Hating Grayson ✓

19

"Dallas?" Cody's voice pulled me out of my own thoughts.

I had been thinking about the dream I had last night. Well, I shouldn't say 'dream', it was more like a nightmare. In it, I was lying in my bed watching tv when Grayson entered my room without knocking. He was wearing a singlet and sweatpants, and it looked as if he had just been working out? Like he had just ran here? His hair was slick with what I can only assume is either sweat or rainwater, and he was out of breath when all of a sudden, he pulled off his singlet and approached me. What is he doing? I remembered thinking. His face leaned down towards mine, and before his lips could connect with mine, I woke up with panted breaths and a racing heartbeat, grimacing.

"Huh?" I raised my eyebrows at him as he was seated across from me eating his lunch.

"Are you going?" He asked.

"Going where?" I wondered, no clue as to what he was going on about.

"To the Senior/Junior camping trip!" Hannah chimed in from beside me. Her perfume was making me want to sneeze.

Camping?

"Yeah, no thanks. Camping sounds horrible." I gave my honest opinion.

"I agree with Dal." Lucy added.

"Please come, it will be so fun!" Hannah begged.

"Yeah, don't be those boring people who just stay home and binge watch Netflix while eating their feelings." Cody says.

"Please, you know for a fact that you just described yourself to a T." Phillip tells Cody.

It was true.

"I admit that I love Netflix, and eating my feelings, but at least I'm going on the trip." He takes a loud bite of a carrot.

"What even happens on these camp trips?" I asked.

"It's a few days at this cool campsite, we go fishing, swimming, kayaking, and a bunch a fun stuff. In other words, it's a few days off school and it's fun." Cody gave a summary.

"Without internet and cell phone reception, how fun!" Lucy says with a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, I don't know about you guys, but I can't survive without the internet." I say dramatically.

"Ooh, while you guys are camping, Dallas and I can throw a party for two!" Lucy smiled.

"You're both boring." Hannah groaned.

"So, how was Jake?" Phillip asked us.

"He seemed okay, still upset though." Hannah answered. "I feel so sorry for him, and I hate Alicia so much for hurting him. I can't believe her! Jake is like, the best guy ever. He's kind, and way better than any stupid senior."

"Uh, you have a little drool on your chin." Lucy says.

"Wait, do you like Jake?" Phillip wondered, looking Hannah in the eyes.

"No!" Hannah shouted loud enough for everyone around us to hear.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Lucy says.

"Awww, Hannah likes Jake." Cody sings, just loud enough for us to hear.

Hannah's face turned red with embarrassment. "Shut up!" She warned us.

"I still can't believe you guys had pot brownies and never invited me." Cody frowned, changing the subject.

"Maybe next time?" I laughed.

As we each got up at the sound of the bell and walked to our classes, my mind went back to my dream (nightmare). What does it even mean to have a dream like that? It's not like I was attracted to Grayson... was I? Sure, he didn't seem so bad on the outside. He looked as if he could be a model, and even I can admit that he may just be one of the most good looking guys at school. That doesn't mean that I am attracted to him. He had a crappy personality, and every single time that he's in a close vicinity to me I want to reach for the nearest, sharpest thing and use it to poke my eyeballs out of their sockets.

I sat down in class and prepared myself for a long period of mathematics: also known as my least favorite subject. Here's an equation for you....

Me + Maths = shoot me in the face.

That afternoon when school had ended, My friends and I hung out at Phillip's house. The basement was turned into his own personal den, which was sick. He had table tennis, a pool table, and he even had a seventy five inch tv hung on the wall that was connected to the latest PlayStation. It had been a while since we had all hung out here.

"So, have you decided if you're coming on the trip?" Cody asked me whilst everyone else were playing games.

Lucy and Phillip were versing each other at a game of pool, while Hannah and Jake were racing each other on MarioKart; Hannah was winning. Cody and I on the other hand were seated on the couch.

"I don't know." Was my answer.

"Shoot, I almost forgot!" Hannah says from her place on the floor. She paused the game, to which Jake protested against, and then she turned to face me. "Do you remember Deja?"

Huh?

Was this some bad attempted to make a Deja Vu joke or something?

"What?" I could feel my eyebrows knit together.

"Deja? From school."

Oh, Deja.

"Uh, yeah I think so... why?"

"Okay, so she totally asked me today if you were dating anyone." Hannah tells me.

"Oooh, Deja likes Dallas?" Phillip cooed from his place by the pool table.

"Really?" Was my response.

"Yeah, I totally think she wants to ask you out."

The thought of her asking me out made my heart drop an inch. I have never been in a relationship before, nor have I ever been asked out.

"I already ship it." Cody says, nudging me with his elbow.

"Cody, ever the romantic." Lucy says.

Jake laughed. "You going to say yes if she asks you out?" Jake asked me.

No.

"Well, I don't want to be rude to her." I answered instead.

"Oh my god, how cute will they be together?" Hannah returned to her game.

I don't have a single clue on how to date someone. Maybe this would be a good idea, maybe I could use this as a chance to see if I like girls? What am I saying, of course I like girls... don't I? And besides, that would just be mean, using her to further figure out my sexuality?

I have no idea what I'm going to do.

"We should order some pizza." Cody suggests.

"Oooh, yes please!" Jake said, tensing his entire body as he turned a corner on the game.

"Pizza party!" Lucy called from the other side of the room where the pool table was.

Pizza sounded good.

After getting pizza and hanging around for another hour, Cody and I headed on home. He had a car and he lived the closest to me, so it only made sense that he'd be the one to drive me home.

"So, are you going to say yes to Deja?" He wondered. "If she asks you out?"

I thought on it for a moment. "Uh, I don't know. Should I?"

Cody parked the car in my driveway and turned the engine off. "I.. I don't want you to date her." His voice is soft and quiet.

"Oh, do you like her? I won't say yes if you like her."

His gaze is averted, his hands clamped together in his lap as he inhaled a sharp breath. "I don't like her...."

"Oh, okay. Then why don't you want me to date her?"

His hands unclamped and he wiped each of his palms against his pants. "Because...."

He turned and looked me in the eyes, the street lights glowing against the left side of his face as he exhaled, his breath quivering.

"Because, I like you..."