AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shook my head and dropped my controller onto the coffee table. My mind was everywhere except the game in front of us. We lost the match because of me, but that was fine. I didn’t really want to play anyway.
“Munchies?” Phillip asked, appearing around the corner. He died earlier in the game and instead of sticking around, he went to raid the kitchen.
He came back with an armful of chips, a six-pack of soda hanging from a finger. I jumped up and helped him bring it all to the table before he dropped it. At almost six and a half feet tall, Phillip was as clumsy as a baby horse sometimes. He played soccer with me in the little rec league, but once he hit a growth spurt and puberty, he no longer could stay upright long enough to handle the ball.
“What’s the issue, man? You’ve barely said a word since we got here and you bailed on that match. It’s not like you,” Eric said, popping open a soda and sitting back down.
“What happened?” Phillip asked, settling on the floor, and stretching his long legs out in front of him.
I shrugged. “Just distracted. A lot on my mind these days, you know?”
Phillip and Eric exchanged a look. Then they both burst out laughing.
I stared at the two of them, scratching my head. “Did I miss something?”
“Yo, why don’t you just call Cindy up and ask her to come over? Problem solved.” Eric shoved one hand into his mess of dark hair, his fingers getting caught in the knots.
“Problem solved? What the heck does that mean? She and I aren’t together and you know that,” I challenged back. What did he think I needed Cindy for? Why would he even bring up—
Phillip cleared his throat. “You always get like this when you’re distracted with… girl problems,” he clarified for me.
My eyes popped open. “No! Oh, man, no.”
Eric chuckled. “Yeah, okay. If not Cindy, then who? You have a new girl in your sights?”
My ‘girl problem’ was the last thing I wanted to discuss with Eric or Phillip right now. They weren’t as open to the Fairview- Teller crossover as I was. Even though I had my reasons to be more accepting, they really liked to stay with the girls whose hobbies included curling their hair and buying mascara every other day.
Not that I didn’t like and appreciate those girls for who they were. Most of them had many other great qualities too.
But none of them compared to Una. Not even close. She was in a completely different league, and I didn’t think either of my friends would understand that.
“Just distracted,” I echoed from earlier. “What about you and your girl? You know, the one with theboyfriend?”
We teased him, but really, it had been an issue. Eric had been hanging out with a girl for weeks, until he found out she already had a boyfriend. The guy was pissed, finding out she went to Eric’s place instead of a party. The whole thing was a mess, and I still didn’t know half of it.
“We’re… working things out,” Eric admitted. His pale cheeks flushed with a twinge of pink.
My eyes practically bugged out of my head. “You’re working things out? The girl cheated on her boyfriend with you! What could you possibly be working out?”
Phillip tossed some popcorn into the air, attempting to catch it in his mouth. “Love is complicated, man. I’m so glad I’m not in that game anymore.”
I shifted on the couch, untangling a leg so I could kick him in the shoulder. “You dated Aubrey for like six months before you found out you didn’t even like girls. Who are you to talk about love being complicated?”
He laughed. But didn’t disagree. “Well, being completely off field for the moment has its advantages. No messy drama like Eric. No head in the clouds like you. But he’s right, you know,” Phillip said, tilting his head back to look at me. “You only get like this when it comes to girls.”
Shrugging, I swiped the bag of M&M’s off the table and ripped it open, popping a handful into my mouth. “Whatever. Not your problem, anyway. You two are the nosiest and biggest gossips I know. My love life stays away from you for the time being, until I feel like telling you.”
Eric groaned. “Fine. I’m sure the Fairy Godmother will tell us before you do, anyway. They’re always more up to date than anyone else.”
That comment made me pause. What if the Fairy Godmother found out about my crush before I could tell Una? What if someone saw us the other day driving to my house and said something?
The thought was terrifying. Not because of people finding out, but because the news would reach Una from a source other than me. And if anyone was going to tell her that I liked her, it should be me.
I shook off the nerves and grabbed my controller. “Another match?”
For as muchas I had been keeping tabs on Una lately, the next few days went without a single peep from her. I didn’t see her in the halls. I didn’t hear any gossip.
It was like she drove away from my house and vanished.
