It was a beautiful day to be outside, and I was glad Avan led me out of the gloomy, raucous cafeteria and toward a picnic table. The sun was struggling to peek through the white, folding clouds, but it still showed itself enough to warm the air. We sat across from each other and made small talk. I met wondering eyes looking our way, and whispers passing by.
“Hi, Avan!” came the sweet but thoroughly fake voice that I had learned to despise. She was closing the space between us, and as soon as Avan wasn’t looking she gave me the you are so dead glare.
“Hey, what’s up,” he mumbled, barely looking up at her before returning his eyes to mine.
He didn’t seem to care much for her at the moment, but the memory of the way she touched him at the diner flooded in. My jaw clenched as she lowered herself to whisper something in his ear, softly enough that I didn’t hear it. While still close to his face, she looked at me and smiled. Watching her walk away, I tried to hide the jealousy I felt. After all, I had no claim over him.
“So, you guys don’t get along much, huh?” Avan said with a grin as he squeezed every last drip of ketchup from the packet.
“No, but that’s just Amy.” I took a packet of ketchup for myself. “Since you’re a good-looking guy, she’ll be your best friend. But for the rest of us, she’s just a huge pain in the ass. Goes into a real simmer when I don’t let her get to me, too.” Oh my God, did I just admit that I think he’s good looking?
I smiled at him and noticed the odd way he was looking at me.
“What?”
“What, what?” he repeated, shaking his head and smiling.
“Um, you were kinda staring.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. It’s just . . .”
I waited for him to continue, but he changed the subject instead. “So, are you coming to her party Friday?”
“Oh, no. Busy this weekend.” It was a big, fat lie. I was never busy on the weekends, but I wasn’t about to crash the party of my archenemy.
“That sucks. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to about something other than gossip.” He rolled his eyes.
I looked in the direction Amy had disappeared, wondering how bad it would be if I showed up. Amy and I had been really good friends all throughout middle school, but when freshmen year came around she never once spoke to me again—well, unless she had something snarky to say. It did make me a little uneasy that Avan would be going to her party, especially since there was sure to be alcohol and slutty attires. That two-faced sneak always got what she wanted.
Behind the iron gates, a figure moved. It was far away, but I saw the unmistakable green of his eyes. I gasped. It couldn’t be! With a simple blink, he was gone. Hearing things, seeing things—what was the matter with me? He wasn’t real, just a figment of my half-addled imagination. He was just a dream.
I lowered my gaze to my food. There was something going on, but what, exactly? I looked up at Avan and felt as if every fiber in me knew him. Something deep inside me recognized him. But what about the stranger with the green eyes? Something about him called to me.
You’re ridiculous, I told myself.
When lunch was almost over he piled everything onto his tray, and I watched as he walked away. The way he moved with perfect ease, the way his skin seemed to glow in the sunlight, I found myself longing for him. My insides told me to get up and kiss him right on the mouth, to show him exactly how he made me feel. But, of course, that was insane. I was not one to take risks of that magnitude. Besides, what if he didn’t return the feeling?