Waiting For Us [COMPLETED]

chapter 20 - tatter tots

Talia:

It's like I've grown hyper-aware overnight.

When I'm walking through the school hallways, I involuntarily search for that familiar face. The same one I admitted liking. The same one I search for for the purpose of hiding.

I don't know why I've been doing it, but for the past few days I've been ignoring Grayson Summers. Actually, I do know why: I don't want to catch any more feelings for him. And I know all that would take is for him to flash his award-winning smile in my direction. Or he could say, "Hi, Talia," in a smooth, deep voice that would awaken every single butterfly resting in my stomach. If I'm being perfectly honest, he could just look at me and I would crumble. What the fuck is happening to me?

During our shared art class, I've kept my head down and busied myself with my work, spending more time than necessary shading and outlining drawings. On Wednesday with our second art class of the week together, Grayson attempted to break the silence by sparking up a conversation. I nodded once and hummed a quick "mhm," and then, of course, continued to ignore him.

I'm a smart person, if I do say so myself; but why on Earth am I being so ridiculous over this tiny, little, teenie-weenie crush? Probably because it's not as tiny, little, teenie-weenie as I would like it to be.

"Talia!"

I glance up and Cassie is staring at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. My uneaten blueberry yogurt sits in front of me and I carelessly swirl my plastic spoon around in it. I force my head off of its resting place on my hand, sitting up straighter.

"Did you hear what I said?" Cas asks me.

It's lunch on Friday and it has officially been five days of ignoring Grayson. Cassie snaps her fingers in my face twice and anticipates my response.

"Sorry," I apologize, "I wasn't paying attention."

Cas nods her head and rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Yeah, I could tell. I was asking if Quinn and I are still coming over tonight?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll take out some butter so we can make cookies, or something." I pick up a spoonful of my yogurt and plop it back into my cup. Pushing the food away, I frown. I'm not as hungry as I thought.

My best friend stares at me through narrowed eyes, sensing something is wrong with me. Before she can ask, Quinn finally joins our table, and I'm suddenly thankful for her tardiness.

"They have tatter tots today!" Miss Sunshine exclaims, popping a piece of the fried food into her mouth. She holds out a tot in Cassie's direction while chewing her food loudly. "You want one?"

Cas pushes away Quinn's hand with a disgusted look and stabs a piece of her salad with a fork. "No, thanks."

"More for me," Quinn gleefully states, her smile never fading despite our other best friend's rudeness. I wish I could be more like her—unaffected from the negativity in the world's atmosphere.