Accidental Crush (11 page)

Simon quickly
looks down, too, obviously just as shy as Sid; especially now that the lights are up to full brightness in the room. "I did, too."

I’m
trying to read both of them and they seem really genuine, but who knows? I'm not the best judge of character these days.

"Text me later
," Sid says.

"Ok
ay. I will." Simon brightens at the invitation.

I finally
get a good look at him and I've got to say, he's cuter than I remember. He has curly, brown hair that he wears just long enough to show some of the wave and pretty blue eyes. He is wearing thin, black-rimmed glasses and, with the blazer he is rocking tonight, it gives him a smart yet stylish look. As sweet as this moment is, though, we have to go if we don't want to commit social suicide. "Sidney, it's ten-thirty-five. We've got to go." I over enunciate each word, I am getting angrier by the second. Luckily, most people aren't in a rush to leave since they don't have their dad waiting right out front.

Todd, Ryan and Brian all
have their limo taking them to Olives; a trendy restaurant down the street that always stays open late for homecoming and prom nights. Olives is an after dance tradition for anyone who is lucky enough to have parents who let them go out after the dance. So, not only do we not get to ride home in a limo, but we also don’t get to go to a nice dinner with everyone else and I’m starving. There are so many unfair things tonight.

Speaking of unfair, of
course, as soon as we get outside, my dad is right out in front. It is impossible to miss him, impossible. I mean, our car is dark blue, why can't he at least wait further back in the parking lot where it will blend in with the darkness of the night.  But, no, there he is, right at the end of the well-lit walkway. To make matters worse, our car is surrounded by limos. We cannot be the only kids who have a parent picking them up, but we are obviously the only ones whose parent isn't nice enough to at least park a block away.

"Hey
, Mr. Taylor! Here to pick up, Ashley?" I hear another kid say as he walks to his limo. Of course everyone knows my dad and of course he wouldn't be here to pick up Ryan. Could my life get any worse?

"Hey
, Ryan, your dad is here." I hear Todd's voice from behind and I make the mistake of turning around to see him holding hands with RTS. She looks so unbelievably happy that she is glowing. Not that I can blame her, but really, is this the way I have to end my first homecoming dance?

"See you later
, Mr. Taylor," he says through the window to my dad and then turns around to point at Sid and me. "See you girls later, too. Sidney, don't get any ideas, I'm going to check to make sure you’re in Ash's room,” Todd yells back to her. I almost forgot that Todd is spending the night tonight and, apparently, he is coming into my room later! Well, things are starting to look up. That is until we get into the car and Sid will not stop talking about Simon. I mean, I'm happy for her, but seriously, do I need to hear a replay of every single word he said?

“Then he said
he was superman and I was his kryptonite. A little cheesy, but so cute."

"Not cute. I can't believe you fell for that one
." Shane says.

"I really think I like him
, Shane.” She turns to look right at him and then she leans back against the seat and goes on and on to no one in particular. “He is so cute and so sweet. I really don’t think it’s just a homecoming thing. I mean, I’ve been in classes with him for a long time, but I never really
knew
him.”

If my heart
would stop feeling like it’s breaking, I would be a lot happier for her. The hardest part is, I can’t say anything about how I’m feeling and I desperately want to talk about it. I find myself wishing Sid wasn’t spending the night so I can be alone to cry into my pillow. I can’t get RTS's glowing face out of my head. Shane and I just keep eyeing each other, but he is lucky; he'll soon be home and I am going to be stuck listening to Sid the entire night. Then again, Todd is spending the night, so maybe it is worth it. Maybe.

***

We drop Shane off at home and Sid and I are finally upstairs in my room. Sid is instantly attached to her phone; so I might as well be alone. Well, except for the fact that she has to read me every text from Simon.

“
I had such a good time tonight, it far exceeded my wildest Homecoming Dreams.”
Sid reads off her iPhone. "Oh, he's so sweet," she says in response to every text he sends.

Man
, she has fallen hard and fast. I hope he has an unlimited plan with the amount of texts flying back and forth. Not to mention he needs to work on his lines. I pick up my phone and text Shane exactly what Simon has texted to Sid. If I have to hear them so does he and I sign them all
Love, Simon
.

He
texts back.
LOL. Sorry!

This sucks
, but I did have a great time tonight, thanks for being an awesome date
, I text back to Shane. Then a loud squeal interrupts my textversation.

"Ash
, he asked me to go to the movies next weekend! Agh, it's my first official date!"

"Congrats
, Sid. That's great!" I try to sound genuine.

Sid has a date on Friday
.
I want Shane to live through everything I have to.

Awesome
,
Shane texts back

"Shane says
, that's awesome, Sid."

"Oh no
, I hope Shane isn't jealous," Sid has always thought Shane secretly loves her and that's why he never talks about other girls. Boy, is she off.

Hope
ur not jealous? Sid is concerned :)

LOL tell her I'll live!
Shane quickly types back.

"Shane said
, he's devastated, but he's happy for you." I think that sounds a little better.

"Oh
, Shaney. Let me see." She grabs my phone before I can pull it away from her.

"Ha! He didn't say that. Good
, I felt bad." Wow, this is a new Sid. Usually Shane not really caring would bother her. She must really like Simon.

Love you
, too, Shane xoxoxo Sid
, she types and throws my phone back on the bed.

WTF?
Shane sends back.

