Chapter 6

Ava?

Why the hell did Ava Leigh who had always sat with her best friend, AKayla Lovelace, for as long as I could remember, suddenly decide to take the empty seat next to Bryce?

Wait a sec, can my actions be classified as borderline stalkerish? Nah, I had only been staring at him for the past two minutes - totally normal. Now, why was he smiling when Ava turned to him. Although, a small voice in my head reminded me that it was probably because she smiled at him first, and so he was simply reciprocating the gesture. Yet, it did not make me feel any better. It has been two days since I rejected Hawk's offer, more like Hawk's absurd offer. And I would be lying if I said I never thought of what would have happened if I had accepted it instead.

My plan to get back with Bryce, was not going as smoothly as I had thought it would, especially with Bryce being all serious whenever we were together. Yesterday, we were on the same dodgeball team in physical education class, and it was awkward to say the least. Although, we interacted with small hi's and smiles, it was not quite the same. No, it was not the same as all.

Bryce was really taking this break up thing seriously. In the past, this was the time when he would be taking initiatives to try to get back together. But now? This was bad, really bad. And now, I was certain it was about to get worse. Because heading straight to the seat beside me, was none other than Yolanda Brooklyn.

Yolanda Brooklyn: the one girl who did not belong to any clique, but yet found her way into every clique. And for one reason - she could not keep from talking! The girl was totally obsessed with gossip. If she was not trying to extract gossip from people, then she was telling them one school gossip or another. If there was any school gist which Yolanda did not know, then I was certain no one in the school knew it.

"Hi, Stephanie," she said, smiling as she settled herself beside me.

Gosh, why were none of my friends taking this class?

"Hey, Yolanda." I even managed to add a small smile of my own.

If it were anyone else, they would have been content with that reply and stopped from saying anything more. Although, she did keep quiet, I knew it would not be long before she broke.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

"So, Stephanie," she started.

In her defense, she lasted longer than the last time. I turned to stare at her smiling face. I knew that smile all too well already.

"You know, I think it is cool how your relationship with Bryce works. Once you break up, it is like you guys do not even care about what the other is doing."

Just get to the point. But what came out of my mouth was, "what that is supposed to mean?"

"Well," she drawled, a clear sign that she wanted to peak my interest for whatever she wanted to say next.

So, knowing this, I just returned my attention to my phone. The last thing I needed was to make Yolanda think I was interested in her little games.

"I mean, it is cool that he and Ava Leigh seem to be getting closer, after all they are partners in Art class. But if I were in your shoes, I would be a bit jealous. After all, I heard Ava is trying to get together with Bryce. I mean, just look at her now - giggling and being all over him. She even left AKayla to seat alone, just so she could take the seat beside Bryce."

She used her eyes to point to the direction where Bryce and Ava were seated. And sure enough, they were both laughing with Ava having her hand on his arm. Pfft, what was so funny that she had to rest her hand on his arm to laugh?

Not like I cared or anything.

"You see how happy she looks? And even Bryce seems to be enjoying her company. Well, if they get together or not, it is not like it is any of my business or anything. I am just saying, that is all." None of her business? Yeah, right! I totally believed that.

"Besides, we all know that you and Bryce would still end up getting back together, right?"

I finally pulled my eyes from the phone screen to her face, a small smile playing on my lips as I did.

"You know, Yolanda, if you spent half the time you use analyzing people's lives on yourself, then I am certain that by now, even if it is not perfectly symmetrical, you might have at least learnt to carve symmetrical eyebrows."

The smile she had on, wiped off, leaving her eyes to widen slightly. She turned sharply away from me, her face reddening badly.

Mr. Walker walked into the class just then, so she had the perfect excuse to stare straight ahead. And for the first time since I could remember, she did not once turn to me through the class to try and spill any gossip.

"So, what was that with Axel Phillip earlier?" I asked, nudging Juliette playfully and earning a laugh from her.

But trust Juliette to still play confused.

"What was what?"

I rolled my eyes, wanting to say something before Beckham beat me to it.

"She means you and Axel being a disgusting duo with all your sickening cuteness."

And that was Beckham's way of saying they looked good together. Having been friends with her for years, we knew how to speak 'Beckham' by now. Which was why Juliette, Sam, and I could not help from chuckling. Juliette's however, had a shy ring to it.

"Right now, we are testing the waters. We are just getting to know each other, nothing major."

"But you do not need that long to know someone, I usually know all I need to know about guys in less than fifteen minutes," Sam mused.

"Sam!" Juliette exclaimed, to which Sam just laughed, adding,

"ok, ok, I am sorry. I was just saying."

"Well, Axel is a cool guy," I remarked as I applied a coat of lip gloss on my lips, puckering it afterwards before smiling in satisfaction at my reflection.

"He is," she answered.

Though she had a small smile on, I sensed the unspoken 'but' that followed those two words. And I also knew the reason for it had something to do with Damian. Since their breakup, it has been pretty hard for Juliette to stay in relationships.

Not like she has not dated since they ended things, she had dated a number of guys, but the most those relationships had lasted was a week or two. She might not admit it, but I knew she was not completely over Damian, which was why she was not ready to really commit to anyone else. To be honest, of the four of us, Juliette was the only romantic.

