Unexpected

“I feel like an idiot.”

“You sure look like one, too.”

I rolled my eyes at Jared’s snide remark, flipping him off as he punched my shoulder.

It was a cool evening in Tempe tonight, with temperatures just below seventy degrees
which was unusual given the hotter-than-hell temperatures during the day. All around me were swarms of children carrying Halloween-themed bags, running from house to house, eagerly collecting large mounds of candy that would surely rot their teeth.

Usually, I would’ve joined in on the fun stupor, maybe even stolen a couple of bags from some of the kids, but I was in an apprehensive mood. As we ventured further into the decorated neighborhood, an immense feeling of dread seemed to grow heavier and heavier within me.

Jared and I were headed to a Halloween party and usually, I wouldn’t have bothered to care because any type of party was insignificant to me. However, as cliché as this sounded, it wasn’t just any party. It was the most vital one that I would ever attend. According to my friends, this party was where I would finally proclaim my manhood.

Today was the day that I would finally ask out Talia Paxton.

And I was getting cold feet.

The closer we grew to our destination, the more I wanted to turn around and sprint all the way home. I didn’t know why I even let John convince me to do this. Maybe it was the excitement of beating a song on ‘Expert’ on Guitar Hero and feeling invincible, I couldn’t remember.

It’s now or never, Nickelsen, John had told me. I was perfectly content with never. Admiring her from afar was what I did best, after all.

“Hurry up, Garylicious!” Jared shouted, waving his hands eagerly.

I groaned as I ran to catch up with him, muttering a slew of profanities under my breath as my underwear rode farther up my ass.

“Um, Jared,” I said curiously, watching as he ran his gloved hands along a short, brick wall. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m getting ready to mount this bad boy.”

I noticed across the yard that some people were watching us, some clearly laughing and others pointing as Jared continued to caress the wall. “Why can’t we just use the front door like normal people?”

He laughed loudly, and I could perfectly imagine the idiotic expression he wore, though it was hidden by his awkward-looking mask.

“Dude, come on. We’re dressed as superheroes, for crying out loud! Batman certainly didn’t use front doors”—he mimicked my voice, making me sound like a congested school girl—“he jumped over shit! And Spiderman spun webs out of his ass or wrists or whatever and swung everywhere!”

“Too bad we’re not actual superheroes,” I stated.

“You may not be, but tonight, I am!” He proclaimed. “Now place your girlish feet on my hands so I can help you over.”

“Fine,” I grumbled, stepping onto them cautiously. I placed my own hands on the top of the wall, steadying myself to climb over. Suddenly, he yelled, “Timber!” and threw me up with too much force, prompting me to lose my grip and fall clumsily to the other side.

I swore loudly as I landed on my side, a small tear forming at the elbow of my costume. “Thanks a lot, asshole.”

He climbed over the wall with ease, letting out a high-pitched giggle. “It’s not my fault you don’t have cat-like reflexes.”

“Obviously,” I huffed, brushing myself off as he helped me stand. “I’m not Cat Woman.”

“But you would’ve made a great one.” He grinned widely. “You certainly have the scrawny legs for it.”

I rolled my eyes, trudging on the ground unnecessarily hard as we walked towards Talia’s house.

“I don’t think Talia is going to appreciate your pissy mood. You’re supposed to look happy when you ask her out.”

“I am happy,” I muttered, growing more uneasy as we got closer. “Ecstatic.”

“That’s the spirit!” He said, slapping me on the back roughly. “Now, let’s go get you the girl of your wet dreams!”



“Why didn’t you guys just use the front door?” Kennedy questioned, leaning against a counter as we entered through the back.

“Because Jared is dumb,” I deadpanned, gladly accepting the plastic red cup that Pat handed me—which was filled with an assortment of different hard liquors, according to my nostrils.

“I sure do love your compliments,” Jared replied sarcastically. “They really make my day.”

“Good to know.” I raised the cup to my lips, wincing as the concoction burned the back of my throat. I chugged it quickly, though. I’d need all the liquid confidence that I could manage.

