The Way It Could've Been

Chapter 12, Mark...

Everything felt so strange to me. My hand was on Julian's, guiding him as he drove slow and steady. Any shift caused him to tense, and I smiled at that. He's so cute. My hand was warm on his, and I was blushing. Hard. I taught him about the petals and gears. He's a fast learner, but God he asks so many questions.

"We're not going to crash." I chuckle slightly.

"You don't know that!" He says in a shaky voice.

"I do know, calm down." I look at his face, trying to think of a way to calm him down. I rub my thumb along his hand. "You're okay, I'm not going to let you get hurt..." I hear his breaths slow down and his whole body gets looser and more comfortable.

"Thanks..." He says in a breath. I smile. When we make it to his house, he gets out and so do I.

"Thanks for the ride... Even if you didn't even drive me..." He speaks. I grin.

"You're welcome..." I walk him to his front door. I've accepted my feelings the day I found out I liked Julian. I knew Julian probably didn't like me back, but I'm trying to give him signs. I don't think it's working though.

He walked to the porch light and unscrewed the bottom. Revealing an extra house key. It was silent and I stood there behind him. Watching him. I felt the sudden urge to kiss him. I wanted to kiss him. But I knew I couldn't. I contemplated whether I should or not.

He shoved the key into the door and turned to me.

"Goodnight." He smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Goodnight..." I say as I turn around and walk back to my car. I sighed disappointedly as I heard the front door close. I slipped into my car and turned it on. Driving away.

...

Simon was next to me at lunch, we were on the field, playing football. I looked around and my eyes landed on Julian. Laughing, smiling. I smile as I stare at him.

THWACK!

The ball hit me right in the head. I stumble back and hold my head.. I groaned in pain as I bent over. I see Simon and my friends laughing at me, and my cheeks turn red. I chuckle too before walking over and sitting on a bench.

I'm facing the direction Julian was in, his eyes catch mine, and he smiles and waves at me. I chuckle slightly, feeling a little embarrassed at the thought that Julian might've seen me get whacked in the face with a ball. I wave back.

In the seventh period, I texted Julian.

"Can I come over today?" I watch and wait. I see the three dots appear, signifying he was typing.

"Sorry, I'm going to my friend's lake house. But if you want, you can come." He texts back. Does his friend have a lake house? That's cool.

"Uh, yeah. Only if your friend doesn't mind," I type.

"Yeah, okay, I'll ask him." He texted.

I smile slightly and shove my phone back into my pocket, going back to doing my schoolwork.

I thought of the time I held his warm hand as I guided him. Teaching him how to drive. It gave him butterflies just thinking about it.

Ugh...

This boy did things to me no girl could ever. It annoyed me how attached I felt to Julian. Emotional and Physical. But I no doubt liked Julian Garcia, the man I thought was a complete loser in middle school. The man I loved to torment and mess with.

Julian...

I've been to Adam's Lake house more than once. He threw a couple of parties here and there. Angie and Melissa were talking in the kitchen and Jonah and Adam were in the living room playing video games on their Xbox. I had asked Adam if it was okay if Mark tagged along with them. After asking a few questions, he finally agreed.