Chapter 7: Darling

“Why, hello darling.” Grayson muttered as his smirk widened and his eyes danced with flecks of amusement. I stepped back, fully registering what I’d just done. My mind was racing, questions pouring out of every crevice of my brain.

Why’d you kiss him?

What is he going to think?

Does he think you like him?

Do you like him?

Why did you like it?

Why do you want to kiss him again?

I felt my stomach muscles clench and I ran out into the yard and puked in the trash can. It wasn’t my best look but… well, there aren’t any buts. I heard Sandra and Lola walking out of the house and coming to my aid, holding my hair while I puked.

“Hey, I couldn’t have been that bad!” Grayson shouted as I nodded my head, silently telling him that it was pretty bad, even though it really wasn’t.

When I finally finished chucking my guts into Shane’s trash can, which is super embarrassing might I add, I turned to see Sandra and Lola staring at me with shocked looks. Who could blame them? I was pretty shocked myself, and I’m the one who kissed him! “What…was…that?”

I looked at Lola and shrugged. “There was no way I was going to kiss that creepy guy,” I replied as I swished my mouth with the water from the bottle Sandra gave me. I spit the water onto the street. I did that a few times until I couldn’t taste the vomit that I’d recently spewed out of my mouth like a fountain. When I could no longer taste it, I just chugged the rest of the bottle, quenching my thirst.

Lola handed me two pieces of gum and I quickly unwrapped one and chewed it before spitting it out. I opened the second one and continued chewing it regularly, glad that the taste of vomit was gone. “That’s not what it looked like.”

I turned to Sandra who bowed her head sheepishly. “What?”

“You look like you enjoyed it," she muttered and I stared at the two of them, horrified. Lola just nodded in agreement and I shook my head.

“Trust me, I didn’t,” I replied and my two friends winced.

“You always were a terrible liar,” she replied as she kicked the cement beneath her feet.

I glared at her. “I’m not lying.”

Lola put her hands out as if to stop an oncoming argument. “Okay, okay.”

I sighed and ran my hands over my face. “That was completely and utterly embarrassing! How will I ever show my face to Shane again? Or to anyone for the matter? Especially Grayson, we work together 6 days a week!”

“Act like nothing happened,” Lola shrugged as if it was simple. I wish it was simple. I thought about it for a moment. It could work…it could work.

“What about the puking?” I asked as I looked towards Shane’s trashcan.

Sandra shrugged. “It’ll strengthen the idea that you hate Grayson. You got sick just by kissing the boy.”

“It’s not an idea, it’s the truth,” I replied and Sandra nodded her head, smirking.

“Okay," she replied as she turned on her heel, Lola following after her. She turned back when she realized I wasn’t following them. “Are you coming?”

I shook my head. “I’m going to sit out here for a minute,” I replied as I leaned against a random person’s car.

<><><> 

I sat in silence until I saw someone’s familiar shoes pressing against the luscious grass. The black stood out against the green. I heard his deep voice and I closed my eyes momentarily. “You okay?”

I looked up to see Grayson standing there with his hands in his pockets. I shrugged. “I guess, yeah.”

“Is your stomach emptied?” he joked and I let out a quiet chuckle. I nodded. “You must be hungry.”

I nodded again. “Yeah but there’s no way I’m going back in there.”

“I never said that, we could always go to McDonalds,” he replied. It shocked me how he wasn’t smug and smirking at the fact that I kissed him. Hopefully, my vomiting chipped his massive ego.

I shrugged. “Is it in walking distance?” I asked him and he shook his head.

“We’ll just take my bike,” he replied and I was silent. I didn’t mind riding on a bike, it’s just that Grayson will be on the same bike and I don’t want to be in a five foot range of him. “That’s if you won’t puke on it.”

I glared at him as he smiled at me. “Ha-ha-ha, you idiot.”

“You have to promise you won’t puke on my baby,” he replied as he led me towards his bike.

I groaned. “I won’t puke on the motorcycle.”

He got onto the bike and patted the space behind him. I managed to hop onto the bike without falling. He handed me his helmet and I placed it onto my head, tightening it as needed. He started up the bike and I placed my hands on his shoulders, not even allowing myself to think about wrapping them around his stomach.

