The Only Hope For Me Is You

Chapter 7

"So did Andy find out it was you?"  inquired Sergio. Everybody at the table seemed to have stopped eating to listen to Gerard recount his tale. They all leaned in expectantly to listen to his answer. As if everything he said was worth hearing and writing about.

He told about how he strayed in the hallways after the bell rang, how he gathered the supplies, and messed up the locker. But not once did he hint at the fact that I was the one who got pranked. How his plan had failed and ended up having an infuriated little girl yelling at him. Not once did he mention my name. It turns out it really wasn't meant for me. That it was really a mixup on the lockers. He did accomplish making me feel utterly crappy and guilty for treating him that way, though. I had no right. Making up excuses won't help me since he did try to explain when I chose to ignore him and kept screaming. What a loser I was! He must think I'm pathetic and not worth talking to...Why did I do that! If I could just bang my head on the table without attracting attention...

BANG! The silverware clattered on the trays.

All heads whipped in my direction. "Are you okay, Frannie?" asked Frank stifling a laugh.

"Uhh..yeah. My forehead was..itchy." I replied pathetically. There I go again! I'm such an attention whore. I scratched it to prove it. Mikey sent me a worried look before turning back his attention to Gerard along with the rest.

"So did he find out?" Sergio asked again after I so rudely interrupted.

"Nop." he answered simply. He picked up his fork and started to eat the food he had long before neglected. That was a subtle way of saying,"This conversation is over."

"So you're telling me the plan was bulletproof? It all went accordingly?" asked Ray. Gerard nodded his affirmative.

"How come I have hard time believing that? Like everything your telling me is a lie. Things just don't go according to plan with you Gee. I mean, no offense but it's the way things are." said Bob. They all snickered. Right now would be a good time to tell them that the plan did fail and that it was all because of me. And I should in order to get back at him for getting me into detention. But I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Our gazes locked into each other. Gerard looked at me with an intense expression I couldn't quite place. Was it sarcasm? Humor? Admiration? Gratitude? Pity? I couldn't help feel a blush creep onto my face. I looked away.

 "So Frannie, any guys?" asked Erika, startling me causing me to choke on my water.

"Wh-what?" I spluttered.

"Any guys waiting on you back at New York! You know! What hunk of man candy have you hustled yourself?" she said giggling.

"Umm..." I think back to my life before I moved to New Jersey. Any guys..any guys? Come to think of it, I have never had a boyfriend in my whole entire life as a teenager. Not even a lousy first kiss. How pathetic.

I look around the table distractedly and my eyes found rest in Gerard's hazel eyes. His face was completely blank and yet his eyes...his eyes overflowed with all the emotions the mouth could never say. I suddenly found myself pitying him.

"Weeell, how much time do we have?" I said with a wink.

They all laughed at my witty remark. Except Gerard. He only chuckled. (Trust me, I'm not overdramatacizing things, there's a huge difference between a laugh and a chuckle. I just know it!)

"Yes, we have time. I think I'd like to know a list of my competitors." Frank said.

"Well," I stole a look from Gerard, still an emotionless mask,"Just these guys who were like my best friends. I may have had...intimate-eww, scratch that, "intimate" sounds nasty- close friendships with some of em. There was...Mathew, Tomas, Luis, and Antonio." I counted off the list on my fingers. All those names-Mathew, Tomas, Luis, and Antonio- were just past crushes that I've had that never amounted up to anything. Never went past the friendly hello's and goodbye's.

"That's not so bad. Frank, you may have a shot." Mikey said.

Just then the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. We all parted our ways. But not before I was warmly invited back to their table the next day.

They almost succeeded in making me feel guilty for lying.

I was happy to be alone again for the first time today as I made my way to my locker. It's not that I don't enjoy hanging with Mikey and his friends, I just needed a time to think about everything. So much has happened I can't begin to describe it all. My favorite part of the day has been, by far, making new friends. Mikey, the one friend I can relate to most. Flirtatious Frank. Overexcited Erika. Cool, calm, and collected Bob. Eccentric Sergio. Stereotypical nerdy Kyle. Friendly big-brother type Ray. And Gerard. That's it, I have no words to express what his first impression was on me. Well, technically, his first impression was when he messed my locker and that didn't go so well.

 Making my way between the crowds, I stopped short at the sight before me. My locker. My locker, my locker, my locker, was clean. Not a trace of blood could be seen. The towels and pads were gone. Aside from the dented metal door, there was not a hint that my locker was tampered with. My locker was clean. And I had a pretty good idea who could've done such a thing.