Buried Wishes ✔

Chapter 10: You've Got an Irreplaceable Friend in Me

~ [Evelyn] ~

"Bee! BEE!" Dana yelped in fear as she ducked her head to avoid the fuzzy little insect. I was walking about 3 feet away to her side, laughing at her struggle.

"You need to stop moving around. You're freaking it out," I told her as she frowned at me.

"I just don't want a bee stuck in my hair like that one girl last week. Ugh," she groaned as she ran her fingers through her long black hair. We stopped in front of my chem lab building.

We were now three weeks into the quarter and Dana and I had gotten surprisingly close. It might have had to do with the fact that every time I hung out with Harper, she would bring Liam. I still talked to her all the time, but I needed some space to clear my mind of him.

I've gone on quite a few more dates with Mason, every single one of them fun and thoughtful. Something in his eyes always eased my mind of the thought of Liam. Being with him was liberating and had somehow also gotten intense. I found myself wanting him more and more...

"Ev! Evelyn!" yelled a familiar voice from behind us. I turned my head to spot my younger brother, Erick.

"Erick?" I raised an eyebrow at him as I turned my entire body to face him. "What are you doing here?"

He walked until he stood close enough to speak. "I'm visiting the campus to decide whether I should go here. This is...?" He gestured at my friend.

"Oh, this is Dana Pham. She's my friend from chem discussion. Dana, this is my younger brother, Erick," I introduced them.

"Hi," Erick greeted her shyly. He's acting weird.

"Hey," Dana mirrored his behavior, but in addition, tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"So I'm completely lost. I wanted to take a look at a bunch of places and I have no idea where to go. The maps here are confusing," Erick told me.

"Well, I have class soon, so I'm no help-"

"I'll help you," Dana offered with enthusiasm, "I'm free for the rest of the day so yeah."

I looked from her to my brother awkwardly before saying goodbye and walking into the building. Silently, I hoped they'd date.

Dana's a cool girl and if I were to say she lacked anything, it would be confidence and dating experience. The same could be said about my brother. They'd be great together. I pulled out my phone and texted Erick.

Me: Ask her out or I will for you! ❤️

I walked into the lab class to find Everyone already standing at their usual table. Liam was putting on his lab apron and as I approached him, it bothered me that the string behind his neck didn't go under the hood of his sweater.

I waved my hand for him to turn around and as he did, I slowly pulled his hood up and let the string of his apron fit beneath it. My hands lingered on his shoulder for a moment as I pressed for him to turn around. I couldn't be sure if I saw it correctly, but I think he just shivered. Is it cold in here?

As we began to work, I felt a looming presence behind me. I tried to ignore it as I carefully pipetted an exact amount into my graduated cylinder, but I stood straight up as I felt someone's body heat beside me. I turned to see the handsome face of the T.A.

"Oh, hey, Thomas," I said nervously, "Didn't see you there."

"No problem," he responded with an overly warm smile, "Any questions?"