Before we drove off, he turned slightly. “You know, Audrey, you’re not that bad of a kisser.” There’s the Grayson that I know and…hate.

“I can’t say the same about you,” I replied cheekily before he drove off.

<><><> 

When we arrived at McDonalds, he quickly got off of the bike, causing it to nearly tip over if it weren’t for my foot hitting the gravel. I struggled to get off of the bike without it collapsing on me. When I finally managed, I put the helmet on the seat, kicked down the kickstand and jogged over to the restaurant, where Grayson was already waiting in line.

“Thanks for the help,” I muttered once I reached him.

He turned to look at me with a wink. “Any time.”

“I should’ve retched all over the bike,” I barked and he instantly glared at me.

“If you would’ve done that, I would’ve snapped your neck and left you in the blistering cold,” he threatened.

I was quiet for a minute, taking in his threat. “Ouch,” that was all I could manage to say.

After ordering quite a bit of food, we waited for it to be prepared. When it was, Grayson grabbed the large tray and walked towards a secluded booth in the back of the restaurant. Small families scattered around the place, most likely driving to and from places out of state, which is common here in Rodencia.

Once we sat down and divided the food, we ate in silence. I continued eating when Grayson stopped. “So…are we going to talk about that or what?”

I looked up at him and tilted my head, my mouth full of a large chewed piece of a big mac. “What?”

“How attractive,” he scrunched up his nose. I just continued eating. “Well, to answer your question, are we going to talk about how you kissed me?”

I shrugged, swallowing the bite of the big mac. “There’s nothing to talk about. You told me to kiss the first guy to walk through the door.”

He was silent. “That doesn’t even make sense, you kissed me.”

“You walked into the house and held open the door for that creep; therefore you were the first guy to walk into the house. There was no way that I was kissing that guy,” I replied as I shoved a handful of fries into my mouth, not very ladylike.

I looked up at Grayson who stared at me with a confused look on his face before it slowly turned into his familiar smirk. I groaned. “What’s another one of your theories now?”

“You like me, don’t you?” he asked and I choked on my fry. He ignored my choking and continued on talking about his insane theory. “That’s why you’re always so rude to me; you want me to notice you. That’s what you told your mom and the job opening in the library, so she could tell my mom who’d obviously tell me. That’s why you freak out when I threaten to tell Shane that you like him, because you don’t want false rumors spreading, especially about one of my best friends because it will ruin your chances with me- even though they’re practically nonexistent already.”

I stared at him in horror once I got over my choke attack, ignoring the latter insult. “You’ve got it all wrong! I don’t like you, in fact- I hate you. Why do you think I puked after kissing you? And I begged my mom to tell your mom that we already had someone working in the library and that there was no opening! That’s not even close to the truth! I don't want you to tell Shane because that’s embarrassing! And like I’d want to date you, you have no chance.”

He just smirked at me as he plucked a fry from my box even though he had his own. “I see right through your lies.”

I gaped at him. “I think its official, you fell off the deep end; you’re crazy; you’re a loon.”

“And you’re a loon who’s in love,” he replied as he leaned forward and bit into the French fry. He grinned at me and I scowled, pushing him back in his seat. I just continued eating my food, hoping that he was joking about the whole ‘crush’ thing. That was the craziest thing I've ever heard.

Once we finished eating, he threw out the trash before walking over to the table where I was still seated. “Come on, darling.”

I scowled at him. “Don’t call me that.”

He just winked at me and exited the building, with me trailing after him. Don't his eye muscles get tired of all that winking? We reached his motorbike and he smirked at me. “This time, don’t be afraid to wrap your arms around my waist. You’re safer that way.”

I just scoffed as he got onto the bike, handing me the helmet which I strapped onto my head. I got onto the bike behind him, firmly placing my hands on his shoulders. He sucked his teeth and proceeded to move my hands until they were around his waist. I went to move them back but he caught my hands in his own. They were larger than mine and definitely warmer; they were rough- from playing football.

I shook my hands as if to tell him to let them go but he wouldn’t. Eventually, I gave up and he realized this as he started the bike and raced down the street, faster than before. I had to rest my head on his back in order to stay glued to the seat, if not; I’d be like a piece of paper in the wind at the speed he was driving.

