I wake up in Brian's arms, and surprise myself by not wanting to move away. Instead, I move closer and lay my head on his shoulder. He's so sweet and caring, and I don't ever want to let him go.
There's a thought that wakes me up! Slowly, I move away and stand up. I take out a tank top, shirt, and shorts and get dressed. When I'm done, I gently shake Brian's shoulder.
"Wake up, Brian, it's morning," I say in his ear. He opens his eyes and stretches.
"Morning, beautiful," he says. I'm slightly shocked, but instantly flattered. I pull him to a sitting position, and then until he's standing. I lead him to the kitchen and have him choose his breakfast. I leave him sitting at the table with an English muffin covered in jam, and go upstairs to brush my teeth. I wrestle with my hair for a while until it looks halfway passable. Then, a thought hits me. If Brian and I are done with our project, what are we going to do? We could practice, sure, but everyone will be done presenting in a week! I try to think of some excuse to keep seeing Brian, and then stop myself.
Do I like Brian? Yes.
Could I possibly like-like him? Definitely. Actually, I think I do! I cannot believe that I am crushing on Brian! Two days ago I hated him. But it makes sense, too. Two days ago I had no idea that Dad would propose to Sheila. I had no idea she would get pregnant... The chips fell into place, and I saw reason to like Brian. He is sweet, caring, kind, gentle, polite, and respectable, not to mention that I've always liked smart guys. So as a Sophomore, I finally don't hate Brian and I have a crush on him! I've known Brian for 8 years, and I can't believe I didn't see it until now...
While I was having my little brain-rant, Brian had come up the stairs.
"Your hair looks nice," he says. "Let's go to school." His stuff is still here from yesterday, so we grab everything and go. I leave a note on the counter for Dad: 'Went to school with B, be home at the regular time. Hope everything was alright last night. Love, Cassie.'
And then Brian and I left.
We got to school, and the day was... interesting. I didn't necessarily not talk to Brian, but I also didn't talk to him. It was a really quiet day for me. Until English, that is.
I was sitting with Amy, Nick, and of course, Brian. Mr. McCarthey was playing some boring documentary, so naturally I was on my computer in the back of the classroom. I was on my email as usual when the little chat box in the corner popped up. It was Brian.
Hey, what's up with you today? You're acting all weird. Is it your dad again?
No, i'm just really tired.
I know that's not it.
It is, really
I'm coming over tonight, and you're gonna tell me about this.
Fine, but I can be really stubborn
Not around me.
Brian followed me home in his car. I unlocked the door and went inside, knowing he was still right behind me. I locked the front door again and went straight to the office. I logged into my Mac and started writing my History essay. Brian closed the door and sat in my dad's chair.
"What's up?" I asked casually.
"You know better than I do. So what was up with you today?" I want to tell him, but I can't . I can't tell anyone, really. It's overly-complicated and I'm not even sure of anything myself.
"It's complicated." I say, hoping he'll get the message and drop the conversation. Unfortunately, he doesn't.
"Then un-complicate it. Seriously, what's wrong?" He sounds so genuinely concerned that my resolve falters. A tear slips out of my eye and I swipe at it angrily.
"I don't really know what it is myself, so just drop it, okay!" He turns his head away like I slapped him, and I immediately feel bad. "Brian..." I trail off, not knowing what to say. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled. I'm going through a ton of emotional crap, and I'm still trying to figure things out. I'm really sorry. I love you." I slap my hand over my mouth. I can't believe I just said that! I turn and look at him slowly, waiting on his reaction. His facial expression is shocked.
"P-pardon me? What... What did you say?"
"I- I love you is what I said, but how...?" I trail off, confused. Brian stands up and walks over to my chair. He pulls me up and hugs me.
"I love you, too." He whispers. It's certain, I have a huge crush on Brian.
