The Line In The Middle

Chapter 6

—Mon. | January 8, 2018—

At last, winter break was over. I enjoyed the holidays and all, but there was nothing to do. I was excited to finally get away from my parents arguing, and I was excited to see Parker again.

This winter away from him really allowed me to collect my thoughts. For some reason, I feel more confident to talk to him. All the awkwardness and nervousness just went away.

I walk into the schoolyard and meet up with Lyla, who is barely maintaining control of herself. "Tyler! Tyler!"

"What? What?!" I reply teasingly.

"Caleb's throwing a party this weekend. He said you could come too. Are you in? Please say yes, because I need emotional support if something goes wrong."

Anything to get out of the house, right? "I'll be there. Just send me the details."

Parker walks by us, waving hello to me. I wave back in what I personally believed was a less awkward wave. Lyla looks at me in a bit more serious tone. "What are you planning to do about him?"

"Uhh, nothing?"

"You should do something! Maybe make a move, tell him how you feel."

"Did you forget I'm still dating Yumi? I still like her, by the way, and I want to, you know, keep my relationship with her."

"Right... I forgot about her. But, you're seriously not going to do anything about him?"

"Lyla, I literally just realized this about myself like, three weeks ago... I barely know what's happening. What I already know is that I'm really good friends with Parker. If he found out, there's no telling how he'd react. He might like me back, or he could hate me."

"Why would he hate you?"

"Because I grew up with a family who doesn't exactly like this kind of stuff, and if he's the same..." I fail to finish the sentence after imagining the results. "Besides, a ton of people get crushes that they don't tell people about."

"Fine..." she says in a defeated tone. Her face almost looks like she's disappointed in my choice. But I was sticking with it. Until I figure out this change, I don't think telling Parker is the best choice.

We both decide to head to our classes early, mine just so happening to be math. Parker was already inside, practicing math problems in his book. I give him an impressed look. "You're getting good at those."

"Yeah... thanks for helping me with this, by the way. I seriously couldn't have figured them out without you."

"No problem." For a few minutes until the bell rang, we talked about our winter break.

"We went up to a lodge for Christmas. I got to ski down a mountain slope!"

"That sounds nice. All I really did was play video games."

"Console or PC?"

"PC."

His face lights up. "Dude, you should add me on Everest! We could hang out online!"

"Sounds great!"

Parker takes out a sticky note and writes down his number with a black pen. He hands it to me, exclaiming, "Here! Text me your username when you have the chance."

I tremble a little while grabbing the paper, but I regain control of my arms after a few seconds. "I could just give you my username now. You didn't have to give me your number."

"I forget easily, and besides, you're a cool dude. I need more friends like that."

I start to grin and I hold the number in my hands. "Thanks, Parker."