Just Another Lovesick Boy

I was somewhat surprised how little persuading it took for me to get Eddy to walk to Nara Lee’s house to pick her up for school. After the couple weeks in which we did not speak to each other because of my friendship with her, I assumed that I would have to beg and plead with Eddy to get him to walk with me. I was biting my thumb nail anxiously as I walked back and forth in my room as I thought exactly how I would beg Eddy to come with me. Eddy was my best friend and I liked Nara Lee, so I wanted them to at least be on semi-decent terms with each other. After I walked outside to wait for him, I watched him intently as he walked towards with eyebrows raised in curiosity. He pushed his blue teddy bear into his backpack and pulled the zipper until only the bear’s head was peeking out.

“What’s with you, man?” he asked.

“I was just wondering if you would do something for me.”

“Yeah?”

“Come with me to pick Nara Lee up and walk with us to school,” I said quickly before biting down on my nail again.

Eddy looked off in the distance in surprise before furrowing his eyebrows and giving a small pout. I stared at him patiently, waiting for his answer. He scratched his head before glancing up at me.

“Would you still go to her if I said no?” he asked.

“Yes,” I nodded.

He furrowed his eyebrows together once more, this time in annoyance, before heaving out a long sigh. He blinked slowly as he licked his lips before turning towards me. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his gray jeans before speaking.

“Lead the way, boss,” he said with a bored tone of voice.

I grinned widely at him before stepping forward to throw an arm around his shoulders. I turned him in the opposite direction to walk towards the corner. Eddy remained silent as we walked towards Nara Lee’s house. When we stopped in front of her house, I rubbed my nose and looked over at Eddy, who was studying the house intently. I glanced up at the white house and slowly soaked in everything I never seemed to notice. Brick stairs led up to the porch, which held two rocking chairs and a small table. There were quite a few windows, more than the typical house on the block had. The shingles on the roof gave the home a classic touch. I noticed not one, but two chimneys erupting from the roof of the house. The front yard was not much, only a few hedges, but it was a very nice home. The large maple tree in front made the house seem like it was out of a fairy tale.

“Jesus Christ, all they’re missing is a big red door and a tire swing,” Eddy muttered.

“Hey, I like their house. Granted, mine is better though,” I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Not all of us can have a big blue house like you do, Adrian,” Eddy said as he rolled his eyes.

“Oh? Should we all have charming little purple homes like you, Ed?” I asked with a small smile.

“Yes,” he nodded seriously.

I scoffed before grinning and looking away. I glanced up at the house before checking the time on my watch. Nara Lee was usually late but this was cutting close. I did not mind going to school late but I did not want to keep Eddy waiting for too long and get him annoyed. It was quiet for a few seconds until yelling burst out from the house. Eddy and I glanced at each other at the sound from the muffled yelling before the front door of Nara Lee’s house slammed open. I watched with a startled expression as Nara Lee stormed out with a look of fury on her face.

“Nara Lee! Get back here! Nicole Clarissa Evans, apologize to your sister!” a woman’s voice yelled.

“Ha! As if I would ever want to apologize to her!” a girl screamed.

“Like I would ever even acknowledge something from a thing like you!” Nara Lee screamed into the house before slamming the door shut.

Before the door could open or the yelling could resume, Nara Lee ran down the stairs and front yard and grabbed my arm along with Eddy’s and dragged us down the street. As soon as we turned the corner, she released the both of us but it seemed that she was still fuming. Eddy motioned to me before glancing down at her with a curious look on his face. I shrugged before clearing my throat and tapping her on the shoulder.

“What?” she snapped.

“Whoa, calm yourself. Just wondering if you were okay,” I said as I put my hands up in self-defense.

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry,” she sighed. “My sister is just a fucking idiot.”

“The great Nara Lee Evans curses? I like this side of you so far,” Eddy grinned.

“What happened?” I asked, ignoring Eddy’s statement.

“Apparently, there’s a rumor going around school saying that I slept with Phillip Williams. Please. Like I would ever let a creep like him even touch me. And my sister is asking me how I had the audacity to do that to Cassandra but she wasn’t surprised because everyone knows that Nara Evans is a slut,” Nara Lee vented angrily.

“That’s seriously a rumor? And here I thought we heard all the dirty ones, Age,” Eddy said.

“Right? I have never heard that before,” I agreed.

“I’m the slut, I’m the slut? And she’s saying it’s all because of my slutty name. How in the actual fuck is Nara Lee Evans slutty?”

“It’s not,” I said but she did not seem to even be listening, much less noticing our presence.

