Hidden Within

I sit in the car with my backpack sitting in my lap as Henry drives us to school. I bite my bottom lip, looking out the window and wondering just how I’m going to approach Brian about this stupid date. I’m pretty sure that he already knows that he has to do it; I imagine that Zacky was across the street while Lynn was at my house, trying to talk him into doing this ridiculous favor. But I still have to ask him to come over to my house to meet Henry and my mom today, and I’m not sure how he’s going to react to that or even if his parents will let him come over.

“Alright; I’ll see you two when I get home from work,” he tells us as he pulls up in front of the school. “And I’m looking forward to meeting your boyfriend, Lana,” he adds.

“Hopefully he can come over,” I reply with a small smile, reaching for the door handle.

“If he likes you as much as you like him then he’ll be over.”

Great…That means he’ll never come over and I am screwed…

“Then he’ll be there,” I chirp, my smile becoming even harder to maintain as I dig myself deeper into this hole that Lynn threw me in. All I can say is that she owes me big time for doing this.

“Bye, Dad!” Sandi calls out as she gets out of the car.

“Bye, girls. I’ll see you after work.”

“Kay, bye,” I mumble as I hurriedly scoot out of the car. I sling my backpack onto my shoulder and shut the door, biting down on my lip as my mind races to figure out what I need to do. I know I need to talk to Brian; I just don’t know how I’m going to do it. I doubt I’ve ever voluntarily struck up a conversation with the boy and I really don’t know how I’m going to do that today.

“So, do I get to meet your boyfriend before he comes over today?” my sister asks me with a small smirk.

“Nah, you’ll just have to wait like everyone else,” I reply, wishing that she wouldn’t talk about this stupid boyfriend thing. “I’m just hoping he can make it.”

“Well, like Dad said, if he likes you as much as you like him then you’ll have no problem. I mean, he’s gotta meet Mom and Dad before you two can go out on your date, right?”

“Yeah,” I nod softly.

“Well then he’ll be there,” she smiles. “I’ll see you later, though. I’ve gotta talk to Gaby about something before first hour.”

“Alright,” I reply with a weak smile. “See ya later.”

She walks ahead of me, briskly walking into the building to find her friend, while I linger behind, afraid to go any closer to the school. I bite my lip as I take a couple of slow steps forward, fiddling with the strap of my backpack while my mind thinks up the possible ways I could approach Brian. I could just be nice to him and say hi to him when he sits down next to me during first period, then casually bring up this whole fake dating thing we’re doing and ask him to come over.

Or I could just wait for him to talk to me first.

He usually says something to me in the mornings whenever he sees me, so I think I can wait for him to start up the conversation. And, like I said, chances are that he already knows that we have to go out on this stupid date for Zacky and Lynn. Zacky was probably over at his house while Lynn was at mine. If he caved like I did then he did so because Zacky’s his best friend; the same reason why I agreed to doing this for Lynn. He’ll probably want to talk to me anyway about some sort of truce we can strike up while we’re on this date since I’m sure Zacky and Lynn wouldn’t appreciate us fighting while they’re trying to have fun.

I let out a heavy sigh. I guess I should just get it over with, get on in there, and face Brian. I’m going to have to put up with him anyway. I might as well get it done sooner rather than later.

“Lana!”

I turn my head and see Lynn running up to me with a smile on her face. My stomach sinks and I bite the inside of my lip, knowing exactly what she’s going to ask me. And I really don’t wanna have to tell her that I don’t know yet because Henry’s being difficult.

“So, what’d your parents say?” she asks with a wide smile on her face, panting slightly from sprinting up to me.

“Henry said it’s alright--”

“Oh my God, that’s awesome! So, Zacky and I were thinking that we could go to th--”

“You didn’t let me finish,” I cut her off. “Henry said that it’s alright as long as he meets Haner before the date and approves of him.”

“Are you serious?” she queries, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

“Yeah, apparently he wants to see what kind of guy I’m ‘dating’,” I grumble, not at all thrilled to think that I am going to have to spend more time with Brian. I think I’d rather have a flesh eating disease than spend time with that boy.

“Alright; so we’ll just have Brian come over to your house and meet him. It shouldn’t be that hard to do,” she replies with a smile.

“I think you forgot about the part where he has to approve of him,” I point out as we start walking up to the school. “And Henry’s being overprotective.”

“Well, I’m sure that Brian can get him to approve.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because he won’t wanna screw this up,” she replies confidently as we reach the front doors of the building. She grabs the door handle and opens the door, letting me walk in ahead of her.

I stop to look at her for a moment, knitting my eyebrows together. “What makes you think he won’t wanna screw it up?”

“Let’s just say I have a feeling,” she says with a small grin.

“Okay…” I trail off, thinking that her answer was just a little weird. I gently shake my head and continue to walk into the building with Lynn not too far behind me. I guess she’s right though; he wouldn’t wanna mess it up since he’s doing all of this for Zacky so he wouldn’t wanna let his friend down.

We arrive at the lockers and I hurry over to mine, putting my bag away in the locker and pulling out my stuff for Geometry. I tuck my hair behind my ear and bite my lip as I close my locker.

“Hey, I’m gonna go to class; I’ll see you next hour,” I tell Lynn as I walk past her locker on my way to class.

