Whoever She Is (John O'Callaghan/ARTTM)

Chapter 3

John's POV:

I woke up the next morning, more like afternoon. Stupid hangover. What exactly happened last night at Eric's party?

OH YEAH!

Lauren.

I'd never met any other girl like her. She was...different. Even laughed at my jokes, which was a plus. I recalled the conversations we had last night, laughing to myself. I needed to see her again. Wait, didn't I give her my number? Yeah, so maybe she'll call, I thought. But what if she didn't? I cursed myself for not asking her for her number, too. Dammit. I looked at the clock: 2:34. She couldn't still be sleeping, right? But maybe she's busy today. Or maybe she already called and I missed it! 

Just then, I rushed to my cell phone, which was off, and waited impatiently for it to slowly turn on, practically pacing around the whole house. Once it was on, I saw the little voicemail symbol and a missed call notification. It was an unknown number. I anxiously and nervously dialed my voicemail and listened to that sweet, familiar voice that was talking to me just over 12 hours ago.

"Um, hey John. It's Lauren. I really hope this is your actual number, haha. Anyway, Cara and I were planning to go to the carnival in Tempe tonight, and I, uh, was wondering if you might wanna tag along. Call me back if you can, bye!"

I realized I was still holding my phone to my ear long after the voicemail ended and the robotic lady was talking. I exited out of the voicemail and plopped down on the couch, running my fingers through my messy, untamed hair, debating on whether or not I should call her back. Maybe sending a text first would be better. I added her number to my contacts and formed a text message:

"Hi, it's John. Yes, you did call the right number, hah. Is now a good time for me to call?"

I pressed 'Send' and received a new text a couple minutes later.

"Yup, go ahead."

I exhaled slowly. Why was I so nervous? 'Chill out, its just a phone call, dude,' I could hear my friends teasing me in my head. I eventually dialed her number and she answered after a couple rings.

"Hey, John," she spoke.

"Hiya. What's up?"

"Nothing, just watching tv with Cara. You?"

"Nothing, just woke up, actually. Hangover."

"Haha, nice. So you're not feeling up to going tonight?"

"No, no, I'll totally go! Carnivals are awesome. I haven't been to one in ages!"

"Okay, great! Meet us at the Ferris wheel at 7 then?"

"Sure thing. See ya."

With that, she hung up and I looked at the time again. It wasn't even 3 yet, and I wasn't seeing Lauren until 4 hours from now. What was I going to do?

Hang with the boys.

After I texted Jared and found out that everyone was chilling at Eric's, I took a quick shower, popped some aspirin into my mouth to ease my killer headache, and hopped into my ancient, white pickup. It was a beautiful afternoon, only a few wispy white streaks across the sky. We usually went to Eric's when we all wanted to hang out; he did have the nicest house, after all. I noticed a few other cars parked in the driveway, which belonged to Pat, Garrett, Jared, Kenny, and Nick. I walked through Eric's huge front door and instanty saw everyone on the huge leather couch playing Mario Kart. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Hey, let me have a turn!" I exclaimed from behind them, making them jump since they didn't know I was there.

"John!"

"John-O!"

"Johnny!"

They all greeted me and Eric said, "Geez, its about time you showed up! Guess you did stay up late and drink last night!" He nudged me playfully on the shoulder and handed me his controller.

"Like you didn't! I can see those bags under your eyes, too, Halvo!" I noticed the small circles he had under his eyes. Eric acted dramatically like a girl would, his hands quickly flashing up beneath his eyes, his mouth gaping open and his eyebrows raising, making it look like he was a nervous girl.

"So, John, I was wondering... Did you see that shy-looking, blonde girl and her short-haired friend last night? Damn, she was hot. I wanted to go up to her and talk, ya know, but Nick forced me to go downstairs and play pool with him and some other chicks the whole night," Eric said, his eyes narrowing at Nick, who then replied, "Oh, don't lie, Halvo. You know you wanted to! Besides, it looked like you had your eye on that short brunette there anyway!"

Just then, my heart sank to my stomach, which dropped down to my feet. That's why I hadn't seen Eric all night! He was downstairs. He had no clue I was with Lauren. I felt sick and sad, but also angry at Eric for liking Lauren. Why, John? It's not like you own her. She's not yours!  Oh, come on. This girl actually seems genuine for once, not just after your looks or hoping to get lucky with you! You need to chase this girl and catch her quick. You need her!

My thoughts battled and raged against each other. I didn't know if I should lie and say that I hadn't seen her and get Eric's hopes up, or if I should gush about our huge conversation with the rest of the guys. I looked around at Jared, Pat, Kenny, and Garrett, who were all looking down with solemn looks on their faces, waiting for me to answer. The room was dead quiet, and I was the one who had to break the silence.

"Uhm, I saw her, yeah. But I didn't really talk to her. We just sorta chatted for a bit when I dropped my beer cup and she gave it back to me. That's all."

Goddammit! Why must you always be so selfless and stupid, John?! Now Eric's probably gonna go after her! You better hurry if you want to have an actual chance with her.

I must have looked disturbed and uncomfortable, because Eric was looking at me as if I was physically pained. I was. All eyes were on me and I didn't know what to do.

"I need some air," I barely breathed to them, and rushed outside.

After I'd popped open my pack of cigarettes and lit one, Eric emerged from inside. He walked over to me and stared into the distant, huge, and empty field behind his house, which always was the best place to watch the Arizona sunsets. The gorgeous, vibrant colors would reflect and glow off the green  grass, turning it golden.

Finally, Eric turned to me, and by the look on his face, I felt sure that he knew about my feelings for Lauren. But he didn't, because instead, he said, "John, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, you know. Do you feel okay? You really looked sick in there a few minutes ago!"

"Yeah, maybe its still the hangover, I guess."

Eric shook his head and smiled. It made me want to smile back, but all I could manage was a pathetic, sideways smirk.

"Dude, really, you still seem kinda off. Maybe you should try taking a nap. Wanna crash here?" Eric asked, a bit concerned.

"Nah, I think I'll just go home and lay down. You guys'll probably be too loud anyway," I joked.

Eric playfully nudged my shoulder. As I walked to my truck, he said, "Okay, maybe I'll see you later? We were planning to go to the carnival tonight. If you feel up to it, join us."

I stopped dead in my tracks.

You've got to be kidding me.