“What is it about my name? Teachers and strangers think, ‘Oh, Nara Lee Evans. Sounds like such a nice girl.’ And to my family, I’m just Nay-Nay, the weird freak. But at school, I’m Nara, which apparently is synonymous to ‘big huge slut.’ I’m starting to hate my name.”

“To be honest, you never seemed like a Nara Lee or a Nara to me,” Eddy said.

Nara Lee stopped suddenly, her fists unclenching, before she slowly looked up at him. I could not see her face but from Eddy’s bored expression, I knew she was studying him closely.

“What do I seem like?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged as he looked away. “What do you think, Age?”

“You’ve got a point, Eddy. She was never much of a Nara Lee to me,” I agreed.

Nara Lee quickly looked my way and it was then that I realized how desperate she was to hear this. It seemed that as long as I knew her, she had always been Nara to our classmates. And I suppose after hearing the rumor her sister told her about, she didn’t want to be Nara anymore. She was right about what she had previously said. Nara Lee did seem like such a nice name. It was a name reserved for somebody with an extremely sweet personality. And as much as Nara Lee was a nice person, she was more than that. She got angry, she got annoyed, and she got even. I smiled down at her before I leaned down so that my face was leveled with hers.

“You look more like a Lee to me,” I nodded.

“Lee! Yes! That’s great,” Eddy exclaimed as he snapped his fingers.

“Lee?” she repeated quietly as we started walking again.

Eddy and I glanced at her through the corners of our eyes as she repeated the name under the breath. After a few moments, a small smile crawled on her face. She grinned widely at us before throwing an arm over both of our shoulders.

“I think I like that,” she laughed.



Lee and I were on our way to the cafeteria after our third class to find Eddy and Anya during lunch. I was talking to her about something that Cecilia had told me when I felt a huge force shove me out of the way. I fell forward to the ground and my folder slipped across the hall. I turned to glare at whoever pushed me and did not even bother to resist the urge to roll my eyes when I realized that it was Phillip Williams. He sneered at me before putting on his fake charming smile as he turned towards Lee.

“Hey, Nara,” he said to her as he put his hands in his pockets.

“Hello, scum of the earth,” she sighed as she picked up my folder from the floor and I stood up.

“Ha, funny. What are you doing this thing here?” he asked as he looked at me in disgust.

“This thing happens to be my friend,” she said as she brushed some dirt off of my shirt. I stared at her incredulously as she kept brushing my shirt before I took my folder from her. She gave me a small smile that made my heart skip a beat before turning back to Phillip with a blank look on her face.

“What about me and Cass? Aren’t we way more fun than this thing?” he asked with a small pout that I suppose he thought was cute.

“Actually, no. You two are shallow and annoying. Bye, scum,” Lee sighed tiredly before grabbing my arm and pulling me away.

Phillip sounded like he was about to say something else but I interrupted him by casually putting my arm around her shoulders and saying, “You okay, Lee?”

“For sure. As if I would be fazed in the slightest by that thing,” she laughed.

I grinned widely at the sound of her laughter before walking with her to the terrace. I quickly took my arm off her shoulders before anybody could really notice as we walked to the table. Eddy and Anya were already at the table. Eddy was staring incredulously at Anya’s plastic bowl that seemed to be a homemade lunch. I glanced at it briefly before setting my folder on the table and sitting down. I rubbed my knees unconsciously with the palms of my hands after I sat down across from Eddy.

“You okay?” Anya asked me, noticing my actions.

“What happened?” Eddy asked immediately.

“Phillip Williams pushed him today,” Lee explained.

“I fell on my hands and knees. I’m cool,” I said before Eddy could do anything.

“Yeah, he’s totally cool. Adrian is used to be on his hands and knees around me,” Lee winked with a mischievous smile.

Eddy and I slowly turned towards her with wide eyes and Anya gave a small smile before taking a sip from her water bottle. Lee batted her eyelashes at me innocently before laughing loudly.

“Are you implying that I’m your bitch?” I asked.

“Implying? I’m straight out saying it,” she smiled.

Eddy roared with laughter as my jaw dropped. Lee shrugged lightly as she turned away from me with a small smile on her face. I continued to stare at her with my jaw open before turning towards Eddy to glare at him. He kept on laughing, even when I leaned over and jokingly started to choke him. He pushed me off of him before turning towards his backpack, still chuckling. He pulled out four lollipops, picking out a red one and stretching it out to Lee.

“Nara Lee Evans, I think you earned this,” he said seriously.

She gave him a wide grin before taking it while I stared at him suspiciously. “Were you preparing for this or do you always randomly carry cherry lollipops?” I asked.

“Slightly prepared,” he answered as he handed me a sour apple lollipop and Anya a strawberry one.

