The Boy Who Never Smiled

Chapter 8

Chapter 8
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I quickly paid for the two books at the desk, taking a good 30 dollars out of my chunk of $40.

It was worth it, though, as I carefully placed my books into my purse (it was big) and walked out of the bookstore, hearing the bell ring as the door shut behind me.

I checked the time on my phone and nearly had a heart attack. It was 3:58! My dad was going to freak if I didn't call right now...

I quickly pulled up his number and hit the 'call' button, pressing my phone to my ear.

It rang only once before my dad answered. "Ariana Avery Allo!" my dad's angry voice yelled at me from the other line, causing me to hold the phone away from my ear, my eyes wide.

When he had stopped screaming, I drew the phone back to my ear.

"Umm... hey, Dad. You said to call you in an hour; it's only been 58 minutes. You can't yell at me," I said before he could start spewing out a whole current of lectures.

My dad sighed loudly. "Honestly, I don't know why we let you get away with this," he said in a strained voice, causing me to smirk slightly.

"Because you love me?" I offered, and I could almost see my dad scowling.

"Nice excuse. For this last-minute calling, you have to be home by 4:30. No objections. And don't think of getting McDonald's or anything. Your mom made tacos," my dad continued, and I remained silent until he was finished. "Okay, sure. I'll be there at 4:30, then," I told him. "Good. Love you," my dad said. "Love you," I copied before hanging up and stuffing my phone back into my purse, just as it began ringing again.

"Hello from the other side! I must have called a thousand times, to tell you, I'm sorry--" I answered the phone, knowing it was Suzan from the ring tone.

"Hello," I said, and there was a dramatic, "It's me!" from Suzan, causing me to laugh. "Is this Adele?" I wondered, and Suzan laughed. "Yep, it is. You should feel honored speaking to me," she said, trying to mimic Adele-- and failing horribly.

I snickered and rolled my eyes. "Fabulous, Suz, fabulous. You totally rocked that 'famous singer' vibe," I told her in a mock cheerful voice. Suzan picked up on this and I could picture her scoffing. "Hey, it's not my fault I don't have a good voice!"

I snorted, crossing the street onto the opposite side where I had formally started off. Where I had bumped into that boy.

That boy.... who was he?

"Hello?" Suzan asked.

"Mhm?" I mumbled, snapping back into reality.

"What was that about?" Suzan asked, then blurted out eagerly, "Did you see some cute boys?"

I found myself thinking yes. Wait, yes?! Why yes?! I didn't know any boy in this town besides-- oh, Olympus... no way! I did not think that boy was cute. No. No. No. No. Just no! I want to be his friend, nothing more. Plain and simple.

"Ari? Hello? Are you dead?!" Suzan asked from the other line, causing me to roll my eyes. "No, Suz. I'm fine, just thinking," I replied absentmindedly. "About a boy?" Suzan asked excitedly, and I flushed a dark shade of crimson.

Thank goodness she can't see me, I thought in relief.

"Well?!" Suzan screeched, and I winced before replying in a small voice, "Yes?"

Suzan began squealing in a high-pitched voice, causing me to close my eyes.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8... I counted, and at 8 Suzan stopped squealing.

"What's his name? What does he look like? Does he like you back? Is he single?" Suzan flung the questions at me, and I raised my eyebrows. "Chill out, Suz. I'm not in love with the guy!" I told her, cringing at the thought.

"Alright, alright. Just answer the questions!" Suzan pressed, and I wished more than anything to throw my phone at a tree to escape this conversation.

At my awkward pause, Suzan groaned. "Ari! Answer me! Don't make me fly to Oregon and have to strangle you to get some answers!" she pried in an insistent, determined voice.

Oh, great, she wasn't dropping it.

"Ariana Avery!" Suzan shrieked, pulling out my middle name. I regret telling her of it.

"Okay, okay, fine. Stop yelling. I don't know the guy's name, okay?" I told her, and Suzan fell quiet.

"Oh, well, that's okay, then. What does he look like?" she asked instead, causing me to pause and then say slowly, "He was wearing black skinny jeans, black Converse, and a black sweatshirt. He has almost deathly pale skin, and brown eyes so dark they look black, and jet black hair with thick bangs that almost hide his eyes."

Oh my gods, why did I just describe him in such shocking detail? That sounded creepy!

There was silence from the other end before Suzan finally said, "So... he's goth?"

I shrugged, but realized she couldn't see me so added, "No clue."

I could almost see Suzan wrinkling her nose as she said, "He sounds scary. Why do you even like him?"

I ignored the 'liking' part and instead rose to this unknown guy's defense.

"He's not scary just because he wears all black, and that doesn't mean he's goth, either!" I told her firmly.

"Then what else is he?" Suzan shot back.

"I don't know, maybe he just decided to wear black that day. And even if he is goth, doesn't make him any much different. He just likes to wear black. So what? And I guess all the girls who wear makeup are clowns, since clowns wear makeup regularly?" I spat at her. Why was I getting so angry over this?

Suzan seemed shocked, and I said quickly, "Look, Suz, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Honest."

Suzan sighed and said, "I know. I shouldn't have said that about him, anyway."

I smiled as she then said, "I've got to go, Ari. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye Suz," I said and then hung up.

I heard a hauntingly familiar voice say from behind me, "A boy dressed in all-black, who you don't know the same of. Sounds something like me, hmm?"

Why does the world hate me?

(A/N: Haha, Rixton heard her XD

What will happen next?

Only I know ;)

Stay tuned for the next chapter, and don't forget to VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW, and ADD THIS INTO YOUR LIBRARY. Thanks!

P.S., listen to the song. It's from the New Playlist.)