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eight

chapter eight: you aren't in love

***

October 16, 1953

Two months into the school year - nothing from Eloise.

"I applaud you, El," Claudia began clapping and Clarey joined along. Eloise stared at them weirdly, putting her fork down on her tray.

"Why am I being applauded?" She asked.

"You've had a crush on the boy for five years and now you act like you've never even known him in your life."

"How does she do it?" Clarey asked, messing around. They all started to laugh with each other but, Eloise began to really think about it.

She had a major crush on the boy for years - she chased him down halls, screaming his name and was always around when he didn't want her to be. All of that was true and the rest of it was true also.

Well, Eloise still had her crush on Matthew - it wasn't as big as before but, it was still there. And she'd managed to not really talk to him or have any interaction with him at all within the first two months of the school year.

Eloise had never been happier.

***

"She's seriously like out of your hair for good?" Rosie questioned, her arms crossed in front of her. He nodded his head, slowly, staring at something, he didn't know what. He was just staring off into the distance, his mind on this whole Eloise situation.

"I thought this was what you wanted," Rosie admitted, reminding him of the way he felt before when she used to like him. "Remember? You wanted nothing to do with her and now you can't stop thinking about her."

"I'm not thinking about her."

"Then what are you thinking about?" She asked, her hands now on her hips and an eyebrow raised.

"I don't know."

"Does it really bug you that much, Matthew? The fact that she's not talking to you or chasing you down is affecting you?"

"No."

"Then why do you keep worrying about it?"

"I'm not worrying about it!"

"Why do you care?!"

"Rosie, just leave him alone." Their friend Danny suggested.

"No," she said, angrily. "Matthew over here has hated Eloise ever since he can remember and now that she's out of his hands, he can't stop thinking about her instead of being happy that she's gone!"

"Maybe he never really hated her on the first place," Ricky suggested, earning a glare from Rosie. Matthew stayed quiet, even though he knew that that wasn't the case. He did hate her; he just didn't know why he kept wondering about her.

Rosie groaned at what she considering ignorance as she stomped away. Typical Rosie and her aggressiveness. Matthew didn't care today.