It's Complicated

Chapter 9

Mario was waiting for me at our locker. "Hey," he said with a smile. So different from yesterday. It didn't take long before the smile left, though, when he looked at my face. "What's wrong?"

I sighed as I opened the locker, feeling slightly guilty. "Apparently I'm good at doing makeup for people."

"I thought that would be a good thing, especially because of where you work."

"Normally it would, but that means I have to help out doing things like people's makeup at plays."

He held up a hand and I stopped putting stuff in our locker. "Are you saying you can't go to the play on Friday?" I nodded timidly. "Is this because you'll be doing their makeup for them?"

"Yes. I can't go with you because I'll already be there, just backstage."

He grinned. "That's awesome, Daisy."

I blinked at him. That was unexpected. I must not have heard right. "Come again?"

"That's awesome. You get to see everything that happens backstage, as well as the play itself. You'll be in the second-best spot in the entire place."

"What's the best spot?"

He raised one eyebrow. "With me, of course." We stared at each other for a long moment before we both laughed a little bit. He put his arm around my shoulders as we walked to class, the gesture seeming so natural that I didn't give it a thought – I just relaxed into it. When we got close to our destination, he gave me a squeeze before removing his arm and slipping his hand in his pocket.

I noticed some people staring at us. We just walked in and took our seats. I didn't allow myself to wonder about the gesture. He probably didn't mean anything by it. Right?

---

At lunch, we sat with our usual group. Susan and Don were rehearsing for the school play. They'd gotten the lead roles, who ended up as a couple at the end, so they were reading lines for a romantic scene. I felt distinctly uncomfortable with Mario on one side and George on my other, though I was having trouble placing my finger on exactly why. Of course, Mario looked more interested in them than in me, as did Dan, but George was glancing over at me during the more romantic lines.

Under the table, George grabbed my hand and held it. My heart sped up and I looked up at him through my lashes. It was the one look he told me before he loved. He looked at me and before I knew it, he was leaning in closer. His fingertips brushed the hair from my forehead and slid down the side of my face, bringing goosebumps to the surface of my skin. I shivered happily. He slid his thumb across my cheek and gave me a peck there.

I heard a giggle and looked over to see everyone at our table watching us. George pulled back and I felt myself turn red. PDA had always embarrassed me, and, for some reason, George doing that in front of my friends – especially Mario – made it worse.

When he pulled away, everyone went back to what they were doing. Still, my appetite was gone. I picked at my food until the bell rang. George tapped me on the arm as I got up. I turned to him.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you," he whispered. His eyes were locked on mine. He touched my arm, wrapping his fingers around me.

"It's okay, George," I whispered back. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and pulled away. "We're going to be late for class," I said louder so Mario would hear. He nodded and walked away.

Mario and I walked towards our next class. He nudged me. "You okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

He shrugged as he took my books from me. I let him take them, unsure why he was. "It just seemed like you zoned out on us for a minute there."