“Alright; I’ll see you later! Oh, and if you see Brian make sure to ask him!” she calls out after me.

“Of course,” I reply with a small smile, knowing very well that I’m not going to say anything to Brian unless he says something to me first.

I hug my books to my chest as I push my way through the crowded hallway, mumbling ‘excuse me’ as I make my way past groups of people congregated in the hallway and blocking my way. I try to slip past a group of guys roughhousing by their lockers when one of them bumps into me, causing me to stumble and bump into someone and my books to fall to the floor.

“Sorry,” I mumble as I regain my balance and start to bend down to pick up my belongings.

“It’s alright. Are you okay?” he asks as he too goes to pick my stuff up off of the floor.

I bite my lip at the sound of his voice, wishing that I had bumped into someone else, anyone else, but him. But of course it’s just my luck that of all the people in this school that I could have bumped into it had to be the one person I have been dreading to see. I just had to get knocked over by his locker of all the places in this school.

I don’t bother to say anything to him; I simply nod my head as I reach for my notebook. His hand brushes up against mine. The touch is light, but if feels like something has shocked me and I quickly retract my hand, letting him pick up the fallen items as I stand up. He quickly gathers my stuff off of the floor and holds them out to me. I chew on the inside of my lip as I take them from him, hugging them back to my chest.

“Thanks,” I say softly, not really sure what else to say to him. It’s not exactly like I can just start the conversation with, ‘Thanks for picking up my stuff for me. Oh, by the way, you need to come over to my house so my dad can meet you since you’re my fake boyfriend.’ I have a feeling that it just wouldn’t go over so smoothly.

“You’re welcome,” he says with a small smile on his lips.

I gently nod my head. “Well, I’m gonna go now,” I inform him, turning on my heel in the direction of our Geometry classroom.

“Mind if I walk with you? You know, since we’re both going the same place anyway?”

I turn my head to look at him for a moment. I bite the inside of my lip once more and nod. What could it hurt? I mean we are going the same place; it’s not like he’s going out of his way or anything.

The corners of his mouth turn up into a smile and he shuts his locker, following me as I lead the way to first period. He quickly catches up to me and I realize how much easier it is to make my way through the crowd with him beside me. I guess it’s because he’s so much bigger than me people are able to see when he’s coming down the hall.

We don’t say a word to each other as we make out way to our first class. We simply walk down the hall, side by side, without saying a word. I glance at him and open my mouth to speak, but quickly decide against it and shut my mouth. We reach our class and we walk to the back of the room, placing our stuff on our desks before we sit down. The air between us almost feels thick and tense, as if I would choke on the air if I tried to breathe it in. His eyes meet mine and I swallow hard, my mouth and throat suddenly feeling rather dry at the moment.

“So…” he starts, rubbing the back of his neck for a moment.

“So…”

“Did Lynn talk to you yesterday?”

“Yeah,” I answer with a nod. “And did Zacky talk to you?” I ask as I fiddle with my hands.

“Yeah, he did…” he trails off and bites his bottom lip. “What did you tell Lynn?”

“I told her I’d do it because she is my best friend… You?”

“I said I would, too… Only because Zack’s my friend and all.”

“Yeah… I know what you mean…” I bite my lip, trying to figure out how to ask him to come over. God, this is harder than I thought it would be; imagine how hard it would be if I actually liked him.

“Some best friends we have, huh?”

“Yeah, some friends,” I agree with a nervous chuckle. “Um, so, what did your parents say about it when you brought it up to them? Were they cool with it?” I ask him unsurely, glancing up to look at him.

“Yeah…” he nods his head, biting his bottom lip. “They were cool with it. My step-mom is actually really excited to meet you… She even wants to drive us to wherever Zacky and Lynn wanna go on this thing.”

“She really wants to meet me that bad?”

“Yeah, she’s all excited to meet my fi--girlfriend.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I reply, looking down at my feet. “My step-dad really wants to meet you.”

“He does?”

I look up at the tinge of fear that I heard in his voice. I can’t help but give a tiny smirk at the sight of the anxious look on his face. In all the years I’ve known Brian I’ve hardly ever seen him look so scared, so nervous; it’s kinda funny.

“Yeah, he’s really looking forward to meeting my… You. He wants to know what kind of guy is interested in me.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah… I actually can’t go out tomorrow unless he approves of you,” I tell him, biting down on my lip.

“Really? He’s-- He’s that strict?”

“He’s really protective of me. Guess all dads are when it comes to their daughters…” I brush my fingers through my hair and tuck a section of it behind my ear, still keeping my eyes trained on my feet. “He wants to meet you today…”

“Today?” he squeaks. Yes, squeak; I swear his voice just cracked, and I try my best to stifle a laugh.

“Yeah, today after school… If it’s okay with your parents and all…” I reply, glancing up to see his reaction.

“Right… Yeah… That--that should be alright,” he says with a nervous smile on his face.

“Great. So what time do you think you’ll be over?”

“Um, sometime around--”

“Mr. Haner.”

“Yes, sir?” Brian quickly responds, turning his head to face the front of the room where Mr. Widmier is standing.

“Class has started, Brian. You can flirt with your girlfriend when class is over,” he says, irritation lacing his voice.

