Matt
It was more mortifying than I could have ever anticipated, the first time that Troy and Scott started harassing me when one of the girls was present. I wasn’t sure how I had been lucky enough to skate by for nearly two years before it happened but on one blustery day, in the school cafeteria, it finally did.
Addison was sitting next to me, one long, bare leg wrapped over the other. Only she would wear a skirt to school on a bitterly, cold day in the dead of winter. At least she had the good sense to pair it with a fuzzy, white sweater. Although the rhinestones plastered all over it, I thought it could have done without. Vanessa had yet to join us because she was seeing her English teacher to contest the A- he had dared to give her on her paper. I smiled to myself at the thought. If I had received an A- on anything, I would have kept my mouth sealed shut for fear the teacher would realize that it had actually been a mistake and promptly change it to my rightfully deserved D. D for dummy; that was me. It’s what the teachers thought, it was what Troy and Scott thought, it was what everybody thought.
Addison leaned in close and I could smell her cotton candy perfume wafting up from her skin. The odor was nauseating and I scooted back to try and put some distance between us but for every two inches I moved away, she edged in by three. She lowered her voice as she continued with the story that she had been telling me. “So yea, that’s how I know for a fact that Janet Martin stuffs her bra.”
I furrowed my eyebrows together as I stared at her, unsure of why she actually thought I would care about the latest dirt on our classmates. “I’m sorry but are you mistaking me for Vanessa? I know the black that we both favor wearing might be a little confusing for your simple mind but in case you haven’t noticed,” I gestured at my chest, “I very clearly lack breasts so I can assure you, I’m not one of your gossiping hens that you seem to have misconstrued me for.”
She punched me in the arm. “You are so weird,” she said, shaking her head. “So weird and kind of a jerk too. I really do hate you.”
I smirked at her. “You love me though.”
She let out a giggle as Scott and Troy slid into the seats in the section next to us. My stomach clenched at the sight of them and I wondered what fresh hell they had in store for me today. Scott laughed obnoxiously loud as Troy blew into his straw, sending the paper wrapper sailing over to us.
Addison glared over her shoulder at them. “What the hell,” she muttered.
“Just ignore them,” I mumbled, feigning interest in picking at the cold pizza in front of me. I cleared my throat. “So…um…how do you think you did on your science test?”
She shrugged as she opened her mouth to answer but Troy’s booming voice cut across the table before she could say anything. “What type of bet do you think Addie’s got herself wrapped up in to be talking to a loser like him?”
Scott snorted. “She probably has money riding on whether or not she can make him popular by the end of the year.” I could hear the sound of them high-fiving each other as Addison slid a gaze over in my direction.
She bit her lip before quietly asking, “Are they always like this to you?”
I could feel my face burning from both rage and embarrassment. Deep breath, Matt. They’ll get what’s coming to them one day. “I’m used to it,’ I said, playing it off like it was no big deal. I took a bite out of my food, instantly regretting it as the taste of watery tomato paste filled my mouth.
Scott let out another bellowing laugh as he started up again. “Ten bucks says the dummy thinks he actually stands a chance with her even though she’s clearly way out of his league.”
Troy whipped out his wallet, tossing a twenty on the table. “Twenty says he’s already tried making a move on her but was friend-zoned.”
Scott shook his head wildly. “Not even. To be friend-zoned would imply that they’re friends and we all know that Matt is too much of a pathetic, nobody to have any of those.”
I grit my teeth. That was it. I didn’t have to sit here and listen to their insults and I certainly didn’t need the look of pity in Addie’s eyes as she stared at me, chewing on her lip. I started to get up but she reached out, tugging on the sleeve of my leather jacket for me to stay. Before I could react any further, she took her hands and placed them on either side of my face, leaning in to plant a kiss on my lips.
I held my mouth on hers for a second, too stunned to do anything except just let it happen. After a moment of her lips caressing mine, I pulled away. “What are you doing,” I muttered.
“Just go with it,” she whispered. “Put your arm around me.”
I reluctantly did as instructed while she trailed her fingertips along my other arm, letting out a giggle. “You are so handsome,” she purred, loud enough for the two of them to hear. She reached up to caress my cheek before brushing a loose piece of hair out of my eye.