<><><> 

When we reached the house, he got off of the bike first, but this time he kicked down the kickstand. I awkwardly slid down from the back of the bike to the part he was sitting because of to the sloping seat. Instead of walking towards the overcrowded house, he took a step forward and lifted me off of the bike and placed me on the floor. His hands clutched my waist, a familiar feeling due to the kiss earlier. I felt my face go warm at the memory and I swatted his hands away.

“Don’t touch me,” I snapped as I ripped his helmet off of my head and slammed it into his chest.

He laughed as I stormed away. “You’re blushing.”

“Am not!” I called back.

I heard his faint reply. “Are too!”

When I stepped into the house, I realized two things:

1.) Shane was dancing with a bottle blonde

2.) I didn’t care all that much.

I stared at the scene in front of me. She was more than happy; ecstatic would be the right word. I, on the other hand, was frowning slightly. Of course it hurt me a bit, I did think that Shane was cute and I’d love to go on a date with him. He’s extremely funny and as far as I can tell, he has an amazing personality.

I quickly wiped away the frown and walked upstairs, lost in the large abode. I reached the second floor and aimlessly walked around, something I often do in situations where I’m lost. I walked into a room that was empty. I noticed that the bed was disheveled and I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Really? We were barely an hour into the party.

I locked the door before going to the en suite bathroom. I looked in the mirror and groaned. My hair was a mess from the air that beat it to a bloody pulp through the holes of the helmet; I could only hope that one of my friends has a better hair tie. I shouldn't have taken my hair out of it's braid during truth or dare. Curse Grayson for having a helmet that has holes in it. I used the bathroom before walking out of the bedroom.

I turned and saw Carson and Sandra rushing towards me at full speed. I also saw Kyle and Lola walked towards me at a much calmer pace. “I told you she was in there.”

I turned to see Sandra with an accusing look on her face. “Where is he?”

I turned to look at Kyle with a confused look. “Who?”

He moved me over to the side before Carson walked into the room that I’d just exited. He looked around and shook his head. “He’s not in here…but it looks as if he was.”

He sent me an accusing look, too. I furrowed my eyebrows as he winked. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Where’s Grayson?” Lola asked in a calm voice. I shrugged.

“Last time I seen him he was outside," I replied before I realized what they were assuming. I jumped out of Kyle’s gentle hold. “No! No! No! No! No! No! That did not happen! We just came back from McDonalds! That did not happen, I swear to you.”

Carson looked at me and narrowed his eyes as if interrogating me without words. “She’s telling the truth.”

I punched his shoulder. “Of course I am, you idiot!”

“Why does your hair look a mess, then?” Sandra asked.

I smiled. “Gee, thanks for the compliment. The motorcycle did this.”

Lola gasped. “You rode on his motorcycle?! What will your mom say about that?!”

I threw my hands in the air carelessly. “She won’t care as long as I mention it was Grayson’s.”

I turned to look at all of them. “Why is it so important that we find Grayson?”

Carson slung an arm around my shoulder. I almost collapsed from the surprising weight of his muscles. “So we can finish our game, silly.”

I squirmed out from under his arm. “Okay, elephant arm, you guys find him.”

He shrugged off my insult and frowned. “You’re not going to play?”

“Do you not realize that by playing this game, I kissed my enemy?” I asked him and he wagged his finger in my face.

“That was your doing; you could’ve kissed that creepy guy. You wanted to kiss Grayson, I have a feeling you like him,” Carson responded and Kyle nodded his head.

I took a step forward and jabbed my finger against Carson’s chest. “You listen here, Carson, I do not, and I repeat, I do not like Grayson Carter nor will I ever like Grayson Carter.”

“Do you know what I got out of that sentence?” Carson asked me with an amused look on his face. “'You listen here Carson, I do, and I repeat, I do like Grayson Carter.'’”

I narrowed my eyes at him and groaned in frustration. “You guys are insufferable.”

Kyle grinned. “We know.”