I bite my bottom lip at the term ‘girlfriend’ and notice several eyes dart to the back of the room where Brian and I are sitting. My face grows very warm and I’m sure that it’s a deep shade of red. I don’t like a lot of attention and I sure as hell don’t like the attention that this has getting me now; especially when it is in connection to being Brian’s girlfriend.

“Y-yes, sir,” he stammers, earning a few snickers from some of the other people in the room.

Brian glares at them and several kids stop their snickering, turning back around in their seats to face the front of the room. He lets out a soft, but audible sigh and picks up his pencil, writing down on the paper in front of him. I guess I should follow his example and start taking notes too. I open my notebook and find a blank page, looking up to the front of the room to start copying the examples Mr. Widmier has started putting on the board.

I feel something tap my knee and I glance over at Brian to see his eyes focused on the board, his arm hanging down at his side. I roll my eyes and start to bring my attention back to the lesson when I notice that he has something in his hand; a folded piece of paper. I bite my lip and my eyes dart back to the front of the room where Mr. Widmier is droning on about the lesson, completely oblivious to me and Brian despite the warning he had given us earlier. I slowly lean towards Brian, stretching my arm out and he slips the paper into my hand. I straighten up in my seat and unfold the paper, looking down at Brian’s untidy scrawl.

I can probably show up around 4:30. What’s your address?

I pick up my pencil and write back my reply, putting down my address on the sheet of paper. I fold the paper back up, looking at him out of the corner of my eye, and see that he’s already looking in my direction. I discreetly stretch my arm out towards him. His hand lightly brushes against mine as he takes the paper from me and I try my best not to swiftly retract my hand at the touch.

I watch him as he unfolds the paper and reads my response, his brow knitting together. He must have realized that I live right across the street from him. He picks up his pencil and quickly scratches his reply onto the paper, folding it up and sticking his hand out for me to take it. I grab the paper from him and chew on the inside of my lip as I unfold the paper. I can feel his eyes on me, watching me as I read what he’s written, and I must say that it’s a bit unnerving. I don’t like it when people pay so much attention to me; especially Brian…

I open up the note and my eyes skim over his words.

Really? I live like right across the street. How come I’ve never seen you around?

I suck on my lip as I start to write down my response, debating exactly what I should write down to him. In all honesty, I don’t really know why he’s never seen me around. Of course I wouldn’t have realized he lived there if I hadn’t seen him after we had gone to the park and I broke his damn board. He probably would have seen me then if he wasn’t so damn upset about my act of idiocy.

I hurriedly write something back to him, fold the paper back up, and pass it back to him.

“Miss Fray.”

“Y-yes, Mr. Widmier?” I reply nervously, my head whipping around to the front of the room.

“Since it looks like you and Mr. Haner have already worked out the problem I put up on the board why don’t you indulge the class with the answer?” he queries, motioning to the chalkboard, resulting in me staring blankly ahead at the problem I did not even know we were asked to solve.

“Um,” I gulp, frantically scanning the board in hopes that I can manage to come up with some fairly reasonable, albeit wrong, answer.

“Try to pay more attention, Alana. Same goes for you, Brian,” he says, resuming his lecture.

My face grows warm and I can hear people snickering around me, only making the whole thing worse. I press my lips together and look back down at my notebook, trying to figure out just how much I had missed of the lecture while I was writing to Brian. Stupid Haner, he just had to mess up everything and get me into trouble. I guess some things just never change. At least it hasn’t resulted in us being sent to the principal like it used to…

I bring my eyes up to the board and find where I had stopped taking notes, quickly trying to copy them down as I attempt to catch up. Something taps my knee and I bite my lip, trying my best to ignore him as I continue to take notes. I feel his fingertips gently tap at my leg again and I sigh in defeat turning my head to look at him to see the worn down piece of paper in his hand. I check to see if the teacher is paying attention and quickly grab it from Brian’s hand, unfolding it to read what he wrote down.

Sorry for getting you in trouble. I didn’t think he’d catch us. Wanna talk about this at lunch?

My eyes drift over to him and I see him watching me expectantly, waiting for an answer. My gaze meets his and I nervously lick my lips, nodding my head in response. A smile pulls at his lips and I can’t help but smile back at him as I bring my attention back to my notes.

~

“Alright, guys; make sure to wear comfortable shoes when we meet on Monday. We are going to start getting into the habit of marching so you’re going to need them!” Mr. Boomer, our band director, instructor calls out to us as we start to pack up our instruments. “And have a good weekend!”

I can hear cases closing and people getting up out of their seats as I take apart my flute, pulling the head joint out and making sure to clean the inside of any condensation and spit that built up while I was playing. I place it into the case, picking up the rest of my instrument and pulling off the foot joint, placing it and the body into the case.

“You ready to go?” Lynn asks me as she walks up to me from the other side of the room where the clarinet section is.

“Um, you go on ahead to lunch without me,” I tell her as I bite down on my bottom lip, closing the flute case nervously. “I’ve gotta talk to Mr. Boomer about something.”

“Oh… Okay… Well, I can wait for ya out in the hall.”

“No, it’s alright. It’ll only take a second.”

“Alright… I guess I’ll see ya in the cafeteria then,” she says with a small smile.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing major. I’m just going to ask him a question about marching.”

“Okay.”

