Love Is a Losing Game // Joel Pimentel

2 | Coldwater

Chapter Two

Joel's POV

It wasn't until the first meeting that I regretted inviting her over.

She would get her ugly everywhere.

She showed up wearing skinny jeans and a sweatshirt, Converse on her feet. Her glasses were nowhere to be seen and I realized as I analyzed her that even then she was pretty hard to look at.

"Come into my humble abode." I coldly greet, already done with the whole project.

Matthews was quieter than ever, not meeting my gaze, her hands shaking ever so slightly. I roll my eyes and she shuts hers, taking deep breaths. I look at her in confusion and can't help but ask what she was doing. 

"Are you okay freak?"

She responds with silence and I see the fear in her eyes, the anxiety etched across her face. Her eyes flutter around, panicked.

I furrow my eyebrows.

"What's wrong with you? Have you never been in another persons house?"

She takes a step back when I go to take a step towards her and I see tendrils of hair escape from the messy bun on top of her head.

"I-I can't be he-re."

"Stop acting so weird."

She looks at me with pure fear and then switches her topic of focus back towards the door.

"No. We have to work on the project. You can leave in an hour," I say as I see the intention that lay in her actions. 

Matthews nods once, trembling even in her thick layers of clothing. I tell her where to put her things and we go upstairs to my room, where no one can bother us.

She sits in the desk chair and I sit across from her, wondering why she won't just look me in the eye. "Here's the thing. If you don't talk to me, we can't write an essay on each other," I say slowly, like if I'm talking to a five year old.

"Fine," she breathes out.

"Wha-what do you need t-to know?"

"What's your full name?"

She blushes and I sigh, my patience withering thin.

"Okay listen. You're going to answer me when I ask you a question and then you can fucking get out because I don't need this negativity right now. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," she swallows.

"Good. Now what's your full name?"

"Andrea Blu Matthews."

I scribble down the answer, curious as to why she was using her middle name.

"Parents?"

"..."

"PARENTS?"

"Dead."

I look over at her, feeling the tiniest bit of sympathy towards her.

"That's great," I snort. 

Matthews glances at me in pure shock as the words leave my mouth and I smirk as I roll my eyes.

Dumbass. So happy her parents died, she probably deserved it.

"What's your favorite color?" I ask.

"Yellow or Black," she murmurs. 

"Pick one," I demand with an annoyed tone.

"Yellow."

I scribble down the answer and we do this for an hour until finally, she's sick to her stomach and her face is pale.

"You can leave now."

She rushes towards the door, runs down the stairs, grabs her things, and leaves before I can say anything else.

I look down at her answers and wonder why she didn't ask me any.

Oh well.

***

The third visit, she came with a ribbon in her hair that made me want to pull it out. It was the second week into the six months and I couldn't be more done with the project.

She sits in the same spot, her leg bouncing up and down as she doesn't look at me, the same actions she would take in previous visits. 

"What's your aspiration in life?" I finally ask to break the annoyingly awkward silence. 

"I want to go to MIT, major in astrodynamics and neuroscience, work at NASA, The JPL—The Jet Propulsion Lab—or be a surgeon," she smiles softly at nothing.

"Ugh. You really are a nerd," I groan.

She looks at me for a really long time, her smile dropping slowly. Hair falls down across her face and Matthews looks down into her lap, fiddling with her thumbs. "Where's the bathroom?" I roll my eyes. "Do you really-"

"Yes."

I huff, standing up and leading her into the bathroom. "Thanks," she mumbles.

I smile fakely and she shuts the door quickly. I decide to wait for her to finish but hear her mumbling to herself.

I listen to the faucet running and sigh, questioning why females take so long for everything.

After ten minutes, she comes out, fresh faced and eyes slightly red.

"You good?"

"Yeah."

"Aw. You think I cared."

I march back up to my room and she follows slowly behind.

So dramatic.

"Can you move that fat ass of yours?"

***

At the end of the visit she turns around towards me and looks at me for a long time before whispering.

"There is nothing wrong with having a fat ass."

And then leaving.

I hide my smile with a chuckle and question who she thought she was, talking to me like that.

__________________________________

a/n

jusTIN BIEBER IN COLDWATER IS WOOO