“Keep the drinks coming, Pat,” John intervened.

“Why?” I said curiously, already feeling nauseous as the alcohol sat at the pit of my stomach with my nerves.

He smirked, pulling me towards the living room. “You haven’t seen Talia’s costume yet.”

He certainly wasn’t kidding.

My mouth popped open instantaneously and I swear I almost started drooling as I caught sight of her. She was wearing an ivory, spaghetti-strap dress that stopped just above her mid-thighs, the chest area cut low enough to reveal some of my favorite assets, and a shining halo sat atop her luxurious honey curls, bringing to life the angel that she already was.

Then I remembered that in a matter of minutes, she’d learn of all the feelings I held only for her.

“I don’t think I can do this,” I spoke to John in an uneven, rushed tone, attempting to turn around before he pushed me towards her.

“Yes, you can,” he assured smoothly. “You’ve been waiting for her for three years. Now’s the time to man up and get your girl!”

His words did absolutely nothing to encourage me. If anything, I felt even more timorous. But he was right. I had to take matters into my own hands and be a man! And then, y'know, maybe I could convince her to be the mother of my children.

I took a long, deep breath, cracked my sweaty, shaking knuckles, and began to take a semi-confident stride towards her. You can do this, Garrett. You’re appealing and witty and you say funny things and—

“Nice ass, Spiderman!”

I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard that voice, that demented, terrible, haunting voice that belonged to none another than the person I despised the most. I turned around slowly, gritting my teeth as I readied myself to face the spawn of the devil.

“What do you want, Norah?”

She smirked. “Don’t look so excited to see me, Big Boy.”

Unlike most, Norah Sloane was the only constant girl in my life, and I say that with much displeasure. Whatever I did, whether it be an every day activity or academic, she had to do it better. Whatever I said, she blatantly disagreed just for the purpose of annoying me. And whenever I was immensely close to something wonderful, she found it necessary to ruin things. This had been going on for years, now.

Oh, and another thing—she never used my first name when speaking to me. It was either Nickelsen or Big Boy, the latter something I prefer to not ever bring up because it was extremely embarrassing and scarring on my part.

“I’m not excited to see you,” I said sharply. “Ever.”

She placed a small hand over her heart, feigning dismay. “That really hurts. All I ever do is feed you nice compliments and I get this hostility in return.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I scoffed, examining the tight gold shorts she wore. “What are you supposed to be anyway? A home wrecker?”

“Very funny,” she said sarcastically, “but only on Fridays. Jared told me you guys were dressing as super heroes, so I figured I’d join in and go as Wonder Woman. I must say, I expected your costume to be well put together. I thought you wanted to make a good impression on Talia.”

At that statement, my head snapped up extremely fast. How could she have known of my feelings for Talia?

“Your friends are horrible at keeping secrets, but I already knew anyway. You’re like an open book when it comes to your feelings for that girl.”

That girl. I took note that she said those words with distaste, as if they were poison to her.

“She’s not just any girl,” I replied in Talia’s defense. “She’s amazing, and polite, and smart, and pretty, and—”

Norah held a small, almost unnoticeable frown. “Yeah, yeah, I get the gist of it.”

I quirked an eyebrow, smiling smugly. “Are you jealous?”

For once, I thought that I finally had some hold over her, that I’d finally have something to tease her about incessantly. But that microscopic frown disappeared as soon as it appeared, a full-fledged smirk curving at her lips once more.

“Of course not.” She moved closer to me. “Anyway, this conversation has been wonderful and all, but I’m afraid I must be going. Someone’s expecting you upstairs in their room in a couple of minutes.”

“Wait,” I stopped her, placing my hand against her arm. “What do you mean someone’s expecting me?”

She smiled knowingly, as if she were withholding a deep, dark secret. “You see that cute blonde over there?” Her arm snaked around my shoulders, turning me to face someone. I followed her gaze, which was fixated on Talia. My heart sped up at a tremendously fast pace as she looked in our direction, her bright hazel eyes locking with my own as she graced us with a friendly—but beautiful—smile. “She knows that you like her, and she wants to get you alone. Apparently, she feels the same way for you.”