I watch her as she walks over to the band lockers with her clarinet case in hand, finding the locker we’re sharing and doing to combo to stow the instrument away. I bite my lip as everyone files out of the room, waiting until there are only a couple more people in the room chatting by their lockers. I get up from my chair and nervously walk over to Mr. Boomer while he shuffles through the music on his stand. I’m not sure what I’m going to talk to him about now… I was going to quit, but seeing as how I just told Lynn I wasn’t going to do anything major I’ll have to talk about something else. I guess I could really ask him about marching. Maybe it won’t be as bad as I think it will, or maybe it’ll be just as awful as I anticipated…

“Mr. Boomer?” I timidly ask him as I nervously clutch my flute case.

“Yes, Miss…”

“Fray. Alana Fray,” I reply with a small smile.

“Oh, that’s right, the flautist. What can I do for ya?”

“I have a question about marching.”

“Alright; and what would that be?” he asks as he sets his sheet music back down on his stand.

“Is it absolutely mandatory for us to march?” I query.

He knits his brow together, the wrinkles in between his eyebrows becoming much more evident as he processes my question, which I did not realize would require so much thought. “Yes, it is mandatory for everyone to march. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s just that I don’t know how well I’ll be able to play and march at the same time. And when I signed up for band I was under the impression that it would be like it had been in junior high; I thought that this would be like concert band.”

“I see… Well, Alana, I’m sorry you were mistaken when you signed up for the course and you are welcome to drop it next week by Wednesday, but I would suggest that you at least try marching once before you make up your mind. I’ve had a lot of students who were unsure if they were cut out for marching and they turned out to be great at it; it just took a bit of getting used to,” he replies with a smile. “Will you at least stick around for Monday?”

“I think I can give it a shot.”

“That’s great! You’ve got a lot of talent; I’d hate to lose you because of something like marching.”

“I’d hate to have to quit over something like marching,” I chuckle. “I’ll see you Monday then.”

“Alright; and have a good weekend.”

“Thanks, you too.”

I walk out of the room with my flute still in my hand. I don’t really feel like coming all the way back to the band room just to get my flute when I’m running out to the bus so I just keep it in my hall locker, making sure that I have everything set up carefully so it doesn’t run the risk of falling to the ground. I reach my locker and put my flute away, quickly closing the door and making my way to the lunchroom so that Lynn doesn’t worry about me. I have the sneaking suspicion that she thinks that I really was going to quit and the longer I’m gone the more she’ll think that I was, in fact, quitting without telling her.

I arrive at the cafeteria and quickly spot everyone sitting at the table, chatting away as they eat their food. I tuck my hair behind my ear as I draw closer to the table realizing that the only spot available around the table is in between Jimmy and Brian, which seems to have become like an assigned seat for me since school started.

“There she is!” Danni calls out with a smile as I approach the table, taking my spot between Brian and Jimmy.

“Sorry, I just had to talk to the band director for a little bit after class. So, what’d I miss? Anything exciting?”

“Nope, we were just talking about what everyone is bringing to the spot after school today,” Matt replies as he pops a fry into his mouth.

“You’re gonna be able to make it, right?” Jimmy asks me, and I bite my lip. I forgot about going to the spot with everyone after school. But I doubt I’ll be able to make it now that I have to introduce Brian to my parents.

“Afraid I can’t,” I reply softly. “Got plans with my family tonight and I can’t ditch.”

“Aw, you do?” he queries, sounding a little bummed out. “That sucks; it’s gonna be a lot of fun. You sure you can’t ditch?”

I bite my lip and glance up at him, swallowing hard as my eyes lock onto his. “It’s really important that I be home tonight. But I’ll really try next time; I doubt I’ll have another family thing soon,” I tell him with a weak smile.

“Alright; well, it’s not gonna be as fun without you there.”

“I’m not that fun, Jimmy…”

“I think you are. I like hanging out with you.”

“Oh… I like hanging out with you, too… I promise that I’ll be there next time.”

“Alright,” he smiles down at me, making me feel a little uneasy. I’m not used to someone giving me so much attention; especially someone that I’ve just met only a couple days ago.

“So, Brian, ya gonna be bringing the booze today?” Johnny asks, bringing me back to the fact that everyone else was having their own conversations while Jimmy and I were talking.

“Um, I can’t,” Brian mumbles. “I’ve got something I’ve gotta do today with Brent and my dad’s not letting me out of it…”

I glance at Brian out of the corner of my eye and notice that he’s nervously scratching the back of his neck. I’d normally take some enjoyment in seeing him so anxious, but for some reason I feel kinda bad for him that he has to lie to everyone like this. But it’s not like we need to let everyone else know about Lynn and Zacky’s crazy idea.

“Oh… Well, Jimbo, you can get some, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll try…” Jimmy trails off and I press my lips together as I feel his eyes land on me.

“I’m… I’m gonna go get something to eat,” I mumble as I push my hair behind my ear and start to get up from the table.

I briskly walk away from the table and head straight to the closest line, hoping that there’s something there that looks at least halfway appetizing; something that I will be able to keep down. I softly tap my foot as I wait behind a few people, chewing on the inside of my lip as my eyes scan the area in front of me.

“So, what do you think you’re gonna get?”