<><><> 

We eventually found Grayson shamelessly flirting with a brown haired girl. I couldn’t help but notice how similar we look. I wasn’t the only one who noticed because Lola turned to look at me, a smile on her face. I glared at her, daring her to say something.

“Hey look, Audrey, I found your twin,” we usually do this, but with ugly men who are in pictures we find on the internet. We once spent an entire class period looking up ugly men and saying, 'hey look, I found your twin!' As expected, we didn't get any work done.

I scowled at her. The girl was skinnier than me, well; almost everyone was skinnier than me. I was a bit on the chunkier side but I was okay with that. I had stomach fat and I didn’t have a thigh gap and this girl did. Why am I comparing myself to this girl? I scolded myself. Anyway, I wouldn’t want to be this girl if she gets Grayson’s attention.

The girl had blue eyes like mine and her hair was brown but it was straightened and left flat on her back, aside from the section she was twirling around her finger while she giggled. “We look nothing alike.”

Lola squinted her eyes and leaned towards me. “Really, Audrey? You guys look nothing alike?”

I nodded. “Not a single thing about us is similar.”

Lola scowled at me. “She’s just a few inches taller than you.”

“She has longer legs, she’s skinnier, she’s wearing a bit more makeup and a lot less clothes, and her eyelashes are longer than Zayn Malik’s. Therefore, we are totally unalike,” I explained.

Lola rolled her eyes along with Sandra as we watched the boys yank Grayson away from the girl; she didn’t look too happy herself and neither did Grayson. Once Grayson was with us and fully aware of what happened, he looked at us. After a few seconds, he looked at me and smirked. “Hello darling.”

I glowered at him. “Don’t call me that.”

He took a step closer to me and leaned down nearly a foot to smell my hair. I retracted my head and stared at him. Is he insane? “Do I smell jealousy and strawberry shampoo?”

“Yes, you smell strawberry shampoo; as for jealousy, I think what you’re smelling is the hairspray because I, Audrey Peters, am not jealous,” I replied snappily.

Grayson laughed before staring at me. “I think you are jealous.”

“You, mi amigo, are mistaken,” I stated.

“Did you just call me your friend?” he asked me and I shrugged.

He smirked. “How am I your friend but I know what your lips feel like?”

I glared at him. “Isn’t that a song?”

He scoffed. “Uh, no.”

“No, Grayson, I’m pretty sure it is. By… Jasmine Villegas! It’s called ‘Just a Friend.’ Yeah, that’s it!” I exclaimed and he glared at me.

I smirked. “Did you just use a line from a girl’s song on me?” I asked him while he narrowed his eyes at me.

“You’re short,” he replied as he looked down at me.

I glared at him, realizing the not-so-subtle subject switch. “You changed the subject.”

He took a step closer to me, catching me off guard. My eyes came in contact with his chest. “I’m like… a foot taller than you, darling.”

“Stop calling me that!” I complained as I took a step away from him. He just laughed at me.

<><><> 

When we were all in an empty room, I walked over and turned on the television. Carson cleared his throat loudly. “What are you doing?”

I turned to look at them with a confused look on my face. I snorted. “What? You actually think I’m going to play that game again?”

Grayson nodded. “You might get a chance to kiss me again, so of course we think you’re going to play.”

I glared at him. “I would’ve played but thanks to that comment, I’m not going to.”

Carson punched Grayson’s arm. “Dude, it’s uneven now, thanks to you!” they were going to have Shane play if they couldn’t find Grayson but after seeing Shane make out with the same blonde he was dancing with, we ruled him out completely.

“She’s bluffing,” Grayson explained and I narrowed my eyes as I turned away from The Simpsons.

“Am not,” I replied.

“Are too,” Grayson replied and I leaned off of the bed towards the half circle they formed a few feet away.

“Am not!” I snapped, quickly lifting my supporting fist up in the air for a few seconds before slamming it down, luckily maintaining my balance.

Grayson crawled away from the circle on all fours, coming closer to me. “Yes you are.”

“No, I’m not!” I shouted.

He calmly moved closer. “Yes, you are.”

“I am not,” I retorted and he was about a foot away from me. My legs were still on the bed and my arms were supporting me as I hovered above the floor. My arms were getting tired.