As Anya took her lollipop, Eddy stared down at her lunch in disdain as he unwrapped his own blue raspberry lollipop. “What is that?” he asked her.

“Fish and chips. My mum made it for me,” she said as she ate a French fry.

“Fish and what?”

“Chips are fries in England,” Lee nodded.

“How weird. You’re so weird,” Eddy said as he poked Anya’s cheek.

She swatted him with an annoyed look on her face. “What’s so weird?”

“You. And fish. Fish is gross. I don’t like fish,” Eddy pouted.

“Good thing you have your lollipop than,” Anya said before she shoved Eddy’s lollipop in his mouth.

I snorted back my laughter as Eddy made a surprised sound in the back of his throat. He pulled the lollipop out of his mouth and glared at Anya, who innocently nibbled a piece of her fish. Just as Eddy started to start a light hearted argument with Anya about the way she treated him, Lee turned to him.

“So, Adrian, how much time is left until Jack’s wedding?” she asked.

“Just a bit under a month,” I said after thinking about for a moment.

“That’s really quick. Think your mom can do it?”

“My mom can do anything,” I said seriously.

“True. She is the great Jocelyn Dawson,” Lee grinned.

“Exactly,” I nodded.

“So did Cecilia ever pick out on a theme or she is going to be one of those boring brides who just pick colors and be done with it?” she asked.

“She wants a country or an adventure theme. Jack already made it clear that she better not wear cowgirl boots under her dress though.”

“Aww, come on! That would be cute!”

“I guess. But Cecilia thinks big, she’ll probably want a rock climbing wall put in somewhere.”

“That would be fun,” Lee grinned.

“Who knows? It might happen, Jack treats her like a princess,” I shrugged.

“That’s good. Doesn’t that show that he changed? Just a little bit?”

“I suppose. But I still don’t understand why he couldn’t treat my mom like that.”

“Adrian, there could be a number of reasons for that. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be with your mom. Maybe it was her leaving him that made him change his life around. Maybe he did love her, but it took her leaving to get him to see how to really treat a woman.”

“Why do you always defend him?” I asked curiously.

“I just,” she sighed, “I just think that every kid should have their parents. I know he hurt you but can you honestly say that you’ve tried to understand him and forgive him? Your mom clearly has if she’s doing this for him and his fiancée.”

I grimaced to myself lightly as I fiddled with the green woven bracelet around my wrist. Lee remained silent as I thought to myself with Eddy and Anya’s bickering in the background. A soft breeze flew by, blowing Lee’s scent my way and I could not help but think about the way that she smelled. Lee did not smell like a normal girl. She didn’t smell sweet or flowery or anything like that. Instead, she smelled like fresh cotton or something fresh and warm out of the laundry. It was not normal but it was nice. Lee patted my hand gently when a voice called out behind us.

“Hey, Nay Nay,” a girl’s voice called out.

We both turned around to see a girl with very long blond hair walk towards us. Lee scoffed before rolling her eyes and turned around toward the table with a glare on her face. I looked at her curiously before looking back at the girl. She seemed very familiar to me but I could not place where I had seen her before. The girl was focused on Lee but did not seem very pleased about being near her.

“Mom told me to tell you that I was sorry,” she sighed.

“If your apology isn’t sincere, I don’t want to hear it,” Lee said without looking at her.

“Okay, can’t say I tried,” the girl said before pulling out a tube of lipgloss.

I peered at the tube carefully before I looked back up at the girl again. It took me a moment before after I looked at her clear blue eyes that I remembered where I had seen her before.

“Hey. I know you. You’re the chick that bumped into me a while back,” I said.

The girl rolled her eyes over to me before freezing. She stumbled over her words as she said, “Oh, um, hi. Again. Hi.”

“Hey,” I nodded before Lee interrupted with, “You know my sister?”

“This is your sister?” I asked.

Lee heaved a sigh before saying, “Adrian, Nick. Nick, Adrian.”

“My name is not Nick. I’m Nicole,” she smiled before sticking her hand out.

“Nice to meet you. Officially. It’s great to know Lee’s family.”

“Psst, Adrian!” I heard Eddy hissed. I looked over at him to see him grinning before he said, “You’ve officially met a sibling. Next step, meeting the parents. After that, marriage.”

“Dude, shut the fuck up,” I told him before slapping the top of his head.

“What is it, Adrian. You don’t want to marry me?” Lee asked innocently.

“I never said that!” I said as I felt my ears burn up.

“Oh, what? So you want to marry me? This is all going so fast,” Lee grinned.

“Everyone is twisting my words! I hate you all!” I exclaimed as I covered my ears and felt my face turn red.

