Chapter 31: I may or may not have had an obsession with you...

"Did he ask you out yet?" Sandra asked me as we stood in the lunch line.

I shook my head, my teeth gritted slightly. "Nope."

"Don't be upset, why don't you ask him out?" She asked.

"I feel like I'm the only one doing things in whatever it is that we have, a relationship, I don't know." I replied.

"He'll ask you out soon, I just know it." Lola stated, a smile on her face.

I rolled my eyes. "I hope so."

We made our way outside. In celebration of the better weather, we were going outside to watch the guys play a short game of football. Unlike the low twenties of this past week, its 60 degrees Fahrenheit today, which is surprisingly warm for a winter like this one has been so far.

We sat next to the protective gate, grabbing a seat on the bleachers. It was also beside the small table where they keep drinks during the game. Grayson offered me a cheesy smile as he and the guys spread out on the field. We watched as they threw the ball back and forth, avoiding tackles by swerving around each other.

They called a break ten minutes in so Kyle could get something to drink. So he wouldn't have to walk all the way around to the gate entrance, Lola brought his water bottle towards the small table, smiling at him as she did. "Audrey."

I turned my attention towards Grayson, who was standing there with a smile on his face. I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" I watched as he jumped over the table, as if it were nothing. If I were in his position, I would have to prep for an hour in order to climb over it. In fact, I'd probably just climb under it, but here he was- jumping over tables as if it's taking steps.

"Come here." He waved his hand at me as if telling me to go over to him; Sandra giggled quietly while I shot her a glare. He leaned in to kiss me but I took a step back. He frowned and I held back a smirk. "What'd I do?"

"It seems as if you've forgotten my rule." I told him, poking him in the chest.

He furrowed his eyebrows before sucking his teeth. "Do you mean the rule about not kissing guys who aren't your boyfriend?"

I nodded. "That's the one."

He laughed as he grabbed my hand that was poking him in the chest. He tangled our fingers together and kissed the back of my hand, sending shivers down my spine. "You seemed to have broken that rule on Saturday."

I shrugged. "Well, I'm enforcing the rule now."

"That rule simply states that you can't kiss guys that aren't your boyfriend, not that they can't kiss you." He told me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'll change it. Guys can't kiss me unless they ask me out."

He groaned before he looked down at me. Quickly pressing his lips to mine, he backed away, dropping our entwined hands. I glared at him before advancing towards him. "You idiot!"

"I prefer the term rebel!" He replied as he hoped over the table with ease and ran towards the field, where Kyle and Carson were tossing the ball around. Shane was resting against the opposite side of the fence a few feet away from me; his hands were roaming over his phone screen.

"Show off." He muttered absentmindedly. "He's probably a terrible kisser, too."

"Awe, are you becoming an emotional teenage girl?" I asked. I glanced out at the field and Grayson blew me a kiss, to which I blew a raspberry in response.

I was glaring at Grayson as he laughed loudly. "Hey Audrey."

I turned my attention to Shane, who was now turned around, his phone still in his hands. "Hey."

He turned his phone towards me, shoving it so close to my face that I have to back away a bit. "What do you say when a girl says this to you?"

I looked at the phone screen, my eyes widening slightly. A list of curse words lined the screen and I stifled a laugh, especially when I saw the sender of said message; Samwich. I saw her earlier today and she nearly went off on me, asking me why I even introduced her to Shane, who was now intent on learning more about her.

Deciding to tease him just to get a reaction out of him, I laughed. "You like her! You like her. You have a crush on Sam!"

He nodded. "I know."

His seriousness caught me off guard. I blinked a few times. "Oh."

"Yeah, but do you have any idea what I should say to her?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "No, I don't."

"I would ask the guys but they'd laugh at me for sure." He muttered.

"Why not tell her that you like her?" I asked him. "Girls like honesty, ask her out. Be the man in the relationship so she won't have to do it. In fact, ask her to be your girlfriend! I'm sure she'd like that! Why wouldn't she? She's only liked you for years now!"

