Chapter 15: Trick Or Treat

As I was leaving work, exhausted from trying to keep Shane from telling my secret and trying to calm Lola and Sandra down when they realized my secret, I heard someone call my name, well, my nickname. “Darling!”

I turned around, swinging my bag with me. Grayson came to a halt. He looked at me for a minute before I quirked an eyebrow and he shook his head slightly, as if ridding it of thoughts. “Since we work together and have been talking a bit more, my mother wants to know if you want to come over for dinner tomorrow.”

I stared at him, shocked. “What?”

“My mother wants to know if you can come over for dinner tomorrow. She knows that we’ve been working and hanging out together recently so she wants to see why,” he spoke slowly.

“B-but she already knows me,” I stuttered. “I don’t think I can, I’m busy. Besides, how did she even find out that we’ve been talking?”

“I asked the same thing," he muttered as he gave me a pointed look. I gasped, furrowing my eyebrows.

“You think I told my mother?” I snapped and he tossed a flat look in my direction.

“No, Audrey, I thought you told Casper the Friendly Ghost,” he retorted, motioning to the air around me. I pouted out my lower lip. He’s back to calling me Audrey.

“Well, I didn’t- thanks for considering that option," I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest.

He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t consider it because I know how awesome you think I am. How can you hold back from telling your mom?”

I glared at him. How dare he tease me? “Yeah, like I’d do that. I never tell my mother that I hang out with you.”

“So where’d you tell her you were when you watched us play football?” he smirked in satisfaction.

I shrugged, glancing at my nails. “I told her I went to watch Shane practice.” I actually didn’t tell her anything because she didn’t ask.

“Whatever, so are you going to come over for dinner or not?” he asked. “I need to know whether I can confirm or reschedule my plans for tomorrow.”

“Plans?” I asked curiously. He nodded, casually looking at his phone, which he now held in his hand.

“My plans with Nat,” he shrugged. I felt a sudden jolt of anger and my stomach clenched. Or was it my heart? Ha, just kidding, who has one of those nowadays?

“Sure, I’m free. What time?” I asked, trying to act casual.

Grayson looked up at me, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. “What happened to being busy?”

“Er, well, that was rescheduled for Sunday, I just happened to forget,” I muttered and he nodded, his smirk slowly widening.

“I’ll text you the details,” he replied, backing away slowly before turning and going to his car.

He thinks that I’m jealous. Deciding to show him that jealousy is the last thing I am feeling at the moment, I called out to him. “Hey, idiot!”

Surprisingly, he turned around and raised both of his eyebrows. “I personally think that you and Nat would make a very cute couple.”

I’m pretty sure my voice sounded strained and I was twitching but I managed to let the words escape from my mouth before I turned away and stiffly walked towards my car, biting my lip hard enough to draw blood.

~~~

Jealousy. That’s what Sandra said it was. Lola said the same exact thing. “You’re jealous because she walked into his life and not even three hours later, he has plans with her and she’s stolen all of your attention. Soon enough, he’s not going to call you Darling anymore, which I think is an adorable nickname, but it won’t be when he’s calling Nat that.”

I clenched my teeth at the sound of her stupid nickname. “When you’re talking to me, can you call her Natalie?”

“What? Why?” Lola asked and I exhaled heavily.

“Because that’s what I want you to call her, okay?” I asked snappily and Lola let out a loud laugh. She's lucky I'm not telling her to call Natalie by her true form, a stupid- calm down, Audrey.

“Wow, you really are jealous,” she chuckled and I clenched my fists. “How long has it been since you’ve had a crush? I have a feeling that this crush has been there for longer than you’d like to admit! It takes a while for this amount of jealousy to build up.”

“Shut up, Lola!” I snapped, earning another laugh from Lola. “You know what? I’m going to go now, bye.”

I pressed the end call button before putting my phone down. I noticed that I had a new text message and I looked at it, furrowing my eyebrows. ‘Tomorrow, seven PM, at my house.’

I snorted before picking up my phone. Should I be flirty? I pursed my lips before typing out a reply, hoping it sounds like I’m teasing him. He could also take it as flirting but if he asks, I’ll say I was just harassing him. ‘What if I get lost on the way there?’

‘What are you talking about? I’m like, five houses away from you. I can walk out of my house and wave my hand and you’ll see me from your bedroom window,' he replied and I wrinkled my nose. How does he know that?

‘Creepy observation…’ I added ellipses, hoping he’d continue the conversation. When had I gotten so… so desperate?

‘Well, if it makes you feel better, I can pick you up,' He replied and I felt a stupid smile forming on my face. I don’t know why it’s there. I mean, I’ve accepted the fact that I have a crush on the guy but I have no clue why. He didn’t do anything special for me, aside from calling me Darling and making an attempt to talk to me, which succeeded. He also introduced me to his friends, who are now my friends. He makes me laugh, too, which is a plus.

I sighed before quickly typing a reply. ‘Sure, you need the exercise.’

‘Says the one who pulls Nutella out of her shirt,’ He quickly responded. I couldn’t help but smile even wider at the mention of the memory.

‘Say the one who eats the Nutella,’ I messaged back, sitting cross legged on my bed, all thoughts of a shower were now gone. It was the weekend anyway so I could shower at midnight if I liked, even though I find that slightly creepy.

We continued texting back and forth and I smiled every time he replied. How gone am I?

