Chapter 7: Crush? No way!

Funny how puberty changes everything.

I mean yeah, the sudden growth spurt is friggin' awesome, and having your voice change from squeaky to manly is pretty awesome, too. But the downside? You also get to be hormonal/horny.

This is the time when girls are full of drama and guys can't keep their libido in check. A place reeking of hormones, testosterones, pheromones and whatever stuff that ends in -ones. Oh yeah, being paranoid also seemed to be a part of the package.

Anyways, 16 is a very difficult age for everyone. This is the exact moment when everybody goes into a period of rebellion and trying a lot of dangerous stuff. Like me, for example. I go to parties, drink booze 'til I pass out, have casual sex (or not), and tried out smoking, but I never do drugs and/or marijuana and/or pot. God, I promised myself I'd never go that far. I don't want to be a disgrace in the family and ruin any chances of going to college via soccer scholarship. Period.

That aside, my status in highschool improved greatly. I am now part of the "Jocks" which belonged to the top of the social ladder, along with what the student body considers as "popular". Thank God for my awesome kick-ass soccer skills. That ultimately resulted to a lot of 'acquaintances' therefore plenty of party invitations. Here, I usually go with my best buds -Toni and Francis, or with Liz.

Liz. God, I've been wanting to avoid her for months now. Unfortunately, she can't be rid of that easily. She's also part of the popular group, thanks to her status as the best swimmer in the whole friggin' town. That meant that we share the same acquaintances as long as he/she belonged in the popular group and we almost always get invited at the same party.

The reason why I'm avoiding Liz is because I get paranoid whenever she's around. Months ago, we were walking down towards the bus stop and Liz was talking about...stuff, and then the next thing I knew, I hit myself on the bus stop sign. Goddamnit, my head hurt like shit, but then I realized the reason why I hit myself was because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I was actually staring at Liz' face. And yeah, by the time that sunk into my head, I blushed so deeply that Liz thought it was because of blood and panicked. A lot of similar stuff like that happened ever since.

Damn. Why was I staring at her face, though?

I started noticing things since I turned sixteen.

Like how Francis is slightly taller than Toni, but both guys are undoubtedly taller than me. How Ludwig, despite 2 years younger, looked like he could outgrow his brother in a few years in terms of height and body build. How the Vargas brothers react whenever someone comes into contact with their curls. The list goes on and on.

But what bothered me the most was my detailed observation regarding Gil. Like how his eyes turn violet-red when light bounces in the right angles, how he willingly does what popular people do but stayed away from drugs and marijuana and pot and generally people who deal with it, and how dedicated he is with soccer along with his teammates.

I'm also becoming increasingly aware of how often we'd have physical contact. It shouldn't bother me since we've been touching and hugging and whatnot years ago, but it does bother me. Greatly, even. Damn, sixteen does make you feel paranoid.

And I know it's just me, so I never dared telling anyone. Not even to my best gals - Bella and Mei, 'cause I know they'll start planting weird things in my brain. I honestly don't want to make things awkward with Gil, especially not after we finally patched things up the day Gilbird arrived.

My mom drilled me to be a gentleman. As a result, I've always been looking out for the only girl in my small circle of friends- coz you know, most of my close friends are guys.

At first I thought it was bothersome and now...I still find it bothersome. But at least this time I've adjusted. Things like looking after Liz when we're at a party together, waiting for her to finish her after-school activities, and driving her home safely admittedly pissed me off at first. I mean, come on, she's not a kid anymore- and she took self-defense classes with me years ago, for pete's sake! I could also tell that it pissed her off, too. But like me, she's also adjusted.

Right now, I'm doing my gentlemanly obligations. Instead of heading home immediately after soccer practice, here I was, waiting for her to finish showering. Her swimming practice and my soccer practice usually end at the same time; but Liz, being a girl and all, takes years to finish hitting off the showers. Ugh.

Footsteps echoed through the empty hallways and I looked up, only to feel annoyed.

Great. It hasn't even been five minutes and she's already surrounded by guys. Some are from the basketball team, others are from hockey and football. The swim team and soccer boys dared not to approach her after they discovered that Liz is always under my watch. Which is a definite smart move, coming from them.

And there we go-Matthias, that awesome Danish or the Viking dude, calmly approached the damned horny guys after seeing my seething look. He talked to them briefly, pointed a finger at me, and just like that- the sissies fled in terror. Good.

"You're welcome." Matthias mouthed behind the confused female.

I nodded my head in thanks as I snaked an arm on Liz' shoulder. Hmm. I'll make sure no asshole will cause trouble for that guy and his friends. I hope that that's payment enough.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked. She's referring to my thoughtful look, not the arm on her shoulder. God knows how many times I've done that.

I gave her my shit-eating grin. "Nothin'. Let's go home."

"Dude, you're getting way overprotective with Eliza."

Was what came out of my mouth after I heard Gil's report on what happened yesterday after soccer practice.

"Huh?"

Poor Gil. He's really unaware of the death glares Eliza has been sending him all day. That was the 32nd time he warded off the guys who genuinely liked her.

"Gilbert, mademoiselle is not a damsel in distress. I'm pretty sure she's starting to feel annoyed with your…overbearing antics."

"Si. Exactly as what Francis, mi amigo. Eliza can take care of herself. Besides, if you keep doing this, people might assume that you have a crush on her."

Mi amigo's albino-caused pale skin turned vivid red at that. He dropped his pizza on the floor in shock. Dios mio, what a total waste of good food.

"W-what?! Me?! Crushing on Liz?! No way! That's just gross, dude. Blegh!" Here, he gave a gaggling noise.

Francis and I shared looks-complete with the raised eyebrows and all. Vehement denial and tomato-red flush. Huh. Looks like our amigo is finally stepping into the road of amor.

Discreetly, an unhappy Francis slapped 50 bucks on my awaiting palm. I knew puberty would make them start realizing their feelings for each other. My mama always told everyone that they'd end up together. I believe in destiny and fate too, so I decided to bet with Francis.

"Fusososososo~!"

"What? What's so funny?"

Oops. I forgot we were still talking to Gilbert.

"Nothing, Gil. Lo siento. I'm sorry. Just...let Eliza be, okay? She can take care of herself."

"Oui. She needs to have a boyfriend, at least."

The glare Francis received from the Gil obviously indicated he said the wrong thing. Sigh. Oh, well.

"I just don't get why Gil's being overprotective. I mean, I appreciate the act, but it's too much."

Bella did her infamous chesire-like grin and leaned closer. Mei wasn't with us today-she called in sick because of flu-so Bella and I are the only ones in our usual table.

"Ooh, looks like somebody's got a crush on you." The Belgian girl said while pointing at Gil's table. The boys were huddled together so they didn't see her pointing at them.

I blushed, much to my horror. "What? No way. Gil's like my brother."

"Is he, really?" She probed. "And, darling, I can't blame him-you are quite a catch. Besides, why else would he sneak glances at you? Which, by the way, is pretty much obvious to everybody."

My face blushed deeper-if that was possible. I poked my lasagna then lifted my head to the boys' table. Gil was already staring at me. I was shocked, but for the sake of acting as if nothing bothered me at the moment, I gave him a small smile. He returned it, thank goodness and went back to their heated discussion.

"See?" Bella practically gushed.

I just shook my head, still unconvinced, and let her fangirl about our future 'babies'. The heck.

End of Chapter.

A/N: Sorry for the late update. I was quite busy with my life. (And my growing love life-which, after 3 years in college, I finally finally have a boyfriend! Haha!)