The Girl Next Door

10. Drama Class Drama

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and we made our way to our next class. As usual, the hallway was buzzing with people, but my mind kept drifting back to that quiet lunch outside with Astrid. She hadn't said much, but she listened. And when the boys and I were bickering, she even joined in on the laughter. It was strange. I wasn't used to someone like her letting down their guard, even for a moment.

The moment we entered drama class, the boys wasted no time. They immediately turned their attention to me, their teasing smiles wide and mischievous. Of course, they knew exactly how to get under my skin, but this time? It felt different.

"I bet you won't last a week with her," Geoff said with a smirk, nudging me to the side. "You'll dump her like everyone else."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Not happening," I muttered, trying to brush it off. But Geoff wasn't done.

Blaine, the always silent but sarcastic one, piped up next. "Nah, man. I think you've got it this time. Astrid's not like the rest of them."

Matt, ever the neutral party, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I second that. You two actually seem... I don't know, real."

I couldn't help but feel my cheeks heat up, if that's even legal to a teenage boy like me, even though I didn't want to admit it. They were way off base. I didn't see Astrid like that. She was just the girl next door. The one who always kept to herself. And sure, I was intrigued, but it wasn't like I was about to fall head over heels for her. Not yet, anyway.

"Guys, just please hold your horses," I said, trying to sound casual, though I could feel my heart rate pick up. "I don't see her that way, okay?" That's the truth. She's not a game I can play, she's something else and I'm still trying to figure her out.

Geoff laughed loudly, clearly not convinced. "What? Who are you kidding?" Well yeah, who am I kidding?

I gave him a pointed look. "I'm serious. Nothing's going on." Trying my hardest to sound convincing.

Matt leaned back in his chair, raising an eyebrow. "Alright, bro. Whatever you say." His tone was light, but I could tell he was still holding onto his own theory about me and Astrid. We grow up together, and he is my best friend. Of course, he knows when I'm not sure of something.

"Whatever it is, bro, I support you," Blaine said, giving me a thumbs up. I wasn't sure whether he was joking or not, but he was always the kind of guy who would throw out some random line of support just for the hell of it.

"Yeah, I second the motion," Geoff added with a grin, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Whatever this 'not-seeing-her-that-way' thing is, you've got our vote."

I couldn't help but laugh, despite myself. It was an interesting conversation, to say the least. Part of me wanted to correct them, tell them they were wrong, that nothing was going on with Astrid. But I didn't want to say the wrong thing. Especially not now, when it felt like there was something shifting in the air between us. Something I couldn't put my finger on.

And maybe that's what scared me the most.

As the teacher called us to order, I tried to focus, but my mind kept wandering back to that lunch. To Astrid. To how she'd laughed, how she'd been so... unaffected by the teasing, and yet somehow still present in a way that made me want to understand her better.

"Alright, settle down," the teacher said, shaking me from my thoughts. "We're going to be practicing a scene today. You're all going to be paired up."

Not again is what came to my mind.

And, of course, as luck would have it, she paired me with none other than...

Astrid.

I glanced at her across the room, who was silent the whole time, observing everyone else at the corner and she didn't even flinch. She just sat there, calm as ever, like it was nothing new.

And honestly? I didn't know if that made things better or worse.