Chapter 13: Sneaking In (E)

Chapter 13

Isn’t this just great? I have to choose between the boy who's a jerk and just so happens to be my neighbor and the popular player who is actually kind. Most girls would love to be in my shoes; they’d even jump for joy at the thought of living next door to Adrian and, according to Jessie, have the popular boy have a crush on you.

Why would Jessie ask this? She’s asked me this question before and I’d always managed to get out of it. This was unnecessary and uncalled for. She’s supposed to be my best friend, the person who keeps my secrets!

Do you know that feeling you have when you’re asked a personal question and you know the answer to it but you don’t want to say it because you’ll be judged majorly on it? That’s the feeling I have right now. Everyone’s eyes were on me and I debated on dolphin diving into the fire.

Avoiding all eye contact, I pulled out my phone and let out a low whistle.

“Would you look at the time? It’s getting late and I should get home. I mean, it’s a pretty far walk.” I stood up.

“Answer the question first.” Jessie said, frowning. Instead, I glared at her.

“No.” I replied hastily before running towards the small dock. It was out of sight from the bonfire, thankfully.

When I arrived, I didn’t know what I was waiting for. Maybe it was for me to clear my head, or maybe it was for Jessie to come running over with a heartfelt apology pouring out of her mouth. Maybe I was waiting for anyone to come over and talk to me. Anyone at all. I wished I hadn’t come to this party.

I lay down on the deck at place my hands over my face. I just want to go home. Can I click my shoes together and magically appear in my room, on my bed? It was 1 already and I needed to be home in the matter of an hour. I don’t know how I’m going to get home. After Easton and I had that fight, I don’t know if I’m getting a ride home from him or whether I have to ask around.

I had the feeling that I was being watched and it was proven correct when I felt the little dock shaking. I darted up immediately, getting slightly dizzy at the quick motion but I realized that it was Easton.

“Come here to drown me?” I asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow. He glared at me for a second before he sighed and sat down beside me.

“What happened back there?” He questioned, pointing back towards the bonfire. I shrugged.

“Jessie put me on the spot and I didn’t want to be placed there.” I shrugged again, staring at my nails.

“So you ran away?” He asked, sounding amused. I glared at him before nodding and shrugging.

“Why not?” I asked, sitting with my back against the wooden bars.

“Well, did you have an answer?” He asked me. I nodded a little while shrugging. I shrug a lot.

“Why didn’t you say it?” He questioned. I burst out laughing while shaking my head. Why would I say it?

“It’s a stupid question,” I responded, crossing my legs, Indian style. “Besides, Jessie had no right to ask me that in front of all those people.” I said scowling. I then realized how short my shorts were and I quickly uncrossed my legs

“I’m pretty sure I know the answer.” He said, smirking slightly. I rolled my eyes.

“Who is it?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I was honestly curious on who he thought it was. His ego could get in the way and he could say it’s himself or he could drive me even more insane and say ‘Ethan.’

“Who would you pick?” He asked, smirking. I took a deep breath, fighting back a smirk.

“You…” I started and a smirk crept onto his face. “Don’t need to know the answer.” I continued and he glared at me. I smiled in triumph.

“Look, I’m sorry about almost drowning you. I didn’t know you couldn’t swim.” He admitted, sheepishly staring at the wood. I instantly forgave him. At least he followed me out here. Ethan and Jessie didn’t.

“What was Jessie doing when you left?” I frowned. He shrugged, furrowing his eyebrows in an attempt to remember. He scowled before answering me.

"She was talking to that idiot, Ethan.” He admitted.

“About what?” I asked, slightly confused. Why would Jessie be talking to Ethan?

“I don’t know. Do I look like Edward Cullen?” He shrugged as he glared at me.

"Why are you glaring at me?” I snapped. I didn’t do anything wrong.

“For liking that tool.” He replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked annoyed with me. I don’t think he gets the fact that I don’t like Ethan.

“I don’t like Ethan.” I breathed, exasperated.

“I feel like you do.” He challenged.

“You can feel however you want, I don’t like him.” I stated. He rolled his eyes.

“You can choose whoever you want, just know that I hear he isn’t a good kisser.” He childishly said as I rolled my eyes.

"How would you know?" I asked and he wiggled his eyebrows, making me laugh.

“What time is it?” I asked, changing the topic gladly. I saw Adrian take out his phone, obviously checking the time.

“2:25.” He answered casually as I darted up. He looked at me as if I was crazy before he realized what my freak-out was about.

