I was just a face you never noticed

Now I'm just trying to be honest

unedited.

✝ Chapter Seventeen | Give Love a Try ✝

   No, it’s not him. I wasn’t going to come to conclusions again because conclusions are what got me into this mess in the first place, but he made it awfully hard not to – considering every piece of evidence led to him.

   A frustrated groan erupted from my throat as I stomped heavily on the sidewalk. “Why does he have to be so damn gorgeous?” I yelled at the sky.

   Adam looked me over, his face contorting in confusion. “You need to calm down,” he advised as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. Because Adam totaled his car, we had no other choice than to walk home. He didn’t speak much, other than to tell me to stop freaking out and I knew that meant he was irritated. I’d be too.

   “I know, I know.” I tried to keep quiet as I pushed a stray, blonde hair away from my face, but I couldn’t. Jack consumed my every thought and it didn’t seem like that was going away any time soon. “But I think we broke up,” I ended up saying.

   Adam stopped in his long, jerky strides and turned to face me. “I never knew you guys were dating.”

   "We're not,” I clarified. “Well … I don’t know. I don’t think we are, but then we kissed and-” 

   “You kissed Jack Addister?” Adam questioned with his brows raised at their highest point. He was obviously surprised, for reasons I didn’t comprehend. He knew about the relationship Jack and I shared, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise.

   “He kissed me.” As if by command, the memory of Jack placing his soft lips on mine entered my mind. It was a comforting thought and it made me feel as though we were still on good terms.

   Adam’s sapphire-colored eyes glared back at me and his lips folded into an uninviting line. All of the colors drained from his face, making him look paler than usual. My eyes dropped to his hands and noticed they were clenched into fists as if he was preparing himself to punch someone.

   “Adam?” I questioned, laughing a little. “You okay?”

   He gave me a dismissive shrug as his hands combed through his dark, wavy locks. Blowing out a puff of air, he started to pace in small circles.

   “Adam,” I said firmly. “What’s wrong?”

   "Nothing!” he barked. I took a step back at his sudden outburst, but he continued. “It’s nothing … Look, I have to go.” He readjusted the straps on his backpack and took off, sprinting towards his house without even saying goodbye.

   I gaped at the outline of his body growing smaller in the distance, not being able to believe what had just happened. Adam was a genuinely happy person, so it was very rare to see him mad. Something must have been terribly wrong because Adam – the nice guy – just threw his first tantrum.

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   It felt refreshing to walk through the threshold of my home and be greeted by my mother. It was the only thing that seemed to be constant in my life. Adam used to be a constant, but lately he’s been going through a tough time. I don’t know if it’s the popularity that’s complicating his life or something more serious … I just wished he would talk to me about it.

   A month ago, I would have cringed at the thought of Adam talking to me about his feelings, but after almost losing him I’ve learned the error of my ways.

   “Hey, Mom!” I called out once I entered the kitchen, seeing my mother pull out a cake from the oven. She wasn’t much of a cook because she only knew how to cook two meals: spaghetti and macaroni. Baking was something she always loved to do and she was pretty good at it, but she never found the time to do it. “You’re baking … What’s the occasion?”

   She glanced over her shoulder, her black hair following the movement and sent me a motherly smile. “Well, I figured I should bake something because it’s been a while.” She brushed her hands on her apron as she sauntered towards me.

   I raised a skeptical brow. “Mom, you only bake when you’re extremely excited about something. Spill.”

   Her teeth caught her bottom lip as she started at me in reluctance. Finally, she sighed. “I’m meeting Gregory’s kids.” As soon as the words left her lips, she clamped her hands over her mouth.

   “You’re meeting his kids?” I asked, though it sounded like a statement. “Mr. Lawrence has kids? Who would ever want to-” My words were cut off mid-sentence when I realized she was giving me a death stare. “Right, you would.”

   She exposed her teeth in an exhilarated smile. “He has a son and a daughter. The son, I think, is a senior at East River. And his daughter is in college … Or it might be the other way around. I don’t know, I’m just happy!” she squealed. “Do you want some cake?”

