Fat Girl Problems

Fat Girl Problem 16: Double Dates Part 2

I wouldn't say I forgot that I was fat, but lately it didn't seem to be the attention grabbing aspect in my life. That's why when I saw two teen boys giving me disgusted looks, I felt sick. It was always unfair. I never asked to be like this, I never asked for attention. Yet, I always received both.

I pushed away the french fries in front of me. There was no way I'd eat with disgusted viewers watching me. No way.

"What's wrong?" Brad asked concerned.

"Nothing," I lied.

Brad continued to frown at me, so I shifted my eyes away. My eyes met Connor's briefly, and he didn't look pleased either. Thea didn't care though, but I was actually grateful for that. I didn't want anyone to notice me right now.

The date was a lot of fun so far. I didn't play much of the games, but it was still entertaining to watch Thea and Brad struggle. Connor always stuck with me for some reason too, so it wasn't lonely either. Altogether it would have been a successful date if those guys weren't giving me those looks.

"Oh! You like pizza don't you!" Brad suddenly exclaimed, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Let me buy you a slice!"

Before I could decline, Brad got up. He quickly went to Pizza Pizza and I held back a groan. I seriously wasn't hungry. My disgustion with myself being the cause of that.

"I'm going to go to Brad. I want some water," Thea said, getting up as well.

She then followed Brad, leaving Connor and I alone. I stared at the table, wondering how I would kindly reject the pizza Brad was going to buy. But then, Connor spoke up.

"Do you want me to kick their asses?"

My eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"Do you want me to kick their asses," Connor repeated, almost growling the sentence.

I stared at him, shocked by the rage that suddenly filled his eyes. It was so strange how the uninterested boy could change to this furious person in a blink of an eye. One day I really needed to ask him about his anger issues. They seemed like they would get him in big trouble one day.

I shook my head vigorously. "No, I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Connor corrected. "Look at you. You're shrinking in your own seat because of those assholes."

I shook my head more vigorously. "Connor, it's fine."

Connor's eyes seemed to slightly relax as he looked right at my blue eyes. "You don't deserve this, no one does."

I looked away, unable to look at his eyes for long. There'd been so many times that I've said that, so many that I've wished that was true. Deep down I always felt like I did deserve it though. If I didn't, why did it happen frequently?

Suddenly, I felt something warm touch my hand gently. Flinching, I yanked back my hand quickly. Looking around, I searched for whatever touched me. To my surprise it was Connor's hand. Blushing, I looked up to see a surprised looking Connor.

"Sorry," I quickly apologized, embarassed that I reacted in such a way.

Connor just shrugged and looked away. The atmosphere filled with an awkward tension, and I was thankful to see Brad and Thea return.

Brad handed me the pizza and said, "Here you go."

I quickly accepted the pizza with a quick thanks. Right now I needed something to make me feel less weirded out. Pizza seemed to be the solution.

"Quinn! Just play one last game before we leave!" exclaimed Thea, pulling my arm towards the dance floor.

I shook my head vigorously, mentally freaking out as she tried dragging me towards the dance game. She already got Connor to somehow go there, but he didn't look please by the way he stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. That made me want to play less.

"You should play with Connor," I said frantically. "He's your date and you didn't spend a lot of time with him."

Oops. Thea froze and her eyes seemed to register the fact that she didn't spend much time with her date. The truth was I didn't spent much time with mine either. Brad and Thea were more alike, they were more out-going. That was why they always played the games while Connor and I stood back. Surprisingly, I didn't mind that, but it looked like Thea did.

"You're right," she said, blinking slowly. "Um, I'll play with Connor and then you play with Brad. Alright?"

I would have disagreed, but she suddenly looked deflated. It was like all the fun aura around her had vanished with that realization. Guilt filled me as she slowly walked to where Connor stood.

They began playing the game while Brad and I watched. The dance-game involved stepping on the coloured arrows when they lit up. It seemed like a simple task, but from the way Thea squealed I realized it wasn't. Oh boy.

As they danced, I couldn't help but watch Connor. It was entertaining. He looked so serious, but it seemed like he was struggling as well. This game must be hard then.

Smiling, I clapped as I saw Thea win. She hugged Connor happily and he hugged back awkwardly. He didn't look too happy, but he was Connor.

"Your turn!" Thea exclaimed after she let go of Connor.

Taking a deep breath in, I walked to the dance game and stood at the center of the arrows. I was nervous, really nervous. If Connor and Thea struggled, then how would I survive?

"Good luck," Brad said, smiling at me.

I smiled back. "You too."

I suddenly felt bad. This was a date between us two, yet I barely spent anytime with him. Brad was such a sweet guy too. I was lucky he was even interested in me.

Brad clicked play, and I watched as arrows appeared on the screen of the TV. I knew they'd light up beneath me too, but it was better to know beforehand which arrow I needed to step on. A part of me wanted to win.

Thea began to cheer as the first arrow came. I actually got it easily along with the series of arrows that followed it. Surprisingly, this game was a lot easier than I expected.

As I stepped on an arrow after arrow with ease, Thea began to squeal in delight. She started shouting encouraging words, which made me smile. I couldn't believe I was actually doing it.

Curious, my eyes drifted to Brad and I became shocked for two reasons. One; he was kind of struggling to keep up with the incoming arrows. Two; an audience had formed around us.

I looked away, shocked by the sudden audience. All their eyes were on me and I had no idea why. Is this game that hard? I shook my head awkwardly. All these eyes were making me insecure. I honestly hated attention.

I heard them cheer as the game said thirty seconds left. I knew that was supposed to make me feel good, but it only made me incredibly nervous. As I lost focus, I tripped over my own feet and fell face forward onto the hard ground.

I lay there shocked. My face reddened completely, making the pain almost invisible. I couldn't believe it. I fell in front of ten people and probably lost the game. This couldn't be happening.

To make it worse, a boy yelled, "Timber!"

Laughter erupted around me. My face turned more red - if that was possible. This was so embarrassing. Why! Why is this happening!?

Without another word, I got up and ran out of the arcade. I didn't care if I ditched my friends, I just needed to get out of there. I just needed to be alone, at home with my fat self. This was the most embarrassing moment of my life.