Still in shock from seeing the object of his daydream standing before him, Sheen was reduced to staring at Libby with his mouth slightly open.
"Sheen, did you hear me? I said your ice cream is melting."
"Huh? Oh…" Sheen tore his eyes away from her pretty face momentarily to note that his Fudge Ripple Gut Buster was indeed turning into Fudge Ripple soup.
"Come on, Libby, let's go get a booth! We're wasting our time here with Nerdtron and his dorky friends," Cindy said briskly.
"Well excuse us for taking up your precious time, Vortex! Why the heck did you even come over here anyway?" Jimmy retorted, blue eyes flashing.
"Because..." Cindy thought quickly. "Because...Libby wanted to ask you about the English homework Miss Fowl gave us yesterday?" she stated, even though it sounded more like a question.
Libby gave her a sharp look before turning to face the brown-haired boy. "Yeah...uh, Jimmy, did Miss Fowl say that our poems have to rhyme or can they be free verse?" she asked smoothly.
"She said that it can be any kind of poem, rhyming or free verse, as long as it 'comes from the heart' and is at least three stanzas long," he replied. "Was there anything else? I'd like to get back to my sundae now, if you're done interrupting us."
Jimmy said this a bit harsher than he meant to, and the hurt expression on Cindy's face was more than enough to make him feel guilty.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just hungry and I want to finish before my ice cream starts to look like Sheen's, that's all," he said with an apologetic look.
"Whatever, Neutron." Cindy rolled her eyes, but the small smile tugging at her lips signaled to Jimmy that all was forgiven. He grinned in return, causing the blonde to fight down a blush and stare at the suddenly interesting napkin holder. "Come on, Libby, let's get a booth before all the good ones are taken," she mumbled without looking up.
With that, she walked to a booth three spots over from where the boys were and sat down, facing Jimmy of course. Libby shook her head at her best friend's behavior, but giggled as she noticed Sheen staring at her again.
"I guess I'll see you guys later then," she said with a friendly smile. "Oh, and Sheen?"
"Yeah?"
Libby leaned very close to his face, smirking when she saw his brown eyes widen at her proximity. She loved doing this, if only to see his reaction. The fact that she got to be close to him every time was an added bonus, even though she'd never admit it out loud.
"You might want to try to save what's left of your sundae," she whispered softly before straightening up, giving Sheen a wink, and strolling over to where Cindy was waiting.
Sheen blinked rapidly as he watched her go. "Man, I hate it when she does that!" he said, turning back to his friends with a frustrated look on his face.
Jimmy and Carl exchanged knowing looks again before going back to their ice cream. Sheen obviously enjoyed it whenever Libby flirted with him even though he denied it every time. The problem was that everyone in town knew how Sheen felt about her, but no one could seem to figure out whether or not Libby felt the same way.
"Ugh, who'd have thought a sundae could have so many marshmallows in it?" Carl asked ten minutes later, thoroughly stuffed. "I think I'm gonna explode."
"Well, it is called a 'Triple-Decker Marshmallow Blast' for a reason, Carl," Jimmy stated, grinning.
"Yeah, and make sure you explode that way, okay?" said Sheen, while pointing toward the door. "We don't want to get kicked out like last time." He said this last part with a slight grimace, remembering how mad Sam had been when he and Carl had the "brilliant" idea of making a model replica of the Eiffel Tower out of ice cream, chocolate sauce and empty plastic cups. It had taken them hours to clean up the mess, and Sam had banned them from the Candy Bar for a whole month.
After chatting for a while about the new Space Mutants video game coming out next month, the three boys decided to head out and catch a matinee showing of "Godzilla vs. King Kong IV". However, fate seemed to have other plans, for at that exact moment, a quarter fell out of Sheen's pocket and rolled on its edge in the opposite direction of the door.
"My quarter! You guys go on ahead, I'll be back in a sec," he said, eyes focused on which booth the coin had rolled under.
Sheen jogged over and bent down to look under the table. "There you are," he whispered, but frowned after unsuccessfully stretching his arm toward it. "Man, I can't...ugh...get to it! Guess I'll have to crawl under there..."