Troy and Scott had grown silent but if I had to guess, they were probably staring at us slack-jawed right now. Addison gave me the faintest of smiles as she glanced up at me, a soft look reflecting in her pretty, green eyes. “Don’t ever let those guys make you feel like less than you are worth,” she said her voice low. “The only losers at this table are them.” A grin slowly spread across my face as I stared at her. I was blown away that for once somebody had shown that they actually cared about me. “What?” she asked, blinking her wide eyes at me.
I shrugged. “Nothing. I just didn’t know you cared about me that much to risk social suicide by standing up for, or should I say kissing, the class reject. ”
She tucked her silky, black hair behind one ear as she looked away. “Yea, well it doesn’t mean I’m like, fond of you or anything. I still can’t stand you half the time and think you’re totally weird the other half.”
“Uh-huh,” I said smirking at her as she stared down at her bright pink nails. Was I imaging it or did I spy the hint of a flush on the cheeks of the girl who so brazenly flirted with any guy that sported a letterman jacket without so much as a pause of hesitation or a single stammer?
***
Vanessa
I had spent half of lunch period convincing Mr. Grayson that the short story I had written should not be deducted in points because it lacked plausibility. It was well written and my grammar and punctuation were perfect. Wasn’t that what English was supposed to be all about anyways? I leaned against his desk, sliding the paper over for him to look at once more. “It’s fiction. Shouldn’t we be able to get as creative with our writing as we want? I, for one, don’t want to be told that I have to stifle my imagination to achieve good grades.”
He stared at me over the rim of his classes before letting out a long sigh. “Alright, Vanessa. I’ll give you your A+.” He took the paper, adding a line down the middle of the minus sign with a sharpie. Pleased to have finally worn him down, I practically skipped down the hall to the lunchroom. I quickly paid for my lunch before scanning the cafeteria to see where Matt and Addison were seated. I didn’t spot them right away because of the fact that they were, oh, I don’t know, sucking face! My heart dropped as I watched Addie pull away, smiling up at him and stroking his cheek with her fingers. What was going on here?
I swallowed the lump that had begun forming in my throat before storming over to the table and dropping my tray on it with a clatter. They were so engrossed in conversation that neither of them noticed that I had approached and they both shook before turning to face me. I glared at Addison as I clenched my teeth. “Addie, a word in the bathroom?”
She gulped as she slid out of her seat. “Sure,” she said, her voice shaky.
She followed me into the restroom and as soon as the door shut behind us, I whirled around to face her. “How could you,” I shouted. “Does the words best friend not mean anything to you or did I not make it clear enough when I told you that I liked Matt?”
She held up her palms. “Now, V, before you get upset, let me explain.”
I balled my fists at my side, blood rushing to my head at a dizzying speed. “I’m already upset. You are such a…a hussy!”
She clasped me on the shoulders with both of her hands as she looked me in the eye. “Ok, I’m just going to ignore that you called me that. Can you calm down for a minute so I can tell you what happened?”
I scoffed as I placed one hand on my hip. “This better be good.”
She nodded. “It is. You weren’t there but Troy and Scott were giving him so much crap; calling him a loser and saying that he had no friends. They were being really awful to him. They claimed that I was only hanging out with him because I was involved in some kind of a bet. I had to do something. Did you know that they’ve been bullying him for years?”
I could feel some of my anger deflate out of my chest as she looked at me with sorrowful eyes. “Oh. That’s actually really sad.” I couldn’t fathom how somebody as beautiful and sweet as Matt could ever be made fun of. He was perfect. “But was it necessary to kiss him,” I whispered? “Couldn’t you have just yelled at those jerks, instead?”
Sighing, I wrapped my arms around myself as I leaned against the sinks. “How is it that your lips have touched his twice now and mine haven’t even been able to touch them once?”
Addison swatted me on the arm. “They could if maybe you stopped being so chicken all the time. I promise you, he’s not that scary.” She smiled at me as the sound of a toilet flushing broke into the silence. We widened our eyes at each other.