“Sh-she does?” I stammered incredulously.

“Mhmm,” she hummed. “I’ll see you later, Big Boy.”

I jumped in surprise when her hand collided with my butt, ignoring the whistles from my friends as they made their way towards me.

“Dude, I think she wants you,” Jared stated, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“She doesn’t,” I said, still fazed by Norah’s words. “But Talia does.”

“What?!” They all said in unison, eyes wide with shock.

I looked to where Talia should’ve been standing, but she seemed to have disappeared. My palms grew sweaty again. “She likes me back, and she wants me to meet her upstairs in a couple of minutes.”

“Hot damn!” John shouted happily, slapping me on the back. “My boy is getting laid!”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go now!” Pat urged, ushering me towards the stairs, his hands joined by Kennedy, Jared, and John's.

I ascended them slowly, my hands shaking as they slid along the banister. Soon, I stood in a hallway with many wooden doors, Talia’s room being the most obvious since her door harbored a pink sign with her name on it. I entered slowly and cautiously, fearful that I was being set up for one, big joke. When no one jumped out yelling "Gotcha!" I stepped into her room fully, turning on a small lamp at her bedside table, my back still facing her door. I only had a small amount of time to examine the posters and pictures that plastered her walls before I heard it open.

I felt myself grow queasy as the silence surrounded us, my heart thrashing against my ribcage so loudly that I was surprised she didn’t hear it. “Talia, I—”

“Don’t talk,” she whispered. I shivered as her warm breath ghosted along my ear and the nape of my neck, her soft hands resting on my shoulders. “Keep your eyes closed.”

I did as I was told, my nerves finally calming as I felt her turn me around. I felt her thumbs caress my cheeks softly, and then, her lips had crashed onto mine. Just like those cheesy chick-flicks, I felt sparks as her mouth moved fervently against mine. The kiss felt so perfect, and she was so gentle and soft, and she felt so right held tightly in my arms. I opened my eyes slightly, desperate to see her beautiful face and—

“NORAH?!”

I stumbled away from the smiling brunette clumsily, my back hitting Talia’s wall roughly.

“What…what the hell are you doing?! Where’s Talia?!” I demanded angrily. My thoughts were moving at the speed of light, so jumbled and confusing that I couldn’t concentrate properly.

“She never wanted you to meet her in her room. That was all me,” she said proudly, her signature smirk tugging at her lips. This time around, I found it…attractive.

“So, you lied to me?” I huffed, struggling to tear my gaze away from her scantily clothed form.

She rolled her eyes. “No, silly. Talia really did know that you liked her.”

“That’s the only truth?” I muttered. “Everything else, you made up?”

“Yes.”

“But—but why? And what do you mean ‘liked?’ I still like her.”

She sighed. “It should be obvious, Garrett,”—I froze as she actually said my name—“Your friends got it right away. I think you’re a little too oblivious.”

“What are you talking about?” I shook my head quickly, trying to rid myself of this confusion and the longing to kiss her again.

She sighed again. This time it sounded more stressed than it did hopeless. I watched with narrowed eyes as she sauntered towards me, trapping me against the wall. She placed both of her hands at the nape of my neck and pulled me forward roughly, our lips only centimeters away from touching. My breath hitched in my throat as her lips trailed along my jaw.

“You don’t like Talia anymore.”

She scrutinized me for any disapproval. And while she did, I finally took notice of how breathtaking she really was. Never before had I noticed the small freckles sprinkled across her nose, the brightness of her green eyes, or the fact that her smile was actually quite captivating.

“How do you know that?”

“Because,” she said softly, the nicest I had ever heard her sound. “You haven’t been able to take your eyes off of me.”

“You’re insane,” I told her.

And then, I kissed her, because I realized it was something I wanted to do all along, even when she was out making my life a living hell.