Confessing to Her (And other Olympic-level Feats)

Chapter 23

"Hello? Chelsea?"

The last thing Chelsea expected while she was on her way to wait for her mother was a phone call from her.

"Yes, mom?" Chelsea said.

In the background, she heard Lucas' voice.

"MOOOOM! I WANT MCZONALDS!" Chelsea narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, uhm, sorry about taking so long," Chelsea's mother said. "But do you mind waiting a little longer? Lucas hasn't had anything to eat, and I don't have time to-"

"ARE WE GETTING MCZONALDS!?"

"Yes, we are sweetie!" Her mother said. Her voice showed a hint of exasperation despite it's calm façade. "I'm pulling up to the line, and it's really long. Do you mind staying a little longer?"

"It's fine, mom." Chelsea said.

"Okay, thanks so much for being patient sweetie! Love you!"

"Love you too."

Chelsea sighed deeply. What was she going to do now? She was planning to go home for the day. Reason being that her heart had already gone through so much- she may as well have run a marathon.

What now? Perhaps she'd message Ashley or Olivi-

Wait- no, definitely, definitely not Olivia. She already made up her mind that the next time she'd talk to Olivia, she'd figure out the truth. Needless to say, Chelsea wasn't ready. At all. Maybe talking to Ashley and seeing what was going on with her would be a better idea. She started to dial Ashley's number.

Almost immediately, Ashley began calling Chelsea's cell. The redhead flinched and almost dropped her phone before catching it and quickly answering it.

"U-Um...Chelsea?" Ashley sounded as though she was flustered.

Must have been Dustin-trouble.

"Yes? What is it?" Chelsea asked. giggling a bit. It was always a treat to hear Ashley become like this.

"So uh...." Ashley mumbled.

"What is it?"

"I- uh, I... Good news and bad news. The good news is: I went ahead and asked Dustin out on a date through text."

"Oh!" Chelsea smiled. "Okay! Good for you. What's the bad news, though?"

"I- uh....he suggested a double date- since uh, we both would be really anxious. I invited Olivia, since uh, she's basically a walking awkwardness-killer... and uh- I said to her that you would come too..."

Chelsea's eyes widened. "YOU WHAT?!-"

"OLIVIA DOESN'T KNOW OR THINK ITS A DOUBLE DATE. SO IT'S NOT A DOUBLE DATE, OKAY?!" Ashley cried. "I know you're thinking things, but just listen, okay?" Chelsea shut her mouth but felt her cheeks become warm as she pouted. "Think of it as a get-together between friends, that's it!" Ashley continued.

"ASHLEY!" Chelsea started jumping up and down with anger. "I'M GONNA KILL YOOOOOU!"

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I feel bad. You don't mind, right?"

"I-I...OF COURSE I DON'T MIND GOING... BUT- UGH..!"

"Chel?"

"I- I- UGHHHH! HOLD ON."

"You angry at me?"

"NO! NO! NO! JUST-... Ugh.." Chelsea took a deep breath. "Give me a second.."

"You okay..?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Chelsea said. "L-Listen... I put it in my head that no matter what, the next time I saw her, I would ask her if she liked me."

"...Really? What makes you think that?"

"It... I mean.. now that I think of it.. she's been showing a lot of signs of liking me back... I just..i thought us being together was impossible. I mean-... no, it IS possible... It was just that...I guess.. the truth was...I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment." Chelsea said. "The thought of having my heart broken after bringing my hopes up so much made me kill any and every hope I had of her possibly liking me back. I just didn't want to have that despair again."

"...That makes sense." Ashley said.

"But now..." Chelsea continued. "I feel like if I don't follow up with what I said, I'll never get the courage again to do something like this. The next time I see her, and we're alone... I have to do it. I can't run away from it...It'll be my only shot."

"..Listen, Chel." Ashley said. " I-I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Chelsea asked.

"Well, I mean, I didn't know that you were planning to do that. I can just cancel it if you want."

Chelsea took a deep breath.

"No, no. no." Chelsea said. "Don't cancel it. I'm... I'm going. Okay?"

"Are you sure?"

"...Yeah."

"Dustin and I... we're outside in his car. Take all the time you need. And uh, by the way, it's just Dustin and I in his car. Olivia's at volleyball practice. Our plan was to pick you up, then the three of us would wait for her."

"...Yeah, um, Just give me a minute, okay? I just want to sit down... and relax."

"Take your time. Again- uh, you can walk away from this. We can just reschedule it."

"No," Chelsea said. "I've made up my mind already."

"Heh.I'm so proud of you," Ashley asked.

"Huh?"

"I'm loving that resolve in your voice."

"...I'm terrified, y'know." Chelsea said. "I wouldn't call it resolve, just..."

"Courage?"

"Yeah."

"Well you're really courageous, Chel. I'm proud of you, you've come a long way."

"It's thanks to you," Chelsea smiled. "And.. uh, Ashley?

"Yeah?"

"You're... a really great friend. I love you a lot."

"..D'aww. Likewise, sister. I would hug you, but, you're not here."

"Yup. Go get em', Ashley."

"Heh. Easier said than done. Later."

"See you."

Click.

Chelsea sighed deeply. She glanced at the time. 3:50 PM.

That's right, she thought, she'd have to tell her mother that she was going to go out to do something now. Though, that could wait. She promised she'd get over there in about ten minutes, but she may have needed more time to mentally prepare.

Chelsea was on the verge of panicking.

The future was absolutely terrifying. Were the 'signs' that Olivia may like her back false? She found herself meantally searching in every single interaction the two had for proof that Olivia didn't share Chelsea's feelings. Something, anything to make an excuse to run away. What was going to come from the question that Chelsea had planned to ask her?

She sighed deeply.

Just, relax. She thought.

She can do this, she thought. She can do this.