Vivid Memories

Chapter 20

"No way! He kissed you?!" Penny squealed in excitement. I was home around four in the afternoon. I was on FaceTime with her. "Like, on midnight of New Years?! Aaaaahhhhhh~!

"You're not helping Penny," I sighed and hit my head on the desk. "Ahhhh~! God, I wish I knew what was going inside his head?!"

"I wish Tyler and I met the same way you guys got together," There was this innocent being that was Penelope Buchanan, believing in fairy tales. "Ty and I met in high school, but like, nothing dramatic. He just asked me out. If he kissed me straight up then asked me out, then that would have been great."

"Wait, you think that's what he tried to do?!" My eyes widen and I screamed into my pillow. "Do you think... he was going to ask me out?!"

"Girl, I think you messed your chance," God fucking damn it! I buried my head in a pillow, frustrated with my actions. Penny gave a disappointing sigh. Keep it coming girl. "Now you made things awkward because you ran away from him. Now it looks as if you don't like him and what he did."

"But the fucking fireworks scared the shit out of me," I cried out, hitting my pillow multiple times. I'm sorry pillow that you get to feel my wrath, but I don't want to break a wall. "I... I wanted to go inside!"

"Yeah, but think about from his view," Penny started to draw something on paper. She then showed me two stick people, where one was in an incomplete box and the other was outside, probably like 15 cm apart. "You walked out on him at the moment he was going to say something. In guy language, based on what Tyler tells me, if a guy like Dante sees that, it shows that you're not interested and you essentially didn't like what he did because he couldn't ask you out. To him, it looked as if you knew what he was going to say and ditched."

"But—"

"So really, you friendzoned yourself," She ripped the paper into two and tossed it behind her. "Well, maybe you could try to apologize to him or something?"

"Uh, I think he asked me out on a date," I announced. Penny squealed again. Geez, man. "We're meeting you next Wednesday to watch a movie."

"God he's persistent," She gave a nod of approval. "He might apologize to you first. Or maybe he's trying to calm things down. Or somehow like... maybe get rid of any misconceptions after a good time together?"

"I don't know..." God this was all frustrating.

"Well, we're assuming what he might be feeling, so how about we switch it around?" Penny giggled and then spun around on her chair before landing onto her queen size bed. "Do you like Dante?"

I looked at her in silence, trying to process her question.

"I'll ask you again," Penny giggled, clearly enjoying this. "Do you, Avalon Lancaster, like Dante LaVine?"

"I-I... I don't know...?" I replied, looking away from Penny. My pride has been crushed.

"Hahahahaha!" Penny laughed so loudly that it pissed me off. "You don't know? My god Ava! Man, this is too good. Sorry. Anyways... uh... how about this question? If he kissed you again, like right here and now, would you like him to?"

"I mean... if he did... I wouldn't mind it..." I pouted and mumbled that. God that was embarrassing. "Like... if showed up behind me... and turned me around... I wouldn't be against it..."

Penny squealed again and laughed so much that she fell off her bed and onto the floor. Al I could see was a red-headed girl losing her mind from laughter. From her view, she could probably see an annoyed blonde Brit staring at her camera because the person she was looking at looked like a complete psycho.

"Your Face was so red! And you did that thing where you looked down and around but not at me!" She was still laughing. "So you do like him?"

"Maybe?! I guess?! I'm just thinking about that night! Like maybe if I hung out with him more often to get to know him better, then I'd be able to make my decision!"

"Then do it?" Penny finally stopped laughing. Her face was absolutely red and she looked like she had her fun. There were pants and deep breathing to keep her calm. "I think... god, I need to keep it together, I think you need to find out how you feel about him. If you think hanging out with him will do it, then do it. That's what I did with Tyler and now look at us. What time was your movie?"

"Uhh... I don't know—"

"Say 9 pm," She said, checking her calendar. "Even if he disagrees, say 9 pm or no deal."

"Wait why?"

"Don't you know, girl? If a girl says 7 pm, then it's clear the girl gives no shits. If it's 9 pm, that gives you time to do things like your hair and makeup and deciding what clothes you'll wear. 9 pm shows you're interested."

"But I don't even know if I am interested!"

"Gaaah! Just follow my advice!" Penny pouted this time and rolled her eyes. "Trust me on this! Then at least we can somehow know how he feels for you, based on how he reacts and how he acts around you."

"Penny—"

"Trust me Ava," She flicked her hair and winked at me, confidence oozing out of her.. "I mean, who's in a relationship here?"

She had a good point.