Crush

As it was October, and the town of Hickory Falls decorates all the buildings in town, and all of the neighbors fill their yards with pumpkins and bales of hay. They’re enjoying the Fall season. 

I smiled. I love Autumn.

Most of the town knew each other. Maple Falls is quite small and hardly do we ever get any new residents around here. Which makes me wonder....what’s Luke doing here?

Though it’s none of my business and I shouldn’t care. No matter how curious and nosy I might be.

Which although, he is pretty cute. I mean...I wouldn’t ask him to the dance or anything. Because he’s not...he’s not really my type and I just don’t want to talk to anyone right now....ever since....Connor and--

I pulled into the driveway at home and got all my stuff and went on inside. Mom was decorating the house some more with some fake leaves and some small pumpkins. 

The house smelled of apple cider and pumpkin pie. With just a hint of cinnamon.

My town loves to celebrate Fall and Halloween. Fall Festivals and what-not. 

Mom adjusted a new photo frame on the wall. “Hey dear. How was school?” She asked me. 

I tossed my backpack onto the couch and slid off my shoes. “It was fine. Just like every other day.” I shrugged. “The usual. But there’s a new guy in my class.” I glanced at her. 

Mom nodded. “That’s nice,” she said, turning and walking into the kitchen. She switched the light on in the kitchen. “Did you introduce yourself?” Mom asked me.

I followed her into the kitchen and sat down at the dining table. “Yeah. He’s a nice guy. His name is Luke Moretti. I talked to him after school.” I smiled. 

Mom opened the fridgerator. “Good. Are the other kids in your class being nice to him, too? I know how some of them are....” As I watched, I assumed mom was preparing things for dinner. 

I sighed. “Yea. All the girls are drooling over him. Mallory was talking to him after school.” I rolled my eyes. 

Mom started pulling out pans and utensils. “Ah,” She smiled. “He must be a cutie.” She glanced at me. 

I looked down at my hands in my lap. “Guess so.” I muttered. “But Mallory is going to the dance with Jonah, apparently. She asked him yesterday I think.” I looked up at her.

“Well let’s just hope Jonah doesn’t get hurt. He sure is a sweetheart.” Mom said, gesturing towards me with a spatula. “She’s a cheerleader. And we both know how they are.” She told me.

I agreed. “Yea. She was talking about Luke Moretti before lunch. And she kept staring at him too.” I explained. “I didn’t tell Jonah, of course.” 

Mom sighed and shook her head as she stirred something. “She’s captain of the squad isn’t she?” She knew the answer to this.

I nodded. “Yep. Mallory thinks she can get whatever she wants. And she does.” 

“When I was a cheerleader, Sidney, I never let that get ahold of me and let it turn me into a conceited snob.” Mom said, saddened. She glanced up at me from under her bangs. “But I’m not going to say anything else. Because she’s a little girl and that isn’t right of me to say that.” 

I laughed. “Mom, you can admit she’s a arrogant, cheeky, hussy.” I flashed a smile.

Her head snapped up. “Sidney! Don’t say things like that. You know I know what ‘hussy’ means.” She scolded. 

I munched on a granola bar on my way to school and watched the rain gradually get worse. From a light sprinkle, to a pouring storm. I remembered that I had forgotten my jacket at home. 

When I pulled in, everyone were scrambling to the front doors with umbrellas and  bundled up in thick jackets. It hasn’t been this cold all year. 

I searched for Keri and Jonah’s cars and only saw Jonah’s parked across from mine. 

Perhaps she parked where I couldn’t see.i

I practically ran up to the front doors with my heavy backpack. A jam of students congested the hallways as everyone didn’t want to get rained on. 

I finally got to my locker and Tamera was waiting near it. Her arms crossed. 

Grabbing my lock and twisting the knob, I looked over at her expression. Pale with purple marks under her eyes.

“Hey...you alright?” I asked her.

She nodded, tucking her curly locks behind her ears. “Yeah.” She coughed. “I’m all good. Just didn’t sleep a lot. Hey- do you have a spare notebook I can borrow? I left mine at home...”

I opened my locker up and grabbed the notebook and handed it to her. She smiled. “Thanks.” and turned and walked off. “I’ll see you in Chem.” Tamera said over her shoulder.

I nodded and fumbled around in my locker, shoving in books and taking out old crumpled papers. Old bubblegum wrappers that I needed to throw away....

A small folded piece of purple colored paper fluttered to the floor in the hallway.

I automatically bent down to grab it and picked it up, checking to see if a name was written on it.

Nothing.

I unfolded the page and read what was inside. It was the flyer to the school dance Saturday. The title ‘Haunted Halloween Bash’ ‘Wear your costumes!’ it said in big letters.

