Opposites Attract My Ass

Dieciocho! (18)

Excessively long note at the end.

For the next few weeks, Holden and I had steered clear of each other. It was always awkward. During football games, I have to take pictures of the person who has the ball, and since Holden usually has the ball, I have to take pictures of him. I try to take pictures when he isn’t looking so that it isn’t as awkward. But then I have to take pictures of other players when they’re not looking so that it isn’t suspicious.

And then there’s school. We sit near each other in almost all of our classes, and I usually get to class first so when he comes into the room, I have to look down. I mean, it would be awkward for him to pass me while I’m looking up; I feel like we’d look at each other and that’s awkward just to think about.

Tray is not happy about how we’re acting at all. He gives me disapproving looks all the time. Even when I leave the room, I can still feel him looking at me.

“My best friend’s brother is the one for me! B.F.B, B.F.B., my best friend’s brother, my best friend’s brother!”

I danced my way into the living room, my hands in the air and my iPod in my pocket.

“Dammit, Ollie, get out of the way!”

I froze, my hands still in the air and the song continuing without me. I slowly put my hands down and looked over at the couch to see Tray glaring at me and Holden looking at his lap with great interest.

“I… didn’t know anyone was in here,” I said slowly.

Tray scoffed. “Obviously.”

I looked at the television screen and saw Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

“Is this Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World?” I asked. “I’ve been dying to see this!”

Without waiting for an answer as to whether or not that was the movie, I jumped on the couch. Five minutes in, I realized I was next to Holden. Things immediately got awkward. I looked towards the living room exits and wished for Nick or Tori to come bursting through, screaming about how they had somehow set themselves on fire.

I got up quickly after realizing nothing would happen and said, “I just remembered, I have to feed the dog.”

“I fed her already,” Tray said, his eyes glued to the screen.

I fiddled with my fingers. “Well… I’ll just feed her again.” When I turned around to leave, I see Tray’s disapproving look. I ran into the kitchen to escape it.

But I could still feel the look.

“Stop staring at me!”

The rides to school had to be the most awkward. Holden got rides from us since his mom and dad usually took their cars to work. Tray would always talk to us and try to include us both in the conversation, but it wouldn’t work.

When we got to school, I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough. Sometimes I wouldn’t even wait for Tray to stop the car completely.

But on this particular day, Tray and Holden were going to walk to school, leaving me the car. I called Tori so that she wouldn’t need a ride from her mom. She and I used to walk together in the beginning of the school year, but after what happened with Holden, I didn’t want to walk anymore.

Tori was smiling wildly when she got in the car. I was scared.

I put the car in drive and asked, “Why are you smiling like that? You look like you know something I don’t.”