Alan x Carl ~The Hookup~

Chapter Four: Alan

School was a blur. It's already 5th period and I haven't been able to focus on anything. Peoples words are just noise and new information in class is just work. That moment keeps replaying in my head. Over and over I've gone through what happened and I still can't understand it. We were beside each other, then Carl changed, then I changed, then he looked at me, and then things got weird. Why am I even obsessing over this? It's not like it means anything. Maybe he was just embarrassed from looking at me while I changed? It doesn't matter right now. I need to focus on math, not some stupid moment in PE. The math room I'm in is the epitome of boring. The desks are in groups and the walls are plain white. The teachers desk sits in the corner with a cup of pens and a couple framed photos. The room is empty except for the kids filling it. The loudest voice recognizable follows me in almost all of my classes. It's currently coming from the corner of the room farthest from me and fluctuates every now and then as the person turns their head. They once again make some joke and everyone laughs. His snickers become louder as I catch him turning his gaze toward me. Why does he keep doing that? Carl quickly glances in another direction before settling back on his buddies beside him. The teacher gives a sudden shush while staring at Carl. His friends quiet down but Carl continues talking like nothing happened. The bell interrupts my people watching and I realize I still have all of my things on my desk. I stay behind in the classroom as the next period of kids begin flowing into the room. Most of them I know but some are new faces. After getting everything in my bag, I get up to leave. I'm about to go when a girl I know named Alli walks up to me with a smile and a square piece of paper. She hands it to me and states, "This is from me. Wait to read it until you're in your next class if that's cool with you?" I stare at her for a moment puzzled by why she would be giving this to me before I realize why her cheeks are so red. I immediately smile and nod before taking the paper from her hand and leaving the room. This day continues to surprise me. In my next class, I plop into my desk and hurriedly open the note. In pen scribbled on the paper reads "I like you. Wanna get coffee or something sometime?"
Alli has always been cute. She's had her share of boyfriends but that doesn't bother me. She's a mothers definition of a perfect girlfriend. She does well in school and always dresses up. She has long brown hair with bangs and almost green eyes. Light freckles dot her small nose. She has a soft voice that compliments her light and reserved personality. I can't think of a time where she's gotten in trouble for anything bigger than a tardy. She's in my world history class along with AP chemistry. We've had classes together almost every year of school so I've gotten to know her at least a little. I don't see why I couldn't get to know her a little better. I still can't focus except this class I'm not thinking about Carl, I'm thinking about Alli's note. Class passes in a rush followed by a dying bell to signal passing period. I almost jump out of my seat to find Alli in the hall. After about a minute of wandering through crowds, I find her standing by the door of my last class. "Hey um, yeah, I think it would be pretty cool if we did get drinks or something" I embarrassingly mumble to her.
She looks around the hall then back to me and says, "Really? Oh ok what days are you free this week? If you're not free it's totally fine."
"I'm actually free tonight if you are?" I guessingly say as I turn toward her. Her hair is pulled into a messy low bun at the nape of her neck. I notice she's wearing a blue flowery dress with a white long sleeve layered under it. She's wearing the white converse she always does. I look back up to her waiting for an answer.
"Yeah yeah that works for me. What time were you thinking?" She says with a blush.
"Would you just want to meet up right after school at Starbucks or something?" I reply awkwardly.
She shifts her position before responding. "Oh yeah that sounds just fine. So... it's a date?" She lightly giggles and gives me a bright smile. I grin right back at her as my face begins to heat up. Now that I'm really looking at her, she is quite cute. She steps to the side then turns on one foot like a ballerina before dashing away to whatever class she has next.
  ***
My bed has never felt more alien to me. My wet shower hair is soaking my pillow and the scent of body wash and shampoo are raging out of the bathroom. Butterflies are still plaguing me with uneasy feelings. Flashes of the evening enter and exit my head like bees from a hive. I remember Alli's adorable smile and the sounds of low voices filling the empty air. The smell of coffee and cafe foods were pleasantly strong. Simple conversation lead into getting-to-know-you questions and what I thought would be a short hangout turned into 3 hours of talking about my favorite fandoms and listening to why Star Wars is overrated. It honestly couldn't have gone better. Before I left, Alli and I scheduled another day to hangout this Friday.
Now all I can think about is getting to know her more. I never knew how similar we were before today. All of the commotion pulls me into a deep and peaceful sleep that I haven't been able to experience since the beginning of summer.