~~~

I stared at my wardrobe, furrowing my eyebrows. I didn’t want to wear anything too formal; it was only Grayson’s family. These were the people I’ve known for a very long time. And I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard, that would definitely give off the idea that I like Grayson, right? Taking a pair of jeans out of my closet, I quickly slipped into them, looking for a shirt that would look nice with it. I grabbed a red flannel shirt, one of many, and pulled it on over a black long sleeved shirt. Rolling up the sleeves, I walked over to my dresser and put on socks. Putting on my red low top Converse, I walked over to the mirror and frowned.

There is no way I’m wearing makeup, I would definitely look like I tried too hard, besides- I never wear it anyway. Natalie always wears it though and Grayson seems to like that. Maybe I should start wearing makeup. I snorted at the idea. There’s no way I’m changing myself for a guy. Especially if that guy is Grayson, who I’ll most likely be over in the span of a week when I come back to my senses and realize what a jerk he is.

Brushing my hair out and putting it up into a loose bun, making sure to leave my fringe out, I went and sat on my bed. Well, I finished getting ready quicker than I thought I would. I continued reading, sprawling out on my bed and picking up my book right where I left off. I stayed home all day today after I arrived home from work; reading, writing, doing the homework that I couldn’t complete yesterday, and putting off getting ready for as long as possible.

The next thing I know, someone was knocking on my bedroom door. I stood up, confused. I brushed off my clothes, walking to the door. My parents would nearly kick down the door, unless it was locked- which is only when I’m changing. I glanced at the lock. It was definitely unlocked. Opening the door, I raised an eyebrow in surprise. I closed the door slightly to hide the mess behind me. “What are you doing here?”

“I was knocking on the door for about ten minutes!” he replied. “Nobody answered so I used the spare key you guys leave in the plant outside.”

I gaped at him. “You know about that?”

“Of course I know about that. Don’t you know about the spare key we leave outside of my house?” he shrugged and I shook my head.

“Why would I?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” he replied before glancing over my shoulder into my room. “Brendon Urie? You’re obsessed with that guy, aren’t you?”

I glared at him and pushed him slightly before grabbing my jacket off of the hanger beside the door. I squeezed out of the room, glad my phone was in my pocket already. “Let’s go, and next time, ring the bell or send me a text, good ole' modern day technology.”

He scowled at me before closing the door and locking it, tucking the spare key back into the plant beside the porch. I was still shocked that he knew it was there. I would definitely hide it in a different spot after consulting my parents. “Where are your parents?”

“My mom is grocery shopping and my father is at work,” I replied, shrugging. He just nodded.

We walked towards his house in silence, crossing the street and walking up to the blue house. It looked just like mine but light blue, while mine was yellow. We walked up the steps before Grayson turned to me. He lifted up the mailbox that was attached to the house’s wall and grabbed my hand, rubbing it along the back of the box. I was afraid he was going to rub my hand along some dried up gum. I didn’t realize that he was showing me where the spare key was until my fingers rolled over the metal. My mind was racing once he dropped my hand. I hoped the cold air would help my burning skin but unfortunately it didn’t.

“Audrey! You’ve grown so much since the last time I saw you!” Emily squealed once we opened the door.

