Ten Years Ago | Van Nuys
“You’re doing great,” a nurse says to me from behind a laptop, “just a couple more minutes.”
It’s my senior year of high school and the first event our school has for the spring semester is a blood drive. To be honest, I didn’t want to do this. It’s not like I’m afraid of needles or the sight of blood, but I much rather be doing something other than lay on a bed for 10 minutes to have my blood drawn. It does, however, beat having to do a quiz for Ms. Dashkov’s pre-calculus class which I totally… didn’t study for. The nurse tells me I’m a candidate for plasma donation rather than just donating blood and asks if I was willing to donate that instead. It’s a longer process, but anything to make the time pass by so I don’t have to go back to class sooner.
I firmly squeeze the red ball that was given to me by the nurse to draw more blood out. I look down at my forearm and see the tube pull the blood from my veins into the machine; the whirring sound is almost calming as it separates the plasma from my blood. I stare up at the gym ceiling, my eyes creating a path with the beams that are holding it up. I squint every time my eyes pass a light fixture and I finally land on a basketball wedged between two beams. I giggle thinking about how long that ball has been up there and how did even get wedged in the first place.
“And we’re done!” the nurse happily declared. Thank God, because my ass was already starting to go numb. I hop off the bed and exit the canopy; the nurse thanks me for donating before taking in her next victim. I grab two bags of chips and a bottle of water from the snack station nearby and make my way to the bleachers where other students are hanging out. The best part of blood drives is the free food.
As I sit in silence, struggling to open this bag of chips, I overhear laughter to my right. I glance over and I spot my friends Jacob and Katelyn hanging out with a small group of people while a photographer takes photos. I would go over to say hi to Jacob and Kate, but social anxiety gets the better of me and I absolutely will make a fool of myself in front of total strangers. I hate that about myself. Christ, I’m already a senior! You would think a little self-confidence would’ve kicked in by now, but years of bullying since middle school have single-handedly beaten me down to a tiny, shriveled mess. I guess I’ll try my luck in college.
I notice Jacob pulling some dance moves which makes me wish I had half the amount of dance talent that he has. But then I notice someone hyping him up and dancing with him. A Korean boy who is a little taller than Jacob, but not as tall as I am. His dancing is… terrible, but he makes up for it with charisma and a cute cheesy smile that makes his eyes look like they’re squinting. I couldn’t help but snicker. His boyish bangs sway as he tries to imitate Jacob’s dancing. He kind of looks like a K-pop star with the way he’s dressed. We suddenly lock eyes for a split moment. He shoots a smile at me, and my heart begins to pound as butterflies start to form in my stomach. I look down nervously, trying to hide that my cheeks are now cherry red. That’s when I heard Jacob calling my name.
“Jace!” Jacob calls out, “What are you doing there by yourself?! Get over here!”
I wince at the realization that I’ve been caught. I make my way over to them, my stomach churning over the thought of having to introduce myself and not look like a complete donkey while doing it. And then… I trip over my untied shoelace. Fucking brilliant. Jacob helps me get up as I brush the dust off my shirt.
“Well, that was graceful,” Jacob laughs.
“Oh, you know me,” I stutter with embarrassment, “I like to make an entrance.”
We both make our way over to the group and Kate asks if I was okay. I respond with a shrug and an awkward smile. She introduces me to Franklin, a tall lanky Chinese boy. He’s kind of cute with his crooked jaw and overalls giving him a sort of rugged charm. He shifts awkwardly away from me which I did not expect, but then he smiled and extended his hand for me to shake.
“Are you glad we didn’t have to take Dashkov’s quiz today?” Jacob asks.
