She glanced at her phone and contemplated on whether or not to give him a call. The gnawing guilt was really getting to her, and she could feel her pride getting ready to kick her in the gut. It was like kicking a puppy that could barely tottle down the stairs.
Did she really want to do this? Half of her screamed ‘yes’ and to press the call button, while the other half bellowed ‘no’ and just settle for salvaging their friendship.
That was another thing. Aria knew that she liked him more than a friend should.
As she grabbed her phone, she was ready to give in to one side of her conscience until her nerves got the better of her. So she ended up texting Mira instead.
***
“So, what’s up?” her best friend asked as she sipped on her sugary frappe.
They were currently in one of the trendy (but overpriced) looking cafés next to the shopping center. Thankfully, it was happy hour so they could actually afford the drinks there, but that wasn’t the point. The reason that Aria dragged her friend out after school despite the cold weather and had her drive them to an overpriced café was that she needed to talk.
“Guy problems.” Aria sighed then looked at her green tea latte. “I just don’t get it anymore.”
“What’s there to get?” Mira made a joke.
“Ugh, truth.”
“So, who is it? Adrian?”
Aria almost burnt her tongue while her cheeks flushed. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only because I know you.” Mira snorted. “Besides, I feel like you two would be cute together.”
Aria bit her lip. Would he still want to be with her after she yelled at him? She’s not exactly a girlfriend material anymore.
“What’s wrong?”
She sighed. “I told you that I yelled at him yesterday because he bumped into Evan, yeah?”
“Yea—no! Wait! What?”
“So yesterday I found out that my old neighbor, Evan, was going to be my sub for Anderson for a few days. We were catching up in the hallway when suddenly, Adrian comes barreling in between us, and ended up pushing Evan into the lockers—”
“Damn.”
“You have no idea, Mira. Evan hit the lockers hard.” Aria put a hand on her head, then leaned on the table. “Then I went off on him until Nick came, and said that it was actually his fault for pushing Adrian too hard. I feel guilty because I yelled at him but it’s their fault, and Evan could’ve seriously gotten hurt.”
“Guys are stupid.”
“Damn straight they are,” Aria vented. “I mean seriously, they had to play around in the hallway? Like, Mira, honestly.”
“Men.”
“Boys.”
Mira laughed at her antics before she replied, “Well, it’s their fault, right?”
“Yeah, I mean Evan isn’t like Adrian or Nick, he’s a lot less . . . buff so anything could hurt him,” Aria explained.
“Doesn’t sound fun.”
Aria groaned, “Which part? The part when he slammed into the lockers, or when he barely missed a group of terrified freshmen?”
“Both sound pretty sh*tty.”
“Yeah, I know!”
Mira then asked, “So besides that, you’re scared that Adrian will reject you or something?”
“Yes, exactly!”
She took a sip of her frappe again before she replied, “I think he’d understand why. Besides, he did screw around and should’ve expected this.”
“Okay.”
“As for you two dating—”
Aria leaned in closer.
“I think you have a better shot than Henry and Nancy.”
Was this the time to cheer out now or was that meant for later?
“Really?” The hope in her voice was palatable.
“Yeah, really. I guess he’s a pretty good guy.”
“Right.” Aria deflated slightly. “He is a pretty good one.”
“What’s up with that depressing tone?”
Aria took a sip of her tea and really wondered if she was going to tell Mira this, but then again, if she couldn’t then what was the point of having a best friend?
“Why would a guy like him go for someone like me?”
“That’s a pretty stupid question.”
“Wow. Thanks, Mira. Total—”
“You guys have good chemistry, and you already do half the cutesy sh*t that most couples would die for.”
She bit her lip. “But still . . .”
“What do you want me to tell you, Aria? You’re my best friend and I think you’re a pretty great person. I don’t see why someone like him wouldn’t go for someone like you.”
“But what will other people think?”
“If he didn’t go off with Olivia Howard the moment she looked at him, then I think that maybe you should give him a little more credit.”
Aria was surprised that Mira brought back the memory from Friday Night Live.
“He also doesn’t seem to be the shallow type, so you shouldn’t worry about stupid stuff like that.”
“You’re right, I’m just being stupid.”
“No, you’re not. You’re just overthinking it.”
“I know, I know . . .”
“You say that, but your actions lead me to believe otherwise.” Mira finished off her drink. “Adrian’s great and all, but he’s not all that and a bar of chocolate. He’s a hot mess whenever he gets stressed out, and he’s way too emotional sometimes. Totally not the ideal type.”
Aria laughed. “Okay, okay can we not diss the guy I like?”
Mira made a face.
“Okay, maybe not too much then?”
“How can I not? It’s my job description. As a concerned friend, I have to point out all of his flaws so you don’t overlook them,” Mira jested while she did eccentric hand gestures.
“I knew there was a reason I kept you around.”
“Pffft! Damn straight there is. Seriously, I don’t think you should worry about it too much. He probably likes you too—”
“What? Wait, what—how?” Aria went into a panic. “How do you know? Like seriously?”
Mira merely looked at her before she burst into laughter.
Chapter 17
Adrian
Adrian was slowly
