Chapter Seven

Cody's house is about a fifteen minute walk from mine. My house is roughly ten minutes from school. It's approximately twenty eight degrees outside, and halfway through my journey it began to snow. It's snowing even heavier now. Between the burning pain around the edges of my ears, and the way my nose is running, I feel like misery incarnate. A gust of frigid December air attempts to pull the hood of my coat away, and I struggle to hold it in place with half numb fingers. Thank god I'm almost there. Another minute of walking leads me to Cody's front door. I raise one hand to knock, then quickly stuff it back into the safety of my pocket.

I bounce on my heels in a last ditch effort to stay warm, waiting for someone to answer. Here's hoping he's actually home, and I don't have to walk all the way back to my house. Cold weather has never been my forte. I'm grateful when the maroon door swings open a few seconds later. Unable to control the shivering at this point, I look up beseechingly to my friend. The initial surprise quickly shifts into amusement as cobalt eyes do a head to toe. I probably look awesome right now. Like a sniffling, chattering, mess of goo. Cody turns around, leaving the door open as he returns inside. I gladly follow behind him, shutting out the cold behind me. He motions for me to sit in the living room, before disappearing around the corner of the hallway.

Using my toes, I pull my shoes off heel first, and place them on the mat by the entrance. Once my coat is on the coat rack, I shuffle into the carpeted room and plop down onto the sofa. I rub both hands together then cup them to my cheeks, relishing the slowly returning warmth. My head bobs, forced downward by the unexpected weight of a towel. I feel another sheet of fabric fall across my shoulders, and I don't hesitate to cocoon myself in the blanket.

"You should really look into getting a car," Cody says quietly, hands working the towel through my hair. The white cloth obscures my vision, leaving me unable to see his face. The tone of his voice sounds decidedly less mad though.

"I- I'll w-wo-work on i-it." I was going for sarcastic and dry, but I guess stuttering works too.

There's a short laugh before his hands stop moving. Holding the towel in place with his palms, I hear him sigh, and suddenly I wish I could see Cody's face. "I'm sorry."

The words are so spoken softly, my ears almost didn't catch them. I tug the cotton away from my eyes when I feel his hands drop. However, by the time I do, his back is already turned. I'm not too sure what the apology is for, but the feeling I'm getting from him right now makes me not want to ask. I watch as Cody sifts awkwardly through the shelf of video games by the television. He seems just as unsure as I felt while I was waiting for him to open the door. I attempt an offer at peace. "Can I play The Evil Within?"

Cody turns around, the dimple on his cheek accenting the familiar grin I missed. "Sure, I love watching you get nuked by the undead."

I return the smile, scooting over to settle in the center of the couch. Even if it was only a couple of days, things just weren't the same without Cody. I don't know why he was mad to begin with, but the message now is clear. We're good, and that's all that matters.

"I need to talk to you."

I blink, taken aback by the way Simon drags me into the hallway. He descended upon me as soon as I set foot into English, so I think it's safe to say he was waiting for me. I shake my arm out of his grip once we're a few feet from the classroom. "You don't need to hold me hostage, you know. You could just ask."

For the first time since I've met him, Simon acknowledges my gripe instead of disregarding me. He turns to face me, coming to a stop as he mumbles, "Sorry."

I think I'm going to faint. "Am I hallucinating right now, or did you just say sorry?"

The glare he gives me is more on par with what I'm accustomed to. "Can you stop being bitchy for two seconds and just chill? I'm trying to be civil, okay?"

…Did he just call me bitchy? When I open my mouth retort, Simon begins speaking again. "Look, I told you not to talk to my brother. That obviously didn't work. So, now I'm going to try a different approach." He pauses and inhales deeply. "I know it might not mean much coming from me, but I'd really appreciate it if you left Felix alone. I'm asking you as seriously as I can... can you please not mess with my brother?"

"You're making me sound like I'm some kind of predator," I say with some incredulity. "My issue is with you. What exactly do you think I'm going to do to your brother?"

"I think―" Simon sighs, running his hand nervously through his hair. "I think you're going to hurt him. Emotionally. Not physically," he finishes lamely.

Honestly, I didn't think I was that bad a person. Yet, here I am, striking fear into the hearts of overprotective brothers everywhere. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," I say dryly. "No need to pretend I'm a good catch, right?"

"If that's how you wanna take it," he says with a smirk.

Asshole. But he's being sincere and that's weird. He's even trying to be nice, and that's weirder. I already have plans to go to the music room after school, so If I say I'm not going to talk to Felix again, it would be a straight up lie. I choose my next words carefully. "If I stop talking to Felix now, wouldn't I just be hurting him anyway?"

The way Simon's shoulders slump, tell me it's something he'd already considered. "Probably. But he'd get over it."

I see Cody round the corner, and for some reason I begin to panic at the thought of being seen talking to Simon. "I can't make any promises, but I'll think about it," I say in a rush, before pushing past him and walking back toward the classroom. When Cody raises his head, I lift my hand in greeting.

"What's up, Kirb." He glances behind me. "Everything, okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." I direct the topic to other, less touchy subjects for the rest of the time until English begins. Because of the way things went last Friday, I'm afraid to even touch the subject of anything surrounding Simon and his family. Despite the fact that I usually tell Cody everything, I can't even bring myself to tell him about Felix. It'll have to wait until another time. Somehow, keeping something from my best friend makes me feel like I'm lying. But since I don't want to risk another fight, I don't think I have any other choice.

