Page 111 of This is Me

“You’d make for a good nurse,” I stated. I have no idea why that was something that came to my mind, but in my defence, I did not do well in awkward situations.

“Thanks?” Cody questioned, looking at Brad, who gave a quick shrug.

“Don’t look at me.”

“Anyway…” I trailed off, hoping that Brad would see I was uncomfortable and give me an escape route, but he did not.

“Brad says you’re in your final year of school,” Cody stated, trying his best to keep a conversation going between us, which, honestly, was a good quality.

Sadly, my mind was trained on someone else, and no amount of good qualities would make me fall for Cody.

“I am, yes. He’s very observant.”

“Well, this is going well,” Brad muttered, patting Cody on the back.

“That’s cool… do you also dance?” Cody asked.

“He does. But I’ve seen him dance, and it’s not very good.” A voice floated in from behind me, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and goose bumps trail down my arms.

Holy fuck, that voice is music to my ears.

“Leroy?” Brad asked, and I turned around to look toward the theatre door.

There, standing in all his glory, was Leroy. Wearing a shy smile as his eyes locked with mine.

“Can I… uh, can I steal you for a minute?” Leroy asked, and I quickly nodded.

“Oh, God, yes. Yes, you can.”

Mentally thanking whatever being was watching over me and getting me out of this awkward situation, I turned back to Brad, glancing at Cody as I did. His face seemed to have dropped at the sight of Leroy.

“I’ll, uh, talk to you later. Congratulations, slut. I’m, uh, happy for you.”

Brad and I shared a quick nod before I turned back around to face Leroy again, walking toward him slowly. His long hair was pushed back, though a few curls found their way to hang in front of his face. He was wearing a crinkled white shirt, with denim jeans that rolled up slightly at the cuff, and it made me somewhat angry that he looked so good. It was challenging not to have a crush on him.

Giving me a soft smile, Leroy turned around, and we both made our way out into the parking lot before beginning to walk down the deserted road aimlessly. It surprised me how little activity was happening in the street, but then again, it was starting to get pretty late. I had been at the audition for hours.

“So, uh, why are you here?” I asked, trying not to sound so blunt, but I think I failed.

“I don’t… know,” Leroy muttered, and I turned to him to see him looking at the ground. “When we were messaging I just… I wanted to see you. I don’t know.”

“I mean, I’m not unhappy to see you.”

“Yeah, and, like, I thought we could just hang out.”

“Right, because we’re friends.”

“Exactly. It isn’t weird to hang out.”

“Not at all. That’s what friends do.”

“And that’s what we are. Nothing less or more.”

“Exactly.”

The awkward exchange between us echoed in my mind as we continued to walk down the street and fell into an uncomfortable silence. I could have guessed that it would be this way when the two of us got together without any of our other friends around, but this was ridiculous. Couldn’t either of us act like a normal human being for once?

“So, uh, Mitchell told the principal that I punched him,” Leroy said after a couple of minutes, and I came to a stop.