Well, Beckham was Beckham; she thought love was humanity's way of filling the void of death. Sam thought life was meant for variety, hence, relationships were constraints. And me? I found the whole romance and finding love thing to be overrated. At least that is what I used think. Ok, who was I kidding? I still thought that way.

The only reason I tried to give that love thing a go, was because of Bryce. And now, I was done with all that. We finally finished retouching our makeup and headed out the bathroom, coming face-to-face with the new entries to the room. Well, well, if it was not Ava and her best friend who she so conveniently ditched last period.

She stared unsurely at us, but I just ignored her, strutting out of the room with my friends in tow. We made it a few steps away from the bathroom before I realized I forgot my phone. What was with me and forgetting my phone? I seriously needed to consider strapping my phone to my waist. But for now, I had to head back to the bathroom.

I was just about to open the door when AKayla's voice floated through my ears.

"Are you sure that is the only reason you want us to go shopping? Isn't it because you want to try to impress Bryce when you go over to his house tonight for the assignment?"

That was followed by a laugh from both girls, and a sneer from me. I opened the door in one swift motion, startling them. “

Stephanie," Ava started, trying but failing miserably to hide the panic on her face.

"Hey, Ava," I answered, pulling off a smooth smile as I grabbed my phone from the sink.

And wordlessly, I stepped out, leaving two nervous-looking girls behind me. I turned to look at them, a small smirk finding it is way to my lips.

"You can continue your conversation now."

And throwing them a wink, I walked away, leaving them standing open mouthed in the bathroom, still trying to find the right words to reply. So, Ava really wanted to get together with Bryce?

Ava Leigh: she was as much a romantic as one could be. Last valentine's day, I am pretty sure I saw her cry as she read the card which her then boyfriend, Leeson Carter gave her - which I was certain was full of cheesy lines. And yeah, they were 'happy tears.'

In the past, this would be the point when I would scoff at the memory, but now?

Bryce did make it pretty clear that he wanted someone who would love him too, and then there is Ava - a girl who I was certain spent most of her time fantasizing about her perfect love story. With them being partners in their Art class and all, they were bound to get closer. And what if Bryce ended up liking her?

Oh god, I did not want that to happen. For as long as I could remember, the only girl Bryce had been interested in was ME! And I doubted I wanted that to change anytime soon. I knew how much of an eye candy he was, so it was not a surprise that most girls would give anything to be with him; with many even flirting outrageously with him. But he did not care about any of them. I knew that too, which was why I also never cared about them. Because at the end of the day,

Bryce was all mine.

But now, that all seemed to be changing, and I was not liking it one bit. And all I could think of was that I needed to do something.

'Then I guess we do not have a deal.'

Oh no, was I really still considering that? But what other choices did I have? Bryce and I have had a few flings after our past breakups. But that is all they were to him, flings. Not some serious, lovey relationship with Ava.

'Stephanie, I love you...and maybe that is the problem. Because I do not know if you feel the same.'

'You know that thing I said about how love can be learnt, I really meant that.'

I never thought I would say this, but if this learning love thing was the way to make sure I got Bryce back, then so be it. I was down with it.

So, consumed by my newfound resolve, I did not realize when I walked past my friends. Sam was the one to who called my attention to it.

"Hey, Steph, where are you off to in such a rush?"

"To fall in love."

"What?" Juliette questioned.

"I will explain later," I answered, not turning to stare at their faces which I was sure must have been squinted in confusion.

Not like I blamed them. I did not understand myself either. Was I really going to do this? There was no time to answer my own question as I spotted just the person I was looking for, trudging through the hallway, his hands tugging at his backpack.

"Hawk Moose," I called out, causing both him and everyone else to stop and stare at me.

This was it. There was no turning back now.

"Want to date me?"

A small gasp passed through the students who were beginning to increase in size with every second. Hawk however, just stared wide-eyed at me. I guessed he must have given up any hope of my accepting his offer. When he was finally able to get any words out, it came as a small, "m-me?"

"Yeah," I answered, hoping my voice came out as smoothly as I wanted it to.

"Is there like a bucket full of paint here or something, ready to be poured on me if I say yes? Just saying, I would prefer the blue colored one to the red."

I had to struggle to bite back a chuckle at his logic, and well, his weirdness. Who chose a paint color to be poured on him?

Hawk could be such a weirdo.

Although, the students at Ravens High loved pulling pranks, hence, it would not come as a surprise to him if this was also one. Now that I thought about it, I caught some people chuckling softly among themselves as they stared at Hawk.

They must also think that this was just a prank.

There was only one way to prove them wrong.

Gosh, I can't believe I am doing this. Marching up to Hawk, I pulled him by the collar and smashed my lips on his. A pin drop silence was what followed. From the corner of my eyes, I caught my friends who had just joined the crowd, with their mouths almost hanging open, even Beckham's; their expressions mirroring that of almost everyone in the hallway.

Then the silence passed, and the clicking of countless cameras followed. And while they satisfied themselves in capturing this unimaginable scene unfolding before them; with my lips pressed against a wide-eyed Hawks who looked like a frozen fish with his lips, unmoving against mine, one thought floated through my head.

So, this is what awkward feels like?