Mr. "Boyfriend"

4 | 'Jerk' Is An Understatement

"Did I hear wrong?" Rage filled his eyes, along with bewilderment.

"No."

Silence.

"Do I even know you?" He asked discreetly.

"Not at all. I don't think I've ever met you." I only replied to his questions, too scared to talk more than necessary.

"How many people know? About this lie of yours?" It was an odd question to ask but I answered anyway.

I gulped. "Almost everyone at my school."

"Which means pretty much everyone at my school as well." He ran his hand through his hair, looking too distressed to stay still.

"I'm sorry."

I explained the reason for such a lie. It was the least I could do for putting him in such a situation.

"You didn't want to date someone? And I was your choice for this role?"

"Well, Audrey told me you were quiet and not very noticeable." I tried hard to not look into his green eyes.

After a couple of awkward minutes, he spoke up.

"What's in it for me?" His frown deepened and I didn't know what to say.

"I don't know."

Suddenly, Aaron pinned me against the wall. My breathing slowed abruptly but I could hear my heart beating rapidly.

"I'm not some nerd who'll follow you around with glee." An angry scowl played on his lips.

He leaned in and spoke softly. His lips were only an inch away. We were close enough to kiss one another. I couldn't believe what was happening but I also didn't do anything to stop him.

"I'll give you an answer soon."
Aaron released me and I only exhaled a huge breathe of oxygen once he was out of sight.

I collapsed onto the floor, still feeling the burning sensation of his warmth coiling around me. I knew my face was red as a tomato, even without a mirror.

Thankfully, Aaron left and didn't come back. That left me to think before going into the nurse's room.

Chatter stopped when I walked in.
"Have a nice chat?" Mark grinned deviously.

Audrey playfully tugged on his ear while saying "Be quiet."

Audrey and Mark were sitting close to one another, almost looking inseparable.

I took the chance to tease them.
"Aren't you two close." I pointed to them and they replied with nervous glances and awkward laughter.

Selena gave a slight laugh from her seat in the right corner and smiled.
"They've grown closer in the three minutes you were gone."

"Of course." I rolled my eyes and Audrey squirmed in her seat. Right beside Mark. It was very comical and I almost burst into giggles, but it didn't seem appropriate at the time.

"Man, I can't believe I didn't know you were his girlfriend." Mark stated, a look of betrayal was displayed on his perfect face.

"Well, I didn't know until five days ago." Audrey looked guilty as she lied to him. Although, it was partially true; we came up with our plan involving Aaron just a few days ago.

While Audrey and Mark bonded over their similar situation, I sat with Selena.

Her blonde hair swished to the side effortlessly when she turned to face me.
"What did he say about the situation?"

I stayed quiet for a little too long. Selena took my silence as a bad sign.

"Figures, he's never been the understanding type."

A sigh escaped my lips. "He said he'd 'give me an answer soon'."

Selena seemed startled. "Aaron didn't flat out reject you?"

I nodded and she gawked at me.
"You sure you don't have history with him?"

"Does it seem like that?"

"It sure does."

Searching my consciousness for anything racked up when I saw Aaron, was his last name. Cole. Goosebumps shot up whenever I heard his last name. Maybe I'd recognize his family?

"This is personal, but," I was finding it hard to reveal such a private matter to anyone.

"But, I lost my memories from when I was young." I softly said, lowering my voice to ensure the other two didn't overhear.
"So even if I met him before, I wouldn't really remember."

"Really? So, you don't remember your childhood?"
"Not really, just some fading dreams or fragments, not much." The fact I couldn't remember didn't make me emotional. It made me feel empty inside. That was the worst part.

******
Aunt Moraine watched me with her wistful blue eye.

"The scrapbooks and albums?"
I hastily gave her a quick 'yes' and anticipated her answer.

First and last time, I reminded myself.
After all these years, I was never curious enough to ask about my old self. I was sure it'd bring nostalgia to my dear aunt. And, you know what they say: curiosity killed the cat. I didn't want to pass away anytime soon.

"She held her palm to her wrinkled forehead.
"In the attic. God, how did I manage you all these years."
Counted, it was a total of five years. I was in my aunt's custody when I turned twelve.

I pushed open the old wooden door leading to the attic. The ladder wasn't very sturdy and almost dropped me twice. When I made it to the top, I was out of breath.

The dust had settled in over the lack of use since I moved in and my uncle passed away. Uncle Bentry used it as an art studio before.
I spotted the stack of books in a cardboard box labeled 'Family'.

I reached in with a hand and wiped the cobwebs off a red leather covered album. The picture at the front showed a child in pigtails holding hands with a man and a woman, supposedly her parents.

My parents. I would always cherish the deep brown eyes my mom had with the same coloured blond hair as mine.
My dad was who I received my pair of blue eyes from. His cropped dirty blond hair was a mess and he looked very tired. Together, however, we were the picture of a perfect family.

I'd describe myself as the perfect child too, but I most definitely was not. My baby blue dress was covered in mud and my hair was also a mess.
I could tell it didn't matter to us in the photo. We were happy, and that's what had mattered.

I flipped through the pages, mainly containing baby pictures of me. Me eating ice cream, me smiling at Dolphins, me jumping in rain puddles. One had both me and my dad. He was holding me in a hug. Meanwhile, I was crying over something. I touched the picture and became oddly depressed. I wished badly to know the cause for my tears considering I was probably five or six then.

The floorboards creaked as I made it past different boxes. I reached to the very corner of the room and found a box that was torn and ripped. It was much older than the others. Maybe it belonged to my parents.

I ripped open the torn cardboard and grabbed out a frame blindly. I read the next words out loud, blowing off the layers of dust with an ancient rag I found along the journey in the attic.

"The Cole family."

The glass shattered as it hit the floor.

Avan Jogia as Morton Khan. Cliff hangers are horrible, I'm sorry ^~^ Please comment and like!