Don't Try the Noodles

Chapter 12

A thank you to soulfulminds for the lovely fan cover. <3

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Chapter 12

Caleb

I have no right to be doing this. Yet, I can't help myself from looking at Bailey's picture, which I have saved onto my phone. The fact that she most likely has a boyfriend puts me at total creep status right now.

But who cares if she has a boyfriend or not? I should have still gone up and spoken to her last night regardless. A simple greeting was all I needed to say...

Even if I go back now, she'll remember my voice, and I'll become that guy from middle school who just left without a proper hello. I screwed everything up. Last night played out so much better in my head.

"Gosh, I'm an idiot..."

"What's the matter?" Joel says from behind, making me jump.

"Nothing—"

My eyes go to the picture still opened up brightly on my phone. On impulse, I shut the screen off, not wanting my brother to play any part in my already immense shame. Unfortunately, I'm a split second too late.

"Who's she?" Joel leans over the couch, staring at my head upside-down.

There is no hiding how embarrassed I am with him this close.

It's not like I was watching anything shady, though my expression probably states otherwise. Or maybe it's better if I was caught staring at something indecent. It might be a lot easier to explain than a picture of my crush from middle school to whom I couldn't even articulate one full word to.

"Is she your girlfriend?" he says with all the curiosity an older sibling should never possess over his younger sibling.

"G-Girlfriend?" I laugh unconvincingly. "Don't be ridiculous, Joel."

He walks over to the side of the couch and takes a seat by my feet. "Oh, come on. Since when were you so secretive about your relationship status?"

I try to kick him off, but his athletic reflexes grab hold of my ankle before I can do so. And thus, the high school football star beats the band geek once again. I snatch my foot back.

Frowning, I say, "I've always been secretive. You're the one who's been nosy."

Joel shrugs. "Can you blame me? That's what annoying older brothers are meant to do." He pauses for an uncomfortable number of seconds in thought. I'm not sure I want to know what's going through his head right now. But he doesn't give me a choice when he says, "That girl. She does look kind of familiar. An old friend?"

"You could say that..." Not really.

Unfortunately, my answer isn't enough to get Joel to leave me alone. I sigh, giving into my brother's prying nature. Then again, I do partially want to get his take on the matter. He has at least twice as much experience about these kinds of things than I do, and now with both genders.

I say, "Do you promise not to laugh at me?"

"Of course, little bro."

With a deep breath, I begin, "Her name's Bailey."

"Oh, Bailey!"

"Wait, you know her?"

I can't stop myself from imagining Joel having dated Bailey before, even though he's seven years older than us, and that would be totally gross and not to mention illegal. I guess seeing that older worker at the restaurant with her has really messed with my head. Some sadistic part of my brain is bent on making me believe she has a boyfriend at all costs. The worst part is that I am starting to give in to it.

Joel brings me back to my senses as he says, "Well, no. I've never actually met her."

I sigh in relief, but he isn't done speaking yet.

"Although, I do know that you used to have a crush on her—"

"What?!"

"What?" he repeats, though much more calmly. "Didn't you?"

Completely at a loss for words, my mouth starts letting out a string of incomprehensible sounds.

Joel smiles, which causes my heart to sink. The cat's out of the bag now, and the bag has been utterly annihilated. "You can't lie to me, little bro. I saw your notebook."

I don't need a mirror to know my face has gone white. "W-What notebook...?"

Who am I fooling? There could only have been one notebook. Damn it. I've always been the worst at hiding things. Well, I didn't exactly try here either, remembering that sixth grade me kept my notebook of secrets quite noticeably on top of my desk. I won't be surprised to find out that I had accidentally left it open one day for a particular snooping older brother to discover.

Paying no regard towards my plummeting dignity, Joel clarifies, "The notebook where you wrote her name over a dozen times—"

"I know!" That is not the response I should have gone for.

Joel's still smiling. "So, it is her."

I can feel the heat on my face reaching the tips of my very visible ears. I regret cutting off the long mop of brown hair I wore for the entire second half of high school. It was during my somewhat angsty I'm-definitely-in-a-rock-band phase.

"Aw, look at you. You're blushing. Thinking about it, you used to get all red-faced staring out the car window whenever I drove you home from school. I understand why now."

"Sh-Shut up! Middle school was an awkward time for me!"

"Wasn't it for all of us? Back in eighth grade, I once went streaking in our neighborhood with a couple of friends at three in the morning. But that's just between you and me."

I am so glad my mind did not automatically create a visual of that scene. "Um, you could've just kept that to yourself, you know."

"Too late for that now. Anyway, have you met up with her or not?"

"Huh?"

"Bailey, I mean."

I'm reminded once again of the previous night. I shake my head. "I don't think I should. It's been four years since I last saw her. I don't even know what to talk about with her."

"I think it'd be fun to do some catching up. Reminisce on the old days of you crushing on her—"

"I can't do that, Joel," I say grimly.

"And why not?"

I swallow the despair caught in my throat. "She has a boyfriend."

Saying that out loud is the final push needed to convince me that it is in fact true. Maybe I genuinely do want to believe it. It provides me with an excuse to give up.

Joel looks confused. "I don't see what that has to do with anything—Oh..."

I can practically hear the clicking in his head. I stare down at my interlocked fingers.

Giving me a sympathetic rub on the shoulder, he says, "You still like her, don't you?"