I gave her a confused look. “You just saw me on Monday.”

She waved her hand. “Since the last time I hugged you.”

“That was last Tuesday,” she frowned, pouting slightly.

“Let me just assume that you’ve grown,” she smiled at me before grabbing my arm and bringing me to the kitchen, where I’ve been plenty of times. To be honest, it was weird not being here with my parents- who helped sail us through any awkward moments.

I glanced back at Grayson who was closing the door. ‘Should’ve said no,’ he mouthed and I rolled my eyes. Maybe he’d rather be hanging out with Natalie right now.

Pushing me down in a seat, diagonal to Mr. Carter, who offered me a large smile, Emily rushed to the kitchen and brought out the dinner. I smiled largely at the Italian food. Emily is half Italian. Denying my offer to help her, she rushed towards the table and gently placed down the plates that were stacked in her arms. “Sit,” she demanded as Grayson approached the table.

Taking a seat across from his father and beside me, Grayson reached for a stray piece of pasta that was at the top of the bowl and his mother smacked his hand away. “Wait.”

Mr. Carter smiled as his wife sat down. “Ladies first.”

I went to reach for the ladle but Grayson smacked my hand. “Didn’t you hear my dad? He said ladies first.”

After getting a smack from his mother and a deadly scowl from me, he finally released my hand and allowed me to grab some pasta. Grayson groaned loudly and turned to his father. “They’re going to eat all of it.”

Emily began shoveling pasta onto her plate while I turned and glanced at Grayson. “You aren’t a lady, Grayson? All that whining and complaining had me fooled.”

Emily laughed at my joke while Mr. Carter snorted and Grayson glared at me. I smiled as I scooped the cheesy pasta onto my plate. He huffed and sat back, waiting for us to finish placing food onto our plates. Once we finished, he quickly grabbed the ladle, tossing food onto his plate as if he hasn’t eaten in years.

When he saw me staring, he scowled. “She wouldn’t let me eat.”

His mother glared in his direction. “You were trying to have a five course meal. I said you could have a snack but no, that wasn’t good enough.”

Rolling his eyes playfully, he brought the fork down to the plate. I watched him devour his meal out of the corner of my eye. I’ve never watched him eat. (As if you’re supposed to.) I noticed that he had a process. He would bring the food up to his mouth and smile at it, slightly creepy (don’t be a hypocrite), and then he would rip it off of the fork like a savage. I awkwardly glanced back at my food and began to eat.

“This is really good, Emily,” I grinned at her and she smiled.

Grayson kicked my leg before murmuring something under his breath. “Kiss up.”

“Did you just swear at me, Grayson?” I asked a bit loudly. Emily frowned before pointing at Grayson.

“Grayson, no foul language at the table- or anywhere for the matter,” Emily snapped.

“Sure, believe the random girl,” he sucked his teeth at his mother who frowned.

“Audrey is not a random girl. She is like a daughter to me,” a ding from the kitchen interrupted her and Grayson quickly stood up, muttering something about brownies. His father followed him, nearly running to the kitchen. Emily rolled her eyes at them before turning to me. “As I was saying, you’re like my daughter; soon to be daughter in law.”

I began choking on the pasta I was chewing, gasping for air as Emily just giggled like a school girl. When Grayson returned to the dining room, he furrowed his eyebrows. “Mom, she’s over here dying while you’re laughing. What happened to her being like a second child to you?”

He patted my back twice, dislodging the food from my throat. I swallowed a gulp of water after I tasted the sweet, sweet air. Emily just smiled and winked at me. “What happened, anyway?”

“Nothing, nothing at all," Emily winked at me again and this time, Grayson caught it and sent me an odd look.

“So, Grayson tells me that you guys hang out?” Mr. Carter inquired.

"I never said that," Grayson muttered.

I shrugged, ignoring Grayson. “We work together, which can be counted as hanging out, I guess; we have some mutual friends so we hang out with them, too.”

“Carson and Kyle love her,” Grayson offered and I furrowed my eyebrows.

“That’s great! Do you know Shane?” Emily asked curiously.

Grayson snorted as he continued eating his pasta. “Yeah, I do know Shane.”

“Why’d you make that noise, Grayson?” Emily questioned.

