Paper Bags and Plastic Hearts

Two days later, my precious car had taken me by surprise. It wasn’t starting. It was kind of ironic how it was fine before Aaron had come over. I’d have to call him later and ask him to check it out. So that morning, I had to walk to school with Lacey, which was nice because I really needed it anyways. It was always good to lose some calories.

A few torturous hours later, the bell finally rang in our ears and school was thankfully over. Lacey and I were walking alongside of each other out of the school building, with a million other students running past us, happy to leave.

“I hate Mr. Holbrook,” I muttered crossly, staring down at the ground while I walked.

“Fare, it’s not his fault you suck at math,” Lacey laughed, linking her arm with mine.

“Well, maybe if I had a teacher who wasn’t such a pain in the ass, I’d be better at it!” I stated in my defense.

Lacey raised an eyebrow. “You really think that?”

I pursed my lips. “No. But I still hate him!”

She laughed. “I like him. He’s good at teaching.”

“That’s because you actually understand what he teaches,” I retorted.

This only made her laugh harder and I rolled my eyes, staring straight forward. And that’s when something up ahead caught my eye, which made me slow my pace and finally come to a halt. Since Lacey’s arm was looped with mine, she stopped as well. She then eyed me strangely. “Fare?”

My eyebrows fused together in confusion. At first I thought my mind was playing tricks on me but then I realized it wasn’t. It was Andy.

Huh?!

He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. But what really had my head spinning was the fact that Serena was there, talking to him. And of course her little posse was there too, all gathered right behind her.

“What the hell…?” I mumbled, beyond puzzled.

“What is it, Farrah?” Lacey questioned.

“It’s…it’s Andy,” I replied, making a funny face.

“Andy? Where?” She began looking around.

“There,” I pointed.

Lacey’s eyes travelled towards the direction I was pointing to and she furrowed her eyebrows. “Oh my God, that’s him?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait, what the hell is that skank doing talking to him?!” She inquired.

I shook my head, still confused. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what he’s doing here.”

Lacey and I continued to stare like a couple of idiots from a few feet away.

“That bitch is totally coming onto him,” Lacey mumbled, shaking her head.

I raised an eyebrow. “Come on,” I suddenly said, grabbing her arm.

As we approached Andy, his eyes finally caught sight of me and a crooked smile formed his lips.

“Andy,” I stated, still confused.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hi.”

Serena’s eyes narrowed as she stared back and forth at Andy and I. “You know her?” She asked incredulously.

“Yeah, we work together,” he answered with a nod, detaching himself from the tree.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, trying hard not to sound completely shocked.

“I came to give you a ride. You said your car was having trouble,” he replied casually with a shrug.

I paused. “Oh.”

I had in fact mentioned to Andy on Facebook that my car had simply died out of the blue. But I honestly didn’t think he’d actually come pick me up from school.

Andy’s eyes averted to Lacey’s face. “Lacey, right?”

She smiled widely, gripping the strap of her bag. “Yeah, that’s me.”

He smiled in return and took a step forward, unexpectedly placing an arm around my shoulders, surprising me immensely. “Come on, I’ll take you both home,” he said.

Lacey and I exchanged glances and shrugged before walking with him. The whole time, Serena couldn’t seem to keep her jaw in place as it was practically reaching the ground. As Andy, Lacey and I made our way towards his car, I could distinctly hear Serena scoffing loudly in anger.

When we finally reached Andy’s green minivan, we climbed in, with me in the passenger’s seat and Lacey in the back. Andy started the car and backed out of the space before exiting the school parking lot.

Lacey suddenly laughed obnoxiously. “Shit, that was awesome! I mean, did you see the look on Serena’s face?!” She poked at my shoulder.

Andy chuckled. “So that was the girl that tripped you?”

“In the flesh,” I answered with a nod.

“I kinda figured. She was exactly what you described. A skank.”

“Right?!” Lacey shook her head. Then she leaned forward, resting one elbow on Andy’s seat and the other elbow on mine. “So you’re Andy, huh? Farrah blabs about you all the time.”

I shot her a shocked look.

“All good things, I hope,” he said with a smirk, glancing briefly my way before looking back at the road.

“She’s lying. I do not blab about you all the time,” I muttered.

Andy’s smirk continued plastered on his face.

“Don’t give me that look, Biersack.”

“Hey, I’m not saying anything,” he stated defensively.

Lacey laughed. “To answer your question, Andy, she does say nice things about you. Some very nice things.”

“Good to know,” he smiled, stifling a laugh.

I rolled my eyes, feeling the urge to choke my best friend.

Lacey and her ginormous mouth.

“How old are you?” Lacey asked, taking a very great interest in Andy.

“Eighteen.”

“Oh. An adult.” She grinned, poking at my shoulder once more.

“Lacey, you’re hurting me. Cease the poking,” I chuckled, swatting her hand away.

“This hurts?” She poked me again.