“I need to get home!” I exclaimed, grabbing the purse that was by my side. I saw Adrian put his phone back into his pocket before he looked at me.

“Well, come on!” He exclaimed while he grabbed my hand and dragged me off of the dock, towards where he parked the car.

“Imagine how this must look; we entered, holding hands and walking at a steady speed, together and now we’re leaving, holding hands and looking breathless, together.” I stated as we managed to get to the car faster than I’d expected.

Although we were in a rush, he opened and closed my door for me, like a gentlemen. He ran to the driver’s side and slid into the car, maneuvering the seat belt onto himself as he started up the car. I had my seat belt on and was nervously fidgeting, ready to get screamed at by my Aunt once I arrived.

“Imagine how you’re going to look if you get home after your Aunt.” He muttered under his breath but I heard him. He pulled out of the parking space and began driving down the street, managing to stay under the speed limit.

“If I do come home later than her, I’m going to be in huge trouble. She’ll cancel all of my upcoming plans and she’ll tell my parents and you can say ‘Goodbye’ to me for a long, long time.” I said, leaning back into the seat.

“What plans did she cancel? Your PTO meeting with your Peeping Tom gang?” He snorted in amusement as I rolled my eyes at him.

“No,” I attempted to scowl but I ended up smirking. He raised a questioning eyebrow. “She’ll cancel the… ‘Hang out session’ on Friday and whatever party Jessie manages to drag me to on Saturday.” I replied, staring out of the window.

“Hang out session?” He asked, turning to look at me. I shrugged, nodding. “That sounds a lot like a date.” He said.

“It’s not.” I shrugged while shaking my head. At least, to me it wasn’t a date. I don’t know about Ethan. After we postponed our ‘Hang out session’ from Saturday to Friday, I repeatedly told him that it wasn’t a date and that we were hanging out as friends but I wasn’t sure if he thought I was serious since we were texting rather than talking. I also added a few emojis to try and lighten the mood so I wouldn’t seem like a jerk. “It’s just two friends hanging out.”

“You sound like you’re trying to reassure yourself rather than me.” Adrian snorted as he turned down a road that was approaching our street.

“No, we’re just hanging out.” I shrugged casually while I lifted my purse. As my eyes approached the drive way, I saw my Aunt getting out of the car, stumbling slightly with her heels as she turned and cursed at the ground she tripped on. In a situation where I wasn’t breaking her rules, I would’ve laughed. Heck, I would’ve taken a picture, too.

“That’s my Aunt.” I hissed, pointing out the window.

“No, I thought it was a saleswoman coming to sell you hot pockets at 2 in the morning.” He sarcastically stated. “But we have a slight problem…”

“What?” I asked, sitting up and turning towards him.

“We don’t have enough time to travel to the back, get you and myself up the ladder and get you in your room. But if we go into my house, the front lights will flicker on and she’ll see your face perfectly.” He thought aloud before his eyes lit up. “I have a plan.” He got out of the car and walked over to my side of the car. I’m not sure why, but I knew his plan was going to turn out badly.

He opened the door and before I even had a chance to stand up he lifted me up, bridal style and technically smothered by face into his chest. I heard the clacking stop as the light turned on.

“Get a room!” My Aunt joked as I felt Adrian laugh. I would’ve laughed too, like Adrian and I would do something like that, but I was using my pants as a bathroom, not literally.

“That’s what we’re doing.” Adrian joked back and I tried to bite him but he held me out a little farther. “I will reveal you to her right now.” He hissed threateningly. I quickly calmed down, forgetting about my plan to bite him.

He quickly opened the door, which I think he left open and we entered the house before my Aunt even reached the porch. Although the room was dark, I could still see the outline of most of the furniture. I saw that they had a sectional white couch. It was fabric and it matched the cream walls nicely. The tables were glass and the floor was white soft rug. They had an entertainment center and the television was huge. It didn’t even have a stand, it was like the one in my living room, and it was attached to the wall.

When we entered the kitchen, I realized that the set up was just like my house. They had dark wooden cabinets and granite counter tops. The stainless steel utensils were set up fashionably and the floor was light brown hardwood. They had a few real plants set up, giving off actual life in the room. The walls were sage green, a color that I actually liked. I knew that the next room was the dining room.

Unlike my dining room, their dining room table was small. I think that we had the same amount of people in my house but my parents constantly brought over people that they worked with for dinner so we needed more chairs and a larger table. Their table had 4 chairs and they had an extra chair in the closet that was open. The walls were blue and gave off an exciting feeling. The tables were also dark wood and the floors were dark brown hardwood. The stairs were the next obstacle.

