Chapter 11

Pov: Caleb

I got home before my parents did. The first thing that I wanted to do was text Victoria and see if she was okay. I felt horrible for getting her in trouble with her mom. I should have asked her if she had a curfew before I ‘kidnapped’ her. I thought about the look on her face when she realized what movie was playing and couldn’t help but smile. Victoria was a bit of a nerd and it made me like her even more.

I pulled out my phone to text her when I realized that I made a grave mistake; I had forgotten to take her number. I felt very frustrated with myself. I called Carl, Roy, and a couple of other people but no one had her number. I was just about to give up when I called Christine Shrute, one of Brianna’s friends.

I asked her if she had Tori’s number but she said that she did not. I considered driving back to her house but I was afraid that I would make things worse for her. Most parents loved me but I knew that I had not given Victoria’s mother the best first impression by bringing her daughter home late.

“I have Alice Cooper’s number though. I think I saw them talking to each other yesterday. She might have it.”

I was elated! True enough she sent me the number. I called Alice who did not have Tori’s number but gave me Samantha’s. I called Sam who after some persuasion, finally gave me Victoria’s number.

I finally texted her.

Me: Finding you has not been easy Victoria

I realized that that was a little creepy and added that I was the one texting her. After a few minutes of me waiting by the phone, she finally texted.

Tori: How did you even find me?

Me: I can’t tell you that. I must protect my sources.

Tori: You know that you are not doing anything to beat the serial killer allegations. First, you kidnap me then you track down my number like a stalker. Are you sure that if I looked outside my window right now, I wouldn’t find you crouching in the bushes?

I laughed.

Me: That entirely depends on which window you look through. If it’s the south-facing one, I make no promises.

Tori: Got it. Make sure you get good pictures of us. If you forgot your equipment just howl and I’ll know it’s you. I could lend you our camera for the evening. I’ll leave it just outside our kitchen porch.

I loved that she wasn’t weirded out by the conversation and she went along with it because this could have gone south very fast. We continued texting back and forth for the rest of the evening. My heart fluttered every time I heard a text come in. I asked her what happened and she told me that she was grounded for the weekend and she was on dish duty.

She didn’t seem to mind being grounded but the part about having to do the dishes seemed to annoy her. I asked her what she was doing and she told me about a tradition that she and her mother had where they would watch a movie every Friday night. The movie that they had chosen for that day was The Notebook.

I had not pegged her as a girl that would like a Nicholas Sparks movie but people were surprised. After a while, she said that she had to concentrate on the movie. I was disappointed but knew I had to let her go. 

I spent the rest of the evening checking my phone every five minutes hoping that she decided to text me. That night, I went to sleep and dreamt of a beautiful siren with the bluest eyes I ever saw and fiery red hair.

***

Over the next few weeks, Tori and I continued talking. She stopped trying to avoid me after she realized how persistent I could be. I loved our dynamic. She was always ready with a sarcastic comment or a witty remark. If I said something weird she went along with it and topped it. She was quickly becoming one of my closest friends.

We talked every day and eventually, the rest of the school got used to it. They stopped staring and whispering whenever we were together which was a relief because I knew how uncomfortable it made Victoria. I even hang out with Sam and Alice sometimes. They were actually really cool and Samantha was easily the most stylish person I knew.

As much as I loved that we were actually friends, I knew that there was more to it. She affected me in a way that no one else had before. On days when I didn’t see her, I would be noticeably more irritable. She became the first person that I wanted to call whenever I got good news. I caught myself staring at her so many times when she wasn’t looking.

I loved it when she smiled and I always wanted to be the one who made her do so. It became increasingly obvious to me that I had developed a crush on Victoria. Heck, maybe it was even something more. Nonetheless, there was nothing that I could do about it. I knew that the moment that I mentioned having feelings for her she would run for the hills. I was stuck in a frustratingly platonic relationship with the girl of my dreams.

Even my family loved her. She and Eric got along really well. My parents acted a bit weirdly when she met them for the first time but I assumed it was because it was the first time I had ever brought a girl home. When I assured them that they were just friends, they eased up a little but my father still kept his distance. I had had dinner with her mother a couple of times.

She made the best lasagna that I have ever tasted. Victoria was an exact copy of her mom. The only difference was their hair; her mother was blonde. It was obvious that she would grow up to be a very beautiful woman. Overall, I was grateful that Victoria let me be a part of her life. From what I gathered, that was a rare honor. 

The days went by and before we knew it, prom season had rolled around. The entire student body buzzed with excitement. It was everywhere with both the boys and girls. I received multiple invitations. Every day, I would find notes stuffed into my locker. Some girls were even bold enough to ask me in person. I hated that I had to turn them all down. I just was not interested in going to the prom.

On Tuesday evening, I and the fellows from the football team got together to help Derek, our running back, ask his girlfriend to the prom. He had come up with such an articulate plan which involved us all wearing t-shirts that had the letters ‘Will you be my prom date?’ written on them. It was much better than his initial plan which involved us dancing. He organized us and asked us to get into position because his girlfriend was heading to the field.

I assumed my position beside Roy, our center.

“Have you figured out how you are going to ask Brianna yet?” he asked me.

I looked at him confused.

“I’m not attending the prom. Wait, who said I was going to ask Brianna?” I asked.

“You’re not going? Does Brianna know that? I recently started dating Jane Applewood and she told me that Brianna is pissed that you have not asked her yet. Did you give her the impression that you would?” he replied.

I thought back to my interactions with Brianna. Ever since I started to hang out with Tori, I did not talk to her as much and I was sure that we had never talked to her about the prom. Where did she get that idea?

“I’m pretty sure I never said that I would take her to the prom.”

“You better tell her and straighten this out otherwise, it could get very messy,” he said.

Derek called for our attention and told us to put our game faces on. We kept quiet because we could tell from his expression that he needed this to go perfectly. That entire evening and even the next day I could not get what Roy had said out of my head. I liked Brianna, I thought she was cool but I didn’t like her enough to force myself to go to prom.

The following day, I looked for Victoria during lunch. I needed to ask her if she was going to prom. I went to her table and sat down. At this point, Samantha and Alice had gotten used to me having lunch with them every once in a while.

I had barely sat down when the school band came into the cafeteria playing their instruments. They came to a stop in front of a girl that I had seen in my history class. After they finished playing their song, one of the players came to the front and asked her out.

“Aargh! If I have to watch one more proposal, I am going to gorge my eyes out,” Tori said as she rolled her eyes.

“You are such a cynic,” Samantha said to her.

“You aren’t going to the prom?” I asked.

“Of course I am. I just have to choose from the millions of suitors who wish to take me.”

I knew that she was being sarcastic but the thought of anyone taking her made me insanely jealous.

“She does want to go. Her exact words were that she would rather spend her time cutting each blade of grass on her lawn using a pair of play scissors. Please talk her into it. I give up,” Samantha said.

“I am not going to the prom either. It’s a waste of time,” I said.

Samantha and Alice’s jaws dropped. Why was this information so shocking?

Tori turned to me and said, “I knew there was a reason why I liked you.”

“Oh my God, you two are perfect for each other. Maybe you guys could go to prom together as friends. You don’t even have to dress up. We just want you to be there,” Alice piped in.

“That’s actually not a terrible idea but that could never happen, right Caleb?” Tori said as she continued devouring her sandwich.

I loved that idea. It would be a chance to spend time with her and maybe I could even test the boundaries of our relationship and tell her how I felt about her.

“Never say never Tori,” I thought to myself.