The Nerd And The Princess

Chapter Two

I think that when you like somebody, and you are trying to give them hints, you change yourself to make them notice you. It’s almost unnoticeable at first, but when it’s all over and you don’t like that person anymore, you realize how different you are. Stay the same, never change. Be yourself and let the right person come along.

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It’s Thursday. Right now I’m hanging upside down from my bed in a tank top and ancient gym shorts. Jaden was supposed to be here almost half an hour ago. We have become really good friends over the last few days (I think), but my other 'friends' don't like that idea. Friend with the nerd, that's the title they gave me. He’s not a nerd, he’s just not a dumbass jock like their boyfriends. Well, more like their sex toys, but it’s the same thing to most of them. Suddenly, Jaden bursts through my door panting. I laugh at the sight, mostly because I am upside down and he looks like he ran a marathon. He smiles at me being upside down.

"Why are you... what are you doing?" he asks.

"Question is, what took you so long to get here?" I ask sitting up. He hops up next me on my bed.

"My truck broke down, so I ran here," He says.

"You could have called!" I say, grabbing my History book and hitting his arm with it.

"I didn't want to bother you and make you waste your gas-" He says, but I cut him off before he can finish.

"It wouldn't waste gas and you are not a bother." I say seriously. I see the tips of his ears begin to turn pink. I smile, and his ears turn red and his cheeks threaten to become the same color.

"Fine, whatever, let’s start on this stupid thing,” he growls under his breath.

After we finish the rest of the history project(it’s due tomorrow), we lay down on my bed.

"I feel so much better now that it’s finished," I say.

"Okay, this might seem weird, but what is going to happen to our friendship after tomorrow?" Jaden asks. I stop thinking about everything else. I didn’t think about that until now. What will happen? We’re from different circles and everything. It’s going to suck not having an excuse to hang out.

"I don't throw away a nice friendship, just like that. I like keeping friendships. And our friendship is just awesome," I say smiling. He smiles too. A comfortable silence starts as we just lay there, staring at the ceiling.

"Let's go for a walk in the park." I say, standing up.

“What park?” Jaden asks.

“The one two blocks from my house. It’s my favorite place to go.”

“Um, yeah, that one. Okay.” He’s a little unsure, but that’s okay. I think he’s growing on the idea.

"Kaylie!" Mom calls though the house.

"Yeah?"

"Come here a second! I'm in the laundry room."

"Okay." I walk into the laundry room, with Jaden following.

"What is this?" Mom ask holding up a pair of black and white panties from Victoria's secret. My jaw drops and Jaden starts laughing.

"Uh, Ava bought those for me..." I trail off. Mom laughs and folds them putting them in my pile.

"Kaylie, you blush way too easily," Jaden says jokingly. I walk away with my head down after hitting his shoulder. I walk out the front door, with him following.

"That was embarrassing... I’m sorry about... my mom. And my life. And everything." I say. He laughs. We ask each other random questions like what our favorite colors are or middle names and that crap until we reach the park. When we got there I lead him out to the open grassy space I go to when I am mad or sad or confused or just need some alone time. We lay down and I sigh. Once again, the comfortable silence falls upon us.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I ask.

"Eh, kinda, we went on our first date last night," He says quietly. Then something inside just breaks and there a sharp pain in my heart.

"Oh." I mutter.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" He asks.

"No." I say quietly.

We stay quiet for a while. I look at him. His eyes are closed and his hands are behind his head. The setting sun hitting his face making it orange. I continue staring at him until he opens his eyes and looks at me.

"What?" He asks. I shake my head.

"Nothing," I say looking away.  I honestly have no idea what I felt when he said he has a girlfriend. Jealousy? No. Maybe. Yes. It was jealousy. Maybe even a little heartbreak. No, that’s impossible. It’s been a week. It hasn’t been long enough for that. Now my heart and mind are telling me I have a crush on him. Great. I suck at hiding my feelings. I sigh and put my hands over my face.

"Are you okay?" Jaden asks me.

"Yeah," I say.  Shivers get sent through my body. I blame it on the cold air, but I feel like I’m losing a friend. The sun is out of sight and the stars have begun to show themselves to the world.

"Are you cold?" He asks. I nod. He sits up, takes off his sweatshirt and hands it to me.

"No, you'll get cold with just your t-shirt. I'll be fine," I say. He shakes his head and throws the sweatshirt at me.

"Wear it." He says. He’s serious. I sigh and put it on. His phone rings and he looks at it.

"It's Chelsi, one second," He says. He puts his phone up to his ear and says 'Hello,'. I hear her yelling. He’s having a hard time staying calm in the conversation and keeping it civil.

"Babe, I got to go, I'll talk to you later." He says, but she continues to yell at him. For some reason, he doesn’t hang up the damn phone. I get up and start walking home. About thirty seconds later, I look back. He’s still talking to her. I just walk home alone. When I get home, Mom is sitting on the couch watching TV. I go up to my room without a word.

When I walk into my room, I slip off my jeans and slip on my bed shorts, then crawl into bed.

We’re just friends. That’s all. I don’t like Jaden Wills. Jaden Wills and Kaylie Marie Matthews would never work. Jaden and I would never work out in a relationship. We’ll never work, and it will always be that way, so I need to just get over it and move on.