A Stupid, Hopeless Crush

Chapter-18 A 'Not-so' Attractive Face

The next day, I wake up extra early and check Facebook. And what I see blows away my mind.

320K likes!!! Oh my God, that means more than half of our town and maybe even half the state saw these pictures overnight.

Brandon, you're going down.

I happily skip to my bathroom, take a shower, and rushing out, I pull on whatever clothes I find (namely, denim shorts and a checked shirt), put on my Converse, grab my bag and rush down the stairs. The first person I bump into is Kris. He stables me and gives me a suspicious look.

"Where are you bounding off to?"

"Seriously?" I ask. "I'm not 'bounding off to' anywhere, 'cause you see, I'm not a dog or a deer."

He just gives me a blank look, and then he pulls out his phone to show me a picture. It's the selfie I clicked last night, with Brandon in the background. He got it from Facebook, no doubt. "What is this?"

I smile wide and say, "It's a photo."

"Of you and Brandon, who's sleeping and looking like a complete clown. It was all you, wasn't it, Kyles?"

I nod. Kris just frowns and says, "But why?? I thought you liked him."

"I do...but at the same time I really, really hate him. Did you know that it was because of him that I'm practically failing in Chemistry?"

"That doesn't matter if you really like him, Kyles. You've insulted him really bad, you know that, right?"

A part deep down inside me knows that I have insulted Brandon really badly. But he started it, really. He locked me in on the day of our Championship Game, just so he could be Captain. I don't think I can forgive him for that.

There is a side of me that is completely different from the side that likes Brandon. This side demands to dominate over my other side, and that is because I have made myself like this. I learnt my lesson when Aaron broke my heart; I decided not to trust anyone completely. The person would just take advantage of my feelings and leave me feeling like an idiot.

That's why this side pushes over my other, vulnerable side, and I say, "I don't care. Brandon dared me to take this game forward, and I did just that. If anyone is to blame, it's him."

"You know what?" Kris angrily says. "When my sister, my Kyles, is back, let me know." And he storms off.

I glare after him, though I can't get what he said out of my mind. I'm afraid that somewhere, somehow, Kris might be right.

*****************************

♠ BRANDON ALEX DASHNER ♠

I wake up in the morning sleepily, and feeling really hungry, I decide to go down, have breakfast first and then get ready for school. So I pull on a t-shirt over my sleeping pants, don't bother brushing, and go down the stairs to the dining area. Mom, Dad and Jill sit on at the dining table, all ready in their respective clothes, eating breakfast.

"Good morning, everyone," I say sleepily, as I walk towards them. They look up at me, and an expression of shock comes over their faces. Dad's piece of toast drops from his mouth, and the glass of juice which Mom is filling starts overflowing. Jill is the only one who grins at me, her eyes twinkling. "Brandon's a clown!!"

And everyone bursts out laughing. Dad chokes over his toast and Mom tries hard to stifle her laughter.

I, on the other hand, have no clue as to what the hell is going on.

"Why're you all... looking at me like this?" I ask, totally lost. "Is there something on my face?"

And the three of them laugh even more.