. As soon as she catches up with Gretchen and the rest of the girls they all start giggling.
WHAT. WAS. THAT. Okay, calm down. My heart is beating so loudly, I can hear it in my ears and I can’t make it stop. Rebecca came out of nowhere with her slutty flirting; she is playing dirty. Wait. What am I talking about? I don't even like Todd, what do I care? He's like a brother to me, he's my best friend’s brother and he is my brother's best friend. I keep repeating the words over and over in my head, but they don’t change how I’m feeling. It feels like Rebecca just ripped my heart out, threw it on the floor and stomped on it over and over and over again.
As I walk to class, my mind races with thoughts. This is unexpected. I mean, Rebecca is cute and popular and she's played the lead in a few school plays opposite Todd. She’s also a cheerleader and she definitely has an all-access pass to The Quad, yet she really doesn’t seem like Todd's type. Was there reciprocation or was it all one-sided? I wish I could rewind what just happened to go back and watch Todd's reaction. Oh, why isn't there a reality DVR? Wouldn’t it be amazing to rewind real life?
Luckily, I’m not late to class and I make it through the day without getting a detention. Although it would have been kind of great to get a detention today because I know Blythe is going to be there.
Speaking of, she’s walking right toward me. "Hey, Blythe!"
"Hey, Ashley! Detention today?" she asks.
"No, but I can't wait to hear what happens. You have a lot to live up to."
She laughs. "Yeah, then it seemed like a good idea, but today, I wish I could get out of it. No such luck. I just hope I can control myself so I don't end up in detention for the whole year." Her southern drawl is subtle, but it seeps through.
As we’re talking, I see Rebecca, let’s just refer to her as RTS—Rebecca The Slut—walking into the school auditorium with SHANE? Okay, what is going on? "I’ve gotta go, Blythe." I quickly turn and walk toward the auditorium. Then I realize I just blew off probably the most popular girl in school at the moment, so I quickly turn back. "Sorry," I say with a shrug. "Good luck."
"Thanks!" Blythe yells back.
I already have my hands on the cold, brass handles of the auditorium doors. Our auditorium used to be the cafeteria/auditorium; real classy, right? You could eat lunch and watch a school play, all in the same place. Until one of our alumni won the lottery and decided they wanted to build an auditorium for the drama club. I begin to pull the door open when I hear someone loudly clear their throat which startles me enough to pause for a second.
"Where are you going?" Charlie, our school security guard is standing behind me with his hands on his hips. We are only a few weeks into the school year, but I already know Charlie is a push over. "I'm talking to you, Miss?"
"Meee?" I innocently turn around.
"Yes, you can't go in there Miss—"
“Taylor," I fill in the blank for him. Okay, I can either play this by the rules or play this the Blythe way. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen to me? It’s only school grounds after all. Wait, why am I thinking like this? Huge trouble, that's what could happen. Oh, I don't care, I need to know.
I open the doors and quickly walk down the long, dark aisle. "Miss Taylor?" Charlie says as he trails behind me, unsure of what to do. His shock that I’ve actually opened the door can’t be more obvious.
If he was a betting man, he would have definitely bet against it; fooled him.
Once I’m inside, I can't believe my eyes. It is like time stands still. All I can see is Todd up on the stage, standing behind a microphone and looking sexier than usual, which is saying a lot. Shane is there, behind a real drum set, and he actually looks like he knows what he’s doing. When did he learn to play drums?
Todd is holding his old, beat up guitar and he is really playing; not fake playing like some guys do to impress girls, but really playing. WOW! There is something about a boy holding a guitar! I don't see her at first,
but Rebecca—RTS—is up on stage, too. She is singing backup and playing bass guitar. Damn her. How can I compete with that? They have a musical bond.
Just then, Todd spots me standing there with my jaw hanging open. I quickly realize how shocked I must look and try to contain myself. I do a quick chin nod toward the stage, trying to act really cool and laid back, when Shane catches my attention. "What are you doing here?" he mouths.
"What are you doing here?" I mouth back. Todd is in the middle of singing I'll Be by Edwin McCain and he sounds incredible.
"I'll be better when I’m older. I'll be the greatest fan of your life..." This is always a great song, but with Todd singing it, it takes on an entirely new meaning. When they are done with the song, Todd jumps off the stage and comes over to me. At his mere presence, I feel my cheeks burning.
"Hey, kiddo. How did you get in here?" he asks.
"I just walked in." I move my eyes in Charlie's direction. "He's not very happy." Charlie is watching my every move from the corner of the room; I swear he’s ready to pounce.
Todd smiles that amazingly crooked smile, like he is impressed. Heck, I’m impressed. All I need to do is keep channeling Blythe. "Honestly, I had to know what Shane was doing, so I followed him in here. I don't deal very well with secrets."
"Apparently," Todd agrees right as Shane comes up to join us.
I promptly punch him in the arm before laying into him. "How could you keep this a secret? I didn’t even know you could play the drums.”
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Shane isn’t bending, even now.
"Okay, I get it; you don't want anyone to know, but I do know now so what is going on?"
Shane glances at Todd as if to ask permission to tell me so Todd jumps in, "Okay, we'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone."
"Of course."
"No, seriously; not even Sid"
"Why?"
"Because I love my sister, but she has a big mouth and, if word gets out, this won't really work.”
Accidental Crush Page 3