Chapter 7
Friday
4:58p.m.
I waved bye to Jon as he drove off to his house. He was the one of us that really had to hustle since he had to get back to the school and keep an eye on the guys we hired as ordered by the principle. I went up to my room and tossed my bag on the floor. I opened my closet and looked through my wardrobe. Limited. And no, not the brand, as in not a lot of selection. Though I was going to be the host, it still meant I should probably try to look nice. I flipped through my shirts and came across a dark blue button up that I hadn't worn in a while. I took a quick sniff and hung it on the doorknob. Next, I flipped through me seemingly endless supply of blue jeans and finally found my black slacks. After giving them another quick sniff, I laid them out on my bed. I grabbed an undershirt and a fresh pair of underwear from the drawer and sat down on my bed to change.
Tobias leaned in the doorway, "So you're doing this thing tonight, eh?"
"As much as it seems like another scheme to win her over, it's not, Tobias," I said as I began changing, "I mean originally, yeah, I kinda hoped this might do something, but now, I can honestly say I just want her to be happy on her birthday. That's all I've ever wanted for her in the first place, to be happy." I looked and Tobias and sighed satisfactorily.
"And what if this does cause her to fall for you?" asked Tobias in a curious tone.
"She's in love with Eric, she's been in love with Eric for years now, and I need to grow up and accept that. I've spent too much time hoping for something that's obviously not in my future and I need to finally move past that. I'm freakin' moving to another state for cryin' out loud. If I don't get over her now, I'll be that much more pathetic when I get to Texas."
"Looks like those plans from this morning sure took a different turn," said Tobias with a smirk, "I guess we didn't need to go through that whole note thing after all."
"Actually, I think it was the note idea that finally got my gears turning in the right direction," I said as I pulled on my slacks. "All that advice and all those people who knew about my feelings, plus realizing how many more people know that didn't write on those notes, made me think pretty hard about how I should part ways with Katelyn. Then she got that phone call and it finally hit me and here I am now, not only about to make her, what I hope to be, the happiest new seventeen year old, but be able to leave this school with a legacy I never even dreamed possible."
"Tonight will be a night to remember for your class as well as mine," said Tobias. "But, before this evening starts, let me let you in on a little secret that I bet you'll be quite delighted to hear," Tobias put a hand to the side of his mouth as if he didn't want the empty house to hear, "Eric still hasn't been able to get a kiss from Katelyn." Tobias left the doorway, leaving me in a daze.
Why did he have to tell me that? I was just getting over my wishful thinking and my stupid little theories of signs that Katelyn and I belonged together. Now, with that one little statement it all started coming back like dust into a vacuum. I slapped myself hard and scolded myself for that weak moment. I reminded myself that Katelyn wanted to remain friends with me and if that was as close to her as I could get, then damnit that was fine with me. I finished getting dressed and took a gander in the mirror. The dress shirt fit snug, the way I like it, and it actually made me look a bit more built than I actually was. The slacks fit like a charm and even though it wasn't needed, I looped a black belt around my hips. I slipped on a pair of soft black socks and looked under my bed for shoes. I had one pair of cowboy boots, one pair of running shoes, one pair of dress shoes, and one pair of grunge trainers. Usually I would choose the dress shoes without a second thought, but I figured my trainers would actually seem more like me to wear with this outfit so the trainers it was. Tobias met me at the front door and we headed back to the school.
