A/N: Sorry guys. I've been doing some Emma reading and I realized I've gotten a little off-track. Skipped some things I didn't mean to skip. I think I can work it out though. Just gonna have to do a little back-tracking after this chapter.
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Then I realize how weird that must sound. You're Chase Everhart, I mean. He's probably thinking, how does this girl know me? "Sorry," I start over, "You're Chase Everhart, the cousin. I'm—"
"Becka Hanson," he interrupts amusedly, "the girl-friend's best friend."
"Right," I answer, smiling and nodding slowly. Ha! He knows who I am.
Christian, who I have forgotten about for the moment, is now standing up behind me and offering a hand to Chase. "Christian," he offers, by way of introduction.
Chase shakes his hand. "Hi." It's a very civil, though somewhat tense introduction. Christian, who usually is ready to like anyone and everyone, is apparently determined to not get along with the one person I find so interesting. How annoying. How like him.
Chase continues, basically talking to me, "So, you guys can take me to West's place?"
"Sure can," I answer cheerfully. I fall in pace with Chase as we walk to his car. Christian, who appears to be suffering from a severe mood swings, is following languidly behind us, with one hand in his pocket and the other holding my Chemistry book. When we get to Chase's car, he hands it to me and says, "So seeing as we're done here, I think I'm gonna take off."
"Aw, sure you don't want to hang around, be the third wheel?" I smile roguishly.
"Oh, yeah," he says sarcastically. "No, I'll catch up with you later. We still on for tonight?"
Oh. Right. We are supposed to hit a movie or something. But I'd like to remain noncommittal, what with Chase Everhart so unexpectedly in town. Never know how plans might change. Recognizing my indecision, Christian shakes his head and rolls his eyes. "Well, give me a call. I'll be around." Then he opens the door for me and I slide into Chase's car.
"So," Chase says, once the door is shut and we're on our way. "You and Christian...?" He leaves that one off like a question.
"Oh, God no," I answer. "I mean, I've known him since forever. We're friends."
Chase lets a smile slowly spread across his face. "Good to hear," he says. Then we ride in silence for a few minutes, a comfortable silence though with the radio playing in the background. I'm examining him, as closely as I can without appearing to be examining him. He looks even better than his picture—this guy is basically the prototype for classic male attractiveness—tall, dark, you know the deal. I'm glad I blow-dried my hair this morning. I'm glad I put on eyeliner.
"So what are you doing here?" I ask, after a while. "West told me you were in Europe."
"Well, I was," Chase answers, "which was great. But it gets, you know, exhausting. So I thought I'd transfer over here and finish up the semester." He shrugs. "Maybe the year. I'm a day early, but West and Taylor know I'm coming." He has an easy way of talking, and is altogether natural. This is significant because Christian's been assuring me for the past year of so that Chase Everhart is probably shallow and boring. Not the case. I which he were here to see how wrong he is.
"Huh," I say, frowning a little. "They didn't tell me you were coming." Then, after I think about it I add, "Actually, I haven't seen much of Taylor and West lately. Things have been, you know... busy," I finish, gesturing vaguely with my hands.
Chase smiles. "Yeah, from what I hear you're like the unofficial social director on campus. Must be crazy." He's laughing at me a little, but I like that. Love it really. Actually, I generally just love being the center of attention, so anyway it comes...
When we make it to West's, I go in ahead of Chase, announcing, "Look what I found." Then the room's in an uproar for a while—You're early! When did you get here? Nice to finally meet you—Finally we settle down on the couches for some coherent conversation.
This Chase guy is brilliant. He's obviously smart, and funny, and full of all the right things to say. He is exactly the kind of person I could really get along with, just like I expected.
Another interesting thing is how everyone here knows that me and Chase, we're supposed to end up together. From where I'm sitting, that looks pretty good. It's nice knowing from the very beginning where things are headed. He ends up sitting by me, and he's talking to everyone, off course, but especially to me.
Christian shows up around five, explaining that he's bored and hungry and he knows there's always food here. West tries to introduce him to Chase, but the guys say simultaneously, "We met." So much for being civil.
"I thought you had a date tonight," West calls to Christian, who has headed into the kitchen.
"I got stood up," he says back. Then he reappears back in the living room with a box of cereal in hands.
"Christian Lewis got stood up," Taylor marvels. "Aren't there girls like begging you to go out with them? Who stood you up."
"Her," he points to me.
The room gasps collectively, in mock surprise and horror.
"What can I say?" I shrug. "I guess you always take for granted what you've got."
"Indeed," Christian grumbles, planting himself on my other side and plopping his cereal box in my lap, which I unconsciously begin to eat.
This is a very familiar situation, Christian and I being paired off like this. But today it's a little strange. A moment ago Chase and I were the center of attention, now that shifted to Christian and me. I never thought about before what would happen with me and Christian if I got a boyfriend. I guess that's something I'll have to deal with now that I've got a prospect.
But not right now. "Let's do something," I say.
"Like what?" Taylor asks.
"We could go eat," says Christian, who's got a fistful of cereal at the moment.
Then it's confusion for a couple minutes.
"All we need is Jen and we'd have the whole group," I say.
"And Elton," adds West.
"I think he has a girlfriend." Taylor.
"Do we have to always have Elton?" Me
"The more the merrier," Christian says gleefully.
I shoot him a deadly look. "Why don't we just invite the whole campus then," I grumble.
"We could invite Natalie." Taylor.
"Mmm. I want to meet her cousin." Christian. I hate him.
"Her cousin?" West.
"The model. Sophie Walker." Christian again.
Taylor says "She's here?" and Chase says "I met her in Europe" at basically the same time.
"Can't we just have Jen?" I plead.
By the time we get going, we've got the whole gang, fortunately minus Elton and his girlfriend. We decide to go to Yum Yum's, a Chinese place where we like to go with big groups. I end up driving with Christian, who I don't talk to until he says, "Oh, come on Becka. Nobody's gonna stop you from sitting by Chase Everhart."
Christian's certainly not at least. When we get there, he sits by Sophie.