[Now on WEBTOON!]
A social klutz and certified bookworm, Autumn Lyne is content with having just books as companions--that is, until her extrovert of a sister drags her out to meet her band. But nobody has expected that this would mark the plot twis...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I didn't want to like him.
My mind was refusing to like him. But my heart was a little rebel, and it wouldn't stop beating so fast every time I thought about him.
And my sister was making it worse.
Clover hadn't stopped teasing me since yesterday, writing my first name with Michael's last name on a paper and telling me some things she knew about him. Like how terrible he was at dancing ("He dances like a robot with a missing screw," she said) or how weird he was ("He used to eat Doritos with a spoon"), or how addicted he was to cheese ("He couldn't get enough of a pack. Or two.").
I had to admit—those were fun to know about, but her antics annoyed me to no end. Perhaps this was her way to get back at me for teasing her with Clint. No matter how hard I begged her to keep it low, she would just laugh and sing, "Autumn is in love with Michael!"
Being fifteen, the possibility of falling in love with someone hadn't crossed my mind until that moment. I had thought my feelings for him were just feelings of admiration, but those feelings had grown into something deeper day by day, and I wasn't aware of it. This might be a clichéd question, but how would you know if it's love, anyway?
The answer occurred to me one day. I remember that day so well because it held the events that led me to acknowledge what I felt for Michael was something I had never felt for anyone in my life. Clover and I hopped off the school bus one early morning, and the first thing that came out of her was, "Why don't you text him now, see how he's doing? He could be sitting somewhere, staring at his phone, thinking the same thing about you."
I ignored her. As much as I craved to talk to him, I didn't want to be clingy and appear desperate.
"When are you going to tell him?" she asked.
"Tell what?"
"Your feelings."
"I-I won't."
"Then I'll tell him for you."
"If you say a word to him, Garlic Clove, I'll break your arms."
The mean kids at our elementary school used to call her Garlic Clove, which annoyed her so much. I thought calling her that would stop her teasing, but she continued to smile mischievously at me, her eyes full of glee.
"You're not a violent person, Autumn. You can't even kill a spider."
"Because spiders don't annoy me with their teasing unlike you. Don't test me," I said with a glare.
She jerked away from me to protect herself. "Okay, chill. Gonna zip my mouth. But why hide it? If you get the chance to confess, do it, or else you'll regret it." She turned her head and her eyes widened. "Oh, look! There's your Prince Charming. Isn't this a lucky day for you? Let's go. Here's your chance to talk to him."
She grabbed my hand and dragged me to him. I tried to break from her grip, but boy was she so strong.