Crap. In my fit of anger, I hadn’t even bothered to check and see if there had been any listening ears in here. I shuddered, remembering the last time a juicy piece of gossip had fallen into the wrong hands. Thanks, Quinn Spears. The stall door opened as a petite redhead in a plaid skirt emerged. She stepped in between Addison and me to wash her hands as we continued to stare at each other in horror. Maybe if we didn’t acknowledge her, she would forget that she had heard my jealous rant over Matt.
As the redhead leaned forward to primp her hair in the mirror, she gave me a sideways glance. “I can only assume that the Matt you’re talking about is Matt Jones, correct?” I didn’t answer her but knew that the flush creeping its way up my neck spoke for itself.
A slow smile spread across her face. “I thought so. Well, get in line girl. If you think you’re the only one that’s crushing on him then you are dead wrong.” She looked me up and down as I stood there awkwardly in my faded black jeans and old t-shirt that was knotted at the hip before raising an eyebrow at me. “Word of advice, if you want any chance of beating out the competition might I suggest putting a little effort into your appearance and not looking like you just rolled out of bed? Or maybe don’t,” she said shrugging her shoulders. “It will make it all the easier for me to achieve my mission of scoring a make-out session with him by the end of the school year.”
She grabbed a paper towel out of the dispenser, drying her hands on it before turning to leave. With one hand on the door, she glanced over her shoulder at us. “Thanks, Addie for the tips on how to get that done faster.”
We glanced at each other, our mouths agape as the redhead sauntered out of the restroom. Addison blew out a breath. “V, don’t listen to her. You’re Matt’s friend which means you have a leg up on any of those other girls.”
I folded my arms across my chest as I gave her a pointed look. “Yea, well so do you if you keep going around kissing him, Addison.”
She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Vanessa, please. He so does not think of me in that way. You know what he called me this morning when I took a bite out of his muffin? A food goblin. Does that sound like a guy in love to you? I’m not his type whatsoever.” She paused, tapping her chin for a moment. “Ok, well so maybe I don’t exactly know what his type is. He’s been pretty standoffish with the females around here, and the males too for that matter so it’s hard to gauge what exactly he’s attracted to but I can pretty much assure you that after seeing the look of disgust that washed over his face after I kissed him, that I am not now nor ever going to be the object of his desires. Got it?”
“I guess,” I mumbled as I kicked at a scoff mark on the tiling with the tip of my boot. However, I still wasn’t completely convinced. The truth was, I was jealous that she could just so easily kiss him like it was no big deal. I was jealous that she knew what his lips tasted like while I was left wondering if they had the flavor of salt or veered more on the side of being sweet like candy. Most of all, I was jealous that maybe there was a part of him that had secretly enjoyed locking lips with the prettiest and most popular girl in our grade.
Sensing my sadness, she came over and wrapped her hand around my shoulders. “V, if you like him that much then do something about it already. He’s not going to know you’re into him if you keep scurrying off every time he so much as breathes in your direction. It’s also not going to get his attention either. I hate to say it, but that girl was right. If you want to capture his interest, you have to do more than what you already are. I’m not saying you need to start wearing makeup or dressing in heels,” she paused to glance up at my head, flicking my waves. “Although it probably wouldn’t kill you to run a comb through your hair every now and again.”
She smiled as she stood in front of me. “If you want to be the only one to occupy his thoughts, I’ll tell you what to do.” She reached out and yanked me to her by the front of my t-shirt. “Grab him by his jacket and pull him to you just like that and then lay one on him. Don’t even second-guess yourself. Confidence is key here.” She slid her fingers through my waves. “Then, when your lips are pressed against his, I want you to run your hands through his hair. Guys love that.” She looked thoughtful for a second. “Well, maybe don’t run your fingers through his hair. He’s so damn touchy about it being perfect that it might actually only annoy him instead of turning him on. But do all the rest, stick your tongue down his throat and I guarantee he will be following you around and asking if he can carry your books for you within the week.” She gave me a mischievous grin. “How do you think I managed to get all the jocks wrapped around my finger?”
I shrugged at her as I laughed. “I don’t know. I thought it was your short skirts and your fluttering eyelashes.”
She wrapped her arm around my waist as she led me out of the bathroom. “Well, that helps too but one thing at a time for you.”
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