I suck my lip in at the sound of his voice and let out a nervous chuckle. “No clue,” I reply, taking a quick glance back at him. “So, what are you doing here?” I ask him as I cross my arms over my chest.

“I forgot to get something to drink when I went through earlier.”

“Oh… Okay…”

“But I figured now would be a good time for us to finish up that talk…”

“Oh, right…” I mumble and glance down at my feet. “So, what did you want to talk about?” I ask, looking up at him. My eyes meet his and I quickly look away, turning my gaze in front of me to see if the line has made any progress yet. Sadly enough, it hasn’t.

“Well, what’s your family like?”

“Um… What do you wanna know about them?”

“Well, is your dad a hard ass or anything like that? I kinda wanna know what I’m walkin’ into here,” he says with a nervous chuckle.

A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth at the sound of the nervousness in his voice and I turn my head enough to look back at him. “Well, my dad is out in Wyoming,” I reply with a small chuckle. “But my step-dad is here in California and he’s just a tad on the protective side. He’ll probably give you a lot of shit. But if you don’t let him get to you, you should be alright.”

“Okay. Um, what about your mom?”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her,” I tell him as I take a step forward, happy to see that the massive line is finally starting to move. I wonder why it’s so damn slow today.

“Why’s that?”

“Because she got all excited and giddy when she found out about you. She’s the one who made my step-dad be reasonable. I’m sure she’s going to love you; so have no fear there.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. She thinks that it’s cute I have a ‘boyfriend’ who makes me so happy,” I grumble, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.

“I make you happy, Sunshine?” he asks with a small smirk on his face and I can no longer fight it; I roll my eyes at him.

“Don’t push your luck, Haner.”

“I was just kidding. You need to learn to lighten up a bit,” he says, gently placing his hand on my shoulder and causing me to tense up. He seems to notice my muscles go stiff at his touch and he quickly removes his hand, letting it fall down to his side. “Sorry… You know you’re probably going to have to let me touch you without freaking out,” he says softly. “It’ll look weird if you flinch and stuff like that around me.”

“Sorry,” I mumble. “I’ll try to work on that…”

“It’s okay… I was just saying…”

“I know…”

“Um… What about siblings? Do you have any of those?” he asks, shoving his hands into his pockets as he takes a step forward so he is beside me and I no longer have to twist my neck so far to look at him.

“Yeah, I’ve got a step-sister our age named Sandi, and a twelve-year-old step-brother named Kris.”

“Alright.”

We fall into silence, an oddly comfortable silence; and the sheer fact that it’s kinda comfortable has made me greatly uncomfortable, making me want to think of something to talk about now so that we no longer have to stand next to each other without saying a word.

“Um, what about you?” I ask softly, turning my gaze up to him as we progress through the line. “What are your parents like?”

“My parents are pretty cool. I live with my dad right now, but I visit my mom pretty regular. My mom’s cool and I think you’d like her; I’m pretty sure she’d like you,” he replies with a small smile as he looks down at me. “And my step-mom, like I’ve already said, is dying to meet you. She’s going to love you, too.”

“And your dad?”

He chuckles. “My dad will like you, too. He’s a pretty chill guy; really cool and shit. He said he’s wondering who I was able to trick into dating me. He doubts I got you with my good looks and charm.”

“And he’d be right,” I reply with a light laugh lacing my voice.

“Ouch! That hurt, Sunshine,” he replies, placing his hand over his heart, making me chuckle to myself. When did Brian get amusing?

“Whatever, Haner; we both know that you totally tricked me into this, and that’s what I’m going to tell your dad whenever I meet him,” I smirk, walking up to grab a tray. “So, what about siblings? I remember you said something about a brother when we were at the park; are there anymore?”

“Yeah, I do. Brent’s the one you heard about at the park, and I’ve got a half-brother named Johnny. But I dunno if you’ll get to meet Johnny. Brent you’ll probably see if you ever come over to my place... Do you think you’ll come over?”

I bite my lip and shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know… Maybe… I guess I will if I’m going to meet your dad anytime soon.”

“Alright, sounds good.”

“Yeah, I just need to figure out what I’m going to tell him when he asks me how you tricked me into dating you,” I smile as I grab a small box with a slice of pizza inside.

“Couldn’t you just tell him that it was my good looks and charm?”

“Hmm…” I glance over him quickly and purse my lips for a moment. “Nope, I don’t think I can.”

He scoffs, shaking his head at me. “Yep, my dad’s gonna love you,” he chuckles.

“I have a feelin’ I’ll like him, too. He seems to be a smart man if he knows you have to trick someone just to get a date,” I smile as I grab some fries and a Coke, placing them onto my tray.

“You just don’t have good taste, Sunshine.”

“I think I have very good taste; I don’t like you, so it looks like I’ve got impeccable taste.”

His smile quickly disappears and I shrug it off as I look to see if there’s anything else I should put on my tray before I pay.

“So, you’re actually going to eat today or are you going to just pretend like you did yesterday?” he asks, instantly killing my fairly good mood. Of course, leave it to Brian to fuck everything up.

“I didn’t pretend to eat yesterday,” I fib. “I just wasn’t very hungry,” I inform him as I pay for my food.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what it was,” he mutters, paying for his Coke and following me out of the line.

“It was!”

