A Stupid, Hopeless Crush

Chapter-11 Welcome to Impressing 101

"Hey, Kylee!" Kris calls me when I'm in front of my locker. I turn to him. "Yeah? What is it?"

"I need help."

"With what?"

He sighs. "I want to know how to control my other side. You know, the side that got me slapped yesterday."

"Right." I frown to myself. "How will I help you?"

"You're a girl, right? You can tell me what girls like to hear and what they don't like to hear. What they like, what kind of qualities they look for in a guy, so on." He makes a puppy-dog face. "Please!"

"Okay, that's not fair. You know I can't say no to you if you do that," I say and try to walk away, but he grabs my shoulders and presses that face in front of mine.

"Oh jeez, oh alright! I'll help you. But don't you dare forget any of it. This is crucial stuff, okay?" I say, sighing.

"Yes!" Kris grins and pats my back. "I'll see you at practice." He walks off.

I shake my head towards him and turn back to my locker to get my sports bag.

"What was that all about?" Says someone behind me, and I turn around. Brandon is standing there, one of his eyebrows raised. My heart starts beating faster, but I force myself to put on a calm face.

"What was what?" I ask him. He walks closer to me. "Don't you dare pretend, Kylee. I saw Kris talking to you, looking serious. And he never looks serious. So don't you dare pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about."

He's so close; I feel like kissing him.

Stop it.

"Oh, I should stop it? You're the one who's acting all hush-hush. Why don't you tell me what's going on?" Brandon says, frowning.

Thank the gods he didn't realize that I was thinking out loud again.

"Hello? Earth to Kylee?" Brandon snaps his fingers in front of my face. I put on my strict face. "Brandon, we're supposed to be on the ground by now. Coach will be waiting for us."

He frowns at me, knowing that I changed the subject on purpose. But fortunately, he doesn't bring up the topic again.

I start walking away, but he catches up, walking beside me. "Hey, uh...I'm sorry." He says. I stop in my tracks abruptly. Brandon just apologized!

I look up at him cautiously. "What?"

"Yeah. I was giving you quite the cold shoulder the other day, when you thanked me and I said I didn't care what would happen to you," says Brandon, and sighs. "The truth is, I was the one who was really worried. I knew that something wrong would happen. You were going to Anton Ricardo's party, for heaven's sake. So I asked June where you'd gone. And when I found out, I reached there and saw this - this jerk misbehaving with you, and I didn't think, I just lashed out. Then you told me that was your ex, and then I just behaved as if you were just someone I was doing a favor on. And I'm sorry for that."

I stare at him. "Whoa. That was kinda deep."

He smiles. "So I guess it means truce."

"I guess so."

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"Okay Kris, the first thing about impressing a girl - always find reasons to compliment her," I say, walking around the living room as Kris sits on the sofa in front of me.

"Hmm?" He asks, and I look at him - he's texting on his mobile. I glare and picking up a nearby cushion, throw it at his head. "Hey!" He complains, looking up.