Ten Things I Hate

I wasn't sure how it started, but it became obviously clear a few months into Pat joining the group that I had a short temper. Especially when it came to him. So he and Garrett invented a new game: Piss Sophia off to no end by staring at her and pretending that they hadn't been. The first time they played it at school during lunch, it had taken me all but three time for me to catch them looking pointedly at me for myself to ask them what exactly they were doing, with several expletives thrown into the mix. They'd giggled and had some fun, and so did everyone else including me once they'd explained it. However, once it had begun to become a regular, several times a day occurance, I began to get seriously annoyed.

After the barrage of questions and repeated snorting of movie night, I was not in the mood to have to deal with Pat, and it just so happened he'd decided to bring out the "Piss Sopia off to no end" game at the weekly brunch we'd have during breaks to catch up. I'd arrived first, followed by Garret and Rachel, then Jared and John, and then Kennedy, Pat and his older brother Tim. I didn't know Tim that well, and prayed that he wouldn't sit next to me. He didn't, but Kennedy did and Rachel made a point of bumping her foot on mine to get my attention. When I glanced at her, she waggled her eyebrows and smiled. I didn't even bother to respond to her silly gesture, instead asking Jared if he'd put more blonde through his hair.

Ordering took longer than usual because Garrett didn't want maple syrup on his pancakes and didn't want whipped cream either. He'd asked for chocolate sauce, only to be told by the waitress that they'd run out, so he had to choose another topping from the list to have dribbled over his late breakfast. He decided in the end after much pressure the group to get both maple syrup and cream. After all of our meals came out, we eagerly dug in, making small chatter here and there. It was about halfway through my bacon and cheese omelette that I noticed Pat staring at me from across the table. When I glanced up, he tore his gaze away, making it clear that he had been staring at me. I did my best to ignore it, but after the fourth time I'd caught him, I finally snapped.
"Can you not?!" I half yelled. "Shit, Pat! I'm just trying to enjoy my food." Everyone else looked between Pat and I, mouths slightly agape and confusion spread over their faces. Pat frowned and mumbled something, but I didn't hear. Not caring, I returned to my omelette took to it with a furious demeanour. After I finished it, I drained my chocolate milkshake and not in the mood to hang around with everyone since my outburst, I said my goodbyes, faking an appointment and left. Nobody followed me to my car, but several members of the group protested my leaving, saying that this was another group tradition that I couldn't skip.

I drove around the backstreets of Tempe after a while, before finally stopping my car outside of Rachel's. I was sure I had wasted at least half a tank of petrol, so I waited forty minutes for her to come home. When she did, I rushed to her car and said, "I have to talk to you." She didn't look surprised, or angry. She simply nodded and told me to move so she could get out of her car. I obliged, walking in step with her to her door, up the staircase and to her room. I flopped onto her bed and groaned into her pillows. "I totally ruined brunch, hey?"
Rachel shrugged, "You made Pat feel pretty guilty. He was only joking around."
I twisted my mouth and sat up, looking at her. I could tell she felt sorry for Pat, a little bit annoyed that I had stormed out like I had. "Well he was being really, really annoying."
"Yeah, but he thinks you hate him, Sophia. And he hates thinking that, because he tries to see the best in everyone and you just keep knocking him back. Half of the stuff he does, he does in hope that you'll see the funny side and try to make conversation with him," Rachel said, clicking on her laptop before turning to look at me in her chair. "He's a nice guy, and I think you two are more alike that you think."

Rachel knew I wasn't the biggest fan of Pat Kirch. She had always known this, we hadn't been best friends for over four years for nothing. I had been there for the pivotal moments that shape you, like your first kiss, first love, first time, as she had been for me. I had given her advice, and she had me. We had gotten into small fights, but always worked past them. She knew me better than any of the guys did, and the way we could look at each other and crack up laughing without saying a word was what really sealed the deal for me. I shrugged. "I dunno, Rach. Just...there's something about him I can't put my finger on and it frustrates me."
"Perhaps you like him? And," she shot me a look before I could protest. "Just hear me out on this. Is it possible that you turn your frustrations onto Pat because you like him and don't think he likes you back?"
I frowned, almost insulted by the idea. I didn't like Pat! He was cute, but he was also horrid to have to deal with. His constant presence in my life irritated me enough, let alone imagining having feelings for him. "Rachel, I honestly don't like Pat. I think I like someone else..."

This got Rachel's attention, I almost saw her ears perk up. "It's Kennedy, isn't it?" I must have blushed, because she squealed a little and said something like, "Garrett was right!" She collided with me on the bed and smiled at me, a huge grin almost taking over her face. "Since when? Why didn't you tell me? Since when? Oh, this is so cute!"
I laughed, "I dunno, I can't tell. He...intrigues me, I guess? I really don't know, Rach. I like talking to him but I really don't know him that well to have feelings for him, do I?" She didn't answer straight away, but she was thinking and she was thinking hard.
"Well," she said finally. "I guess we just have to get you into situation where you're alone with Kennedy. But for what it's worth, I think that he might like you a little too." I felt my stomach turn at this and I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. It didn't feel good, but it felt nice to have someone be able to do that to me again. It had been a while since I'd really had a crush on anyone.

I lounged around at Rachel's for another hour, we listened to the band's EP and chatted about my recent stay in Phoenix. She'd made me promise not to move there after I stayed with my dad for the upcoming college semester, citing that she "wasn't sure if she could handle the boys on her own." It was then that we started to reminsce about memories from high school, and it was then that she let a bombshell drop. "You know, when you first introduced us to Pat in sophomore year, I seriously though you guys would get together. And Garrett said you wouldn't cause Pat wasn't your 'type'. So I figured, you two knowing each other for a good portion of your lives he knew better, but now... now I'm not so sure."
"What do you even mean?" I asked, slowly and surely. I wasn't sure I really liked where Rachel was headed with this.
"I dunno, really. It's like, as you two get older, you compliment each other more, Soph. It's like one of those stupid cliche romances, where you don't realise you're in love until the last second and it's too late."

I left Rachel's on that note, her voice burying its way into my brain. Whether she had been right, I wasn't so sure about that. But I was sure that she had planted a ticking time bomb in my head, just as Garrett had done about Kennedy.