“Sure, it was. You know, just because everyone else doesn’t notice it doesn’t mean that I don’t, Sunshine.”

“Notice what?”

He lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head. “Whatever, I’ll be over at your place at four thirty,” he mumbles as we arrive at our table.

I simply nod my head in response, taking my seat between him and Jimmy. I bite my lip when I see the slightly confused look on Jimmy’s face as he glances between me and Brian. I have a feeling that he overheard the last bit of my conversation with Brian, and I can only imagine what must be running through his head now…

~

I’m sitting on the couch, anxiously eyeing the clock, bringing my right hand up to my mouth and biting down on my nails as I wait for what can only be the most embarrassing moment of my life. It’s 4:25; Brian should be here any minute now… Oh, God, I don’t wanna see him now… I don’t wanna see him ever. I wish Lynn didn’t drag me into this mess, and I wish that she didn’t drag me in with Brian of all the people in the world.

“Is he here yet?” Henry asks, poking his head around the corner.

“No, not yet,” I reply with a small smile. “He should be here soon, though.”

“Alright; just let me know when he’s here,” he says, disappearing back into the other room.

“Alright,” I mumble, running my fingers through my dark hair and glancing back at the clock.

There’s a knock at the door and my eyes quickly leave the clock, darting to the front door. I bite my lip and glance back at the clock; it’s 4:27. He’s actually early… I bite my lip and rise to my feet, crossing the living room and stopping in front of the door. I take a deep breath and slowly reach for the doorknob, bracing myself for the disaster that’s to come.

I open the door to see Brian with his hands shoved in his pockets and his bottom lip in between his teeth. His eyes meet mine and he gives me a nervous smile.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” I reply with a small smile.

“So… Um… Are you gonna let me in or are you just gonna make me stand here to meet your parents?” he asks with a light chuckle as he scratches the back of his neck.

“Yeah, of course; come on in.”

“Thanks.”

“Mom, Dad, Brian’s here!” I call out as I close the door behind him. “Just take a seat on the couch and I’m sure they’ll be out here in a little bit.”

“Alright.”

I watch him as he walks over to the house, his eyes scanning the living room before he takes a seat. I follow him and sit down beside him, making sure to leave adequate room so Henry doesn’t freak out but enough to where it doesn’t look like we’re repulsed by the idea of having to sit beside each other.

My eyes scan over him and I realize that he’s not wearing the same clothes he was wearing at school. Instead of the white T-shirt I remember seeing him wear only an hour and a half ago he’s now got on a black button up shirt, quite possibly over the white shirt he was wearing earlier; I’m not sure. But he looks nice. Well, nice for Brian…

“You nervous?” I ask him, not really sure what else to say. I just don’t wanna sit around in complete silence.

“A bit,” he replies softly. “I’m not really used to meeting parents like this.”

“I’m sure it’ll be o--”

“So, you must be Brian,” Henry’s voice seems to boom as he enters the room.

“Yes, sir,” Brian replies, quickly rising to his feet, and I scrunch my eyebrows at him, wondering if standing was really necessary.

“I’m Henry, Alana’s step-dad.”

“Nice to meet you, sir,” he says, sticking his hand out to shake Henry’s. What is this, a business meeting?

“Nice to meet you, too, Brian,” Henry replies. “I’ll be back in a moment; I forgot something in the other room.”

“Alright,” he nods, taking his seat beside me as Henry walks out of the room. He releases a heavy breath and I try to stifle a laugh. It’s kinda amusing to see him all nervous like this; he’s almost cute.

“Relax,” I whisper to him. “You’re doing fine.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, he hasn’t chased you out of here with a gun or anything; you’re good.”

“Thanks,” he smiles and I smile back at him.

“Sorry about that,” Henry says as he walks back into the room, with a gun in his hand and all of his stuff he uses to clean it. You have got to be kidding me! He’s really doing this?

I notice Brian gulp at the sight of my step-father with a gun, and bite my lip, feeling a bit guilty. I mean, I just told him that he’s doing alright seeing as how Henry isn’t chasing him away with a gun and what does he walk in with? A gun. This is terrible…

Henry sets out all of his stuff out on the coffee table and unloads the gun, making sure that Brian can see every bullet that was in the revolver be placed on the table. I can’t believe he’s really doing this; he always joked about doing this whenever Sandi or I would bring a boyfriend over, but that’s what I always thought it was: a joke. I never dreamed that he was actually serious when he talked about doing all this.

“It’s alright,” Brian replies, his voice shaking slightly as he stares at the gun in Henry’s hands.

“Um, Dad, is it really necessary you do that now?” I ask Henry.

“I was already getting ready to clean it before Brian showed up. You’re alright with it; right, Brian?”

“Of course, sir. Not a problem with it at all.”

“See? Brian doesn’t mind,” Henry smiles.

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Brian agrees with a weak looking smile. The poor guy… He’s never going to get out of this alive…

“Sorry I couldn’t get in here sooner,” Mom calls out, her voice growing louder as she draws closer to the room. “I was just checking on dinner; it should be ready in about ten-- Henry!”

“Yes, dear?” my step-father asks, looking up at my mother with a casual smile on his face.