We were quickly approaching a peach stairway when I realized he was still holding me. After he rushed through the hallway, which my eyes were still closed through because being held by someone as they race up the stairs, taking them three by three, was terrifying. We approached the familiar red room and I realized that this was the second time I’d been in here.

The window was still open and mine was too, thankfully. I quickly climbed across, with a bit of his help. I ran over to my dresser and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and yanked them on over my shorts as I heard footsteps heading up the stairs. I dived onto my bed like a dolphin, I even let out the noise that they make. I quickly opened my laptop, which I left on skillfully. I saw the doorknob turn and my Aunt’s head popped in. She saw me and smiled.

“How was it?” I asked trying to casually catch my breath as she entered my room, her heels in her hand. She slowly nodded with a smile on her face.

“It was fun. How about you?” She asked, sending my heart into overload. Did she know that I snuck out? Was she coming up here to interrogate me?

“What?” I asked, trying to sound innocent. She laughed lightly.

“How was being home alone? Did you have Jessie over?” She asked, smiling. I shook my head.

"Jessie went to the party. Although, I did run out to the store.” I smiled guiltily. At least if someone told her I went out, she would assume it was to the store.

“How? I took your keys,” She said, handing them back to me. I racked my brain before I replied. “The nearest store is 3 miles away.”

“I got a ride,” I admitted. She raised a curious brow. “From the, uh, guy next door.” I motioned to the house beside ours. I looked at my window to see Adrian sticking his thumb into the room, giving me a thumbs up. I cracked a smile and my Aunt looked at me like I was a creep.

“Why the weird smile?” She have me a curious look. I shrugged as I heard Adrian let out a snort. He's eavesdropping!

“Do you like that boy? You like that boy, don’t you! You like him! What’s his name again?” She asked. I heard muffled laughter. I refused to tell her as I glared at her.

“Adrian!” I heard from the window beside mine. A confused look crossed my Aunt’s face before she looked at my closet.

“He’s not in the closet,” I shook my head.

"That's what people with guys in their closet say!" She shouted as she raced over to my closet, yanking open the door to reveal my clothes.

“His room is right next door and he can hear everything you’re saying.” I announced and her face turned slightly pink. She looked over at the open window that I was walking to. She seemed to forget that he technically carried a girl (Me) upstairs to his bedroom.

“Well, hello.” She waved slightly. Adrian nodded his head at her. I noticed that he changed… probably with the window wide open. You missed it.

“I don’t feel comfortable knowing that my 17 year old niece’s room is next to a guy… who she has a crush on,” My Aunt teased me as I shook my head with my hand stuck to my forehead. If only she knew. She smiled at me before something registered in her mind. “Hey, is he the one that called you ugly… twice?” She asked. I saw Adrian’s eyes flash with guilt.

“Yeah.” I admitted as Adrian’s laughter died down and to be honest, he looked scared. I smirked as my Aunt’s eyes narrowed at him.

“Did you apologize?” She questioned him and he bit his lip as he shook his head. She snorted.

“Why do you like this guy?” My Aunt asked, turning towards me. She's believing her own lies!

“I don’t like him, Aunt Cherry. And I think you’ve had one too many drinks.” I grabbed her by her shoulders and dragged her away. She muttered a few colorful words before I closed the door. I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. I reached for the waistband of the sweatpants before I looked over at the window. Even though I had shorts on underneath, it still felt weird.

“Who’s the person who changes without closing the window now?” He asked me and I glared at him.

“Who’s the Peeping Tom now?” I stated as I approached the window and he smiled cheekily.

“The guy that you have a crush on.” He smiled and I rolled my eyes.

“Thank you, Easton.” I told him and he nodded his head, getting the meaning behind the ‘Thank you.’  It was both for cheering me up and helping me sneak inside and out of my house without being caught.

"Anytime, Fiona.” He replied with a small smile.

I groaned. "Don't call me that." I complained before I closed my window.

After I closed my window, I started to think about the kissing question. Even if I did like Ethan, which I don’t, I think the answer is pretty clear. He wasn’t the one to come and try and console me at my best friend’s mistake, neither did Jessie.

And although I may or may not have romantic feelings for either of the guys, what Adrian did was unnecessary because he had no part in coming up with it, but he came and talked to me- and that is the sweetest thing any boy has ever done for me. So, the answer to that question is a clear one, I would rather kiss Easton, as crazy at it may seem.