Chapter 6

Nate started to eat his lunch and expected Amelia to interrupt him and annoy him, but she didn’t sit at his table this time. Does that mean he is finally rid of her?

He saw her walk in, and she went straight to another table with some other kids. He should feel relieved as she ignored him instead of aggravating him, but he couldn’t help feeling slightly lonely. It was too quiet as she wasn’t sitting near him talking his ears off, and he didn’t know how to feel about it anymore.

It was the same way the next day. Amelia avoided him all day then sat somewhere else during lunch. Nate’s life was back to how it used to be. She finally left him alone. But he didn’t feel as happy as he thought he would be.

He tried to force himself to stop thinking about her all day, but he couldn’t. What was wrong with him?

On day three, he saw her standing by her locker after lunch. He suddenly had a strong urge to walk up to her and tell her not to ignore him. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t mean any of the things he said to her, and he wanted her back as a friend. But before he could make a move, he saw Ryan Smith walk up to her.

She gave Ryan a big smile while they talked. Nate felt an unfamiliar pressure in his chest when he saw her laughing and talking with Ryan. Was it jealousy?

No, that can’t be it. He doesn’t give a shit about her or who she talks to. Right?

Amelia was still deep in conversation with Ryan. She laughed at something else he said and touched his arm.

Rage flickered in Nate’s eyes after seeing that interaction. He didn’t know why he felt that way. He got what he asked for. Amelia stayed true to her promise and didn’t approach him anymore, so he should just forget about her.

He looked away when Amelia turned her head and saw him. She looked at him for a split second and turned her attention back to Ryan. Nate walked away quickly. He couldn’t stand watching her talking to some douche anymore.

Amelia sighed when she saw Nate looking at her and Ryan. She tried so hard not to think about Nate but seeing him at school made that impossible. She felt his eyes on them the whole time Ryan was talking to her. She forced herself to stop worrying about Nate and turned her attention back to Ryan.

“So…I’ve been meaning to ask you out for weeks, but you were always hanging around that Nate guy. So are you and him…?” Ryan said.

“Oh no, no, it’s nothing like that. I’m not going out with him or anything,” Amelia said quickly.

“Oh good, I wouldn’t want to cross him. That guy is kind of scary. Then, would you want to go see a movie this Saturday?” he asked.

“Sure, I’d love to,” Amelia said, smiling. He may be the distraction she needed, thought Amelia. Ryan was kind of cute, so it’ll take her mind off of thinking about Mr. Grumpy.

Besides, Nate hates her and wants her to leave him alone anyway.

Later that night, Nate tossed and turned all night, thinking about Amelia. He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. It was as if he missed her. It was just not the same at school without her annoying chattering. He became more aware of the quietness that surrounded him everywhere he went. And for once in his life, he hated it.

Fuck…he cursed quietly. He wasn’t supposed to feel like this. His whole life, he convinced himself that he didn’t need any friends. Now he wanted her back.

Maybe I should text her, he thought. Just to see how she was doing. No…he shook that thought off right away. Why should he care how she was doing?

The next day, he waited for her at lunch, but she never came to the cafeteria. He decided to swallow his pride and at least say hi to her in class. For whatever reason, he couldn’t forget about this person. He wanted to tell her he wanted to be his friend again. He sat in class, waiting.

The bell rang, and everyone settled inside, but still no sign of her. Nate fidgeted in his seat. He couldn’t focus in class because he kept thinking about her the whole time. After the class was over, he hesitated at the door.

“Everything okay, Mr. Wolf?” Ms. Webb asked. “You’ve been standing there for a minute now. Anything I can do for you before you are late for your next class?”

“Um…nothing,” he said and started to walk away but paused. “Actually, I was wondering if you knew where Amelia is. Is she sick?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Ms. Webb said. “Why do you ask? Didn’t realize you two were friends? Maybe you should go check on her,” she added and raised her eyebrow.

“We are not friends,” Nate said quickly. “I mean…I don’t know…”

Ms. Webb smiled. “Well, if you are, I suggest you go check on her and make sure everything is okay. She is a good girl, so I would like to know that information.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said and left the classroom.

A million thoughts were going through his head. Should he text her to see what was wrong? But then she will think he cared about her. He decided to just forget about it.

Two days passed, but Amelia didn’t come back to school. Nate was starting to worry. He decided it was time for him to check on her.

After school, he drove to her house. He stood in front of her house and tried to figure out a good excuse for showing up like this. He knocked on the door after getting his thoughts together.

A woman opened the door right away. She looked just like Amelia, but older. Same long brown hair and big brown eyes.

“Well, hello, handsome! What brings you here?”

She said cheerfully.

Nate blushed. Jeez…does boldness runs in the family or what? He thought.

“Hi, is Amelia here? She hasn’t been attending school the last three days, so I was just wondering if everything is okay?” he said and looked down.

“Well, that’s nice of you to come to check on her! Amelia has been sick, so I forced her to stay home. That poor thing,” the woman sighed. “Are you a friend of hers?” she asked.

“Eh…yeah… I’m Nate,” he said awkwardly.

“Oh, you are Nate! Amelia talks about you all the time! I’m her mom, by the way, you can call me Emily,” she said excitedly.

“She talks about me?” Nate asked nervously.

“Yes,” Emily said and looked at him intently. “Don’t worry, that’s not a bad thing. She spoke very highly of you,” she said and smiled reassuringly.

Nate couldn’t imagine why. He had been nothing but be mean to her, but he kept quiet.

“You can go upstairs and see her if you like. Don’t worry. She is not contagious or anything. I have to go to work so I’ll leave you to it. Her room is upstairs to the right,” Emily said and headed to her car.

“Wait…Emily…” Nate started to call after her, but she was already inside her car. He awkwardly stared at the staircase and wondered if he should just leave. He never met a girl’s mom who openly trusted a boy enough to let him go to their daughter’s room, especially when a boy looked like him!

Luckily, he was not a creep. He sighed and headed upstairs to her room.