“Put that silly thing away and stop trying to scare Brian,” she sternly orders him, taking a seat in the recliner beside his. “I’m sorry about him, Brian. He’s just a bit protective,” she apologizes to him with a smile. “I’m Emma, Lana’s mom; but I’m sure you knew that already.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Brian. But there’s no need to be so formal.”

“Sorry…”

“No need to apologize, dear. Henry here must have gotten you so nervous, but don’t worry; he’s not that bad,” she tells him as my step-father disappears out of the room with his gun and all of his cleaning supplies. “He’s just a bit protective of Lana. He just wants to make sure that your intentions are good.”

“I understand,” he replies with a nod.

“So, how long have you and Lana known each other?”

“Um, since kindergarten. We’ve been in the same class and everything for years.”

“What’s your last name, dear?”

“Haner.”

“Haner… Brian Haner… Oh, I remember you now. You were the boy that used to pick on Lana back in grade school,” she chuckles. “I always knew you liked her; it’s cute that you two are dating now.”

“Thanks…” he mumbles, looking down into his lap.

I bite my lip, feeling a bit guilty for putting him through all of this, for not saying anything. But what is there that I can say? I mean, it’s not like they’re really asking me anything. I’m just sitting here for… moral support? I don’t really know. If I am moral support then I’m doing a shitty job at it because Brian looks like a freakin’ wreck right now having to deal with my overprotective step-father and my overly excited mother. This whole thing is already turning into a disaster. Thank God it’ll be over soon.

“So, Brian,” Henry starts as he walks into the room, sans gun. “Where do you two plan on going?”

“Well, uh, I talked to Zacky a little bit before I came over and we were thinking we’d take the girls to dinner and then catch a movie,” he replies, fiddling with his hands in a nervous fashion.

“I see. And what time do you plan on picking her up?”

“Around 4:30. But only if that is okay with you, sir.”

“That sounds good. Do you drive?”

“No, sir.”

“Who will be taking you two then?”

“My step-mom said she’d be more than happy to take us. She’s dying to meet Alana.”

“I see, and what does she do for a living?”

“Henry,” my mother softly scolds.

“What?”

“Lighten up on the boy. Can’t you see he likes her? And you’re going to end up scaring him away,” she whispers.

“That was the point,” he whispers back.

“Henry!”

“Fine… What time do you plan on bringing her home?”

“9:30; 10:00 at the latest, sir.”

“That sounds perfect,” Mom quickly interjects before Henry has a chance to speak. “And we hope you two have fun. Right, Henry?” she asks, turning her head to look at him.

“Yes, of course; you two have a good time tomorrow. It was nice meeting you, Brian,” Henry says as he gets up to his feet.

“It was nice meeting you, too, sir,” Brian replies, getting up as well, wiping his right hand against his jeans, and taking Henry’s hand to shake it again. I wonder how sweaty his hand must have been if he actually had to wipe it off.

“We’ll see you tom--”

“Actually, I was wondering if Brian would be able to stay for dinner,” Mom cuts in yet again. “Do you think you can?”

“Um, yeah, of course. Um, if you don’t mind, of course…” he trails off nervously.

“Of course we don’t mind. I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want you to stay.”

“Okay; I’d like to,” he smiles, and I’m relieved to see his smile seems just a tiny bit more relaxed. “Is it okay if I call my parents and let them know I’ll be here a while longer?”

“Of course, dear. I’ll go and set an extra place at the table. Lana, sweetheart, will you help me get dinner out on the table?”

“Sure, Mom,” I nod. “Um, I’ll see you in a bit,” I mumble to Brian. That’s something I should do, right? Girls tell their boyfriends they’ll see them in a little while when they’re separated for a little while, right?

“Alright, Sunshine,” he smiles.

I smile back, refraining from chewing him out for calling me that stupid nickname yet again, and follow my mom out to the kitchen. I swear, one of these days I’ll get him back for all the times he’s called me that.

“So, Mom, what do you--”

“Lana, he’s such a sweetheart! He’s just absolutely adorable!” she practically gushes. “And he even has a cute nickname for you! That’s just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cute; isn’t he?” I mumble, not comfortable saying the word ‘cute’ in reference to Brian.

“He is; and he likes you so much.”

“You think so?” I ask, raising a skeptical eyebrow at her. Is Brian really that good at acting?

“Oh, Lana, you should see the way that boy looks at you. It’s so sweet. And the fact that he’s liked you for so long just makes it even more precious.”

“Liked me for so long?”

“Sweetie, he used to pick on you when you two were little; that’s what little boys do when they like a girl. He must have had a crush on you since you two were five; it’s just so endearing that he still likes you after all these years.”

“Oh, yeah… I almost forgot…” I trail off, holding my tongue before I can argue with her, even though I know she’s wrong. If Brian liked me then he would have learned to be nice to me not continue to pick on me like some immature little kid.

“So, how’s the boyfriend?” Sandi asks as she steps into the kitchen and leans against the counter. “Am I going to have to beat him up?”

“He’s a sweetheart,” Mom beams. “He likes your sister so much; I don’t think you’ll ever have to beat him up.”

“Wow, really? Lana bagged herself a keeper?” she chuckles. “Do I get to meet the guy that’s swept my dear sister off her feet?”

“Yes, you do. I’ve got him staying for dinner.”

“So, I finally get to meet your mystery boyfriend, Lana! I can’t wait!” she practically squeals.

