"Mo, Mo junior, Mo the third," Colton says as he touches my face. I frown at him.
"Aren't you going to copy the notes on the board?" I ask. He shrugs. We don't have a dissection today but we have more prep.
"You've got it covered," he says. "Little Mo, tiny Mo, hairy Mo." He keeps touching my face.
"What are you doing? Why do you keep saying Mo?" I ask him. He grins at me.
"I'm naming your freckles," Colton tells me.
"I don't have any frec-"
"Yes, you do," he says. "Mo Senior, Mo the fourth."
I haven't asked him about dinner.
"So...do you have any plans for Friday?" I ask. He looks up.
"Are you asking me out?" Colton asks. I almost die.
"No! It's just...I have this stupid thing with my parents and they think...well," I ramble.
"Spit it out," he says.
"I need you to pretend to be my friend so my parents don't send me to boarding school or something." I bite my lip and look at him.
"What's in this for me?"
"A friend? Or...oh! I could be your lookout or whatever when you fuck girls," I say. "Or...help you develop a healthy non-sex-oriented relationship."
"Really?" Colton asks. He laughs.
"Don't laugh at me! I get that you don't want to and it's stupid but don't laugh at me!" I say. I turn my chair away from him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he says, laughing. He pulls my chair back. "I'm in."
"What?" I ask him. His eyes are dancing.
"I'm in. I'll be your friend or whatever," Colton says. "But, I need a couple of things."
"Oh, Jesus. What do you need?" I ask. He smiles and touches one of my supposed freckles.
"I might need a friend occasionally to be a lookout. Oh, and you have a car, don't you?" Colton says. He runs his hand through his hair. He's been using less gel.
"Yeah, why?" He grins at me sheepishly.
"Although incredibly badass, a motorcycle is not fun to ride in the rain. And I can only borrow Ma's car sometimes. I need a car," he tells me.
"Okay," I say, shrugging. The bell rings.
"See you around," he says. I wave to him.
It's Wednesday, so I have two days to prepare him. When I get to the hospital I go straight for Victoria after I change.
"Hey!" I say. She turns around.
"Hey, what's up?" she asks. We sit down on a discarded patient bed.
"Mom and Dad said that I need friends my own age and I said that I had one," I tell her.
"But you don't have any friends your age," she points out.
"I lied and said that Colton was my friend," I say.
"Colton? Like Mason's cousin Colton?" Victoria asks.
"Shut up!" I hit her arm. "And it's probably a really terrible idea but I asked him today if he would pretend to be my friend in exchange for something else," I tell her.
"Like what? Sex?" Victoria asks.
"No! Eww, no. I said that I'd give him a ride and be his lookout. Did you know that he owns a motorcycle? Why would he do that and live here? Ugh," I say. She laughs.
"Have fun," she tells me. Her pager buzzes. "Gotta go."
"Mmhmm, thanks," I say.
What did I do?
I walk up to Eleanor's room and plop down in the chair next to her. "Hey."
"Hey," she says. "Where's Colton?" she asks. She pushes her hair to the side. She has crazy blonde curls and wide amber eyes.
"He couldn't make it today," I tell her. "Did you like him?"
"Yeah, he was nice. I think he liked you." She looks at me and then at her cartoons.
"Maybe. Should I bring him around more?" I ask Eleanor. She nods. "Are you still in here for that lung infection?" I ask her. She coughs.
"I have an ear infection too," Eleanor says.
"Ouch. Your mom working?" I say. She nods. I scoot my chair closer to the bed and look at the TV. "What are we watching now?"
"Tom and Jerry," she says. I nod. "Do you like Colton?" Eleanor asks me. I look at her. She looks so innocent.
"As a friend or a special friend?" I ask her. She thinks about for a second.
"Both."
Hmm. Do I like Colton? Kind of. He's not as terrible or soulless as I thought he was. I definitely don't like him as a special friend.
"He...is one of my friends, but not a very good one. And before you ask I don't like him, like him," I tell her. She smiles.
"Okay," Eleanor says. She bites her lip and looks at me. "I have a special friend."
I choke on spit. "What?"
"I have a boyfriend," she tells me.
"But you're ten!" I say.
"So?"
"You're in fourth grade! I'm almost done with highschool and I haven't had a boyfriend. Well, maybe I've had one or two, but that's not the point!" I say. "So, now that I've yelled at you and done my part, what's he like? What's his name? How old is he? How do you know him?"
"His name is Ian. He's in my class and he's really sweet," she says. I shake my head.
"I still can't believe you have a boyfriend and you're ten," I say
"I'm almost ten and a half," she says. I shrug. "I think Colton should be your special friend," Eleanor tells me.
"I guess we'll see. Let's go for a walk to get some pudding and cake," I tell her.
"How about pudding cake?"
"Perfect!"
We both grin at each other.
YOU ARE READING
2:29 AM
Romance"Okay, you know what? You're such a jackass and I never should have kissed you," I say. Colton stands up. His green eyes are just as angry as mine are. "Then why did you?" he asks. "I don't know!" I yell. "Why did you kiss me back?" "Hey, you kis...