   I shook my head. “Great, my mom can keep a boyfriend and I can’t even get one.”

   Her silver eyes sparked with curiosity. “You like a boy?”

   “Yes, but I blew my chances with him by being … Well, me.”

   She giggled softly. “Well honey, if he doesn’t like you for you, then he’s not worth the trouble.

   I groaned loudly. “But he is worth the trouble, Mom. He gets me and I get him. Well, at least I thought I did until he does something that’s inexplicable and it has me questioning things again!”

   “Who are we talking about?” a deep voice questioned.

    My head snapped around to come face-to-face with Henri. He stood behind me with his hands in his pockets and a genuinely curious look on his face. His long, dark hair was tied back into a low ponytail and he wasn’t wearing any eyeliner. His tight, black clothing was still the same, though.

   My heart practically leaped out of my chest at the sight of him. “What the … Why are you in my house?”

   Before he could respond, Mom interjected. “He came by after school, honey. He said he wanted to talk to you about some stuff and I totally agree. He’s part of our family now.”

   I looked back at her, gaping in disbelief. How dare she betray me like that?” “Mom! I don’t want to talk to him. He is the enemy.”

   “No,” she objected as she began to slice through the cake. “Your father is the enemy. Henri has nothing to do with this and he wants to get to know you better. Stop being rude and show him to your room.”

   “Oh, he is not-”

   “Lexi,” she scolded.

   I balled my hands into fists as I turned to face Henri again. He had that stupid perplexed look on his face, trying to look innocent. “Fine,” I muttered as I gained a tight grip on Henri’s wrist and dragged him upstairs to my room. Once we were behind closed doors, I yanked my hand away from him and stared at him with disgust. “When my mom asks, say that we had a lovely conversation and we’re best buds, okay?”

   He stood still, his dark eyes roaming around my room. “I don’t want to fight, Lexi.”

   “Good.” Flashing him a fake smile, I pushed past him and fell onto my bed.

   Henri shifted uncomfortably as he stared at me. I tried to avoid eye contact, but I could feel his eyes on me. Snapping my gaze to him, I sat upright. “What,” I spat.

   “Nothing,” he dismissed, glancing down to the floor. “I just want to talk, that’s all.”

   I tightened my jaw in annoyance before I finally gave in, sighing. “Fine. Talk! What do you want to talk about, Henri?”

   He seemed reluctant at first, but he knew by the exasperated look I gave him that I was on the brink of impatience. “I’m sorry that you had to find out … about me … this way. I’ve wanted to talk to you for so long, but I never got to see you outside of school. And in school, you’re kind of intimidating to approach.”

   I knew I didn’t care about what Henri thought of me, but I still found myself asking, “I’m intimidating?”

   His eyes widened. “Oh, no! I don’t mean like scary. But, you don’t smile … Well not a real smile, anyway. You just look mad all the time so I thought that I shouldn’t bother you.”

    I forced a smile. “Good thinking.”

   Henri released a long sigh of despair before he plopped down on the beanbag next to my bed. “I just want us to be friends. I know I’m not what you hoped for in a brother, because you’re not what I hoped for in a sister. But we can’t pick and choose, we just have to deal. And I’m willing to deal if you are.”

   I studied him for a moment. His brown eyes were looking back at me with such hope and friendliness that I instantly hated myself for being so rude to him. “You’re right,” I admitted. “We have to deal.”

   His chapped lips stretched into a grin. “That’s awesome.”

   “Why do you call him Dad?” I questioned, changing the subject. “My father, why do you call him Dad?”

    He knitted his brows together as he pondered the thought. “Well, I never really knew my dad. So, he’s kinda like my father figure.”

    “What happened to him?”

   Henri’s mouth fell open and he tore his eyes from mine, becoming suddenly interested with the pattern of my rug. He fiddled his thumbs together as he absentmindedly chewed on his bottom lip – which was probably why it was always chapped.