I rolled my eyes and crunched the paper up into a ball and started to toss it into the trash bin. Students hurrying to their lockers pushed and shoved me as I ‘somehow’ got into their way.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder as I crumbled up a few old scraps of paper in my hand. I turned slowly to see who it might be, expecting it to be Jonah. 

I smiled when I saw someone else....

“What’s up?” He said sweetly, his tone soft. 

I smiled too, my throat tightening up. “Uh...not much actually.” I grabbed a book and closed my locker. “You?” I turned to face him. 

Though I was tired, I think I just got a burst of energy. My stomach began to twist into tight knots. Was this normal?

“Just avoiding the rain.” Tyler Evans smirked. He shoved his hands into his jeans’ pockets. 

Jonah’s friend. The cute one. The one with that nice brown hair and those crystal blue eyes that seemed to be the same color as the ocean in the Bahamas. Oh I need to shut up. 

I had a crush on Tyler in the fourth grade when Jonah would invite him over to hang out at my house. I liked it when Jonah invited Tyler over. 

Of course, I quickly got over that crush. Or at least I think I got over it.

I nodded. “That’s always fun.”

He nodded as well. “You know how it is.” Tyler smiled wider now. “So you got a date for the dance Saturday?” He leaned against the locker beside mine.

Oh geez. There we go with that dance stuff again. But this time, I was discussing it with my old crush. Whom didn’t know that I used to have a crush on him. I tried not to smile, or burst into laughter out of sheer excitement. 

You know that feeling when you see your crush or boyfriend and you get all excited and start giggling uncontrollably and you can’t hardly breathe? Your stomach starts to churn nervously and you feel those butterflies that make you feel weightless? That feeling when he smiles how you just wanna run up and hug them tightly and not let go? That feeling when you can’t help but smile when you’re there around them. How you laugh at everything they do? 

Just because being around them makes you happy and content.

Yeah, I don’t either. 

But I think I kinda know how that feels.  I swallowed. I don’t think I can breathe, either. “No. Uhm...I don’t.” 

Tyler flashed a smile and looked down briefly and looked back up with those liquid blue eyes. “Would you like to go with me?” He asked kindly.

He looked away, and his cheeks flushed with a light pink.

Did Tyler just blush? Mr. Tough Tyler? Who goes around acting like he’s all that? The one who seems so outgoing and charismatic? Just. Blush?

Well that’s a first. And I’m quite flattered that he’d ask me out and blush like that. 

He looked back at me.

Tyler noticed something in my expression. “Or, I mean...we could just go as friends? If you’d like?” He offered. 

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t really want to go with anyone. And I really didn’t want to go at all. All those couples dancing and being all lovey dovey. I don’t think that I could handle that right now. What with....

I shrugged. “Uh. I might go. I don’t know. I’ll let you know after school? I’ll be at the tables out front.” I told him, smiling lightly. 

I hope he doesn’t think  that was just a polite way of saying no. I would really like to go to the Halloween dance with him. It’s just that I’m not really comfortable going. Especially after what happened a few months back. It’s something that I don’t enjoy talking or thinking about. My head starts to spin and I feel like I’m going to barf. 

Was it the taste of embarrassment that still lingered on my tongue?

Tyler leaned against the ugly green lockers and smiled. “Alright. I’ll see you then. Could I maybe get your number?” He wondered, smiling.

I hesitated. My stomach squirmed it’s way into knots that it shouldn’t be capable of.  I replayed what he had just asked me inside my head and I contemplated my response. 

I wanted to give it to him. Wait. Hold that thought. No, I didn’t.

Suddenly, the bell rang, shrill and deafening. All the students scrambled to their classes and I bit my tongue. I didn’t rush like everyone else. I kept my feet planted on the ground and kept my eyes on his. His 

“Can I get it to you after school? I’m sorry, I just gotta go.” I backed away. “But I promise I’ll be out there after school.” I smiled at him. 

Tyler smirked, his playful grin. “It’s alright. I’ll see you.” He started walking in the opposite direction. I watched him as he walked away. His hands stuffed in his pockets. His funky colored shoes with the neon green shoestrings. I rolled my eyes and turned and walked off.

I got to my first class which happened to be Biology --unfortunately-- and I sat down in my seat and sat my textbook on my desk. I drew a deep breath and tried to keep my concentration on the teacher that stood in front of the giant blackboard. 

I focused my eyes on a Halloween flyer that was taped next to our teachers name on the chalkboard. 

What was I going to say? Was I going to the dance with Tyler? 

Author's Note

So, I shortened that chapters a bit. They seemed a little too long. Hope you like this chapter!
Had a blast writing it! :)