“OW! What did I just say?!”

She laughed, sticking her tongue out at me.

Andy looked at us strangely. “Children.”

“Hey, hey, just cause you’re eighteen doesn’t mean you can act all grownupy with us,” I laughed.

“I’m not acting grownupy,” he laughed at my made-up word. “Weirdo.”

“He’s right, Fare. You are pretty weird,” Lacey teased, yet again poking me.

I glared playfully at her. “Lacey, stop being a brat.”

“I’m not being a brat,” she scoffed. "Farrah can be so mean sometimes, can't she Andy?"

"I totally agree," he teased.

I rolled my eyes.

Andy laughed at my expression. “So where do you live, Lacey?” He asked, running a hand through his hair.

“Just turn left right up here and it’s the yellow house,” she answered, pointing her index finger.

Andy nodded and followed her directions. Fifteen seconds later, we were in front of her house with the engine still running.

“Thanks a bunch, Andy. I’m glad I finally met you,” she said with a smile.

“Same here.” He smiled back.

"We should all hang sometime," she suggested, glancing at me.

I nodded. "Yeah, we should."

Andy shrugged. "That's cool."

Lacey grinned. "See ya, Andy. Later, Farrah."

"Bye," Andy and I both replied as she opened the door and stepped out of the minivan.

I waved at my friend and she waved back with a shit eating grin on her face. I shook my head, knowing exactly why she was grinning at me like that and I was thankful when the car moved and Andy drove away.

I leaned back against the seat and eyed Andy. “So why’d you decide to come pick me up?”

He shrugged. “So you wouldn’t have to walk.”

I smiled crookedly. “That’s oddly nice of you.”

“Just being a good samaritan,” he replied, glancing over at me with a smirk.

“Thanks.”

“No prob. So where do you live?”

“Just go straight and then turn left,” I answered.

He nodded, driving at a fairly slow pace.

“So what exactly was Serena talking to you about?” I asked casually, staring out the window at the familiar scenery.

“Nothing much. She just introduced herself and asked if I was a new student,” he laughed.

I snorted. “She was hitting on you, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, I think she was.” He smirked.

“Ugh, stupid blonde. That girl hits on anything with a fucking pulse,” I muttered.

Andy looked at me and laughed again. “Those girls she was with stayed quiet the whole time. It was strange.”

“That’s because Serena’s their master and they’re her puppets. They do anything she tells them to do.” I shook my head. “Oh, take a right up here.”

He nodded, entering my neighborhood. He stared at all the houses as we passed and a look of confusion swept across his face. “They all look the same.”

“Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

“Unoriginal,” he muttered. “Which one’s yours?”

“That one,” I pointed.

“The one with the dog in the front yard?”

“No, the one beside it,” I corrected with a small laugh.

“Oh,” he said, chuckling. Five seconds later, we were parked in front of my home and Andy killed the engine. He then turned his body around, examining my residence. “That’s a nice house.”

I too looked at it. “You think so?”

“Yeah. Mine’s a dump compared to yours,” he laughed, leaning back on the seat.

“Not true. I like your house. It’s small, but it’s cute. I mean, I’d choose yours over mine any day,” I said with smile.

He raised his brows. “Seriously?”

“Yep.”

His lips formed his famous lopsided smile.

I removed the seat belt and held my bag firmly in my arms.

Andy began scratching the back of his neck, looking down at his lap. “So…I was kinda wondering if you’re, uh, the type of person who goes to gigs and stuff…..” he said quietly, trailing off in his sentence. He shot me a brief, shy glance.

I laughed a little. “Yeah, I am. Why?”

“Oh, uh, there’s this underground place where unsigned bands play at and, uh, I dunno, I thought maybe you’d be interested.” He shrugged, keeping sort of a calm exterior.

I bit my lip.

Is he…asking me out?

A smile reached my lips. "That sounds awesome."

He gave me a surprised look, which I must say, was adorable. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, biting my lip again.

“Cool,” he chuckled, looking down at his lap again. “There’s a really cool band playing tonight. They’re called DSL. Sort of like punk meets screamo.”

I grinned. “Sounds promising.”

“So…you wanna go?” He asked slowly.

I'd never seen Andy so nervous before. He usually had a 'i-don't-give-a-shit-about-the-world' attitude, so this was definitely a first. It was actually quite endearing.

“Yeah, definitely,” I replied.

He smiled. “Great. Um…is eight okay?”

“It’s perfect. My mom will be out.”

He chuckled. “Alright, then."

I smiled.

We both stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"Well, see you later then,” he said, smirking.

“Yeah, see ya,” I replied with another smile before opening the door and stepping out of the vehicle. Andy honked once and gave me a small wave before driving off.

I stood still, holding my bag.

Andy just asked me out. And I said yes.

I took a deep breath. I wasn't too sure what to expect from tonight but the sudden feeling of excitement coursed through my body. And that wasn't something that normally happened to me.