Chapter 14
Caleb
"Hey, Aiden..."
"Caleb, you look horrible."
I place my guitar case down and immediately collapse to the floor seated. It's hard to tell exactly what is causing my lack of spirit this afternoon: last night or this morning. Ever since Joel learned I still have a crush on the same girl from middle school, he's been driving his big brother meter to the max. He would not leave me alone, coming up with one plan after another to help me move on.
I'm pretty sure he forcibly saved at least ten girls' numbers onto my phone. I haven't deleted them yet, but I should get to that before it's too late. There is still the tiniest bit of hope that Bailey doesn't have a boyfriend after all, but I refuse to let Joel know about that. He is sure to immediately switch tactics and play the unappreciated wingman. He can be too much sometimes—Well, like all the time.
"So, are you going to tell me what's up or not?" Aiden takes a seat on the floor next to me.
Roy and Noah haven't arrived yet. Those two are usually late anyway, especially Roy. The only days he is early for practice are when he spends the night at the studio. Since I'm not in much of a mood to start setting up my guitar, I might as well get this off my chest.
I start, "Have you ever had a girl you liked for a long time?"
Aiden raises a brow. "How long are we talking?"
"Like seven years—"
"What?"
"Okay, wait," I add, seeing the shock on his face. "It's more like you've known her for seven years. You liked her for three, but then she moved away four years ago, and you kind of got over her until you got the chance to possibly reconnect recently to which you started crushing on her all over again. Really, it's only like three years and a few days."
"So, that's the girl you panicked over the other day."
"W-What?"
For a split second, I think about playing it off like this isn't exactly about me but rather an example for a friend. Luckily, I stop myself because even I know that will end up being the most unconvincing lie in the world.
I sigh. "No, that was actually her best friend who told me I should visit her sometime."
"Oh. And did you visit her?"
"Well, kind of."
"Kind of?" he repeats in confusion.
"Okay, do you promise not to laugh at me?"
Aiden shrugs. "Depends on whether you did something stupid or not."
That wasn't the warmhearted response I got from Joel this morning, which makes me a bit hesitant to pour out all my embarrassment now. But I shouldn't be worried about coming off as an idiot. I already did so to the one girl I am supposed to look cool to.
With a deep breath, I confess, "I went to her parents' restaurant last night. But she was busy working and didn't even notice me. I wasn't able to say one word to her before leaving..."
Aiden snickers almost instinctively. Suppressing his laugh, he says, "To be honest, I never took you as the type to choke in those kinds of situations."
I frown in disapproval. "I don't know where you got that notion from because I am terrible at these kinds of things."
"It sure doesn't seem that way when you're on stage in front of dozens of hot girls."
"That's different!" I say right away. "My life on stage and off it are two separate things."
"Yeah, I guess that is true. Then, let me ask you one thing."
"Okay."
"What separates this girl you like from all the other girls you've seen at our shows or at school?"
I don't have an immediate answer to that. I don't think I've ever considered what it is that makes me like Bailey so much. She was just always around back in middle school. We had so many classes together. I couldn't help noticing her. At some point, I started noticing more and more of her, until I found myself thinking about her every day. I suppose that's how all crushes start though.
But why is it that seven years later, I still feel butterflies in my stomach at the sound of her name? Why is it that I practically forgot about her during high school, yet the moment I remembered her again, my heart returned to its middle school years? Why is it that—
"I never got to tell her how I feel..." I say under my breath.
"Oh," Aiden lets out empathetically. "I get it. You can't move on from a crush you never fully acknowledged in the first place."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"In simpler terms, I mean you should stop keeping all this to yourself and go tell that girl the truth already. Who knows? She might even like you back."
"I doubt that."
"Come on, Caleb. You haven't even tried."
"But—"
"But what?"
I swallow. "But what if she already has a boyfriend?"
"Does she?"
"Y—" I stop myself.
Aiden's question awakens the one fact I've been trying to bury deep down out of sheer helplessness. The truth of the matter is I don't know whether that older guy really is Bailey's boyfriend or not. There is a chance he might be. At the same time, there is also a chance he's not.
"I don't know," I eventually reply.
"Well, let's go find out then." Aiden gets up and heads for the door. When he hears no movement from me, he says, "Aren't you coming?"
"Huh?" I blurt out. "We're going to see Bailey?!"
"Ah, so that's her name. Yeah. I'll drive."
"But what about practice?"
"Roy and Noah can warm up without us. Besides, they're the ones who always come late anyway."
"B-But—"
"You worrying about Bailey all day is going to do more harm than us starting practice an hour late. And if I send you off by yourself, you're probably going to make a repeat of last night. The two of us are going to settle this once and for all. Let's go."
I stand up, although my feet feel heavy. Unsure how to take in this sudden adventure, but at the same time unable to refuse, I whisper, "Um, okay..."

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