This task was easier said than done. Sheen was tall for his age, so it took a few moments for him to contort his lanky body under the circular booth seat and grab the coin. He was about to stand up again when he heard two voices talking in the booth next to him. Not the eavesdropping type, Sheen would've normally ignored them and walked away. He would have, that is, if he hadn't heard his name mentioned just then.
"Sheen?! Come on, Libby, how can you possibly like him? He's a hyperactive annoying dweeb, not to mention the fact that he's one of Neutron's friends!" Cindy argued, accentuating Jimmy's last name with what she hoped sounded like disgust.
"Look, girl, I don't know why I like him, but I just do! He's sweet, he's funny, and he is not annoying!" Libby shot back defensively.
A warm feeling blossomed in Sheen's chest, making him grin as he thought of Libby's words. She likes me? As in LIKE-likes me?! This is awesome! I can't wait to tell the guys! Now I can finally ask her—
Unfortunately, his excitement was cut short by Libby's next statement.
"It's just...he's so weird sometimes! I mean, he's really unique and stuff, which is what I like about him...but I guess he can be pretty immature and way too hyper." She sighed. "I just wish he wouldn't be so Sheen-ish all the time, you know what I mean? I'd like him a lot better if he was normal for a change."
"That's exactly what I'm trying to say! And that's why you shouldn't even bother with someone like Sheen. He'll just embarrass you in public and drive you crazy while he blabs on about Ultralord 24/7. Come on, Libby, don't you think it would be in everyone's best interest if you two just stayed casual friends?" Cindy questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Sheen's eyes glazed over as the lump in his throat grew, but he forced himself to listen to Libby's answer.
"...Maybe." she said quietly.
That was all he needed to hear. Libby had broken Sheen's heart with one simple word. So that's all I am to her—weird, immature and hyper. I thought she...well, I guess it doesn't really matter what I thought. She already said she doesn't like me the way I am. This depressing thought filled the boy's mind as he stealthily made his way to the exit without either of the girls noticing.
Stepping outside, the sun's rays didn't seem nearly as cheerful anymore. Sheen ran his fingers through his spiky hair a few times before noticing that Jimmy and Carl were standing next to him.
"Oh. Hey…" he mumbled, not bothering to hide his unhappiness.
"Sheen, what took you so long in there? We've been waiting forever and—" Carl started, but was cut off by Jimmy, who turned back to the taller boy with a concerned look.
"Calm down, Carl! What's wrong, Sheen?"
"Nothing. Listen, I'm just gonna head on home, okay? I'm not really feeling too good all of a sudden…must have been the sundae."
Jimmy and Carl exchanged another glance. Sheen had barely touched his sundae, but they decided not to press the matter for now.
"Um, okay then. Feel better, Sheen." said Carl, slight confusion written on his face.
"Yeah, it's cool. Go on home and get some rest. I guess we'll see you later then?" Jimmy questioned uncertainly.
"Yeah. Bye, guys."
"Bye…" they chorused, watching him walk away.
The setting sun found Sheen in the park. He didn't feel like going home yet, but going to the movies with Jimmy and Carl would have been a complete waste of time. He'd never be able to focus on the screen while the words 'I'd like him a lot better if he was normal for a change' echoed inside his head.
"I wonder what she's doing right now..." he whispered aloud, before sitting down on the cool grass and resting his head against the trunk of a giant oak tree. He exhaled through his nose and wiped furiously at his eyes, refusing to let the tears fall.
After a few more minutes of wallowing in self-pity, Sheen had had enough. He couldn't go on beating himself up like this forever, so he decided to assess the situation.
"Okay. On the one hand, I care about Libby a lot—a whole lot, which means I'd do just about anything for her. On the other hand, is it really enough to give up being myself?"
The troubled preteen stared at the orange-painted sky for what seemed like forever before coming to his decision. "I want Libby to be happy with me, even if it's not the real me, so I guess there's only one thing left to do."
With a newfound determination, Sheen stood up and broke into a fast jog, headed for Jimmy's house.
If normal is what Libby wants, then it's normal she's gonna get...
Much love to Tygrressatheart, my best buddy and beta reader. Reviews are always appreciated.