The Two of Us

Somebody Else

We sat in silence for all of sixth hour because we had a test.

Which, of course, I completely forgot about because I was a dumbass.

"Everybody put your phones into the basket and grab a test. When you're finished, put it in on my desk and work on homework from other classes or something. No talking," Mr. Fitzgerald instructed before sitting down at his desk and pulling out his phone.

Almost everybody was done like, halfway through the hour.

I was gonna work on my math homework, but I didn't have my stupid textbook so I ended up being completely unproductive.

At one point, and for no particular reason, I glanced over at Leslie, who was three desks away from me.

She was writing something down on a piece of paper, which ended up being folded into a paper football that was flicked at Blair, who was in the middle of cleaning her glasses off.

She paused when it landed in the middle of her desk, squinting (probably because she's incredibly nearsighted) off in Leslie's direction.

She wrote something in response and flicked it back. 

That little paper football flew back and forth for most of the hour (unbeknownst to Mr. Fitzgerald, who wasn't paying any attention whatsoever). 

I wasn't really focusing on it, but I could see it in my peripheral while I doodled in the margins of my notebook.

Towards the very end of class, while trying to look at the clock and see how much time was left, I caught Blair's gaze.

Her face flushed. 

She looked back towards Leslie, who wiggled her eyebrows.

Blair flicked the football at her face in retaliation, which only made Leslie let out a stifled laugh.

'Okay...don't know what that's about.'

I would've asked, but Eddie appeared right beside my desk right after the bell finally rang.

And when I say appeared, I mean he basically spawned right next to me and I have no idea how.

He started insisting that I let him drive me and wouldn't take no for an answer.

But I wasn't gonna say yes.

I cannot accurately describe the fear I felt within myself every time I was in his truck. The last ride I agreed to took a good five years off of my life and I wasn't about to lose five more. I had no idea why he was being so insistent all of the sudden, or how the fuck he got into the room two seconds after the bell rang, but I didn't really think all that hard about it because I was too busy sprinting out of the room.

Which is how I ended up hiding in one of the stalls of the haunted bathroom.

I figured that if I hid out in there for like...ten minutes he'd eventually just give up and leave without me.

I also figured that nobody was going to come in because school had ended about six minutes ago.

But it turned out I was wrong about that.

The squeaky door swung open and two people walked in.

"So you talked to him?"

That sounded like Fallon.

"Yes. For far longer than I would've liked to."

And that sounded like Blair.

I probably should have just left the stall, but I felt stuck in place for some reason.

"What happened?"

"The usual. He asked me to get back together with him because he just broke up with another girlfriend. I told him no. He asked again and again, and when I continued to say no, he got angry and started insulting me.

"He kept going, 'Why, Blair? Why not? Just say yes. I know that you still like me.' I told him that I most certainly did not and that I actually like somebody else."

"And he just left after that?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

"Well, that's good."

There was a short stretch of silence between them.

"Just out of curiosity, are you actually interested in somebody else? Or did you just say that to try and get him to go away?"

"Oh, no, I actually am."

"Really? Who is it?"

"Somebody cuter, funnier, more talented, and overall better than he is."

My immediate thought was, 'Okay, definitely not me, then.'

"Who is it?? C'mon, Blair, you have to give me the name."

"Alright, alright," she said after a good fifteen seconds. Fifteen seconds that I assumed was filled with Fallon's puppy dog eyes. "It's um..."

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened again.

Immediate shouting told me that it was Freddy.

"THERE Y-YOU ARE, F-FALLON! PARKER," that's one of their brothers, "G-GOT HIS H-HEAD STUCK IN A CHAIR AND HE N-NEEDS YOU TO H-H-HELP HIM GET UNSTUCK!"

"Again?" Fallon groaned. "Text me that name later, okay?"

The door closed and I was by myself again.

I stood there for another four minutes before slowly leaving the bathroom.

"Riley!"

"Shit."

As it turned out, Eddie didn't give up and go home like he usually did.

"No, stop running!"