Indecisive Heart

Chapter 16

Back at school, I looked for Finn, but he never came near me. He didn't sit at lunch with us, and the only times I saw him were when he walked past me without looking. He seemed miserable, he almost didn't even look like Finn. It made me really upset that he was ignoring me. I did nothing but try to make him feel better, and he's mad at me for it? I don't know what to do about it. It's all just really upsetting.

In English class I saw Asher, who sits right behind me. He gave me a kind smile as he walked in. Then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and he was leaning over his desk. I moved in closer to hear what he had to say. We were so close I could smell him. He smells like a breath of fresh air.

"How are you doing today?" He whispered. "With the whole... Finn thing." He continued. "Not that great. He won't talk to me, it's pretty upsetting. I don't know what to do."

Asher gave me a sad look and said "Give him some space, he'll come around." He gave me a reassuring nod, and sat back in his seat, his fluffy brown hair bouncing as he leaned back.

I turned back around in my seat and felt a little better. It was nice to have someone check in on me. I hadn't told Rory what happened between Finn and I because I didn't want her to get upset after she had been encouraging me to go after him. She just thinks he's avoiding us because he's sad or embarrassed about losing the game. Which may partially be true, but he's probably also avoiding me because of our fight. Even though I don't think I did anything wrong.

Having Asher there was really nice. He didn't judge me, he just made me feel better, and now he's checking up on me and he barely even knows me.

—

Finn has been avoiding me all week, and it is now Friday. Asher has been checking with me every day this week to see how I'm doing, which is nice. We don't talk for long, though, because we have class and then after class Gia whisks him away to do whatever it is Gia makes him do. Poor guy.

Today was different, though. Today in English class, he asked me the same thing he's been asking me all week.

"How are you today?"

And I respond the same way I've been responding all week. "Not great. He's still avoiding me."

But, Asher's response after that was different. Today he responded to that with "Still? What is up with this guy?" He almost seemed ticked off at Finn now for avoiding me for so long. I don't know why that would tick Asher off more than it would tick me off, but he seemed pretty mad anyways.

"I don't know, I really don't know. I mean what did I do wrong?" I asked him. "Nothing!" Asher responded, sounding a little angry. Then he let out a long, frustrated sigh, and class started so our conversation ended.

At the end of the day, something rather unexpected happened. Asher, tall and handsome, appeared at my locker.

"Hey." He started. "What are you doing after school?" He asked me.

"Umm, nothing really. Probably just homework, why?"

He held up his camera. "Want to go to the park with me?"

I looked around wondering if anyone was seeing this revolutionary moment. Asher, AKA Pretzel Boy, the boy I've been pining over for months, was asking ME to do something with him. Not like it was a date or anything, but still.

"Sure, I'll go to the park with you, but why the park?" I was curious. "We're going to cheer you up." He said, with a smirk on his face.

He drove me to the park in his car, and when he got there, he brought us over to a bench in a pretty busy area, where a lot of people pass by.