"Audrey...you're going off on a tangent...about your relationship problems with my best friend." He told me, a small smile peeking on his lips. "He's going to ask you out. Just be patient."

"I've been patient for a long time." I admitted, crossing my arms stubbornly. I thought he would ask me out Monday, or Tuesday, maybe even Wednesday. But as soon as Thursday hit, I was upset. And now, today, I stand her watching him play football with his friends as I stand unhappily beside Shane.

"Wait, back up a few minutes, did you say years?" Shane asked me.

"What? No! I've liked him for a few months, where'd you get years from?" I asked nervously. Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it. He sent me a questioning look but I continued speaking. "But I mean, even Carson had the guts to ask out Sandra! It's been a week since our date and there is no progress whatsoever!" The good thing about Shane is that he has a low attention span, meaning he probably doesn't even remember or care about what I said a few moments ago. I let out a silent sigh of relief. I will never slip up like that again.

"He kisses you, right?" Shane asked me and I nodded as my cheeks tinged pink. "That's progress, even though he's a horrible kisser."

"He's an amazing ki—."

"Just be patient, young grasshopper." He told me before kicking off of the gate and walking across the field.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

He turned around, managing to walk backwards. He wiggled his eyebrows. "Back stairwell, Christen Stefonavich wants to meet up."

"I thought you liked Sam?" I questioned as I wrapped my fingers around the gate.

He shrugged. "Yeah, and she doesn't like me. This is how I get over someone!"

He was too far away for me to call out to and I wasn't in the mood for screaming at the top of my lungs. Instead, I walked back over towards my friends and sat down. "Is he a bad kisser?"