IKR? A
new Sid. WOW

I wait for as long as possible to get ready for bed
because that means I'll have to take my contacts out and put my glasses on. I really don't want Todd to see me in my glasses. Truthfully, he's seen me in them a million times growing up and I’ve never thought twice about it, but now it’s different. I want to look perfect, not frumpy. My eyes ultimately get to the point where they are so dry that my eyelids feel like they are sticking to my eyeballs. I finally cave and wash my face and put my glasses on. I am officially frumpy Ashley; oh, well, there's something to be said about being comfortable. When I get back to my bedroom, it is one in the morning and Sid has finally put her phone down.

I can’t believe it’s one in the morning
and they still aren’t home yet. It‘s so unfair that Ryan doesn’t have a curfew tonight when we had to get picked up at ten-thirty. I mean, who knows what they’re all doing right now.

"Sorry
, Ash; I know I've been attached to my phone." Sid lies down in the bed next to me. "But I really like Simon. I mean, so far. He isn't playing any games. He said he'd text and he did. He said he's liked me since last year, but was always too afraid to talk to me. Can you believe that?"

"Sure. I'm really happy for you
, Sid." I yawn. I’m trying hard to keep my eyes open and listen to her, but my eyelids are getting unbelievably heavy. I can hear her talking, but sleep is pulling me into a deep, dark, silent place.

"ASHLEY, you fell asleep!" Sid
pulls me out of my warm, dark place.

"I'm sorry. I really want to talk about Simon
, but I'm so tired." I open my eyes wider so they’ll stay open. I want so badly to stay up until the boys get home, but there is no Todd or Ryan in sight and my tactics to stay awake aren't working, I know sleep is going to win.

Sure enough, the
next thing I know, sunlight is streaming through my window. That is definitely a bright, late-morning sun, too. I quickly look at my alarm clock and it says
ten A.M.
!

I sho
ot up. Sid is still next to me, on the verge of waking up, so I nudge her a little to help speed things up. "Morning, Sid!"

"Hi
, Ash!" she says a little groggily, but definitely coming to. "You fell asleep last night. I wanted to talk about Simon." Oh man, I forgot about Simon, I should have just let her sleep.
What was I thinking?

"I totally want to hear all about Simon
, but I'm starving. Think we can talk about him downstairs, in the kitchen?"

"Ok
ay." She rubs the sleep out of her eyes and slowly gets out of bed. Can’t she go any faster? My heart is pounding with excitement. I can't wait to see Todd. I still can’t believe he’s here, in my house, and hopefully awake! As we walk down the stairs, I try to act calm and casual, but inside, my stomach is flipping and twisting.

I turn the corner to the kitchen and all the waiting last night
is worth it. There he is, sitting at my kitchen table, wearing a white t-shirt and plaid flannel pants. The t-shirt hugs his tone body perfectly and the sleeves are just short enough to give you a hint of his well-defined arms. The stream of sunlight coming through the window bounces off his hair and brings out the flecks of golden, natural highlights. The lighting is perfect. He looks amazing. Oh, and Ryan is there, too.

"Good morning." Todd
says, "Nice glasses, Ash."

Oh crap
, in all the excitement, I forgot I’m wearing my stupid glasses. "Thanks, Todd," I say as I sit down in a seat across from him at our round kitchen table.

"What time did you guys get home?" Sid
sits cross-legged at the table, she is still clearly irritated with her brother.

"
One-thirty," Ryan says, then he looks at me. "Dad was not happy."

"Thanks for ruining the future for me."

Ryan only shrugs because he knows it’s true.

"How's Rebecca?" Sid
asks. Wow, I love her! This is exactly what I want to know and couldn't figure out how to bring up.

"Good
," Todd replies. Can't he elaborate?
Ugh!

"Are you two official now?" Sid
continues pushing. I know it is payback for last night, but it’s working out well for me.

"Um
, I don't know. I guess?" Todd shrugs his shoulders.

It
’s like something huge just fell on my chest and crushed it.
You are fine
,
I keep telling myself over and over, but I am
not
fine!

"Sounds like you
’re really in love." Sid is full of sarcasm.

"Shut up
, Sidney. What's up with you and the freshman you were with? What's his name? Sam?"

"It's Simon and he's great! Thanks for trying to ruin my social life last night, but it didn't work."

"Someone has to look out for my baby sister."

"Shut up!" Sid
is definitely still bitter. "Well, he asked me out on a real date and you won't be there to ruin anything."

"We'll see about that." Todd
crosses his arms over his chest.

Maybe Sid should stop
there. I wouldn't put it passed Todd to go to the same movie that night. He seems to like scaring Simon.

"Why isn't Ryan getting any of these questions?" Todd
asks.

"Ryan is boring
; we already know what happened there. Ryan and Gretchen are the perfect couple. The end." Sid and I both laugh. I am so glad Sid is doing all of the talking; I’m not sure I could form a sentence and sound normal yet.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Ryan had a good night last night. Lots of girls were interested in him." Todd
looks at Ryan and gives a smirk I can’t quite read. Ryan glares at Todd in return and even a blind person could tell it’s heated.

I hadn't noticed before
, but something is off between Todd and Ryan. I’m not the only one not saying anything at the table. Ryan is usually much more talkative than this in the mornings.

"What does that mean?" Sid
asks.

"Yeah, what happened?" I finally
find my voice.

"Nothing. It was nothing. Todd is just over-exaggerating." Ryan
tries to cover his angry undertones, but they are definitely there.

"Did you and Gretchen have a fight?" Sid
asks with genuine concern. Man, she is good, or maybe, now that she's found love, she can relate to Ryan.

"No
, Sid. We're fine. Everything is fine," Ryan says sternly, clearly wanting to drop it. I can’t help getting excited that maybe there is a small chance of trouble in Gretchen's paradise. Not that I want Ryan to get hurt, but...