Unconditionally Yours

CHAPTER 3

Viktor was waving enthusiastically at me as he approached. He once again looked quite nice without that stupid school uniform. He was wearing black jeans and a white T-shirt that said "punk not dead," which fit his "bad boy" vibe, as the girls in class called it.

"Who is that, dear?" Mom asked.

"Just the new kid in my class," I replied, keeping my eyes on Viktor.

I didn't want to mention our first encounter. Isn't he new in town? How come he's wandering around the mall? Well, it's not that weird, considering he was alone in a crowded square just two days ago.

"Hey, Brody," he called out again as he reached us, throwing his arms around me in a hug as if we had known each other for years. My cheeks felt hot with embarrassment-I didn't expect him to hug me like we were best friends. We've known each other for less than a day, not counting our weird first meeting.

"Oh, hey, Viktor," I said, trying to maintain my composure. "What brings you here?"

"I was bored at home, and since my parents aren't in town right now, I decided to take a stroll through the mall," he explained.

That makes sense, but how did he even know how to get to the mall? He isn't from around here. Maybe he used Google Maps or asked a relative.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your boyfriend?" my dad asked, raising his eyebrows.

Why does he love to embarrass me with his silly jokes? He did the same thing with every friend of mine he's ever met, boy or girl.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, wishing God would make him stop.

"Well, he is a boy, and he is your friend, right?" Dad chuckled.

"Leave him be, Jared," Mom interjected, thankfully, then turned to Viktor. "Hello, Viktor, is it? I'm Anita, and this is my husband, Jared. It's nice to meet a friend of my son's who isn't Jane."

"Hello, ma'am, it's a pleasure to meet you as well," he replied with a smile. "And who is Jane?" he asked, turning to me.

I forgot he hadn't met Jane yet. Actually, I haven't seen him meet anyone in class except me.

"She's in our class. She sits two spots away from us. We've been friends since childhood," I explained.

He made an odd face at that, with a strange look in his eyes that I couldn't quite read. What was that about? Does he have a problem with Jane? Though I don't see how he could; he doesn't even know her.

"We were planning to grab a bite to eat. Would you care to join us, Viktor?" my mom offered, smiling politely.

"Certainly, ma'am, I'd love to," he replied, turning to me. "If you don't mind, of course."

"Of course, you're welcome to join us," I said, and he smiled at me. I surprisingly didn't mind at all; he seemed nice, a bit strange but nice nonetheless. Maybe we could even become friends.

"We were heading to this burger place my mom likes," I told him and turned to look at my mom and dad.

"Actually, dear, I'm just going to pick up a few things in that store over there. It won't take more than ten minutes," Mom said, gesturing to a store filled with skincare products I'd seen Jane use, along with what I assume was makeup. That's just like Mom, to decide to buy more stuff when we're on our way to eat.

"I'll go with your mom. You and Viktor can go ahead and grab us a table," Dad said. "You know our usual orders, so feel free to order for us."

With that, they headed into the store, and I began walking toward the burger place, looking at the different stores around us. From candy stores to clothes shops, there really was everything here. I went towards the elevator and pressed the button to call it down, while Viktor just stood there in silence.