Life Unexpected

Chapter 25: Double Date

Peter and I walk hand and hand to the restaurant. We had all decided to eat at a restaurant near the river, so we could eat outside. We walk up to the restaurant and I spot Gemma with Holden. I yank Peter's hand and lead him to the table.

"Hey guys." I smile at them as I take a seat. Peter and Holden nod at each other awkwardly. Peter sits down beside me. Everyone looks at each other in awkward silence.

Gemma clears her throat. "Well, this is nice." The rest of us nod our head in agreement.

"Uh, yea. This is fun." Peter says sarcastically. I elbow him in the ribs. He glares at me as he rubs his side. "What was that for?"

"Be nice." I whisper to him.

We all decide to order pepperoni pizza and share it. And that had taken forever to agree on. Everyone wanted something different. We all sit silently while we wait for the food.

I roll my eyes. "C'mon, guys! We're all friends!"

"Uh," Peter points at Holden. "I'm not friends with him."

Holden stares at Peter. "What's your deal?"

"What's yours?" Peter counters him. They both glare daggers at each other. They both look ready to fight at any given moment.

"Boys!" Gemma says and glares at both of them. "This isn't fight night. You can do that on your own time. This is a date, so act like gentlemen."

"Yes, mam..." They both whisper under their breaths.

Gemma and I share a look. We both shake our heads. When the pizza arrives, we all eat in silence. It was probably the worst double date in the history of double dates.

"So, my letter from that college in Maine is supposed to be here any day now!" Gemma says excitedly.

Holden immediately stops eating his food and gives Gemma a big hug. "I hope they accept you. You'll make a great doctor."

She blushes slightly. "Thank you."

Peter sighs heavily. "That's great, Gemma." He says in a hushed voice.

I smile apologetically at Gemma for Peter's behavior. "I hope you get in! I know how much it means to you, unlike some people." I whisper under my breath.

Peter's jaw clenches, but he doesn't say anything. He continues to eat in silence as the rest of us enjoy our meal.

"Your grandma collects old keys?" I ask Holden after he finished telling us about his grandma.

He nods his head. "Yea, when she was little she would dig through the trash to find old keys. She still does it now, honestly." He laughs to himself.

I nod my head. "That's cool."

"What about your grandparents?" He asks me.

"I, uh, I don't know." I shrug.

Thankfully the waitress came with the bill before I had to explain why I never saw them. It wasn't a touchy subject for me. I just didn't like to talk about how many times I moved when I was younger. Okay, maybe it was a touchy subject.

We all split up our money and pay for the bill. Gemma and Holden say bye to us as they leave the restaurant. I wave goodbye to them and, surprisingly, so does Peter. When they're out of sight, Peter grabs my hand and we walk to the water. He walks until we are away from people.

He stops and turns away from me. He looks down the river. His fists were clenched so I knew he was mad. "What was that all about?" He asks me.

"What?" I look at him in confusion.

"All the snarky comments."

I step away from him. "Me? What about you? I'm sorry, but there was no reason for you to act like that."

He shakes his head and crinkles his nose in disgust. "Are you serious? You know I hate Holden."

"Maybe it's time you stopped holding a grudge. Is it really necessary? He's obviously moved on."

"He never apologized!" He says loudly then drops his voice low. "You know he used to bully me."

"That's in the past. I'm sure he-"

"How can you be so stupid?" He asks angrily. "Not everyone in this world is good. Don't you know that?"

"Of course I know that. But do you know that not everyone in this world is bad?" I search his eyes and look for an answer. He just stares back at me, with no emotion behind those ocean blue eyes.

"I can't believe you." He kicks a stone and watches it drop into the river. "I just can't stand you right now."

I ball my fists up in anger and rack my brain for a good comeback. "Yea, well, uh, if you were my husband I would put poison in your coffee!" I smirk at him. Yea, that was a good one.

He stares at me like I'm the biggest idiot in the world. "If you were my wife I would drink it." Now it was his turn to smirk at me.

We both fall silent and watch the water go by us. I sit down on the ground and hug my knees to my chest. Peter sits down next to me and runs a hand through his hair. "Why do we always do this?" He whispers.

I look over at him and shrug. "I don't know. I thought you would have answer."

"I don't." He sighs. "I'm sorry I'm such a jerk. I'm sorry I can't control my feelings. I'm sorry I-"

"It's okay." I interrupt him.

"No!" He shakes his head at me. "You always say that. It's not okay. It's not okay for me to act like this."

I just nod my head and continue to look at the water. He doesn't say anything either. He rubs the bridge of his nose as if in deep thought. He scoots closer to me then takes my hand. He looks deeply into my eyes. "Clary, listen to me. No, don't look away. I want you to hear this." I look back into his eyes. "When I tell you that I like you, I don't say it out of habit. I say it to remind you that you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I want you to understand that."

I look away from him and take a deep breath. "I know that, Peter. You just have a weird way of showing that sometimes."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm trying."

I smile slightly. "I know you are."

He clears his throat. "Uh, maybe..." He trails off then shakes his head and stands up. "Never mind. I should get you home. Come on."

I stand up and walk with Peter to the car. When I get home, I go to my room and stare at the ceiling. I wasn't sure what to do anymore. Peter was making life more and more confusing.