“Aww, bless him, he’s blushing,” Anya laughed.

“Anya! You’re supposed to be the nice one,” I pouted.

“Oh, so because I’m British, I have to be nice? What an odd perspective of the English you have.”

“Nay Nay, I like this one. Can I have him?” I heard Nicole’s voice say as a pair of arms wrapped around my neck.

I stiffened greatly as her arms wrapped around me. My eyes widened as I stared over at Eddy and Anya. Anya was staring incredulously at Nicole but as I turned to look at Eddy, I noticed that he was grinning widely over at Lee. I turned my head to look at her and was surprised to see her fuming at her sister. I cleared my throat before gingerly taking hold of Nicole’s hand and untangling herself from me. I turned to smile up at Nicole.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not an object,” I said before rolling my eyes to grin at Lee.

“Yeah, dude, he’s a human, not a sandwich,” Eddy stated with serious incredulity as he looked over Nicole with wide eyes.

Nicole raised an eyebrow at him before turning back to me. “Whatever,” she sighed, “but give me a call when you’re tired of the prude over there, cutie.”

I could hear Lee growl softly under her breath as we all watched her sister walk away back to where the self-proclaimed group of popular people sat. I shook my head lightly to myself before turning back to the table. Eddy scoffed as he continued to stare after Nicole.

“What a bitch. No offense or anything, Lee, but your sister needs a smack in the face,” he said to her.’

We turned back to look at Lee and I was surprised to see her thoroughly hurt instead of angry. Her arms were crossed over her stomach and she stared sadly down at the blue table.

“Sorry about her. She’s like that. But maybe she’s right. Maybe I am an overemotional prude,” Lee shrugged.

“Overemotional? You? If you’re overemotional than Adrian is theatre actor,” Anya said. “I’m sorry, love, but you’re a bit dramatic,” she interrupted me before I could protest.

“Why would she say you’re a prude?” Eddy asked.

“Because I’m a virgin.”

“So?” he shrugged.

“And I feel like I should save my first time for somebody special.”

“So?” Eddy repeated.

“So that’s something a prude says,” Lee said seriously.

“Dear Lord, what brainwashing did they do to you?” I asked as I pushed her hair back to put the back of my hand on her forehead.

“Seriously. Adrian, I guess we’re prudes,” Eddy nodded.

“Aww, rats!” I whined jokingly.

“Are you two serious?” Lee asked.

“Of course. What’s wrong with being a virgin?” I asked her in return.

“What about you, Anya?” Lee looked over at the other blonde.

“Virgin and proud, girlie,” Anya said nonchalantly before taking a sip of her water.

“Fuck yeah! Virgin and proud!” Eddy shouted as he climbed on top of the table. “I’m a virgin and I don’t give a fuck what people think about me!”

Eddy jumped off the table and toppled into a group of freshman girls who were passing by. Eddy grinned widely down at them, causing the majority of them to giggle wildly. He wrapped his arms around their shoulders before he leaned down to be at face level with the smallest girl.

“Are you a virgin?” he asked her. I shook my head at him and Anya muttered something about invasion of privacy as the girl blushed and nodded.

“Awesome! I personally think that girls who wait to lose their virginity are admirable.”

“But everyone has sex during high school parties. So what should it matter?” another girl asked him.

“Why does it matter what other people do?” Eddy asked her incredulously.

“But other girls make fun of us for being virgins,” another girl said.

“Okay, here’s a word of advice, the next time a girl talks shit about you for being a virgin, tell her this: ‘I’m a virgin and proud. In fifteen minutes, I can be just like you. But you will never be like me.’” I told her.

“Besides, guys like virgins more. They like the chase. It’s a turn on,” Eddy shrugged as he ruffled his hair.

“Really?” the first girl asked, her face flushing a bright shade of red.

“Totally. But personally, it mostly just taking being a British blond girl to get my teen heart beating faster,” Eddy grinned as he climbed back over the table to stare at Anya.

“You don’t give up, do you?” she asked as she stared at him in boredom.

“I would never give up on you,” he smiled before he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

Anya’s eyes widened as her cheeks turned a vibrant shade of pink. She cleared her throat noisily before taking a large gulp of her water. Eddy never took his eyes off her as an adoring smile decorated his face. I had never seen Eddy or Anya act that way before. Eddy was always rather forward but the caring look he had in his eyes was usually only seen when he was with his sister. Anya, however, was always stoic and serious so it was odd to see her so flustered. Lee and I glanced at each other with similar knowing smiles. We knew it was a matter of time before those two got together. The only thing holding them back was their similar sense of stubbornness.