The Hooded Figure

THIRTY NINE

I sat in the front by Jade during Social class, not wanting to deal with Jamie or Alexander. I couldn't stop wondering whether it had been planned, or if Alex had somehow tricked Jamie. However, throughout the day, I found myself more focused on school than anything else. With midterms coming up, it had to be my main priority.

As I was about to get on the bus home, my phone buzzed, reminding me that I had a shift at Marco's tonight. I cursed and face palmed myself. I'd completely forgotten about my shift this evening. Thankfully, I didn't have anything else going on, but it was Wednesday tomorrow and I had the Stollery Club. I haven't gone in a while, but I was hoping that Layla would be there.

I got on a different bus, one that took me to the mall where Marco's Pizza was located. As I was scrolling through my phone, I realized I had several messages from Jamie. Frowning, I opened them.

Jamie - Sorry I had to cancel on you last night, can we make it up sometime?

Jamie - If not, that's ok

Jamie - See u later

My frown deepened as I thought that maybe Jamie didn't know Alexander had replaced him last night. However, I also thought that maybe it was all a ploy to fix things. I decided to ignore his texts, not bothering with that brother drama. When I looked up, I realized that we were just about to pass my stop. I bolted upright and pressed the stop button, alerting the driver that I wanted to get off. He glared at me through his mirror, but stopped nonetheless.

"Thank you!" I called as I exited the bus.

Once I arrived in the restaurant, the increasingly familiar scent of pizza filled my nostrils. I smiled to myself and waved to Maria. I headed for the push doors, but just as I pushed them, they were pushed back at me, sending me flying back about two feet. I landed on my butt, looking up at the person warily.

"Shit, my bad Amy!" Asher exclaimed, reaching down and grabbing my arm, starting a fire along my skin. I was a little dazed, but thankfully Asher hadn't been carrying anything.

"All good," I slurred, trying to regain my balance. As I looked around, I stumbled into hi arms. Asher caught me and I noticed how firm his muscles were. Shit, does he work out? Damn.

"Sorry about that," I laughed as I stepped back and out of his embrace. Thankfully the restaurant was fairly empty, but as I was surveying the room, I noticed a man in the corner booth. "Uh, I'm just gonna go over there..." I trailed off, squinting.

"Amy, are you sure you're alright?" He asked, grabbing my arm tentatively.

"Yeah, yeah," I answered distractedly, shaking him off of me as I headed towards the man. I crouched behind a potted plant in the restaurant and spied on him, trying to get a better look.

"Who are we looking at?" Someone whispered into my ear from behind me. I nearly jumped, but they put their hands on my hips and held me still. "Shh, don't want to alert the enemy," he said with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes at Asher, but smiled nonetheless.

"Hey, isn't that... that Alex guy's dad? Yeah, I saw him on the TV a while back," Ash stated with certainty. I hadn't been sure before, but now I knew, without a doubt, this was Alexander's father. And Jamie's.

I turned around, ready to leave, but Ash was still there and I found myself nose to nose with him, hardly an inch apart. I felt frozen, unsure of what to do. For a second, I thought it was awkward, but then Asher said, "hi."

I started laughing as I stood up. I offered him a hand and he took it, smiling at me wholeheartedly. We headed back to the kitchen and I pulled out my phone to text Jamie.

Amy - Your Dad is here

Jamie replied back almost immediately.

Jamie - What? Where?

Amy - At Marco's Pizza

I was still pretty bitter, so I put my phone in my pocket and put my apron on. Besides, I was here to work, not to chat. I started working on orders, letting Ash roll the dough while I put on the toppings. We worked like that in silence for about half an hour when Asher said, "can I be honest?"

"Sure," I said, continuing my work. However, Asher paused, but didn't look up from his dough. "What is it?"

He kept staring at his dough. "You're pretty great, you know?"

I let out a bark of laughter. "You don't have to tell me, I know," I replied confidently with a big smile. My heart started beating faster.

"Yeah, but I think everyone needs someone to tell them sometimes," he continued, still staring downwards. "You're funny, and nice, driven, motivated, smart from the sounds of it. You're even pretty. Pretty beautiful," he whispered the last bit and I strained to hear what he was saying. I didn't know why he was saying this, or what made him say it, but he was right. Everyone needed to be told every once in a while.

"You're pretty great too, Ash," I told him, smiling to myself. I stopped looking at him and turning to my work.

"You're loyal, reliable, kind, and on top of being really funny," I paused, but then the rest slipped out, "you're pretty. Pretty cute." I felt my cheeks warm up, a tiny grin gracing my lips. I looked up at him, feeling my stomach tighten as he stared back at me, his eyes shining. I wanted to look away, but I was captivated. Neither of us said anything and the intensity between us kept rising to the point where I started wondering if we were ever going to look away.

His eyes flickered to my lips and just as I thought he was going to move, Maria bursted in, saying, "are you guys going to make pizzas? We have customers here!"

• Author's Note •

I wrote the last three chapters on the plane so that's why there was three at once, I wrote non-stop! I was actually pretty proud of how I tied Sam's friends in with Layla's relationship. This book is coming to an end, only a few more chapters :(

Just to see how the tables have turned, who do you ship now?

Andy (Amy + Alexander)?

Ashy (Amy + Asher)?

AJ (Amy + Jamie)?

Lots of love, Nat 💕