The Quarterback, Outcast and Me ✔

Chapter Twenty-Four - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It was the final week of school before the holidays. Caleb and I had been by each other's side most of the time since I had asked him to the wedding. We only hung out at school though, not much anywhere else, except for when we would meet at the dog park with both our dogs. Zeus and Jack were really getting along. We would spend an hour or two in the evening just sitting on what had then become "our" bench, talking about everything and anything. We had kissed a few times, but Caleb had always been respectful and not taken it any further than first base. It always left me breathless though, as if I couldn't inhale oxygen quick enough. It was like there was a swarm of butterflies fluttering around deep inside my stomach, just waiting for the right time to burst through my mouth whenever we stopped kissing. Kind of a gross description, and luckily it hadn't happened... Yet. 

To keep my head levelled from all the Caleb "action", my mom was keeping me busy with all the last minute wedding stuff, driving me nuts, despite the fact that Patrick had hired her a wedding planner so she didn't have to worry so much and still be able to focus on her job. Let's just say that it could have gone better.

What could also be going better was my relationship/friendship with Jace. At home he barely talked to me and at school he was all over Stacy Keegan like she was a jar of nutella or something. It was gross and whenever I spotted them together I tried my best to avoid them and walk the other way. It was obvious that she was enjoying this sudden stream of attention she was getting from him, but did she really have to parade it around school like a bear who found an open jar of honey? Apparently yes, yes she did.

Another thing that frustrated me was that since Carrie and Taylor had started dating, she was hanging out more and more with Jace's group of friends as well as Stacy. It bugged me endlessly, though I knew she was still my best friend and I was hers. But things were definitely not what they used to be. 

I guess couldn't really give her the sole blame for our lack of time together; I was spending more time with Caleb as well. Way more time. So I guess we were both to blame. Both completely off the rails boy crazy. 

Caleb and I had such a great time together, talking about everything, well except about him. In fact, we rarely spoke about him, or if I asked him a question he would dodge it and change the subject. I didn't want to force myself into his private life, so I just hoped that one day he would tell me what I wanted. I hadn't been to his house or anything, not that he'd been to mine either. But he would, soon. 

The wedding was exactly seven days away.

The temperature had cooled down quite a lot this month, but my mom's spirit about having the wedding outside was still high as a skyscraper. I was just going along with it. Patrick had stopped trying to change her mind. It wasn't going to happen. But he was sure to add a lot of heaters to keep people from freezing. Thoughtful guy.

Caleb and I were sitting at lunch, discussing our final geography lesson that was happening afterwards. Our teacher was celebrating it being the final lesson by giving us a quiz. I took quizzes very seriously, especially those involving geography. I really wanted to win. Like really really wanted to win. I had been re-reading my geography book and my own geology book, not knowing what kind of questions Mr. Crayton would be asking, but I definitely wanted to be prepared. Caleb was quizzing me in captials of South America, I had trouble remembering a few of them and I wanted to get it right before class started. My half-eaten tuna sandwich lay abandoned on my tray as I scrunched up my nose trying to remember the capital of Venezuela. I knew it began with an A. 

"Why can't I remember this one," I growled, frustrated with myself and my crappy memory of Venezuelan city names. 

"Come on, you got this. It rhymes with that musical instrument you shake." Caleb was trying his best to help me without helping me too much. He took this thing almost as serious as me, which was a big surprise. Who knew he cared so much about school? Or perhaps it was just this one class in which his attendance had definitely improved since we started talking.