Grayson shook his head. “She has a crush on Shane.”

I gaped at him for two reasons. For one, he just spilled my (not so secret) secret to his parents and two, he sneered as if I have no chance with Shane, not that I even want one. Emily turned to look at me, her eyebrows furrowed. “Is this true, Audrey?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not. I don’t have a crush on him anymore.”

“Anymore? So you did?” Mr. Carter casually asked as he scooped up some salad and let it fall to his plate. Grabbing the Italian dressing, he looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

I knew my face was red as I nodded. “Y-yeah, I did. But not anymore.”

Grayson pretended to cough. “Lie.”

I glared at him, kicking him under the table. He winced as he clenched his teeth. “I’m not lying. I no longer like him. Do your parents know about Natalie?”

I had no clue why I was bringing her up. If they plan to keep her a topic in our conversation, I would have to control my ‘jealousy.’ “Natalie?”

“Yeah, Nat and I are friends." Yeah, they’re friends, ‘close to being in a relationship’ friends; ‘she was touching his arm caringly’ friends; ‘I bet they made out’ friends.

It was my turn to cough. “Lie.”

He smirked at me. “Why is it any of your business?”

As if expecting me to cave, his eyebrows raised. “Why is my relationship with Shane any of your business?”

“I never said it was," he shrugged, maintaining a calm demeanor while I’m sure my eyes were black with rage.

“Y-y-you just did!” I stuttered. I’m shocked that he even bothered to deny something that two other people had witnessed, those two people being his parents.

He furrowed his eyebrows, rubbing his chin curiously. “Did I?”

Gripping the table to hold back from smashing my glass of water over his head, I looked at him. “I’m pretty sure you did, although I could be wrong.”

“Let’s get back to talking about Natalie, shall we?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, we were supposed to hang out today but since you insisted on inviting Audrey over, I had to reschedule,” he shrugged casually while I stuffed my face with pasta.

“Is she in your grade?” Emily asked, glancing between the two of us with a curious smile on her face.

He nodded again. “Yeah and she’s in a few of my classes.”

“Do you have any classes with her, Audrey?” Emily asked me and I nodded.

Holding back from saying ‘unfortunately,’ I smiled. “Yeah, I do.”

“Are you guy’s friends?” Emily asked.

I pursed my lips sourly as I glared at my plate before looking up with a cheerful smile. “I don’t know her well but I can see that we have a long friendship ahead of us.” That’s if she and Lola become good friends, which I can already see happening.

Emily nodded, a smile on her face. “So do you guys have any classes together, you, Nat and Grayson?”

I sighed quietly before nodding again. “Yeah, we have pre-calculus together.”

Grayson nodded. “Really? I didn’t notice you in pre-calculus.”

“That’s quite rude to say, Grayson, take notice of your surroundings next time. Especially if a pretty girl like Audrey is in your class,” Emily winked and Grayson scowled.

I could tell that he was lying about what he said. He was just trying to remind me about how he caught me staring at him and Natalie. I could also tell that he didn’t think I was pretty. “No, its okay, I do sit in the back of the classroom.”

The dinner went smoothly and when we all finished eating, Grayson and I were given the job to wash the dishes while Emily and Mr. Carter walked Finster, who was anxiously scratching at the doors of his cage. Once they let him out of the cage, he came running over to me.

I latched my arms around Grayson by instinct, closing my eyes and burying my face into his chest. I prepared for the attacking to begin but opened them to see Finster sitting down beside me, wagging his tale anxiously. I awkwardly unwrapped my arms from Grayson, not even having to glance at him to see that he was smirking.

“Pet him,” I listened to what Grayson said and reached my hand down, letting him sniff it first before I ran it down his grey coat. He panted heavily as he stood beside me, licking my hand. I couldn’t help but laugh. He stood up, catching me off guard as his paws reached my shoulders. His face was in my own as he panted. He let his tongue run down the side of my face before he dropped back down to the floor and padded over to Mr. Carter, who gave me an apologetic look.

“Finster has a crush,” Emily giggled as she opened the door and allowed the dog to run outside, yanking Mr. Carter along beside him.

“Finster has terrible taste,” Grayson mumbled and I glared at him before walking over to the sink and rinsing my face, getting the slobber off. “I didn’t know you were scared of dogs.”