Chp. 6 "Change of Plans"

I was eager to get back to Avery as soon as I left her house Tuesday night and now Max and I were making our way back to school. The week was only halfway through but spending time with Avery last night had been extremely fun. I enjoyed her company, and from what I could tell she enjoyed mine as well.

I sighed, “So… last night, I think me and Avery almost kissed.”

“Oh, and I missed this?”

I laughed, “I’m not a hundred percent sure but… it felt awfully intimate.”

I stopped at a stop light and looked over at him, seeing a sly smirk on his face. He wiggled his eyebrows, “I think she likes you too, I saw the way she looked at you yesterday.”

I started back towards school wondering if he was right about Avery. Maybe she did like me a little more than a friend…

And I didn’t find anything wrong with that.

I pulled up into the usual parking lot, looking for Avery’s car but coming up short, maybe she was late. Me and Max exited my car and started making our way to science, leaving my mind to wonder about Avery’s perfect self.

I sat alone at the desk and waited patiently for Avery to walk through the door. I was growing quite anxious as I watched the door opening, waiting to see her soft reddish brown hair and those amazing eyes of hers. I was excited to talk to her again and possibly regain my confidence from last night, hoping that if and when I went over again I could make a move.

Then finally she walked through the door, her hair in loose waves as they fell over her shoulders. She moved smoothly around the other people and the desks and finally joined me, “Morning.”

I smiled, “Hey.”

She looked at me, “So are we finishing our project today?”

I nodded, “Sounds good to me.”

She faced forward and for some reason it seemed as if something was off today. Had I offended her last night? Or was she getting freaked out because she knew I was gay and kind of came close to kissing her last night?

I felt as if I had done something wrong but I wasn’t sure what. I mean, she couldn’t really blame me for not kissing her last night, but if she was mad about that then maybe she was a little heart broken.

There was just no way she was disappointed that I didn’t kiss her, I mean we barely knew each other.

Then again maybe she could’ve been having the same feelings I was having for her. So if she would’ve pulled away when I was dying to kiss her I would be a little upset too.

But I felt bad, and she was quite, and I was just praying it wasn’t my fault.

The teacher began handing out worksheets and soon began a lecture but I wasn’t the least bit interested. My eyes were watching Avery, curiously wondering if the secret behind her low mood was my actions…

Or maybe it wasn’t me at all.

I whispered, “Hey, you ok?”

She looked at me and I could tell there was something off, but she nodded and forced a smile, “Yea? Why?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know… you seem a little off today.”

It looked as if she wanted to tell me something but she continued to hold back, shaking her head, “No I’m fine, just couldn’t sleep last night.”

I let my eyes linger on Avery a bit longer before pulling them away and focusing on our worksheet. Maybe her problem wasn’t even me, maybe it was something I had no knowledge about and she just didn’t want me in her business.

But even that thought didn’t stop me from worrying about her.

So we sat in silence, as if we hadn’t had an amazing night before hanging out and talking. It bummed me out a little, I have to admit, but I was hoping I could redeem some of her good spirit tonight when I went over.

The bell rang and I hurried to pack up, rushing so I would be forced to wait on Avery. I let my hip rest against the desk as I watched her pack, “So, can I walk you to class?”

She looked up at me and stood, allowing me to see a shy smile on her lips. My heart hammered rapidly in my chest as she pushed her chair in, “Yes, you can.”

I left the class waving Max off as he gave me another goofy thumbs up as I disappeared outside with Avery. She sighed, “Do I really seem off today?”

I nodded, “You do, but I was just trying to help you know?”

She nodded, “Don’t take it personal, I just don’t really open up about my family life to anyone.”

So it was her family, not me. Now thinking about it, it made a whole lot of sense because yesterday not once did she bring up her family. I had talked about my mom and dad and everything but she hadn’t said one word…

Which I found a little depressing.

I watched her from my peripheral, “Don’t worry about it, you don’t have to tell me, I was just hoping I could make you feel better.”

She smiled, which forced me to smile because it was impossible not to when you were watching this girl, “Thanks… that was sweet.”

She stopped outside of a door which I guessed to be her next class, “See you after third?”

She smiled, blushing in the process before disappearing into her classroom, “Looking forward to it.”

Then she left me there feeling like a million bucks.

~ ~ ~ ~

I was currently walking down the crowded hall as I made my way towards the parking lot, passing students that weren’t half as excited as me.

I was going to Avery’s again today.

I was beyond excited to spend more time with her, I had to admit that, but I was also nervous. We were having a lot of good moments and I figured it was only a matter of time before we had a bad one. I didn’t want to think that way but I really had no choice, usually good times had to end soon right?

That always seemed to happen to me anyway.

I finally made my way down the hall and the staircase, nearly running towards the parking lot. It was weird, I wasn’t intimidated by this girl anymore but I found myself drawn to her even more. I pushed my way through the crowd until it finally started thinning out and I ran into the parking lot, seeing Avery on the far end. I smiled, walking swiftly to catch up to her, “Hey Avery!”

She turned her head swiftly making her velvet hair whipping around her beautiful face. My heart began to hammer in my chest like usual as I made my way over to her. Then I realized something seemed to be off, which only worried me as I stopped next to her, blocking the wind from hitting her face.

I looked into her beautiful eyes and saw tears, and I didn’t know whether it was the icy wind or if it was something else.

I spoke, “Hey, do you still want me to come over for the project?”

She sighed heavily, looking down at the ground, “No, today’s not a good day... something came up.”

I leaned in closer to either try to comfort her and beg her to let me spend time with her; I didn’t know which was right. I tilted my head, “Is everything ok?”

She nodded stiffly, “Yea, everything’ fine, just some… family issues.”

I knew she was lying, it was written all over her face as I watched her struggle to keep it together. I nodded, “Well tomorrow is fine… we can finish it up then.”

She looked down, as if disappointed that this was happening as she nodded slowly in agreement. Then for some reason I felt as if I shouldn’t let her leave feeling like this because it would be wrong on my part. I hurried to catch her attention before she stepped into her car, “Avery?”

She turned, allowing me to see sad and gloomy eyes which just made my heart hurt. I pulled her into a hug, wrapping my arms around her neck as I prayed that she would also hug me back. Then I felt her delicate arms wrap around my waist as she accepted me.

I smiled into her shoulder and spoke, “It’ll be ok.”

She pulled back after a little while, looking up into my eyes, “Thank you,” then she got into her car.

I began walking back to my car, allowing Avery’s car to leave my sight, leaving me wondering what was going on with her. I felt bad, seeing Avery sad was a rare sight. Every time I saw that girl she had a huge white smile plastered on her face, but something had been bothering her today.

I sat in my car, shooting Max a text, “Let’s hang out today, Avery’s busy.”

I waited patiently, knowing he was still in class, then after a couple minutes I received a reply.

“Sounds good, we can go have some fun.”