Enthused

"You heard a lot about me?" I asked.

"Well, maybe that is exaggerating a bit, but Scott was talking about you a lot in class. He said I had to meet you." Jen explained. I hate Scott.

"Oh..." I didn't know what else to say.

"I wish Garrett would hurry up," Mark said. This was all kind of awkward. No one was really talking. Luckily, Garrett, Anne, and Scott were on their way over to the van.

"Jen, are you going to Anne's house?" Garrett asked.

"Yeah sure," Jen replied smiling. Damn. I looked over at Tom to see if his expression showed any signs of disappointment or happiness. He was just looking at the ground. We all got into the van and Scott turned to Jen and me.

"So you two met?" Scott asked. He had a huge smirk on his face.

"Yeah! After hearing about her for 20 minutes straight," Jen replied.

"I thought you two would get along," Scott said, "Right Tom?"

"Um, sure," Tom answered. He was still looking down. He probably felt uncomfortable.

"What's going on?" Jen asked smiling and rubbing his back.

"Nothing..." Tom said. This was so awkward.

"Looks like it's gonna rain..." Garrett chimed in.

"Check Dahl's hair," Anne laughed.

"It's starting to get curly," Mark said.

"Oh, that's so pretty," Jen said. Tom looked up to look at my hair and we made awkward eye contact. He looked back down.

"Thanks," I replied awkwardly.

We made it to the house and walked inside. I went to my room right away. This was all too... awkward. Scott walked into my room about five minutes later.

"Hey," he greeted me.

"Go away," I told him.

"Why are you mad now? I thought we got along well at lunch. Is it Jen? I thought you said you didn't like Tom..." He caught me there...

"You are trying to get me to own up to something that isn't true," But, it was true.

"Then why are you all mad in here?"

"Because, you won't give up and it's annoying."

"You had to meet her eventually. Now come and hang out with us."

"I don't want to. I'm tired," I really just wanted him to go away. But, since he is Scott, he didn't give up. He grabbed my wrist and walked me out of my room. Jen, Anne, and Garrett were talking in the living room. Mark and Tom were in the basement. Why Mark went down there on crutches is beyond me...

"I'm gonna go downstairs," Scott said and left me there.

"Well, we are going to go too," Garrett announced. He took Anne's hand and they walked out of the house together. Leaving me a lone with Jen.

"So, what's up Dahl?" Jen asked.

"Um... Nothing..." I answered.

"So you and Scott?" Jen questioned smiling.

"Oh, um, he's kind of annoying," I admitted.

"That's too bad. Tom and I sort of have a thing going on," She informed me, "We would only need a girl for Mark."

"You and Tom have a thing going on?" I asked. I didn't want to, but I did.

"Yeah. We have been friends for a while. He kissed me for the first time around October. It has been seven months, and he still hasn't asked me out. I mean, I guess we flirt and all, but I want more." She explained.

"He told you he liked you?" I asked examining her. She wasn't dressed the way I was. It didn't look like she was trying at all. She hand on jeans, sneakers, and a quarter sleeve V-neck. Her hair was pin straight and parted in the middle. She had blue eyes, and she wasn't majorly tall or anything. She just looked like a plain girl. Why would Tom go for someone so plain when he seemed so energetic and, well, different?

"Not in words. We've kissed and flirted since then," She told me.

"When was the last time that you kissed?" I asked, hoping it wasn't too intrusive.

"Maybe around... Two weeks ago... I think," She said then laughed awkwardly. "Wow, it's really cool being able to talk to a girl about this," She said then walked over and hugged me. I was disappointed to see that she was taller than me. I heard a lot of noise coming from the basement. Mark came through the door with his crutches.

"Hey, guys," He said.

"Hi," Jen said.

"Jen, are you ready to study?" He asked her.

"Sure, Mark!" She answered a bit too enthusiastically. They sat down on the couch together. I walked into the bathroom. I looked at my hair and face. Was Jen prettier than me? I was shorter.... But, I wasn't so plain looking. At least, I hope I wasn't. I know I shouldn't be so down on her. She never did anything to me. I walked out of the bathroom and looked at the basement door. I had an idea.

I opened the door as quietly as I could and walked down a couple steps. The stairs were blocked by a wall so they were not visible to the people in the basement. I don't usually eavesdrop on peoples conversations, but this seemed like it could interesting.

"Dude, it is amazing that we finally got a bassist. When Anne said she had a brother that played, I didn't expect that he would be as awesome as Mark. We are lucky," I heard Tom say.

"Yeah, with a hot single sister, who happens to be younger," Scott said. Wow, I can't believe he brought me up. I got so nervous.

"Oh yeah... a bonus," Tom said.

"What about Jen, though?" Scott asked.

"What about her?" Tom asked.

"Aren't you kind of with her?" Scott replied.

"No. Who cares," Tom sounded annoyed.

"Jen does," Scott answered.

"You know it's pretty gnarly how obsessed you are with this. Besides, Dahl is radder than Jen. Jen is really starting to bore me," Tom admitted.

"Tell Jen that," Scott said.

"What ever dude," Tom said. I heard someone get up. I tried to get up the stairs as quickly as possible. I grabbed on to the coat rack and it fell causing me to fall.

"What was that?" Scott asked.

"Came from the stairs I think. Let me go see," Tom said and started walking over. I was screwed.