"Argh!" I exclaimed angrily as Lola giggled.

~~~

I stepped in the house from work, physically exhausted and ready to go straight to sleep, but my parents had another thing on their agenda. "Audrey Peters, get in this kitchen right now!"

My eyes nearly bulged out of my head as I slowly walked towards the kitchen, dragging my bag behind me. "Yes?"

My mother stared at me with her arms crossed over her chest while my father devoured the cake that was on the table. "So we got a call from two of your teachers today."

I already know what this is about. Yesterday, I skipped two of my classes. I know what you're thinking, you probably skipped with Grayson. But no, my friends, I skipped with Carson, Kyle, Shane, Lola, Sandra, Sam, and Grayson. We even managed to get Sebastian to leave his school, too. We skipped the class before lunch and after lunch, mainly because Shane insisted that we go try this new Chinese restaurant a few towns over. Now, the plan was to just miss the last few minutes of third period and be back in time for fourth, missing lunch, but no. Lola and Sandra managed to convince me that we don't need to go to third period. And because Carson, Kyle, and I had the same third period class that it would be highly unlikely for the teacher to let Carson, Kyle, and I all out at the same time, so or two of us wouldn't be able to go. We didn't get back in time for fourth, if that's what you're wondering. And instead, we just drove back home and prayed that the school wouldn't notice.

So we only attended two of our classes and I managed to stuff the events to the back of my head and covered it with a layer of dry wall, which my parents just tore down- or my mother, to be specific. "They said you skipped two of your classes!"

My mother pointed to the seat across from my father and I sat down. "Well—."

My mother cut me off, something she always does. "Is this true? Who did you skip with? Was it Lola? Sandra?"

Times like these, I'm grateful that my mother thinks Grayson is the most perfect person alive and that he'd never, ever make me skip class. "It doesn't really matter, mom. But I can promise you that it won't happen again."

"You're darn right it won't, because you're grounded!" I was expecting that. "For two whole weeks, no television, no friends over, no computer, no going out, I'm even going to check your phone every day so no texting." She chided. It was a bit stupid of her to say that she will check my phone daily because I'll just delete my conversations.

"Double her chores, too." My father muttered in-between bites of the chocolate cake.

"Dad!" I exclaimed. He's supposed to be the good guy!

"What?" He managed to say as he choked on the forkfuls of chocolate cake that he was shoving into his mouth.

I mouthed the word 'traitor' to him as I turned my attention back to my mother. "Your father and I have to go to work but don't think this means you can go out. I'm having Emily check in with you every hour and she will report to me if you do anything that even remotely violates your punishment."

I sat there, a large frown on my face as I nodded. Well, there goes whatever girl's night Sandra, Sam and Lola were planning, and Shane was going to attempt to invade it. "Okay."

My mother turned on her heel and picked up her briefcase before giving a pointed look at my father who quickly nodded and stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Oh, sorry, I'll be outside in a moment."

My mother accepted his answer and rushed outside, slamming the door on her way out. I watched as my father put his plate in the sink before patting my head and leaving. I sighed loudly as I stomped upstairs to my room, closing my door quieter than my mom had done. I texted Sandra, Sam, and Lola to tell them that I was out of the girl's day because I was grounded; I also asked if they were grounded. I decided to text Grayson to see if he was grounded, too.

'Nope, why, are you?' He responded and I sighed loudly.

Almost nine o'clock on a Friday night and I'm not allowed to do anything. I guess I can get some sleep, though. 'Yes, unfortunately.'

'I know, I just wanted to hear you say it.' He told me. 'I also watched your parents drive away, do you want to go out to get ice cream?'

My eyes widened; the exhaustion that was coursing through me quickly drained and I found myself telling him that I would. He told me that he'd be here in ten minutes so I quickly ran a brush through my hair. I brushed my teeth, too, despite the fact that I'd be eating ice cream shortly, but I want to have good smelling breath.

I quickly changed into a pair of black jeans and a red shirt, remembering that his favorite color is red. I put on my red vans before stuffing some money, my phone, and my lip balm into my pockets. The doorbell rang and I jogged down the steps before realizing that I don't have any makeup on. The doorbell rang again and I was torn between running back upstairs and putting on eyeliner and mascara or just opening the door. Deciding to not keep him waiting, I opened the door and he smiled at me, leaning in to kiss me but I smirked and stepped back.

"Nope, I don't let boys who aren't dating me, kiss me." I told him as I stepped outside and locked the door. We walked towards his car, which was parked in front of his house.

He just rolled his eyes but wrapped his hand around mine. I didn't complain about it. I suddenly remembered that Emily was to report my every action to my mother every hour and froze when my eyes met Emily's. She seemed to realize why I was freaking out and she smirked. Grayson just stared at me as he held the passenger side door open. Emily strolled down the steps, her smirk widening the closer she came to me. "Oh, what is this? Is my son helping Audrey Peters sneak out?"

She smiled at me before covering her eyes. "Oops, I can't see anything! It'd be a shame if you got into the car and drove off before I could report it to your mother."

I got into the car and Grayson jogged to the other side. I leaned out of the passenger's window slightly, smiling at Grayson's mother. "Thank you, Emily."

She returned my smile. "No problem, just be home before eleven. Your father's going to be home at 11:30." She told me and I nodded gratefully.

As Grayson drove off, I sighed in relief. "Your mom's pretty awesome."