For skipping detention yesterday, I ended up with two additional days. As expected. I'll pretty much be banging my head against the chalk board until Christmas break at this point. Because Cody wants to hang around and wait for me anyway, we'll be going to his house after I'm finished. I tell him to meet me in half an hour, and I immediately set off to the music room. I have less than seven minutes before my butt needs to be in a seat, or else they'll count it as an absence. Better make this quick. When I get there, I pull the screechy door open and poke my head inside. Unlike last time, Felix is sitting on a chair in the first row. He seems lost in thought as his fingers absently fiddle with something in his pocket.

"Hey," I say, attempting to get his attention. It doesn't work. I step further into the room, waving so that he can see me. He finally registers the movement, his gaze snapping over in my direction. "Hey," I say again. "Sorry, I can't really stay for long. I'm stuck in detention for a while... so, um... yeah. I just didn't want you to think I was blowing you off." This sounded a lot smoother in my head. "But about what you said yesterday... I didn't know what to say, and to be honest, I still don't know what to say." I watch as he touches the hair near his ear, an expression of confusion lining his face. I think I need to get this over with, because I'm probably rambling. "Because of Simon, I don't think I should ta―"

"Can I have your phone number?" he blurts out, interrupting in his own quiet way.

I stop speaking, unsure how to continue now. I wasn't counting on anything like this. At all. My original plan was to say, 'your brother hates me, talking to you is probably not a good idea'. So much for that. I hesitate a little longer, debating whether or not I should stick to what I was in the middle of saying. I sigh, coming to the conclusion that I can't. Not when he's looking at me so expectantly. "Yeah," I say looking at the clock on the far wall. Damn, I really need to go. I've only got a couple of minutes to get back. "But um, I'll give it to you tomorrow, because I really have to get to detention." Hopefully, it will also buy me enough to figure out what to do with this whole situation.

Without waiting for him to respond, I offer a smile and a wave before ducking back out. On my upstairs, I can't help but wonder how I would react to this all under normal circumstances. If Simon wasn't his brother, and so staunchly telling me to step off... what would I say? The question remains on my mind as I sit in detention, stapling the sophomore biology handouts. About five minutes before the detention bell is supposed to ring, I see Felix stroll casually by the door. When he notices me sitting in the back of the almost vacant classroom, he doubles back.

Why do I get the feeling that he just spent the last twenty minutes looking for me?

I'm a little surprised when he actually walks into the classroom. He says something to the stout teacher keeping watch over my task, motioning at me with a textbook clutched in his hands. The teacher nods, taking the hardcover from him. Felix then leaves again, smiling at me on the way out. The short, middle aged man gets up from his seat, bringing the textbook with him as he approaches me. "Your friend said that you forgot this in your last class."

Ha, pre-calc. Nice. I actually almost failed that class last year. But he doesn't need to know that I'm not taking a math this year, right? "Thanks," I say, laying the book next to the stack of worksheets. "I wouldn't have been able to do tonight's homework without that book. There's a test coming up soon too. I'm glad he picked it up for me."

The teacher smiles, checking his the watch on his wrist. "You can leave now if you want to. I'll be seeing you tomorrow anyway, so a few minutes won't hurt."

He seems like a nice man. It's a shame that I just lied to him.

I thank him again as I pick up the book and make an immediate beeline for the door. Once I'm in the hallway I flip through the pages, my feet working on autopilot as they carry me towards my locker. Within seconds, the pages fall away to a section bookmarked by a square of neatly folded paper. I told Cody I'd meet him by his car when I was done, but do a quick inspection of the hallway to be safe. With the assurance that no one else is around, I unfold the sheet of lined paper. The handwriting is elongated and loopy, but not quite cursive. It's pretty, especially for a guy.

Kirby, after you asked me if I was stalking you―

I laugh. Oops. Maybe I was a little too blunt.

I stopped and thought about why you might have asked that question. Then I realized that from your perspective, things probably seem really sudden and kind of weird. My brother probably doesn't help the cause either.

That's putting it lightly.

So, where do I start? How about with this- I swear I'm not stalking you. I've actually liked you for a while now, and no I haven't been hovering in the shadows or looking through your bedroom window at night.

The imagery there is a little disturbing. I'm glad he's saying he didn't do that.

You probably don't remember, but we had a class together two years ago. (Translation: You definitely don't remember since you didn't even realize I go to the same school as you.) It was an art class and I was an awkward freshman, so I can't really blame you. I guess I started liking you some time back then. For now, that's all I feel comfortable saying on a piece of paper. If you're interested in me at all, I can tell you more. As for my brother, I'd rather explain that in person too. But I can say the only reason he even picks on you, is because he knew. About me. Liking you that is. Please don't listen to anything he says. He's more bark than bite. I'm hoping I explained things a bit more with this note, since I'm not very good at expressing myself out loud. -Felix

My eyes trail down to an additional message at the bottom of the page.

What was with the hit and run earlier? All I was able to catch was detention and something about my brother. And sorry for asking for your number so abruptly. I did it because I got the feeling I was about to get ditched. It's a bit embarrassing now that I think about it. If you're not scared off yet (and about to go into hiding), here's my number instead. I'm not asking you out (yet), but maybe try to get to know me? I was hoping to do that today, and then give you this note. But then you ran away.

His phone number is the last thing written. I refold the note and tuck it into my back pocket. I stand there, staring at nothing for a while because I feel... happy. I've never had anyone say or do anything even remotely close to this before. It's nice. I collect what I need from my locker, zip up my coat, and head for the school parking lot. I don't know what I should do anymore, but I do know what I want to do.

I want to get to know Felix.