The Quiet Ones

22. Double Dating Danger

"Wait, what happened?" I asked as I sat down on a pillow placed next to Avery's bed. Although I'm grounded, my mom let me make one quick visit to Avery, being that she's my best friend and all.

"I told you, I'm dating Nathan," she exclaimed while becoming giddy with excitement. That last time I saw her so happy was on the last day of school, right after she aced all of her finals. But this... This is different.

"Okay, but what exactly happened? Give me every detail."

"Okay, well after you broke up with him-"

"He's not still mad about that, is he?" I interrupted, causing her to give me a look that said shut-up-at-let-me-finish.

"No Parker. He's dating me now. He's okay."

"Okay good. Continue."

"Well, I went to his house to talk to him. He was obviously crying because his eyes were all puffy and red. So, I told him to sit down and I sat with him. He started talking about how he was heartbroken and how he already misses you and-"

"Wait, he said all of that?"

"Parker! Let me finish! Besides, it isn't about you right now. It can't always be about you," Avery snapped, causing me to cross my arms and reluctantly tell her to continue her story.

"So we were sitting and then he just pulled me closer so I was like 'oh, what are you doing?' And then he just kissed me! He kissed me Parker! And like, I felt bad and all, but he was technically single, right?" She asked.

"Yeah. I was the one who broke up with him," I said under my breath.

"Yeah, exactly. So, then he asked me to be his girlfriend. So of course I said yes! It was amazing!"

"Um, Avery?"

"Yeah?" She asked happily while chewing her gum extra loud and twirling her hair between her fingers. She looked so fake that it made me cringe.

"He didn't ask you out because he's trying to replace the fact that I broke up with him and he didn't have a girlfriend, did he?"

"No way!" She exclaimed while jumping off her bed to confront me. "He loves me! I mean, he basically wants to marry me Parker!"

I've always hated when Avery got a new boyfriend because she never acted the same. One minute she'd be ready to watch a movie and eat chocolate covered popcorn with me while we laugh at the horrible actors, but once she got a boyfriend she would become crazy and obsessed with pictures, dieting, and looking perfect. She turned into a whole different person.

"Okay, I was just asking. Actually, I'm really happy for you," I said to her. Anything to make her stop screeching and complaining about how selfish I'm acting - which I'm not.

"You know what, why don't we double date! You like that guy, what's his name? Lenny?"

"Levi, Avery. It's Levi. And I certainly do like him, that's why we're dating."

"You're dating him?" She exclaimed while her face shifted into an overly excited expression. "Since when?"

"Last night," I said proudly. I didn't want to announce our relationship too much - or at least this early in its stages - but I guess Avery deserves to know. What she doesn't get to know is that he asked me out while we were trapped in a prison after getting kicked out of the taggers. That, I'll tell her about at a later date.

"Oh my god Parker, do you know what this means?" She asked while beginning to pace her room while her eyes practically bulged out of her head. "We can double date! Let's go on a double date!"

"I'm grounded Avery. Did you miss the whole explanation I gave you on the way here?" Her face fell as she began to think it over. I was, in fact, grounded from any socialization besides school and occasionally Avery's house. Anyone besides that was off limits for the next week.

"Okay, next Friday. We'll go on a double date! It'll be amazing! Do you think Levi will be okay with it?" She asked while sitting down next to me and eagerly pulling at my arm like a child.

"Oh yeah. Totally," I lied. Honestly, as much as Levi says he wants to meet my friends, I feel like he's only trying to make me feel more comfortable. "Are you sure Nathan's okay with it? It has been pretty soon since-"

"Parker, of course! I already told you: you're old, I'm new. He loves me! He doesn't care if you bring another guy, trust me!"

Just hearing her talk about me like her best friends ex feels degrading. Yes, I love both Avery and Nathan, but sometimes they can push it a bit too far and exaggerate.

"Okay, well if you're both fine with it then next Friday it is," I mumbled while trying to smile as if I think this is a good idea - which I definitely don't.

"Perfect! This is going to be great!" She exclaimed while clapping her hands together and basically screeching in excitement like the overly enthusiastic girl she's been acting like lately.

"Yeah... Great."