The Beginner's Guide to Henry and Gabriella

| 33 | i know i'm gonna be with you

Gabriella's POV

XAVIER ARRIVES HOME Friday morning when Carlitos, Mom, and I are eating breakfast. As soon as he opens the door, Carlitos jumps into Xavier's open arms. Mom immediately grills him about Daniel's whereabouts before insisting on serving him a plate of slightly burnt pancakes and overcooked eggs.

"Where are the twins?" Xavier asks, dabbling a dirty, balled-up napkin over his mouth. All remnants of food disappeared from his plate in less than five minutes. You'd think he was deprived of food for months.

"Dad dropped them off at daycare," I respond, disappearing momentarily into the living room to grab my backpack. "Which means you have the honor of driving me to school today."

He doesn't complain. Instead, he pulls out a set of keys from his pocket, jingling them in the air. "You want to drive?"

My mouth widens in excitement as I unhesitantly snatch the car keys from his hands. "Yes—" But the excitement is short-lived.

"No, she will not," my mom chuckles humorlessly, taking away the keys and throwing them back to its owner.

My shoulders deflate in disappointment.

"C'mon, Carlitos," mom beckons. She shoots Xavier and me one last look before treading out the door. "I'll see you both later. Don't forget to wish your Dad good luck before the game."

"I would if he'd stop acting like a petulant 8-year-old and speak to me," I muttered through gritted teeth.

Dad sure kept up his annoying rouse on giving me the silent treatment all the way into his car this morning. For how long will he continue? Who knows.

"Maybe don't skip school next time with his star player," Mom shouts back. "Los amo. Bye."

ON THE DRIVE to school, cars honk at each other on the street. Some stick their heads out the car window, obnoxiously cheering Redbridge's mascot's name. Even local cafes, antique shops, and thrift shops garnish their windows with white and green streamers. It was like a parade vomited all over town. All this for a high school basketball game.

"Dad called me a few days ago," Xavier reveals, filling in the silence. "He sounded scarier over the phone than that day he found out we hid a stray cat in your closet for three months."

I softly chuckled at the memory. "Mew Mew." Pause. "I think he's more pissed off that I left with Henry and he had to bench him. Kind of ruined the first win of the season."

"He was worried about you."

"I know. Henry said the same thing."

There's a loud thought circling Xavier's head, and I'm not taken aback when he asks, "So, is he your boyfriend now?"

I hold back a blush. Boyfriend and Henry were the last words I thought I'd hear at the beginning of the school year. "He asked me to homecoming, and I said yes."

Xavier responds with a smile. The kind that means 'I'm happy for you.'

"I kind of owe it all to you for forcing me to confront my feelings," I admit shyly.

He shook his head in mild disapproval. "I didn't force you. You decided all on your own that you were ready to move on and start something new."

"Relax, Troy."

He ignores my comment. "I'm serious. It's a huge step after everything you went through."

Something about Xavier's last thought renders me quiet for the rest of the drive. In a good way, though. A great way, in fact. I am ready to be someone's girlfriend. To be Henry's girlfriend. I'm ready to let myself fall in love, to fight over petty things like not knowing where to dine out or what movie to watch. I'm ready to know what makes Henry genuinely happy. The kind of happiness that makes his eyes crinkle from smiling or laughing too hard. The kind of happiness that he wants to share with me. If he asks me tonight to be exclusive, I'm ready to say yes.