Forced to Commit, but Not Forced to Love

Ch 10- Almost Stood Up

I glanced down at my phone and checked the time again. It was fifteen minutes past five. Running late?...or standing me up? I sighed and continued to waited outside our dorm room, hoping that Grace wasn't watching from inside.

When James had left, I had to explain to Grace that he was the one who my parents set me up with. It took all my strength and a lot of persuasion to hold her back from chasing down James and giving him a piece of her mind. She was protective of me, and for that I was thankful. I was willing to give James a chance, but Grace still resisted.

"Lily, you don't even know if he's gonna take you to the movies! What if it's a trick, and he'll kidnap you to a cabin in the woods or something?" she tried to dissuade me as I got ready.

"I don't think he'll do that, Grace. He seemed... genuine," a smile came to my face when I thought of his awkward manner and seemingly disinterested manner when he asked me. It make it seem so real, like he did care.

Grace still looked unconvinced as she helped me with my hair. "I don't trust him Lily," she said truthfully, "but I'll give him a chance, just for you."

It was so sweet of her, but I couldn't tell her now that he was MIA for about 20 minutes without any warning or anything. I kept looking down at my phone, until I jumped from hearing a car horn. It's him. I looked up to find James looking at me from his car, motioning for me to get inside.

I mentally scoffed. No, he's not gonna call me like a dog. I made up my mind to stay where I was until he acted like a gentleman and opened the door for me- well, at least walked up to me before we left. I turned my gaze back to my phone blatantly ignoring him.

HONK HONK HOOOOOOOOOONK

I looked back up to see James looking impatient and frustrated. I, of course, gave him the "what do you expect" face. I didn't move.

He scrolled down the window and gave me a wtf face, one that I comedic imitated right back. With a scowl that overtook his face, he grabbed his phone and gave me a call.

I answered.

"What's the deal? Come on! The movie starts at 5:30 and we need to go."

"Look James, thank you for offering to take me out, but I'm not going to be called like a dog. If you want me to come, then show me more respect, starting with walking me over and opening the door."

Groans and curse words from the other side of the phone. "No. I'm not worth that little to stoop down and 'beg' you to spend time with me."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Silence. Another groan. "Look Lily, we need to go. Can you please get inside the car?" I felt myself stop and replay his words. Please? He said please. Does this mean I should give into him?

Psh. Nah.

"James," I said in my kindest voice. I had learned from experience that angry words won't get me anywhere (cough cough DAD), so I was the master of the innocent character. "Thank you for saying please, but I still will not come unless we start showing more respect to each other. We can start by this whole car calling dilemma, but I will reciprocate it."

Again, silence. "How?"

Uh oh. Without my intentions, this conversation just took a turn into suggestive territory. I felt my face flush as I struggled to respond with a non-awkward phrase. "Um, you know, by being nice to you and all that... stuff."

"All that stuff?" I could practically hear the smile in his voice. He was teasing me- and very obviously. "Shut up James," I said back, my voice betraying my smile. He chuckled back, "Okay fine. But we really need to go."

I sighed, my smile fading. "James, I'm not that hard to get along with. But there are a few things that I find important enough to not move from."

A pause. "I sense that." Another pause. A sigh. "Okay, fine. I'm coming to be gentlemanly to you." I heard a door slam and footsteps. I looked down at my phone only to find that the call had ended, and James had walked across the street to where I was sitting. He still had a frown on his face, but at least he was trying.

I got up to greet him, smiling. His scowl grew deeper, "What makes you thing you won this round Lily?" My smile faded as I answered him.

"It's not a competition James."

He stared into my eyes, and I returned the favor. I didn't break the glance; I wanted him to know that I truly was not trying to one-up him, and I think in that minute of silence, something changed. His eyes softened as I added something else.

"I am not your opponent. I want to be your friend."

Silence.

James was the first one to break the silence, with (yet again) an awkward manner. "We should go, the movie starts soon." I simply nodded and followed him to the car. Of course, he didn't open the door for me; baby steps, I kept telling myself. I couldn't expect him to change all of a second.

The initial atmosphere in the car was tense and awkward. I couldn't handle it, but I didn't want to open my big mouth, so I kept looking outside. Finally, I couldn't handle it and spoke, "Can we turn on the radio?"

James seemed quick to nod. I turned it on and resumed glancing outside. I drew my attention back inside when I heard James chuckle. I shot him a questioning look, "What's so funny?" He smiled back, "It's your song."

I turned my attention to the radio and smiled when I heard Everything Has Changed come on. It seemed like forever ago when James and I first met. Now there was a chance for us to be non-enemies, even respectfully.

James continued driving with a half-smile, humming along the melody. My smile quickly faded when I remembered my parents and their involvement with me. I would not get my happy ending; it would just be a contract, a bond, a trap that I could not escape from.

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Guess what? We did the Lion King at our school for a theater production and it was really good! A special shout-out to the person who can correctly guess which character I played (Hint: it was someone with a name).

Anyways, I have another exam tomorrow, and it seems that I write best the days before important exams lol. Wish me luck :)

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