I Hate you More Than Tacos on Thursday

1: The Insults are For Better - Or Worse

I can never get the girl.

"Oh, James. You're too nice, but you're like brother to me. But you know who I really would like to date?"

Oh, no. However could I guess, Alissa?

"No." I say sarcastically, tapping my fingers against my jaw in annoyance. I had heard this response entirely too many times. It was all the same. You're too nice, I only like you as a friend, You're like a brother- but do you know who I really like James? Adam.

"Adam." She responds, giggling and batting her eyelashes, like every girl does. I swear if I see that action one more time, I will go absolutely crazy.

It's always Adam Goodwin, the school's bad boy.

I found it ironic how his name was Goodwin, yet he was up to no good. He was the typical cliche. Black hair, blue eyes, too-cool-for-you attitude. It really pissed me off sometimes. He had all these girls vying for his attention, yet he paid them none. In fact, he never even really talked unless it was with his sister, Adelaide. So here I was, trying to simply get a girlfriend and be a normal teenager, and he was standing in my way. I hated him more than I hated tacos on Thursday. Someday, I was going to beat him. I didn't know at what, I just know that I would.

"James? Did you hear anything that I just said?" Alissa asks, sizing me up and down with her crystal blue eyes.

I hesitate for a moment, not wanting to be mean to her. I'm just too nice of a person, which I probably really need to fix. Just not right now. "Um, yeah. Good luck with Adam, I guess. Listen, I really need to go, see you tomorrow?" I ask, scratching the back of my head. All I wanted was to get out of this slightly awkward situation and figure out a way to beat Adam at something - anything.

"Yeah." She smiles, showing her perfect teeth.

I nod and walk away from the cafeteria table in a hurry. I needed to clear my head, and the best way to do so was to go into the hallways and sit down against the lockers.

I pushed against the cafeteria doors roughly, thinking of what I was going to do.

And then I did the most cliche thing possible.

I bumped into something that just happened to be blessed, excuse the sarcasm, with the name Adam Goodwin.

I cringed as the scent of cigarettes hit my nostrils. If there was one thing that I hated more that tacos on Thursdays, it was the scent of cigarettes.

"Watch where you're going, kid." A velvety voice rang from above me.

I felt a sudden surge of anger go through me and looked up at the source. "I'm not a kid, and the last time I checked we were the same age, douchebag."

He raises a seemingly perfect black eyebrow. Jeez, did he wax those things? "Nice insult, can you think of anything else that fills up your pea sized vocabulary?" He asks, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Yes, but they're not very nice so I'm going to control myself and not say them." I cringe as the sentence passes my lips, knowing I've sounded incredibly nerdy.

"Oh, you're a nice guy, huh? Must not do very well with the ladies."

I feel my face go red.

He smirks, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "Thought so."

"Why do you have to be so frustrating? You have every girl worth dating, and then some, staring at you like a pack of hungry wolves, and you never talk to them - oh no, you only talk to your precious little sister Adelaide." He tenses at her name, but I continue anyway, not caring if he's angry at me. "And then I'm stuck in the friend zone - and worse yet - the brother zone all because of you and your angeringly perfect face. And let me just come out and say it because I know I will probably never get the confidence boost I have right now again - I hate you, Adam Goodwin. I hate you more than tacos on Thursdays."