Leaving The Friendzone

Chapter 24

Elena Sergio.

I missed Matthew. I knew I did. So bad. So very bad. I missed hearing his voice, his laugh, listening to him speak. I missed the times we had at lunch, just the two of us at our table, and sometimes our occasional mate, Dana. I missed how he always told me things about his life and the time we spent talking. And now I thought of it, I overreacted, I should never have lashed out at him. Told him what I did. That was the stupidest, but what had been done had done. And as much as I missed Matthew, I felt my actions were justified.

Why wouldn't he quit bugging me about KJ? At first, I thought he was just looking out for me and all, as my best friend, because if it were him, I'd do the same, but then it all just got too much. It was almost as if he was looking for any little thing to use against KJ. Anything little thing to pin him down and after what he said last week, I got fed up. It was all too much. At the lunch table, he'd refused to sit there because KJ was at it, and then after school, he came up to tell me some bullshit story about KJ which sounded so made up that I couldn't even stand it.

KJ talking to me was a dare? It sounded too stupid to be real. An unacceptable fact. It could be possible. No way! Besides, KJ just got here like two months ago. Why would he want to do that when he was still navigating his way around the school, more so as an international student?

It was all too much, really, and as much as I was confused, I was upset and tired as well.

Somehow, I couldn't look at KJ without wondering if Matthew had been right all along if all of Kadjiri's words, all his actions, his smiles, the kiss we shared on my front porch under the light bulb was just another lie stemming from the fact that it was a dare.

Sighing, I dug my fork into my pasta and rolled it. Why couldn't everything just be so easy and Matthew just like KJ being with me? What was he against? For goodness sake, why didn't he like KJ?

"What's up?"

I looked up from my tray, my eyes settling on KJ's brown ones.

"Huh?" I asked.

"What's up? You're quiet today, unlike other days," he said.

I was sitting with KJ for the past two weeks and after our dinner date the last two days, he invited me to join him at his table, even though the table was normally empty on some days, just like this day.

"Oh, nothing." I shook my head, not wanting to tell him I was worried about Matthew and I was upset that we didn't talk anymore.

"You sure?" KJ asked. Suddenly, he reached over and placed his hand on my free one. "You do know you can tell me anything, right?"

I gave him a tight-lipped smile. "It's fine KJ, trust me. If it was important I'd surely tell you."

It was important. It was the most important thing ever. Heck, I was about to lose my best friend of eleven years over you who I just met like two months ago. It was absolutely important.

"Alright then," KJ shrugged, letting go of my hand. "If you say so."

"Yep," I murmured and looked back at my tray. I picked at the pasta, rolled it on my fork, and stuffed it into my mouth, mentally cursing myself afterward for not bringing the lunch mom packed for me at home.

"So, how's your prom plans going?"KJ asked all of a sudden.

Chewing slowly, I looked back up at him. "Prom plans?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I mean, have you bought your dress and stuff, what plans have you made?"

"Oh." I made an O sign with my lips. Why was he asking me this? Didn't he know that I have been waiting for him for ages now? I mean, was it obvious enough that I had no one yet? What more did I have to do to make him see that and ask me out already?