Away From You | Jiara

Chapter 9

Over the next couple of weeks, I haven't heard from JJ at all, but I saw (thanks to Ashley's Snapchat stories) that they were hanging out multiple times a week. I spent my free time with Eli when I wanted to smoke or just wanted company in general. It's a Friday night and we're in his room chilling. His roommate is out with his girlfriend, so we didn't have to worry about extra company. We're watching 'On My Block' on Netflix and I'm really enjoying it so far. Jamal is my favorite character so far. He's so funny and says the most off the wall things at times. I look over and see Eli is really enjoying the show as well. He's really cute with his wavy dark brown hair and brown eyes. He got blonde highlights in his hair recently and it didn't take away from his attractiveness at all. He has some tattoos on his left arm and a spider towards the middle of this chest. I only know that because I walked in on him once while he was changing. I was lowkey embarrassed, but I did my best not to reflect that on my face. From spending so much time with him lately I learned that he has an interest in anime. He mentions it in our conversations sometimes even though I have no idea what he's talking about. 

    When the episode goes off, I tell him to pause it so I can run to the restroom. When I come out, I see that he's putting shoes on. "Going somewhere?" I ask curiously.

    "Yeah, we're going out for pizza."

    "Why didn't I have a say in this?"

    "Because it's the weekend and you haven't been anywhere in a while."

    He has a point. "Okay, but only because you're buying."

    He just smiles and we make our way to his car. I never noticed his car before, but I now see that he drives a grey BMW. On the way to the pizza place we don't talk. I don't mind because he has the radio playing. Soon we pull up to this place called 'Luigi's Pizza'. It's packed but I wouldn't expect anything less on a Friday night. We walk up and he opens the door for me, such a gentleman. I spot a free booth in the back, and I hurry over before some other people can claim it. I've never been here before, so it takes me a few minutes to decide on what I want. The waitress comes over for our drink order and I get a Mountain Dew while Eli chooses Coke. I settle for a pepperoni pizza. When she comes back with our drinks, Eli puts in an order for a large pepperoni pizza. I take a sip of my drink and glance at Eli.

    "You'll love the pizza here. I come here a lot with my friends and they never disappoint." he says with a smile.

    "I couldn't tell you the last time I had pizza. My parents own a restaurant back home so me and my friends would always eat there. Mostly because I gave them free food."

    "Have you spoken to your friends since that happened?"

    "I talk to Sarah and I'm sure she keeps them all updated. JJ hasn't tried to contact me again since I ignored his calls that day."

    "You never told me exactly what happened. I mean, I have an idea but you never told me everything."

    "Um, JJ told me he liked me and I completely shut him down. I'm glad I did because he's been hanging out with that bitch Ashley ever since that happened."

    "You seemed really into him at that party."

    "I was having fun with my best friend. That's all it was."

    He looks at me for a few minutes before saying, "That's not how friends are with each other. We've been hanging out for 2 weeks and I haven't even gotten a hug yet."

    "Your point is?"

    "My point is, you and him weren't just friends. It was something more there."