Young Hearts: A teenage romance short story

04 | The Deal

"Caitlin!" Jane found me in the kitchen. She was happy to see me but turned sour when she saw Michelle.

Michelle whispered, "Don't tell anyone about this," and walked away like nothing happened.

"What was that about?" Jane's voice was filled with concern. She obviously didn't like the girl.

"Nothing." I said.

"Not a fan of her. She totally flirts with Jason and she was already rejected once! But she doesn't learn her lesson," she shook her head.

Great. A secret that's not so secret.

"Jason rejected her?"

"Of course he did! Jason likes someone else," Jane grinned.

"D'you know who?" My curiosity was piqued.

She shook her head. "He doesn't want to reveal who. He's secretive, that boy." She held my hand. "Anyway, someone is looking for you." She pulled me out to the living room.

Why was everyone dragging me everywhere?

"Lucy! Here she is," Jane said and introduced me to an older girl. "This is Lucy, Daniel's sister, she's three years older than us. Lucy, this is Caitlin."

Lucy smiled and studied my face. She has the same bright brown eyes like Daniel, also fair-skinned and has a pointy nose. She has a longer face, while Daniel is more round-faced. They have the same smile. "Finally... It's nice to meet you," she offered her hand.

I shook it and asked, "What do you mean when you said finally? And it's nice to meet you, too."

She smiled again, "Finally... I met the girl whom my brother is so interested in. You are someone he talks a lot about." Her statement created a lot more follow up questions in my head but I couldn't get myself to say them out loud. She noticed my confusion so she linked her arm to mine and pulled me up the stairs and into a bedroom. Jane followed.

These girls liked moving me from one place to another. I didn't even have time to go to the bathroom for some me-time before another girl encounter.

She sat me on the bed and said, "I'll make a deal with you." 

Jane seemed excited, she bounced around and bit her lip trying to prevent herself from spilling the beans ahead of Lucy.

These two are up to no good.

"What deal?"

"Let's see if you and Daniel are meant to be together." Her eyes twinkled.

"Are you a fortune teller?" I asked.

Her laugh sounded so pleasing. "No. I just thought I will make a deal with you based on what we'll call signs... and if they all happen in a span of, let's say, two weeks... You and Daniel should date because—"

"We are not doing that." I said flatly.

"W-why?" Jane whined looking like I let her down. "This can be interesting!"

"First, I am not allowed to date at my age, it's too early for that. Second, I cannot be distracted from my studies. Third, why will you even force your brother to date me?" I believed older girls are more matured, turned out I was wrong.

Lucy bowed her head, "I am actually helping him, not sabotaging him."

"How does this help him?"

"Because he likes you but he still doesn't have the courage to confess. This is why I was assuming that if a few signs happen, that would be an indication that the two of you are meant to be together!" She perked up after explaining, she thought it was the best idea in the world.