How to Date a Nerd

Chapter 20 - How to Crash Your Archenemy's Stupid Party

This is not what I intended
I always swore to you i'd never fall apart
You always thought that I was stronger
I may have failed but I have loved you from the start

Chapter 20 – How to Crash Your Archenemy’s Stupid Party

 

I paced back and forth the living room, momentarily glancing at the door to the basement, trying to overhear whatever Nathan and the gang were up to. They’d locked themselves up in there all morning. I wasn’t at all okay with the idea of letting Nate in my studio. He’d wreck the place for sure. But Dad was a lot more trusting than me. Of course, he’d let Nate do whatever he likes. It was Dad’s idea of making up for all those years he owed my brother.

“Give him a chance, he says,” I grumbled under my breath in frustration. “A chance to wipe out my studio.” So far, all I could hear was a bit of a frenetic drum solo and few guitar leads.

“Leon!”Someone bit my shoulder. It didn’t hurt, but I jumped away in surprise. I rolled my eyes before facing she-who-dared-to-eat-me. I knew who it was.

“Sarah,” I sniggered, knuckling her on the forehead. “You’re worse than Jer. And Kidnap.”

She recoiled, hiding her face behind the stack of books she was balancing on her arms. “I’ve been calling at the door for forever. What are you, legally deaf?”

I adjusted my glasses and faked a laugh. “Very funny. Why’re you here so early? I thought you’d be busy dressing up for the stupid party,” I muttered taking more than half of the books off her hands.

As if to ignore me, Sarah stepped towards the basement door. But before she could reach for the doorknob, I shoved her away from it. A loaded personal recording studio. She’d definitely ask questions. So despite her objections, I blocked the stairway and told her to get a move on. That she was imagining whatever she heard. After a glaring contest, she went up to my room grudgingly, looking unconvinced but dropped the matter nonetheless.

With a big sigh, I plunked the books on my study table. There was hardly any room to put them and though I loved her so, I despise clutter with a passion.

“You don’t always have to bring a ton of books every time you come here, you know that, right?” I said, trying to keep my cool. It’s Sarah, I reminded myself. Everything’s fine. “My room’s starting to look like a library.”

 “I’m trying to be convincing here,” she mumbled, giving me a rueful look.“Mom’s going to pull all my hair out if she knew I wasn’t studying for the retake. She kept snooping in my room and I’ve pretended to read Hamlet twice already. She’s getting suspicious.”She jumped into my bed and turned on the TV. Dog-whisperer was airing.

She tapped the bed, gesturing for me to sit with her and when I did, she rested her chin on my shoulder—where she bit me. It actually hurt, mind you. But I didn’t let it show on my face.

“It can’t be helped then,” I breathed out, looking at her. “You’ll eventually have to tell her that you don’t want to go Yale anymore.”

For a while, Sarah fell silent, staring blankly at the TV. “How can I do that? It was our dream since I was five. We swore,” she whispered, taking my hand and making a pinky promise. “Like this.” Then, she dropped her gaze and reluctantly let go of my hand, looking like the world was on her shoulders.

“Ah, what’s with that face?” I complained loudly, flicking her on the forehead. “Quit moping, will you?”

Blinking and dumbfounded, she rubbed the reddened gap between her brows and bared her teeth. I scrambled away from her, knowing that she’d take any chance to sink her teeth in me. She couldn’t help it. I was just so irresistible. A second too late to grab my arm, she hurled two pillows to my direction, which I swiftly dodged. I was just too awesome for her lack of coordination. Note the humility, people.