“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be great…” I mutter as an unsettling feeling begins to knot up in the pit of my stomach. “So, what did you want me to do, Mom?”

“You can set Brian a place next to yours at the table,” she smiles, handing me a plate and silverware as she and Sandi chat excitedly about my ‘wonderful boyfriend’. Oh, if they only knew the truth…

I quickly walk out to the table and set Brian’s plate down beside mine, grumbling under my breath as I set his silverware down.

“This hasn’t been too bad,” I hear him say softly from behind me, causing me to jump slightly at the sound of his voice. “Sorry, I forget that you’re jumpy.”

“It’s okay… Yeah, it’s not going too bad… I just wish Mom wasn’t so enthusiastic and making you stay for dinner.”

“It’s alright; it just means that she likes me, which means we’re doing a good job.”

“I guess…”

“Hey, it’s only a little while; this is the hardest part. From here it’s smooth sailing.”

“I suppose…”

“It is; trust me,” he smiles, placing his hand reassuringly over mine and oddly enough, I don’t feel like pulling it away. It’s actually kinda nice…

“You two are so cute,” Mom smiles, bringing out the food and placing it in the center of the table. Brian quickly pulls his hand away and I bite hard down on my bottom lip while my cheeks begin to grow hot.

“Mom, what’s for din-- Who the heck are you?”

Brian and I turn our heads to look behind us and see Kris standing there with the most confused look on his face.

“Kristopher, don’t be so rude!” Mom scolds.

“Sorry, I was just wondering--”

“This is Brian, Lana’s boyfriend.”

“Hey, Kris,” Brian says with a small wave.

“So you’re the guy who’s dating my sister?”

“Yeah, that would be me,” he nods.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“How can you kiss her?”

Oh, God, I wanna die! He did not just ask that question! Please, dear Lord, tell me that he did not just ask that question!

“Um, well, because I like her and she’s cute,” he stammers.

“But how can you think that?”

“Kris, no more,” Henry quickly warns as he walks into the room and sits down.

“Fine…” he mutters as he takes his seat at the table.

I reach for my chair, but Brian beats me to it and pulls it out for me. I can practically hear my mother awing at the sight. He sure is hamming it up for her… I take my seat, mumbling a soft thanks to him. He simply nods in response as he takes his seat next to me.

“Hey, I’m Sandi, Lana’s sister,” she introduces herself as she takes her seat next to Kris.

“Nice to meet ya. I’m Brian.”

“I know, Lana’s told me so much about you,” she grins.

“Really now?”

“She talks about you all the time.”

“Well, I did not know that,” he chuckles as he looks at me with a smirk on his face. God, I want to just smack that smug look off.

“Hottie!” Sandi mouths to me and I try my hardest not to roll my eyes. Of all the things in the world Brian being a ‘hottie’ is not something I can agree with.

“So, Brian, Lana tells me that you play guitar,” Mom starts as she sits down.

“Oh, she did?” he asks, glancing over at me with a slightly confused look, and I know why he’s looking at me like this; it’s because I shouldn’t even know that he plays.

“Yes, she says that you play beautifully. How long have you been playing?”

“I’m not that good. I’ve only been playing for a few years. My dad plays and I guess I just kinda picked up on it,” he replies, with his eyes still fixated on me.

I bite my lip and look down at my plate, pushing my food around with my fork and praying that he’ll look away sometime soon.

~

“It was wonderful meeting you, Brian,” Mom grins as Brian and I get off of the couch to walk to the door. “I’m so glad you could stay for dinner.”

“Thank you for having me over; it was great,” he smiles.

“Nice meeting you, Brian,” Henry smiles. Yes, he is smiling. Apparently Brian has made quite the impression. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir. It was nice meeting you, too,” he replies as he shakes his hand.

“Alright; Brian should get going now,” I tell everyone, praying that this madness will end.

“Bye, Brian!” Kris and Sandi chorus as they head over to the stairs.

“Bye, guys.”

I watch them as they disappear up the stairs and bite my lip, unsure what to do now. Of all the things I thought of I never gave single thought about this part of the whole thing; telling him goodbye.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then,” I mumble as we stop in front of the door.

“Yep. Well,” he quickly glances over at my parents and before I have the chance to do the same I feel his arms wrap around me.

He’s hugging me.

I don’t really know what to do. In any other situation I would recoil, but I can’t do that when he’s supposed to be my boyfriend. It would look weird if I just pulled away from my boyfriend when he hugged me. So I do the only thing I can do; I hug him back. I wrap my arms around him and rest my head against his chest, inhaling deeply and noticing just how nice he smells. The boy went all out for this thing.

The hug lasts for a few more seconds and we pull away. I look up at him and see him smiling down at me, bringing his hand up to gently push my hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ear. His thumb lingers on my cheekbone and my mouth suddenly grows dry as his eyes meet mine. He leans in and places a soft kiss on my cheek, causing all the blood to rush to my face.

“Goodnight, Lana,” he whispers softly.

“Goodnight, Brian,” I whisper back, not really sure what else to say.

He smiles at me and I can’t help but smile back at him. He opens the door and I watch him as he walks out, shutting the door softly behind him. And I stare at the place where he was just standing with only one thing running through my mind.

What the hell was that?