honey » david dobrik au

six

"Good morning, sleepyhead," David smiled wide as he turned in the rolling chair he had at his desk to face me. "It's about time you woke up."

"What time is it?" I sat up, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

"Almost six. Everyone's gone."

"Ben left me?" I frowned, shocked. It wasn't unlike Ben to ditch me in a time of need, but it was unlike him to leave me alone at a boy's house, especially a boy he met only two weeks ago.

"Your dad called. He had a flat tire. I told him I'd keep you safe and bring you back brand spankin' new," David laughed at his own joke. I laughed too. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," I shrugged, stepping out of the bed only to realize I was still in my swimsuit. David was lucky that I had been laying out in the sun for a few hours before I went to bed, otherwise I would've been soaked.

"I didn't get hangovers the first few times I got drunk, either," he told me. "You're pretty funny drunk."

"I'm not funny sober?" I countered, raising my eyebrows.

"You're quiet sober."

"Oh," I nodded my head to show I understood. "Are you driving me home?"

"Yeah," he reached over onto his desk and picked up my clothes that were folded neatly for me. I tried not to blush as I realized that meant someone, presumably David, touched my underwear. "Whenever you're ready, we can go. Oh, just in case, Ester has mouthwash in her bathroom."

"Do I look like I was drinking?" I put my hand under my chin.

"Nope. Just like you've been swimming."

"Okay, good," I stood there for a second. "I'm gonna go change."

"Okay."

I left and changed, tying my hair into a bun and wiping some of the mascara that had trailed under my eyes. I did take David's advice with Ester's mouthwash, making sure to waterfall the liquid into my mouth so I didn't get any bacteria on her things. Once I deemed myself good enough to go home, I found David sitting in the living room.

"You ready?"

I nodded.

We made it out to his car, a silver Toyota, and he made sure I was buckled before he even turned on the car. I pulled down the mirror to look at myself, and frowned when a picture came floating down. It was a girl, short, brown skin, curly hair, laughing and looking off to the side. The picture was shaky and looked rushed, proving it was a true candid. She was very pretty.

"Who is this?" I asked because I couldn't help but be nosy. He had a picture of this girl tucked into the visor of his car. She must've been important.

The whole energy in the car seemed to shift. He was uncomfortable, I could tell. More uncomfortable than just sitting in the car in silence with me. I sighed, "Sorry," and tucked her picture back where it belonged.

"That's my ex-girlfriend, Liza," he explained after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Oh... I think Ben is friends with her," I tried to recall a time when he said her name.

"Of course he is," the words seemed bitter leaving David's mouth.

"Is that a problem?"

"It's... complicated," he seemed to be trying to find a way to word it. "Liza is the best. She's sweet and shy and funny. She didn't like being popular. She didn't like being noticed. She broke up with me because of that. But then after we broke up, she talks to other popular people and doesn't have a problem with it."

"She lied to you," I tried to hold back my laugh at the sensitive subject, but it was clear. "Being popular is not a reason to break up with someone. She definitely lied about something."

"Yeah, thanks, Honey," he seemed to laugh a bit himself, which made me feel better. "That really helps."

"If she's your ex-girlfriend, why's her picture still up there?"

"I don't know. I just kind of always thought we'd get back together," he sighed. "It was stupid. It is stupid. It's been six months. I should just get rid of it."

"I'll take it," I told him.

"You'll take my picture of Liza?" he smiled at me like I was crazy, and I nodded. "Why?"

"It's not healthy for you to have it. I'll put it in my scrapbook or something. First car ride with David," I teased, thankful to see him loosening up a bit.

"Oh, so there's gonna be more car rides?" he smirked like he was proud of himself.

"Maybe," I shrugged, trying to seem indifferent and not like I thought he was the cutest person I'd ever seen in my entire life. "You do have a comfy bed."

"You're trying to get into my bed now?" he raised his eyebrows.

"That's not what I said."

"Sure it isn't," he teased, his face never losing its bright smile. I couldn't stop my cheeks from blushing bright red, no matter how hard I tried. "You're funny. I like you."

"Thank you. Can we get food?"

"Really?" David asked, and I nodded. "Do you eat McDonald's?"

"Who doesn't eat McDonald's?" I frowned. "It's the best fast food chain."

"That's what I'm saying, but a lot of people disagree. Everyone always says do you even know what McDonald's chicken nuggets are made of?" his voice turned both girly and snarky. "As if they don't drink and smoke every weekend until they can't open their eyes."

"Yeah, my mom is a nutritionist, so I have to hide when I eat fast food. She always talks about the chemicals in fast food meals and how many empty calories are in everything, but... I think it tastes good enough to forget about all those things."

"Your mom's a nutritionist and your dad's the football coach? Your life must suck."

"Eh," I shrugged indifferently. "I've learned to ignore her. My dad doesn't bother me. I'm his little angel, you know?"

"Don't smirk like that just because you've got him wrapped around your finger."

"Everyone gets wrapped around my finger eventually," I giggled, knowing it was true. Once someone got to know me, I could get anything I wanted. I was a very convincing person.

"Is that so?" David raised his eyebrows.

"Yep," I tried not to smile. "That includes you, Dobrik... if you stick around long enough."

"Now, how would your brother feel about that?"

"Who said we have to tell him?"

It was a joke, solely a joke, but the way it lit a spark in David's eyes made me think it wasn't.

"I didn't know you were like this, Honey."

"I guess I'm full of surprises, then!"