“You kidding? I would donate more blood just to miss her class every day!” I joke. Jacob and I are in the same period for Math class. We weren’t friends at first but after we helped each other cheat on one of her tests, we were practically inseparable. I sometimes help him study after school, and he helps me get into better shape at the gym. To be honest, he’s one of the hottest guys I’ve ever become friends with. His incredibly fit physique is honestly a sight to behold. I remember distinctly getting a raging boner after eyeing his abs and bulge in the locker room at the gym. If he wasn’t straight and in a committed relationship and if I wasn’t in the closet, we could’ve explored each other at one point in this friendship. God, I need to get laid.
“I know, dude,” Jacob responds, reminding me that he’s a straight boy, “But, not Andrew here. He has her for sixth period.”
I peer over to see the Korean boy texting on his phone. I honestly forgot he was even in this group, but maybe that’s because I suffered a concussion on my little stumble and lost my eyesight. Or maybe it’s because I’m doing my absolute best to not freak out over how handsome this boy is up close.
“Shut up, bro!” He laughs, finally looking up from his phone, “I don’t need to be reminded.”
We lock eyes again and my heart stops. He’s so pretty, like really pretty. I study his face, admiring his perfectly smooth light brown skin and luscious pink lips. His eyebrows are untamed and full like two furry caterpillars, the only feature that seems to not match the rest of his face. I notice that he has a single piercing on his right ear: a small gold hoop earring. He clears his throat to catch Jacob’s attention. Jacob looks over, his eyes widening.
“Oh shit! That’s right,” Jacob exclaims, “You and Andrew have never met.”
“It’s cool,” I reply nervously, “Uh, hi! I’m Jace.”
I extend my hand and Andrew shakes it; his hands are warm and soft like he hasn’t worked a day in his life. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Andrew says, which confuses me.
“You… know me?” I ask, “What has Jacob told you?”
“No, not from this guy,” He giggles, “You’re May’s older brother, right?”
“Yeah, how do you know her?”
“She’s friends with my cousin, Sarah. Kind of a weird girl.”
“Yeah, well it kind of runs in the family,” I reply, “Not that I’m weird. I mean, I don’t think I’m weird. No, I’m not weird. Perfectly normal.”
I hate myself. Andrew laughs, “Okay, perfectly normal. Got it.”
His smile kills me, but I smile back with the hope that he doesn’t find me any weirder than my sister. We all continue to mingle and joke with each other as I get to know more about Franklin and Andrew. A photographer from the yearbook club walks by and asks all of us for a group photo. We all squeeze in together: Franklin and Kate squat on the floor while Andrew stands in the middle between Jacob and I.
“This is looking great!” the photographer shouts, “Do you think I can have you three squeeze in a little tighter?”
The three of us standing do our best to try and bunch up. Andrew wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me down closer to his face, practically touching cheeks. My heart flutters as I try to concentrate on smiling for the camera. The photographer takes a few snaps and then shows us the results.
“As always, Andrew is the cutest one,” Kate states in an almost begrudging tone.
“Exactly!” Franklin chimes in, “Why do you think he put himself in the middle?!”
“Nah, you guys quit it,” Andrew replies, “I don’t look that good.”
“What do you mean?!” Franklin opposes, “Stop lying to yourself.”
“I think you look great,” I finally remark.
“You think so?” Andrew asks with the most adorable pout. I don’t know if he knows what he’s doing, but I’m about ten seconds away from passing out over how cute he is.
“Yeah. I mean, you look a lot better than me in the photo.” I reply.
Andrew smiles, “Well, I think you look better than me in the photo, cutie.”
My heart drops to my stomach and I instantly blush. Did… did he just call me cutie? I scan around, trying to see if any of the others picked up on what he just said but they don’t look like they’ve noticed. Have I officially gone insane? I know I heard that, but Andrew doesn’t seem to be phased by calling me cutie. Is he gay? Or is he just trying to be funny? Either way, my heart is pounding, and I can’t seem to calm my nerves. I know I just met the guy, but I can’t help but feel gravitated toward him. Like I need to do everything in my power to get to know him, to be friends with him, to… He called me “cutie.”
Cutie.
I am cutie.
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