The Andrew Complex

TAC: 9

Previously:  "Hi, my name is Collin Maloney." 

- - - - - - - - - - 

His name rings bells in the back of my mind but for some reason, I can’t connect the dots.

“Have we met before?” I ask quizzically.

“Nah, I think I’d remember a face as pretty as yours.” He flirts smoothly, smiling.

I roll my eyes inside but smile widely outside. “Well, my name is Lena. Lena Parker.”

“Are you here with anyone?” Collin asks, still smiling.

“Yeah, my best friend Andrew.”

Collin pouts adorably but I’m not fazed, instead thinking that Andrew is much, much cuter. “Aw, that really sucks. The good ones are always taken.”

I blink. “I said he’s -”

“Your best friend, yeah, whatever, blahblahblah. It always starts out as a best friendship until someone falls in love. It never works out.” Collin says knowingly.

I roll my eyes. “I doubt that’ll happen to us.”

Something catches his eye behind me and he blinks rapidly. Suddenly, Andrew is beside me, his face a mask of anger.

I blink. “Maloney.” He growls, his eyes flashing. Fear rises inside of me belatedly as I remember why his name was so familiar to me.

“Oh my God...” I whisper, staring at Collin.

He didn’t look like a sociopath...and he definitely didn’t look like a killer or even the leader of a gang. Even though we were barely talking to each other for 15 minutes, I could tell that the guy was too soft to hurt anyone.

Andrew, however, glared at Collin with his lip curled. “Why are you talking to Elena?” He forces out, his voice low and angry. A smile stretches even wider onto Collin’s lips. “Oh, my. Is this the ‘Lena’ that I’m supposed to stay away from? Oddly enough, I couldn’t remember that little fact. Now I understand why you don’t want me anywhere near her. She’s quite the looker.” Collin croons, a malicious glint in his eyes. When neither of us responds, he continues. “But, alas, you’re a Wayne...and Waynes seem to always have what I want.”

Andrew steps forward and I’m quick to grab his arm, shaking my head.

Collin’s eyes widen a fraction at our interactions and then he steps back, still smiling. “I’m going to go...and Lena?” He says my name silkily, as if he liked the way it felt in his mouth. “It looks like one of you has already fallen in love...and maybe they don’t know yet.” Collin says while staring at Andrew. He walks away, his gait loping and graceful, almost like a predator.

“It looks like one of you has already fallen in love...”

Was I that transparent? Was it that obvious?

“...and maybe they don’t know yet.”

No...he can’t be talking about me. He was looking at Andrew the entire time. Maybe Andrew...no. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up just so that they could get crushed. I was hoping for too much. There was no way.

“Elena?”

If he liked me, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Scream? Laugh? Cry? Dance? What would happen between us anyways? We’d probably break up and that left me with a broken heart and probably a broken friendship. Wishful thinking. I was wishfully thinking that Andrew would magically fall in love with me and he’d sweep me off my feet and...