Comfy Closets

9|| Questions and Confessions

“So, Woods- do people ever call you that, by the way?”

“Yeah, my teammates mostly. You can call me that if you want.” I said, brushing a hand through my hair in an attempt to tame the remaining strands that stubbornly stuck up. “Or you could call me anything else. Most people call me Aly, or Al, or sometimes A. But that gives off a bit of PLL vibes, don’t you think? Or you could-“

Before I could continue on with my nonsense rambling that seemed to go nowhere, Leah was able to cut in, saving me from further embarrassment. “I think I like Lyssa. Suits you, ” she stated with confidence, a charming smile stretching across her lips.

I quickly looked to the side and out the window, trying to mask the effect she, in general, had over me. It’s like my mouth was using my anxiety as fuel to keep on running. I did not appreciate it.

She seemed to have lost her previous nervousness, now appearing more relaxed and self-assured than before as she sat across from me in the restaurant. We decided on a good burger place that was close by for a snack, which was convenient for us as we only needed to walk a few minutes to reach this place.

In the duration of that short walk, all we talked about was school and the work we just received for homework. However, the majority of the time was spent with me texting Ashton, trying to explain the situation to him as fast and as simple as I could. He obviously saw how I left with Leah by my side and expressed his curiosity through a multitude of texts that contained a lot of caps and exclamation points to clearly convey his incredulity. Thankfully, Leah was also preoccupied with texting someone as we walked, making this less awkward than it would’ve been.

I was very glad practise was cancelled today because I would’ve felt awful if I had to say no to that face of hers.

Speaking of her face, it was currently still holding that charming smile as she awaited my answer. “Um, yeah, Lyssa is fine,” I replied as I felt a genuine smile grow on my face. I’ve never heard anyone give me that nickname before, and it was a nice change. “So, what did you want to ask?”

She seemed to remember she had a question prepared for me as she lifted her eyebrows slightly in acknowledgement. “Right, I was going to ask why I’ve never talked to you before until last week. I mean, we’ve been in the same school together for a while, but we’ve never met. Although, we knew of each other this whole time. I was just wondering why...” she trailed off, hazel eyes focused on mines as curiosity filled them.

I pursed my lips for a second, looking out the window again to gather my thoughts before I responded. “I guess... I guess it’s because I’m just naturally shy. I stick to the people I’m comfortable with and don’t venture out of that bubble much, ” I said honestly, playing with my fingers under the table as I just realised how true what I said was.

She sat back and stared at me, letting a thoughtful expression take over her features. It was almost like she was processing what I had said and was trying to think of something to say back as a response to the candor that I left on the table. I knew I should be feeling vulnerable, but I wasn’t. Instead, I stared right back at her, our gazes locked in an unintended staring contest.

Before either of us spoke up again, the waiter interrupted our stare down by placing our ordered food onto the table. That definitely brought my attention away, as the smell coming off the burgers was irresistible.

We both gave our thanks and dug in, biting into our meals with accompanying moans of satisfaction and delight. After a couple more bites, I decided to lead the conversation into a different direction. “So, Ms Popular, ” she rolled her eyes at that, but nonetheless gave me her attention. “Let’s play twenty questions since we’re getting to know each other, ” I said, and she hummed her agreement. “I’ll start. Tell me about you. Besides the whole class president thing, what do you do?”