She's Just The White Envelope Girl

After going to the mall, which we only stayed for about an hour, we all walked home. Reaching my house, I saw something weird—there was a car packed in my driveway. The only car that was ever parked was my mom’s.

Confused, I slowly walked inside my house.

The first thing I saw was my mom, which was unusual because I hardly ever saw her. She looked like she was going out, something she never did.

“Er…hi, Mom,” I said awkwardly.

She smiled, something I always liked seeing. It reminded that she wasn’t always gloomy, that she can be happy too.

“Hi, honey,” she beamed.

I gulped, getting nervous by the second. Something was going to happen—something bad. What was she so happy about?

“What up, Mom?” I asked slowly, walking toward her.

I stopped abruptly, eyes wide open.

Oh, no.

○ ○

Ash’s POV

After walking Hannah home, I walked to Mark’s house, confused.

When I tried to talk to her, she barely said a thing. At the mall, she was talking a lot, not in a bad way, but it’s like I did something wrong.

“Sup, dude,” Mark greeted, holding out his fist, when I got to his house.

He rolled his eyes when I didn’t hit his fist. “Rude,” I heard him muttered; but I was too busy trying to think what I did wrong.

“Hannah is mad at me,” I told him, thinking that maybe he could help me.

He snorted; I gave him a look. He rolled his eyes again. “…did you do something wrong?”

“No,” I thought for a second,”…well I don’t think so.”

“Oh!” he exclaimed, snapping his fingers, after a moment of silence. “She’s jealous.”

This time, I snorted. “Why would she be jealous?”

“Rosalie,” he said slowly, like I didn’t understand him.

“What?” I asked. “Why?” Why would she be jealous of Rosalie?

He scoffed—he was beginning to freak me out; he was starting to sound like a girl, with the scoffing and the snorting, or was it just me thinking that? “From what I saw, you were a bit too close when that guy was talking to her. Hannah saw that too, dude.”

“But, that was nothing!” I exclaimed. It was nothing. Why did they have to think wrong?

“Mhm,” he said, getting his phone and started playing a game.

“But, but, dude, it was nothing!”

“Ok, well, maybe she wasn’t jealous about that. But, you kissed her before, remember?”

I groaned. I did NOT want to talk about that.

“So, she could’ve thought that you two had something,” he continued.

“We don’t, though!” I exclaimed, my head in my hands.

“Dude,” Mark said seriously. I looked at him, wondering what he was going to say, “I’m right here. You don’t have to scream.”

I groaned again. “Mark,” I pleaded, quieter.

“Ugh, I don’t know, dude. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Fine,” I said, happy that the subject was going to change.

“Why did you kiss Rosalie?” he asked, a smile on his lips.

I groaned for what seemed the millionth time.

○ ○

“La, la, la! I can’t hear you!” I exclaimed, covering my ears.

“Don’t fight the feeling, Ash!” Mark yelled back.

“La, la, la! I can’t hear you! Pepsi cans to the rescueeeee!” I exclaimed again.

“You like her!” Mark yelled again.

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“You like—”

“Don’t say it!”

“—Rosalie!” he said loudly.

I stopped yelling; he smiled childishly.

“Haha, you like her! I told you!” he said loudly again.

“I don’t like her,” I said through my teeth.

He looked away. “Whatever.”

I groaned, knowing he wouldn’t leave me alone.

“Dude,” he said seriously, quiet this time, “I know you.” I gave him a confused look. “We’ve been friends since kindergarten. I think I know when you like somebody.”

“I don’t like her,” I muttered, crossing my arms.

He rolled his eyes. “Ash, I’ve seen how you get when you talk to her. You smile a lot, you’re more playful than you were when you were with Alex and when that guy was talking to her earlier, you got jealous. Dude, you don’t get jealous! You obviously like her, L-I-K-E—”

“I think I get it,” I interrupted.

We both stayed quiet for a moment.

“I like her?”

“Yep,”

“I like her?”

“Yes,”

“Now that that I think of it, I think I do,” I said truthfully.

Every time when she blushed, I thought it was kind of cute. When she messed with things—like when she messed with the zipper from her jacket or when she would mess with her bracelets—it made me smile. It just made me feel weird about her—the good weird.

Honestly, when that guy was talking to her, I got a tad bit jealous—a tad bit. Well, ok, I did get jealous. But, she didn’t even know him! He could’ve been a weird stalker guy or worse, someone who loves to smell feet! I mean, I couldn’t let her be alone with someone like that.

Yeah, it’s freaking official.

I like her, a lot, I must say.

“Well, then, why won’t you tell her that?” Mark asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“No…what if she doesn’t like me back?” I asked nervously.

“Don’t worry about that, dude,” he reassured. “Stay on the positive side, m’kay?” He did this weird hand motion, something that was probably supposed to look like a wave.

I nodded, unsure how to stay on the positive side.

“What are you waiting for?” Mark asked loudly, scaring me, thrusting his hands in the air.

“What?”

“Go and tell her now!” he said, pushing me the door.

“OH,” I realized, “But, but, how—”

“No time for questions; go!” He pushed me out the door.

I started walking to her house after he rudely kicked me out of his house.

On the way there, I realized that Mark was probably just trying to get me to leave his house and that I sounded like a girl.

With this nervousness and what I liked about her, I mean.

It seemed like what a girl would’ve said.

And, I am not a girl.

Finally getting there, I tried to get as much confidence I could get, and proudly knocked on the door.

When the door opened, Rosalie’s face was all blotchy and red.

The confident smile on my face slid right off at the sight of her.

Something just went wrong.