chapter 10

I imagined myself, once again, by her side, us holding hands. In my fantasy, I leaned in and kissed her, her wavy brown hair tickling my face. I laughed and held her face in my hands, kissing her once more...

This was weird. Why was I thinking about her so much? The question surged through me, hurting my head with the possibilities. I came, slowly, to the realization that I liked her, maybe even loved her. But how was that possible? How could I like, or love, someone I don’t even know?

That can’t be right. It must be... infatuation! That’s right, I quickly assured myself. It was simply not possible. There was not one freakin’ chance I was in love with her.

Little did I know Eve felt the same way.

Eve

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WENT UP ON STAGE AND MET DEX!!!!" Sadie screamed. "AND EVEN SANG WITH HIM!!! AND SOUNDED AWESOME!!!" We were driving home, slowly, because the traffic was absolutely awful. It seemed like everybody went to the concert. The smell of gas thickened the air, mixed with the stench of smoke and booze that plagued the drunken passengers and drivers surrounding us.

"Yeah," I said plainly, without expression.

"You finally got to meet your dream boy," Sadie teased. Delilah raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Dream boy...?" she inquired, her ears perked towards some juicy gossip.

"Nothing," I muttered quickly, looking away from them both. I began to feel little prickles of being uncomfortable, and getting the disgusting taste of hiding something from my friends in my mouth. The rough and scratched seat rubbed against my back, making it itch annoyingly.

"Eve, why aren't you happy? Come on, sing with me! Your voice is incredible!!" Sadie squealed, starting in on her prey this time; Justin Bieber's song called ‘Pray’.

"You have no idea what I'm feeling like right now," I whispered, too softly to be heard over the booming music and Sadie's annoying singing voice.

Inside, I was trembling with emotions I couldn't even begin to explain. Love, hate, regret, and.... something else I couldn't possibly fathom. All my love for Dex had been revived full force, and pinning it back down was harder than I thought it would be. Just one night, I had told myself, and then I'd be free.

Too bad nothing was so simple anymore.

He smiled at me! He talked to me, and grabbed my hand. I could feel the electricity still surging through me, tingling through my being. He sang with me, and was not ashamed to stand with me on the stage. I could vividly recall the startling greenness of Dex's eyes, the hypnotizing way he flipped his hair back... I couldn't stop thinking about him, and that was what made it so scary.

"Eve?" Delilah asked, twisting around in the drivers seat to look at me with her piercing eyes.

“Yes, Delilah?”

“Do you have a crush on Dex?” she probed, her eyes drilling into mine. The feeling of being uncomfortable returned, and a blush rose to my cheeks.

“N-no,” I stuttered, feeling hot with mortification.

“If you just thought he was hot, you wouldn’t be so embarrassed,” she laughed, “You must be REALLY in love with him,” I hopelessly nodded. You can’t lie to Delilah. “You probably went to this concert to get over him, right?”