MARCH 23
"You can do this," Tommy said, as I stood up. I had just finished eating my lunch, and I was going to ask Brittany out. I wasn't going to chicken out. Again.
"Yeah," Adrian added, smirking widely. "Just make sure you don't chicken out like you did yesterday."
"I didn't chicken out." Even though I did.
"Yes, you did," all four of my friends replied. And they were all laughing! Even their girlfriends - who had sat with us at lunch today; they didn't sit with us every day - were chuckling. Ty had started dating Tamara last week, and Tommy had asked Michelle out two days ago.
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, yeah. You're all real supportive. Thanks a lot," I muttered sarcastically.
Willow sighed. "Look, Stryker. I still think that you could do so much better than her, but…You'll be fine. Just go ask her out. Stop stressing yourself out about it. I'm sure she'll say yes. In fact, I'm almost positive that she will. She thinks you're pretty hot."
"Wait, she does?" That was news to me. Why hadn't Willow said something sooner? How long had she known?
She rolled her eyes. "Duh. Most girls in the school think you're hot."
Alexis, Michelle, and Tamara all nodded. "It's true," they said.
Willow smirked. "It's amazing what a girl hears in a bathroom. You guys do realize that I could give you the inside scoop on what girls thought about you, if you just asked me, right?"
Alexis chuckled. "I'm sure that thought never even crossed their minds, Willow. They're guys."
"Stryker, get over yourself and go ask her!" And with that, Willow gave the back of my legs a good kick, propelling me toward Brittany.
I sent her a glare over my shoulder. Then I took a deep breath and walked up to Brittany, who was just getting ready to leave the cafeteria with her friends. Eliza and Jennifer, I think their names were. Brittany never seemed to go anywhere without them.
"Hey, Brittany," I said. "Can I ask you something?"
She turned toward me, looking me up and down. She smiled slightly, waving for her friends to go on without her. They did, giggling and whispering to themselves as they left. "What's up, Stryker?"
I squared my shoulders and asked, "Are you seeing anybody right now?" I knew that she wasn't.
Her smile widened slightly. "I'm not. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me. This Friday. On a date."
"Yeah. Sounds good. Let me see your hand."
A little confused, I held out my right hand – the one without the medical bracelet. I was pretty sure that she knew about my diabetes, but...I didn't want to draw attention to it if she didn't. Not so soon. She pulled a pen from her purse and wrote a number on my palm. "Call me tonight, okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Okay."
She pressed a kiss to my cheek - she was only a few inches shorter than me - and then left the cafeteria.
I felt a huge grin pull at my lips. She said yes! I was hoping that this relationship would go much better than my last one.
Still grinning widely, I sat back down beside my friends.
"I told you she'd say yes," Willow stated, dunking one of her fries into ketchup. It was crazy. She had a bigger appetite than most of the guys in my group – except Tommy – but she stayed pretty thin. Part of that was because she took a run every evening. But I was pretty sure she also had a freakishly fast metabolism.
"Of course she said yes," Adrian said. "She'd be crazy not to. Just like you'd be crazy not to say yes to marrying me."
Alexis just rolled her eyes. She was used to Adrian being an idiot.
Willow snorted, not even looking at him. This was pretty much a daily routine between them. "No way. I'd rather marry Darth Vader."
I laughed. "Ooh, ouch, Adrian."
He didn't look too offended. He was never serious about any of his proposals to Willow. He just thought it was funny. I was pretty sure that if he was serious about it, Alexis would kill him. She didn't seem bothered by it. "Why do you hate me so much?" he asked, pulling his expression into one of mock pain.
"I don't hate you, Adrian. I like you as a friend, but I'd probably end up killing you if you were my husband. I don't know how your girlfriend can stand you."
"Hey, Alexis loves me. Don't you, babe?" He looked over at his girlfriend.
She shrugged. "Most days."
"Why?" Willow asked.
Adrian shrugged, grinning. "Hell if I should know."
We all laughed at that.
"What about you two?" Willow asked, looking at Tommy and Ty. "Do your girlfriends love you?" She gave Michelle and Tamara a wicked grin.
They shook their heads, even though both of their girlfriends were sitting with us.
"Way too soon for that," Ty said.
Tamara nodded. "Yeah, we're not quite there yet."
"And Michelle and I have only been dating for two days," Tommy told us. "What about you, Willow? Don't you have a crush on anyone?"
She snorted. "Like I would tell you guys. You're worse than a bunch of girls when it comes to this stuff. Seriously."
Michelle grinned slightly. "It's true, though. These guys gossip like crazy."
Adrian smirked at Willow, ignoring Michelle. "I knew it, Willow. You're secretly in love with me."
Alexis lightly punched his arm while Willow threw a fry at his face and said, "You're an idiot."
Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you're thinking of it so far! I love hearing from you guys!
