Chapter 26 - Secret Exchange

25 2 0
                                    

I’m in a red seat, eating strawberry ice-cream in an ice cream shop with Ben, who is my ride and won’t stop staring at me as if I grew a head or two. I swirled my ice cream around until I was bored.

“Ben” I called while scooping my ice cream

“Yeah” he answered

“Stop staring” I warn him

“I just can’t. It’s weird. What you’re wearing, the hair and the eyes are freaky.” He pointed out

“Get used to it” I say

“I can’t. But you seem so happy though” he observed

“Yeah about ice cream” I tell him

“Sure”

“Jessi Lane Adams once said ‘ice cream is happiness condensed’” I quoted and he rolled his eyes.

“So how are you and Jade. Jade seems to miss you” he asked

“You care an awful lot about our friendship Ben? Why?” I asked

“B-because, we’re f-friends” he stuttered

“I think it’s something else”

“What’s so wrong about caring about that. Can’t a guy care about his friends” Ben asked

“There’s nothing wrong”

“Jade really wants you to be friends” he said

“Why is it Jade, Jade, Jade, Jade, Jade….” Realization dawned on me.

“You like her!” I exclaimed and he was telling me to shush but he was already blushing

“Can you just keep it down?”

“Aww, is wittle Ben embarrassed.” I said in a baby voice

“I’m not it’s just I made a mistake” he shook his head

“What do you mean?”

“If I hadn't led her astray, she wouldn’t have to hate me” he sighed

“Hate you? Ben what are you talking about?”

“Don’t you know what I’m talking about” he asked

“If I did, I wouldn’t be asking you would I?”

“She never told you” he wondered

“Told me what?” I asked curiously

“Nothing”

“Ben tell me.” I pleaded.

“On one condition”

“Secret for a secret. I tell you but you have to tell me yours no matter what I ask” he compromised.

“Ben!” I yelled

“Okay. Jade and I used to date?”

“You guys what?” I blurted out and ice cream comes out of the side of my mouth

"I'm sure Luke would be impressed by your manners" he said dryly. I gave him a look to not change the subject.

“We were boyfriend and girlfriend for seven months. No one knew except my friends”

“Ok, I really don’t believe this” I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth.

He pulled out his phone with picture of Jade and him: one with her laughing at him and another with her wearing his glasses and one with them fooling around. As much as I wanted to not believe him, I couldn’t. The connection was so obvious, I couldn’t deny it. But then I was angry.

The Diary ThiefWhere stories live. Discover now