My Secret Admirer.

Chapter 16: A Bad Surprise

When I finally convinced my mind in a span of five seconds that it couldn't be him, Matt ruined all my good thoughts by continuing to speak. That wouldn't have been a problem, but it was as if it was him who I was on call with and that ruined everything.

That was twisting my abdomen in such a horrible way I had to take one deep breath and get a shuddering one out to open my eyes and look at him again. I was clearing trying to brace myself for a confirming moment because I was holding onto this tiny sliver of hope that it was a very horrible coincidence.

He hadn't said much, but he had said what I could hear on call. And most of it was just ridiculous.

He muttered, " yeah," the second his eyes fell on the tree I was standing behind, but I dismissed it as my eyes playing tricks because I didn't want to believe it.

Why would I? Finding out your oh-so-charming admirer who you wouldn't have minded a little flirting with was your actual crush's best friend and your best friend's boyfriend wasn't the best revelation in my book.

Matt grinned. He opened his mouth to speak again but he wasn't looking at me, he mouthed 'colorful' and that is when I wanted to scream, whether because of the evidence that he was my admirer or because of the anger at what he was doing. I wanted to scream because I heard the exact freaking thing on the phone. A second later, he ended the call.

Now, that couldn't have been a coincidence.

I was left standing behind a tree like a violent fly crusher waving my fists and hitting my thigh as though I was experiencing horrible cramps because I was just so sure.

I had been trying, feebly but trying anyway, to find out who he was for three months now and that was the result. I was disappointed. It might have been because of Hailey, or because I simply didn't pin Matt as 'hot' and I had expected my admirer to be sizzling.

I mean not that Matt wasn't hot, sure he was. But he was Hailey's boyfriend and that was where the line had to be drawn. That didn't mean I would have been happier if he wasn't Hailey's boyfriend. The guy wasn't just appealing to me, I guess. And that's where the disappointment lied.

I didn't know if he had seen me behind the tree or if I should have confronted him then and there. I was shaking due to the horrible revelation and the dry winter breeze, wearing just a thin cardigan wasn't a great choice. When did it get this cold anyway?

I decided to step out and make myself known. After ending the call with me Matt had indulged himself in a conversation with Trevor who he was looking at when he mouthed the game breaking word. It's funny to think the word that had me losing my crap was colorful. Not literally, though.

Realistically it was only red. Red. Red. Red. Or a static black. Like the darkness that falls over your sight when you stand up too fast and get dizzy. That was how it felt, it was neither excitement nor surprise, it was dizzying and I was taking my bitter time to sink it in.

On my sudden appearance from behind the tree, a guy right in front of the tree looked at me with horror, "Where did you come from?"

I pointed at the tree behind us, his eyes traveled from the tree to me and his eyes widened even more, "Woah."

Shaking my head at the idiot thinking I came out of the tree, I made my way towards Matt in an extinguishing rage. Upon my arrival Trevor's face broke into an amused grin, "Mudpuke!"

Trevor. My one true nightmare as a child. He used to be everywhere. And that wasn't me exaggerating anything. Whether it was him pushing me off a swing and laughing at my tumbling mess, or it was making up sad convincing stories and when I believed them, laughing at how naive I was. Jamming my locker or sprinkling my clothes with itching powder so severe I'd have to take more than one bath to get rid of it.

He was the major, and only, source of my embarrassing memories. Infact, he was the creator of my well known nickname 'Mudpuke'. He was like a personal bully. Only he wasn't a bully. No way would he ever bear to be called such a thing.

He was the school's most infamous prankster.

People found his ways hilarious and, some of the things, I did too. But none too much because the receiving side of his pranks wasn't as fun.

And so, I did the thing my energy allowed me to do. I curled my lips in an icy smile, rolled my eyes at him and went on glaring at Matt. He seemed surprised, "Joe! What are you doing here?" his confusion seemed very convincing and it made my patience grow thinner. I knew it wasn't wise to talk about an admirer infront of Trevor, ofcourse, so I kept my mouth shut and instead asked them where Jason was.

Trevor had seen the glare Matt was oblivious to and was displaying great amusement confided in his smirk. He threw me a wink before I turned towards the house. "I'll just get Jason and leave."

"Oh, while you're at it," Trevor said as he turned to follow me, "you might want to check up on Jake."

I stopped and whirled my head so fast I hoped my hair slapped his face. Alas! His sly smile was still intact, "I guess I'll have to grow my hair a little longer." I said, feeling the ends.

He kept his mocking smile that frozen in its place as he said, "No it did hit me. Thanks for that."

That gave me instant satisfaction, "Where's Jake?"

"Where you're heading to."

That was helpful. As a habit I tried coming up with a smart remark but my brain was a hollow space and I stood there staring at him for a good minute.

Finally, pitying my state-- or considering me blown away -- he rolled his eyes and threw his arms out, pointing at the house. "Go, see my masterpiece."

My eyes went wide when I realised what he meant. With one last death glare, I turned and ran into the house and the possible destination of Jake's shame and misery.

I really hoped it wasn't bad.

I may have forgotten, for a brief second, that this was Trevor for that hope to shoot up because soon it was plummeted to the ground like batista body slammed it. I shouldn't have hoped that.

Passing by rooms I finally found Jake in one, accompanied by Adam. Jake was shirtless, and pantless, tossing his hair restlessly while muttering curses, his back towards me.

Adam saw me first, his surprise hiding the hint of amusement he was afraid to show. He nodded at me and I slowly made my way towards Jake.

"Jake, what-" He turned his head only slightly, relaxing when he realised it was me. He turned around fully and my jaw dropped.

He was hot, okay, but that wasn't a surprise. It was the 'art' Trevor mentioned and he tried some real drawings it seemed. Trust him to be literal.

It took a while to look through all the childish drawings and comments before I looked at his face, which was left empty, surprisingly.

"Who did this?" I already knew.

"Make a bad guess." Jake rolled his eyes. "Just take me home."

I turned to walk out after giving Jake an apologetic smile. Adam found it hard to control his laugh but seeing Jake glare at him made him rethink.

Finding Jason wasn't hard as he was sprawled out on a couch outside. Deciding a last minute mischief i grabbed a cup and poured its contents on his head. Laughing as he jerked up, finally out of his little slumber in the midst of all the drunk chaos.

"What the-" he began shouted before he turned, "Oh Joey, you're here." He seemed too calm for it to be funny.

"Yes little one, let's get going now." I mumbled, almost worried about what had him so serene.

"Alright." He got up, right before stumbling and falling face first, scruching his face because of the unwanted pain. And he dozed off again right there.

I sighed, shaking my head. They sure had fun today.

Guess I'll have to deal with Matt later.