Page 72 of Substitute for Love

“Alright, get out of here, you thespians!” Gabe ushered them out the door.

Avery made her way over to him and waited for them to be alone before speaking. “What was that all about?” Her confusion and frustration carried her voice a bit higher than she intended.

He turned. “What?”

She waved her hands around. “All that… that… flirting. Knock it off.”

“Uh, isn’t this drama class? That was called ‘acting.’”

She shook her head. “Whatever.”

“You’re the one who wants to be friends. Can’t friends act in a scene together?”

Avery sighed and folded her arms. Blast him for being logical. For not actually flirting. She couldn’t win. She wanted him to flirt and yet she didn’t want him to. “I… yeah I guess.”

“I’m leaving soon, you’re too scared of falling in love with me, I get it.”

Avery’s mouth gaped. “Excuse me?” She stepped forward and pointed at him. “You’re the one falling for me. Admit it.”

Students started filing in for the next period, and they dropped their argument as she greeted students. Avery widened her eyes at Gabe and motioned at the door.

“Oh, yeah. Gotta get back to the lit classroom. See ya in a minute, Juliet.”

Gahh.She clenched her fists at her side. Could she really handle a full day with this… this… Romeo?

Thankfully, the rest of the day was much more tame. They both put more distance between them, and even when she looked over at Gabe, he didn’t notice. Maybe he had been acting. She must be really bad at reading him.

At lunch, he disappeared, saying something about needing to talk to Doreen. It was just as well, since Avery preferred to eat alone. All their prior lunches had been disastrous, in the keeping-this-a-friendship sort of way. A ding came to her phone.

MARSHALL: Can I see you tonight?

Woah. Tonight? Seriously? Panic washed over her, her lungs tightening making it hard to breath. On one hand, he was going to come anyway, might as well get it over with. But she wasn’t mentally prepared to face him yet.

AVERY: Meet me in front of Claire’s gym at 7:00. We can pick a restaurant somewhere close by.

She couldn’t believe she was agreeing to it. Part of her wanted a distraction from Gabe. Was that wrong? Not that she wanted Marshall back. That part of her life was so over. Tonight was dinner only. That was it.

The lunch bell rang and students filled the classroom once more. After explaining the day’s lesson and taking roll, Averybusied herself so she wouldn’t see Gabe walk in. But when everyone was settled, she had no choice but to join him on the small stage.

“You okay?” he asked as she approached him.

So much about her was not okay right now.

Chapter 23: Gabe

Gabe searched Avery’s eyes. Had she gotten bad news? Maybe her mom was having health issues again?

Or maybe she really did hate him and wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. Or she found him super annoying. Even when he was flirting with her this morning, he knew he was coming on too strong.

As much as he wanted to respect her wishes of only being friends, it was impossible to betray his feelings. Yeah, he still wanted to be with Avery—as much as Romeo wanted Juliet.

He bit his lip as she gave instructions to the students, then they launched yet again into another class period of more awkwardRomeo and Julietscenes. Gabe had fun with the students, and he had fun flirting with Avery, but whatever had happened during lunch had deflated her. It was like she was a robot—her eyes were distant and all her energy was zapped. Something was wrong.

Finally the last class ended. Despite his better judgment, Gabe waited for all of the students to leave and approached Avery, who was writing in the sub binder at the drama teacher’s desk.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

She kept writing for a few seconds, then stopped. But she didn’t look up.

---