It Started With a Song [editing]

Chapter 8 - Friends for Life

CHAPTER 8 

 The next morning when I woke up, I had a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.  All of us girls – Diana, Olivia, and I – had spent the night at Grace and Casey’s house.  Of course, like at all sleepovers, we hadn’t gotten much sleep.  Plus, Diana and Olivia just had to talk to me about Scott.  Apparently I like him?  I don’t know.  Olivia says if you blush whenever a boy smiles at you, that means you like him.  But I don’t know if I like Scott.  He’s basically my best guy friend, did I want him to be more than that? 

It’s like there was a three-way war within myself.  Part of me wanted to admit that I liked him, the part that kept bringing him to mind all the time, the part that made my heart flutter and gave me that fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever he was around.  That part wanted to believe that he liked me, too.  Another part wanted to just acknowledge him as a friend and keep things the way they were before I started liking him without knowing it.  And yet another part had decided that I had just a tiny – very tiny, mind you – crush on Liam.  Understanding that he’s both older than me and a world famous singer, of course.  In my opinion, every girl is entitled to a celebrity crush. 

Seeing as I was wide awake now and apparently the only one awake, I decided to go get something to eat.  I knew Olivia could probably sleep all day, but Diana would probably be up soon, even though it was only 8 a.m. on a Saturday.  Making my way to the kitchen from the living room, I opened Grace’s cupboards to see what I could eat.  I decided on some pancakes that were hidden in the freezer, heated them up as quietly as possible, and sat down at the kitchen table to eat.  Just then, Diana walked in.

 “Morning, Lyla!” she chirped cheerfully.  I grunted in reply.  She was a morning person, I wasn’t.  End of story.  Obviously she took my lack of proper reply as an invitation to keep talking.  “How was your sleep?  Oh, today’s Saturday, isn’t it?  Are you nervous about talking to your parents about opening for the boys?”  Not even giving me time to respond, she continued yakking while I tried to eat my breakfast in peace.  “And speaking of boys, I think we need to talk more about the whole Scott situation, just you and me.  Olivia may know lots about boys, but Scott is my twin brother, after all.”

 I rolled my eyes in frustration.  “There is no ‘Scott situation,’ as you call it.”  I took a breath to finish my statement, but she interrupted me.  “Ah, yes, denial.  The first clue that you like someone.”

 “I’m trying to tell you, there is no ‘Scott situation,’ because you can’t make a situation out of something that I’m still trying to figure out.  I don’t know if I like him or not!”

 Diana looked furtively towards the living room, where Olivia was still sound asleep.  “Okay, Ly, let me try to help you figure that out.  Just keep it down and don’t wake Olivia, unless you want her to 'help' some more.  Or Grace and Casey, either, unless you want them to know.”

 I sighed in defeat.  “Fine, we can talk.  I’m done with my breakfast, anyway.  Let’s go downstairs to talk.”  She followed me down the stairs into the basement, where Grace and Casey had created a hang-out area of sorts.  Half of it was sports-themed; the other half us girls had decorated.  Scott always infuriatingly called it “The Dugout,” even though he knew I hated that name, although I didn’t know why I detested it so much.  Maybe it was because he called it that.

 I sat down on the couch, and Diana stood in front of the wall that was covered in chalkboard paint, picking up a piece of chalk.  “Alright,” she began, ever the resourceful one, “let’s write down what we know.  First of all, on your side, you blush whenever he’s around.  Second, you love to talk to him.  Third, you mentioned that your heart ‘skips a beat’ and you get a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever he smiles at you.  Anything else?”