Page 4 of My Fake Date With My Childhood Friend
We were quiet for a moment, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Then he spoke up again, his voice slightly less tense than before.
“So, uh, you looking forward to the Christmas Formal?”
I pursed my lips. “You really think that's a safer topic of conversation?”
Alexander laughed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to poke the bear.”
I shook my head. “Not your fault. I'm just... I'm ready for junior year to be over. It hasn't exactly been sunshine and daisies so far.”
“Pretty early in the year for that level of pessimism,” Alexander said. He knocked his shoulder against mine. “I'm sure it will get better from here.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I'm sure it will too.”
It was a blatant lie, but it was the easier thing to say. What he probably wanted me to say, like everyone else.
“Keep saying that,” Alexander said. “Maybe one day you’ll even believe it.”
two
Lunch at schoolwas definitely a test of one’s popularity—or lack thereof. Pretty much everyone had a group. Everyone except losers like me, that was. I sat alone, squished against the wall at the table nobody wanted, eating crappy school chicken wings and avoiding looking at anybody that reminded me of everything wrong in my life. On top of that, nobody would even come within ten feet of me. I was like a social pariah. I couldn’t believe how much of a low point I was hitting in my life. I wished I could go back to the way I was before, but I couldn’t even remember who I was before Nikki and I became friends, and Joseph and I started dating.
Speak of the devil, Joseph walked into the cafeteria, making a beeline to the biggest tables at the back of the cafeteria. The most popular kids in school always claimed the tables, so there was no surprise that Joseph’s friends were sitting there. As soon as I looked at him — our eyes making contact for a split second before he pulled away — I felt like the air had been knocked out of my lungs. I hated that I felt this way; that he still had any sort of power over my emotions. I felt pathetic and powerless next to him.
He passed his best friend, Jesse, when he was only a few feet from my table, forcing me to overhear their conversation.
“How was your weekend?” Jesse asked. The two of them were practically yelling, so the words were carrying across the room, even with everyone else’s conversations going on at the same time.
“Nikki and I went on a date to the Christmas Market,” Joseph said. His eyes flitted toward me. So, that was why he was talking so loud; he wanted me to hear. Well, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking I was listening. I bent down to get my books out of my bag, acting disinterested in whatever he was doing. It had the added benefit of muffling whatever he said.
When I sat back up with my books, I caught the end of Jesse saying, “Nikki's a lucky girl.”
He fist-bumped Joseph. My eyes narrowed. Of course, his friend would take his side, but I hated to see them be so blasé about what had happened. They probably knew what was going on behind my back, everything Joseph was doing with Nikki. They were probably all laughing at me, revelling in the way he made me look stupid.
Joseph finished the walk over to his table and sat down next to Nikki. He quickly pecked her on the cheek, then threw his arm around her and said something that made her laugh. With me out of the picture, they were dating publicly and weren’t afraid to show their PDA, just like every other stupid couple at our school. She stared at him lovingly, like he was the only thing in the world that mattered. There was a pang in my heart as I realized that was exactly how I used to look at him — and that now, he only had eyes for her. It was like I had never existed to him in the first place, and that hurt more than anything.
I glared at them from across the room, my hands tightening on the knife I was using to cut the food on my plate. From this distance, I had no idea what they were talking about, but Nikkisaid something and the whole group burst into laughter. I hated to watch her, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away. How on earth did she fall so easily into his friend group? She looked so natural sitting with his arm around her and laughing with all his friends. It was as if she was meant to be there; as if she didn’t replace me like it was nothing.
If looks could kill, they would both be dead by now.
“Wow, Penny,” somebody said from beside me. “Are you trying to saw through the table?”
The voice pulled me out of my trance, and I dropped my knife in surprise. I looked up to see who had interrupted me. Alexander was sitting next to me, his eyebrow raised in question and a small smirk on his face.
“Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t,” I said, even though we both knew he absolutely did. I glanced back at Nikki and Joseph, who were now making out in front of everyone. Had I really been so blind that I didn’t notice their chemistry all along?
Alexander rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. “Want me to beat them up for you?”
My head snapped in his direction. “What?”
He jerked his chin toward them. “Dumb and Dumber over there. I could beat them up for you if you wanted.”
For a second, I was actually tempted to say yes. Not that I wanted them to get hurt — I was just hoping that it might convince them to stop making out in the middle of the cafeteria.
Alexander held his arm out, flexing his muscles.
“I mean, look how muscular I am,” he said jokingly. “I could definitely kill them in my sleep.”
