The Whisper Seekers

Jealousy, Jealousy

After the bell rings, we spot Derek waiting for me by the main doors, surrounded by Mike Fincher and Aaron Lorne, his teammates and friends. He immediately notices Liam and his posture goes from cool and casual to cocky and confrontational.

"Who's this?" Derek snaps. He almost added "dirt" but he can't with how well Liam's dressed, which also agitates him.

"Derek, this is Liam, he just transferred here," I clarify. "Mr. Anderson is making me show him around, so I thought he could come to lunch with us." I'm trying to remain neutral, but I can already tell Derek feels threatened by Liam. We haven't had a good-looking transfer student since Derek came to our school. It's new territory for everyone. 

Liam holds out his hand to Derek's friends as Mike and Aaron introduce themselves. Derek takes one more look at him and exhales loudly, clearly annoyed that we have to babysit the new kid. He turns on his heel and heads for the parking lot, the rest of us trailing behind.

As we're walking to Derek's car, Liam elbows me and gestures toward Derek's waistline. He's wearing a brown Louis Vuitton belt with his khaki shorts. I glance back at Liam, confused, until he points down at Derek's black Nike shoes and mouths, "Told you."

I can't help but laugh. My hand flies up to cover my mouth, and thankfully, no one else notices. My eyes flick back to Liam, and we're both grinning at the shared joke. We have an inside joke now, and for some reason, that thought gives me butterflies.

We climb into Derek's Jeep, but he makes a point of telling me to sit up front.

Aaron and Mike talk to Liam while Derek drives in silence, so there's too much chatter going on in the back for me to try and read what's going on in Derek's head. I realize I haven't heard anything from Liam yet and become determined to get into his head when we get to Derek's. How did I not notice anything when we were strolling down the quiet hallways? When we pull up to Derek's house, we all jump out of the car and onto the driveway.

The Atwaters live just a block away from me in a stunning brick house, complete with large white columns that stretch from the front porch to the roofline. Their U-shaped driveway circles a vibrant flower garden bursting with color. When the weather's nice, Mr. Atwater lines up his collection of antique cars along the side of the driveway, proudly displaying them like trophies. Liam takes it all in, the house, the garden, the gleaming cars, and I can tell he's impressed.

"Quite the house, Derek. What do your parents do?" Liam asks in awe while Derek leads everyone up the steps and into the foyer.

"My dad is a drilling engineer for an oil company, and my mom is a buyer for some boutique," Derek mumbles even though I know he loves answering this question. He wants people to think his parents are important people, like the Atwaters did Highland Park a service by moving here.

We continue into the kitchen, where sunlight streams through the bay window and reflects off the white cabinets, filling the room with a warm, cheerful glow. We each pull a stool up to the large granite island at the center and drop our bags beside us. Aaron takes the seat next to Liam and asks, "So, Liam, you into any sports?" Derek hands out bottled water, and I swivel on my barstool, already knowing exactly what Liam's answer will be.

"Yeah, I played football and lacrosse for my old school," he answers. "I won't miss tryouts for lacrosse in the spring like I did for football." An image of Liam hot and sweaty in a lacrosse uniform flashes across my mind, which squeezes my insides. I try to shake the delicious image from my memory. Derek pulls a stool up next to Aaron and curiously asks, "What position did you play? In football."

"Uh, quarterback, actually," Liam replies. "I was hoping to play my senior year, but due to the transfer, it looks like that won't happen." 

"Yeah and I'm actually the quarterback for Varsity, so you would have had to play a different position or sit warmly on the bench," Derek replies defensively before taking a sip out of his water bottle. I've never seen Derek act jealous before- I oddly kind of like it. I hop off the stool to rummage through his pantry as the boys talk football. I pinch my nose as I try and single out the whispers I'm hearing, but I can't pick out Liam's. I quickly go back to rummaging so Derek doesn't think I have a headache coming on.

I am opening a package of dried fruit when I hear my name in the conversation. I spin around as I ask, " What did you guys just say about me?" 

Derek answers, "That you'll be cheering me on at the game Friday night." I look at Liam as he sits there with a smile playing on his lips and raised eyebrows, not saying anything, like he's tempted to make fun of me.

"Yeah, I will. I'm the captain of the Varsity cheer squad, so I have to be at all the games," I say with my chin a little in the air.

"Wow, class president, an honor student, and head cheerleader. You must be quite the popular one, Adler," Liam responds, and I feel like he's mocking me. His stare is like he is looking right through me. Like he's trying to tell me he's in on the joke, only I don't know what the joke is. I try to break into his head, and it's like I'm hitting a brick wall. I'm now even more determined to get him alone again in a silent place so I can concentrate on his thoughts. Who is this new kid?

"Yep, I do what I can, right?" I laugh a weird, nervous laugh and Derek looks at me, puzzled, almost embarrassed for me. What laugh was that? Why is she being weird? I wish I could reply to his thoughts and say I don't know why I am acting weird, but instead, I walk behind Derek and put my arms over his shoulders. I kiss his cheek before looking at Liam.

"Well, I hope you end up liking it here." He stares right into my eyes and I can't look away when he replies, "You know, I think I will." The boys go back to their conversation about sports, and I eventually sit back on my bar stool.

I don't realize I've tuned everyone out until I catch myself studying Liam's face. There's almost always a smirk tugging at his lips, and his laugh carries a boyish charm. As I watch his mouth move, I start to wonder what he tastes like. His lips are a darker shade of pink, soft-looking and smooth. Unlike mine, they're untouched by nervous chewing, no tiny dents marring the surface. I instinctively bring my fingers to my mouth to check if mine are chapped. Would he notice the imperfections if our lips ever touched? 

My gaze drifts up to his jawline, where a light layer of stubble outlines his sharp features. Derek doesn't really grow facial hair, and when he does, it's nearly invisible, just as pale as the rest of him. The thought of Derek pulls me back to reality, and I shake away everything I'd just been thinking about Liam.

Even though we keep stealing glances at each other as everyone else talks, we haven't exchanged a word. But every time I look at him, something about this boy puts me on edge. I just need to figure out what it is...and why.