Fluctuate - Van McCann

3

Van and I chatted at the park for what felt like a few minutes, but was actually three hours. "Wanna Head back? Apparently we are going to do some games or something at 10:30," Van says, motioning toward his phone screen which read "10:12."

I couldn't help but notice his background of him with another girl. Obviously Van doesn't like me. He has a girlfriend. This was just him being nice. How stupid of me to even think Van had thought of me as anything more than just friends. We just met, after all.

"Peyton?" Van says, waving his hand over the phone screen that I was staring at.

"Oh," I gasp. Not realizing how distracted I got. "Yeah, lets go back," I say quietly with a small smile, not letting him realize my sadness.

But that didn't work too well. "Hey, you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, of course," I say and stand up. "We should start walking back, though. Don't want to miss the games." Hopefully I didn't sound rude to him. That wasn't what I was trying to do at all. Sometimes I just act this way when I get frustrated.

Van nods his head and stands up next to me. He pats my back. "If there's anything you want to talk about, you can tell me," he says as we begin slowly walking back to the dorm building.

Why is he doing this? Why is he trying to be so nice to me when we just met? And he has a girlfriend. Does he think I didn't see his background?  Is he trying to lead me on?

"I can tell many people if I have a problem, Van. I mean, I just met you, for heavens sake," I say with a scoff. I know I shouldn't have such a big attitude, but it bothers me how he's trying to make me like him when he has his own girl. I can't stand people like that.

Van doesn't respond to my backlash and takes a step away from me as we continue walking. Despite the tropical weather in California, the distance between us two made me feel slightly cold.

The tension grew stronger as we made our way to the building. Van opened the door for me and I walked through without saying a word. The loudness of the party was comforting, even though I'm not usually a fan of huge parties, compared to the awkward silence from a few minutes ago.

Van and I walk over to where the guys and Anna were, still keeping a significant distance from each other. "Hey, you guys! Just in time for spin the bottle," Benji says, happily, holding an empty beer bottle in his hand. Obviously, everyone here was too young to drink, but somehow they managed to get a few cases of beer here anyway.

"Spin the bottle? Isn't that game for middle schoolers?" I say with a slight laugh at the end.

"Nah, think of it as an ice breaker. Except this time, instead of getting to know someone, you'll get to know their lips," Bondy laughs. "Van, Emily is here. She was looking for you."

"Oh, really? I didn't know she'd be here tonight. Do you know where she is?" Van asks, looking around the room.

"Nope, but I told her you'd be back for spin the bottle," Bondy says, popping the 'p' in "Nope." Van nods his head.

"Let's get this thing started!" Bob exclaims. A few "yeahs" are returned before everyone makes their way into a circle which was forming in the center of the room.

"Anyone want to go first?" Van asks, this time in a regular voice. People start pointing fingers at people and laughing. Bob looks around, but decided on handing it to Van, who sat right next to him. Van rolls his eyes, but takes the bottle anyway.

He walks to the center of the room and spins the bottle before walking back to the area on the floor he sat at. I can only hope it doesn't land on me.

I tap my fingers anxiously as the bottle finishes it's last few turns. It lands away from me, thankfully. I look up at the person it landed on and realize immediately who it was. It was the girl from Van's background. Long, bleach blonde hair and perfect tan skin, who else could it be?

"Yes! Emily and Van!" Bondy shouts. I didn't know that Emily was the same person as Van's mysterious background girl.

I watch as Emily tilts her head to the side and smiles toward Van, which he responds by smiling back. They press their lips together for a about five seconds before releasing. There's no way their not a couple. Normally people just peck the other person's lips, but that was pretty long for just a game.

The group cheered and Van, showing off a big smile, passed it to his right to a random guy who I didn't know. I don't stay to finish the game, instead I get up and abruptly leave without saying goodbye.

I jog up the stairs to my dorm room and fall into my bed once I arrive. Why was Van trying to lead me on? And why do I care so much?