   “You don’t have to tell me,” I said cautiously. “Sorry for prying.”

            “No, no it’s okay.” He gave me a brief smile. “He … Um, he was a real computer genius. Probably the best in his generation. He got carried away one day when he was working on a new prototype, and he got electrocuted. Or that’s what my mom tells me.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I was a little kid then, so I don’t really know the full details. But our da – I mean, your dad is the first person that I’ve ever looked up to as a role model. If you don’t want me to call him that, I can stop.”

   “You can call him Dad,” I told him.

   “Really?”

   “Really.” I attempted a friendly smile.

   “See, I knew you weren’t as bad as people made you out to be,” he mused.

   Shrugging it off, I laid back onto my bed. “I have my good days.”

   After a tense moment of silence, Henri dragged a hand through his long hair and brought his eyes back to mine. “I heard you talking to your mom about a boy. Who is he?”

   Just when the thought of Jack was slowly easing its way out of my mind, someone had to mention him again. “It’s Jack Addister,” I said simply, avoiding eye contact.

   His eyes widened. “Jack Addister? The one you slept with?”

   I snapped my eyes back to him, gasping. “I didn’t sleep with him!” I yelled as I reached over and shoved him playfully. “People are just saying that because they have nothing better to do with their lives.” His shocked expression still didn’t change. “Go on, laugh if you must. I’ll give you five seconds to get it all out before I do some serious damage to your other knee.”

   He shook his head. “I’m not laughing. I know a lot of people might judge you for liking a bad boy, but if it makes you feel better … I like Adam.”

   “Yeah, yeah. We all do.” I dismissed him with a single wave of the hand, until my mind processed what he had just said. My body froze for the duration of a couple seconds before I turned to Henri, a curious brow raised. “Wait, did you just say you like Adam? As in, like like?”  

   Henri blinked a few times, a regretful look casting over him.

   My throat had grown dry and I could hardly speak. But somehow, I managed. “Are you … Gay?”

   Letting out a short chuckle, he began to twiddle his thumbs again. A flush of color rushed to his cheeks. “Yeah, I guess you can say that.”

   I was more shocked at the fact that he had the courage to tell me, rather than the fact that he was gay. It wasn’t like I totally dismissed the possibility when I saw him in his ridiculously tight pants – but then again, that was a trend these days. “Oh my god … That’s … Wow! Have you ever talked to him?” Everything inside me wanted to tell Adam of the crush Henri had on him.

    “Once or twice, and we’ve played chess together. He’s really good.”

    I rested my head on the heels of hand as I stared at him intently. “You should talk to him.”

    “Why? He’s not – he’s not … Like that.”

   “How are you so sure?”

   He furrowed his brows. “Because you guys are dating,” he pointed out, as if to remind me.

   I sighed in defeat. I should have known the chess geeks probably pestered him with questions about relationships. Knowing him, he probably talked about me all the time just to give them something to chew on. It didn’t even matter if I supposedly cheated on him with Jack; they were too in awe that Adam managed to date me in the first place.

   But Henri and I had just established a new bond. He trusted me with his secret, so I should have been able to trust him with mine. “Between me and you, we aren’t really dating it. I agreed to it simply because I was trying to be a nice person.”

   He seemed to be even more confused. “I guessed that, but I thought it was true because-”

   “Because what?”

   “The way he looks at you,” he began, “It’s the way you look at someone you’re in a relationship with.”

   Pulling my brows together, I frowned. “What are you trying to say?” 

   “Lexi, he’s in love with you.”

✝

A/N: Short chapter, eh. I'm not sure if I like it yet. I really like Henri as a character because of the way he reaches out to Lexi. And now, Lexi can have a male friend who she has no romantic connections with! Woohoo!

So, honest opinions only ... what do you think of Henri? 

Don't worry. The Stephanie drama is coming soon and Jack will kind of be taking a backseat for a couple chapters. I need to pull in my other characters (remember the cousins??)