How To Forget Your Crush

Step 20-Ask him

S­tep 20-Ask him

Anxiety colored my mind as we got nearer to the venue of the prom. This year the committee chose to hold the prom at the park. They put on a pavilion to shield us from the weather and other things.

                "Hey, just relax Joanne," Gavin said then chuckled. "You look great, don't worry." His tone was serious and sincere, which made me blush. After he parked the car, he reached for my hand and held it. I looked at him, and he looked back at me. I felt my blood rise to my cheeks. "You look so beautiful, Joanne. And I mean it," he said. I blushed harder; not because of his words, but because of how he looked me in the eyes when he said that.

                For a moment, my gaze went to our intertwined hands. "Th-thank you," I stammered, "y-you look handsome too." I heard him chuckle before he squeezed my hand then pulled away. He went outside then opened the door for me.

                I got out of the car then slung my arms to his, and walked to the pavilion.

The first thing I tried to do was to find Rebecca and June. It didn't take long for me to find them. Rebecca was talking to Gabriel. Gabriel leaned and whispered something to her. I noticed her cheeks redden.             

June, on the other hand, was dancing with Troy. She looked so happy with Troy. But if Troy did something to my friend I would personally break his face. I didn't get this Taekwondo blue belt for nothing.

Gavin tugged me and motioned towards the dance floor. I smiled and nodded.

After three or four songs, I saw Stacey enter the pavilion. As usual, she looked stunning and out shone every girl in the pavilion. She wore a beautiful white dress, red heels, and a necklace that had a heart-shaped pendant. I met her eyes. I smiled, and she smiled also, but just a quick smile.

"Let's go eat something," I told Gavin after a song finished. He grinned and nodded.

We went to the buffet table and grabbed some food, then settled down at a nearby table. We talked, laughed, and ate. After that, I excused myself to freshen up. They had set up a tent where girls could retouch.

After doing some powdering up, I went outside. That was when I saw Logan leaning on a tree. There was a negative vibe that clung around him. Instinct took over me so I walked towards him. "Hey," I greeted.

"Hey," he replied, but there was no hint of happiness in his tone. He looked at me. "Why are you here?"  There was no implication that he did not want company, instead there was curiosity in his voice.

I gave him a tight smile and walked closer to him. "Just taking a break. How 'bout you?" His body tensed and his gaze dropped down. I felt I was intruding, which was technically true. "Oh, I'm sorry if I'm prying. I'll just—"

"No. It's okay." He took a sip from the cup he was holding. Somehow the dark mood around him was slightly lifted. "So...how are you and Gavin?"

I just shrug. "We're okay. How 'bout you and Stacey?" Oh, how I regretted asking that. I forgot, that was a touchy subject for him.

The tension that was slightly lifted earlier returned in the air. "She dumped me," he confessed.

I was taken aback by his words.  So that was what Stacey meant by letting go.  "Oh, gosh. I'm so sorry." I meant that.

I understood Stacey's intentions but there was still a part of me that wanted to slap her and tell her how clueless she is. A part of me wanted to hug Logan. But Stacey did that because she didn't want to get hurt and she didn't want to hurt anyone. We were in the same situation.

I heard Logan chuckle, a humorless chuckle. "I knew this was coming. I was aware that Stacey still loved Gavin. She hasn't gotten over him so she took shelter in me. But I didn't expect that it will come this quick."

If Logan knew, Gavin knew what I truly felt too. I realized that boys aren't really that thick-headed.  He started to shift on his feet. "Well," he said, "I should get going now. The party waits."

Before he could walk away, my hand instinctively grabbed his. He looked at me with surprise. "I-I.." I stuttered. I wanted to tell him why I seized his hand, but I had no reason.

 "What do you think of me?" I blurted. A quizzical expression crossed his face. Believe me, as much I wanted to explain to you what meant by that, I, myself, had no clue, I thought.

It took all of my will power to let go of his hands. I thought he wasn't going to reply to my question and leave me hanging in the air, but fortunately he stayed there. He looked up the night sky. There was silence between us.

"For the past years that we have been schoolmates, I really didn't notice you much. Back then you're just a schoolmate to me," he said. A twinge of hurt bore in my heart. I took a deep breath, hoping that the pain will go away. But it just stayed there. Why am I feeling hurt? I knew that all along, I thought.

"One day," he continued, "I heard about Stacey and Gavin breaking up. It sparked a hope for me because Stacey will finally be mine. But at the same time, it crushed me to see Stacey crying. I went to her and comforted her."

Jealousy fell one like a ton of bricks. I was afraid that the heaviness might crush me any minute. But thankfully, I was strong enough. After all the pain I had endured, why wouldn't I?

Logan kept talking. A stray suspicion of him being drunk on that moment shot in my mind. I sniffed the air between us, and confirmed my suspicion. "I immediately went to Gavin ready to pulverize him because he hurt Stacey. But, of course, I asked him why he did that. He just shrugged and said that he liked someone else." He finally looked me in the eye. A shot of electricity travelled through my backbone as his blue eyes took aim at me.

"I-it's me," I squeaked.

"Yep," he said flatly. "I remembered that you're a nice and quiet girl living a peaceful life. Getting involved with Gavin and his stupid acts wasn't right for you. He was trouble. When I saw you in the party, I felt the urge to warn you so that was what I did, but it didn't come out right. I ended up saying stupid things. You ended up getting linked with Gavin. And that's when a horrible rumor about you and Gavin started to spread."

Don't remind me again, I thought then mentally slapped him in the back of his head.

                "I tried to warn you again at the beach. But I realized that you may also like Gavin," he said. "Anyways, my plan of protecting you backfired most of the time so you ended up helping me." My heart fluttered at his statement about protecting me. But I knew better not to keep my hopes up.

                "Hey, I don't need protecting," I chided. "I can handle myself, thank you very much."

                He chuckled. "Maybe." There was silence for a moment. Then he said the words that cleared everything in my mind. The words that made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. "Joanne," he said. "Thanks for being my friend."

A/N I am so cruel sometimes huh? Anywaaaaaaays... what do you think about this chapter? I hope it deserved some votes xD

Q: How many admirers of yours have you friend-zoned?

-___- wow.