Defense My Heart

Chapter 8: Behind These Hazel Eyes

I honestly had never been on any kind of date with a boy before, unless you counted family members, so naturally I had no idea what to wear. After I left AHS I went home and threw everything in my closet on my floor as I sifted through my options of what I could wear. I settled on a soft black skirt that reached my ankles and a white tank top with a jean jacket over it. I looked pretty casual and was satisfied with my clothing selection. I chose to leave my hair down, but not before straightening it. When Matthew's Challenger pulled into my driveway I smoothed down my skirt and walked to the passenger side door. I opened the door and was immediately greeted with his sly smile. "Hey Pais, you look great." He warmly complimented me. "Thanks, so do you." I told him. He really did look great. He had on a pink button up shirt and khaki shorts that, once again, complimented his tan skin tone. We rode in comfortable silence to Darlington's as his Pandora blasted some new modern rap song. Darlington's was filled with a nice little crowd, and we were seated right away in the middle of the restaurant. Matt pulled out my chair for me before seating himself and we both ordered two sweet teas. I quietly skimmed over the menu as Matthew grabbed a leftover coloring packet from the nearby table and began currently coloring a dinosaur purple. I chuckled to myself as he looked up and met my gaze with his famous amused smile. "Would you like to join me?" He asked, offering me a blue crayon. "As much fun as it looks, I'll pass." I laughed as I waved the crayon away. He continued coloring away as I leaned back in my chair and sipped my tea, searching my mind for a topic of discussion. He beat me to it as he asked polite questions about this year's halftime show theme, which was a tribute to The Hunger Games. I told him that the flag and rifle work was killer, and that the field will be set up like the arena in the movie, and that I scored the role of performing as Katniss. He laughed at that and we moved on to discussing the football team and how good our chances looked at getting to Nationals. This Friday's game would determime if we make it or not, and Matthew was passionate that we would. We both ordered cheeseburgers and a basket of fries and I pondered over why Matthew hadn't revealed to me yet about where our friendship was headed. I gave myself a mental pep talk and was convinced that I should make the first move when Matthew eventually broke the silence with questions about Stacy, which I thought was a little odd. "How long have you and Stacy been friends?" He leaned on his elbows and asked. "For about 5 or 6 years now" I proudly answered him. "Wow, it must be hard being best friends with someone who gets all the attention and has all the guys drooling over her?" His statement was meant to sound like a question, and as I shifted uncomfortably I thought of reasons why he would be asking me this. Maybe he's just warming up and is about to break the ice and declare to you how he won't surrender to Stacy's looks and tell you that he wants you instead, my conscience suggested to me. "I mean, it doesn't bother me at all. Stacy is her own person and so am I." I give Matthew the best answer that I can muster as the waitress sets down our plates. "Wise words, Pais. So is she currently seeing anyone now?" He absentmindly asks as he takes a bite out of his burger and looks at me with expectant eyes. Why is he so concerned with Stacy? I ask myself. "Uh no...why do you keep asking questions about..." I began answering him, but paused when I saw Stacy and one of our other friends, Morgan, walk through the door behind Matthew. I purposfully hadn't told Stacy about Matthew's dinner invite because I wanted to have this moment to myself for a little while before sharing it, and the stunned look on her face reminded me of my earlier decision. Her mouth was set in an O as Morgan grinned at me. "...Stacy?" I finally finished my sentence. I'm pretty sure I had a frustrated and confused look on my face because Matthew set down his burger and plainly said to me, "Well isn't it obvious?" at the same moment that Stacy walked by our table. I had been looking at Matthew as he voiced his question, and it was when I watched Matthew's eyes linger on Stacy as she continued on to her booth, that it clicked. My stomach dropped and I felt nauseated. It was very, very obvious and I had been very, very oblivious. Matthew's gaze turned back to meet my own, and as he grinned even wider I looked everywhere else in the room except into those hazel eyes.