Grayson nodded. "I know."

We drove to the ice cream parlor in silence, getting out of the car and joining hands quietly. Grayson ordered a strawberry ice cream cone while I glared at him. He ordered a plain vanilla cone for me, and I crossed my arms and requested a caramel drizzle, even though the plain vanilla cone would've been fine. He paid for me and we walked back outside, eating the ice cream soundlessly.

"Park or beach?" Grayson asked me as the car idled at the end of the parking lot, ready to make a turn in either direction. I pointed to the right, which is in the direction of the park. We drove to the park and it seemed like we've done this before; I suddenly gasped.

As children, our parents used to bring us to the ice cream shop and then to the park. It was the same ice cream shop, just redecorated. I knew I recognized the red booths and the tiled floor. "I was waiting for you to realize it. It took you longer than I anticipated."

"You mean you brought me there purposely?" I asked him and he nodded. I finished off my ice cream, wiping my mouth with the napkin I'd made sure to grab in the parlor.

"Yeah, you used to love that place. I even remember your intense glare whenever my parents bought me strawberry ice cream." He told me, laughing. I joined in the laughter with him as we slowly parked in the empty park's lot.

I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt and bolted towards the swing set, grabbing the chains of the swing to stop it from moving. It was blowing lightly in the wind and I sat on it. To be honest, I never learned how to swing myself. I always struggled to kick my legs in a good pattern as a kid and both my father and Grayson's father would always push me. Grayson would laugh at me, much like he's doing now.

"It isn't funny." I muttered as I struggled to remember what my father told me countless times. Kick your legs. I began flailing my legs individually but all that did was jerk the swing left and right sloppily. I eventually stopped and decided to just sit and look up at the stars, which were blocked slightly by the trees.

"It is." Grayson told me as he came up behind me, he pushed me lightly. I became nervous that I was too heavy and that he'd fall down, gasping for air and complaining that I was nearly obese, but instead he just continued to push me until I was in the air. "Now kick your legs."

I began flailing them again and Grayson groaned. "No, kick them together, in unison."

I did as he instructed and I actually made progress. I was moving quickly, back and forth until I was all the way in the air. I was scared that I'd fall backwards. I looked over and saw Grayson swinging too, until he was up in the air beside me. In a split second, he was jumping from the swing and landing successfully on the ground.

I managed to move a little in my swing and went to jump but landed directly on the ground beneath the swing, getting hit in the back with the moving deathtrap. I fell to the ground, surprised that the swing had that much momentum. I was lucky they had the padding under the swing or else I'd be unconscious right now. I managed to get up without the help of Grayson, who was keeled over in hysterics. I gave him a flat look as I walked over towards a bench overlooking a medium sized pond. My back hurts too much to stand.

"Remember when you pushed me into the pond?" Grayson asked as he sat beside me, extending his long legs. I stared at his feet before nodding.

"Yeah, and you nearly drowned." I told him, surprised that he still remembers this. But then again, you tend to remember near death experiences.

"I was begging you to pull me out but you were just laughing." He told me.

"It was hard to understand you with a mouthful of water." I told him, stifling a laugh now.

He playfully glared at me before shaking his head. "That was your first act of hatred, wasn't it?"

I shook my head. "I didn't hate you."

"You did hate me! You even loathed the air I breathed!" He told me, laughing lightly.

"I didn't hate you; I was just curious as to why you didn't want to be my friend." I told him. "And I was jealous that I knew you first, yet when we went to school, everyone else thought you were the coolest guy ever. They all wanted to be your friend and you barely even acknowledged my existence. The only way to be cool was through you, and you hated me."

He looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't hate you. I just thought that you hated me and that you wouldn't want me to talk to you."

"That was the only thing I wanted!" I told him. "I knew so much about you yet you didn't even know my name."

"I knew your name. I knew so much about you, too." He told me and once he caught my disbelieving look, he turned on the bench to face me. "I know that you were in dance classes in fourth grade, yet you quit two months later because they wanted you to wear a skirt. I know that you were student of the month five times in seventh grade, yet you detested getting your picture taken. I know that in fifth grade, James McKinley tried to kiss you at Miranda Checkler's birthday party but you punched him in the face. And I know that you hated me."

"I didn't hate you; I hated James McKinley." I narrowed my eyes as I stared at the water.

"No, I'm 99% sure that you hated me." He told me.

I looked up at him. "What's the other one percent?" I questioned as I stared at him.

He shrugged. "That you had a huge crush on me but tried to cover it up with hatred."

I felt my face heat up like a microwave and I turned away to look at the water again. "Psh, no."

"You did, didn't you?" Grayson asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

All I could do was snort. In all honesty, he was right. He hit the nail right on the head. "You so liked me!"

I shrunk back against the bench, covering my face with my hands. "Yeah, it was a phase."

"Explain it." He told me, smirking confidently.

"My mother watched you over whenever your mother and father went out to look for work and when you would come over, I would just stare at you." I told him, attempting to continue.

"You were even a creep back then." He muttered and I punched him in the chest.

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" I snapped and he raised his hands and motioned for me to continue. "Don't make any more comments, then!"