Maybe he didn't sound like a sensitive geek, he thought as he pondered over their entire conversation up to this point. Sure, he had the kindness and sensitivity girls craved but was he sounding like a retard while doing so? He just hoped Nicole wouldn't get close enough to hear his heart pounding through his chest. He knew he wasn't being coy when he asked her if she was ready to date again. Surely, she saw through it and found out that he had the hots for her. And if she didn't, he knew he'd have to try again or not try at all.
"Thanks. Hey, how come I never see you eating with anyone at lunchtime?" she asked him. Evan wanted to smile, thinking maybe she actually had noticed him before.
"I'm a loner, I suppose. Ever since-" he started. What an idiot! Evan couldn't believe he was about to tell her about Rebecca. The last thing he needed was another pity minion to remind him of how sorry they are.
"Ever since, what?" she asked. Her eyes squinted at him, waiting for an answer. But what could he tell her?
"Nevermind." Good one, he thought. Make her think I don't want to tell her.
"Oh." she replied. Now Evan was ever regretting holding back. But he wasn't telling her. He needed something to say. He needed a way out of this conversation.
"Nicole? You up here?" he heard another female call. His time was up. His goddess was being taken away from him. Nicole flipped around towards the open door and cringed. It was Jenna Walker and as he had guessed before, was here to take her away. And not just from the skating rink but away from him. The freak. She turned back to him but he couldn't make out her face anymore because she had dropped the heavy banner down with a slam when Jenna walked in. Quickly, he took it in his hands and held it back up.
"Will I see you in school?" he asked. Jenna called again, this time more agitatedly. But she didn't move yet.
"Of course. Will I see you at lunch?" she replied. Evan responded with a small nod, the best he could give as his heart tried to beat out of his chest. Jenna called one last time, making Nicole annoyed a little.
"Okay, then, see you at school." she told him. Evan smiled and stuck his hands in his back pocket. He suddenly felt a cool piece of paper brush his wrist. Then he remembered the pen he had taken from the math teacher and that he put it above his ear.
"Nicole, wait, do you want my phone number?" he asked. How pathetic did that sound? Not only did he sound like a loser but he sounded like a begging loser. Surprisingly, Nicole nodded and after taking down her number first on the paper, gave the other half to him so he could write his down.
"See ya later, Evan." she called as Jenna dragged her away. Goodbye, 371-6754...
Nicole was so hyped up right now she felt like she was soaring on top of the world and that everything was under her control. Jenna took her down the stairs and at the bottom was Hector, Jenna's 16 year old foriegn exchange student boyfriend from Venezuela. Only the guy looked 25 years old.
"Okay, who was he?" Jenna asked, sensing serious scandal. Nicole didn't want to tell her. Evan would be her secret. Somehow, he seemed to wonderful to share with anybody else.
"I have no idea. He just grabbed me, asked me where I was his entire life and kissed me passionatly for like 15 minutes." I told her. Jenna was way past her patient point by now. If she looked close enough into her eyes, Nicole could almost see all the theories bubbling around.
"He kiss you like lovers do, eh?" Hector asked me. Nicole seriously wonders if he knows what year he's in sometimes.
"Hectors going through his Eurythmics stage. Just ignore him." Jenna told me. Nicole barely heard the words. Every five seconds she wanted to smile and hug something. Just be the happiest person ever to be born. She'd met an amazingly nice guy who was actually willing to talk to her. Most guys just blinked or acted like complete idiots, which turned her off immediatly. What she found inside Evan was companionship and conversation, something she'd been praying to find for a long time. And she knew that she'd just die if they never spoke again. She also realized that she had just walked into a wall.
"You've gotta let me meet this guy if he's got you running into walls, honey." Jenna said with an exasperated laugh. Nicole felt light-headed. Partly from her encounter with the wall and partly because Evan was just around the corner from her, smiling. Maybe he'd think she was just a big doofus, unworthy of his time. Maybe he thought she was a clumsy blonde. Whatever it was, Nicole found it a huge relief knowing he was thinking of her.
I, Evan Harley, have given my phone number to a goddess. And the goddess accepted it. And they lived happily ever-after, right? Evan could only hope that this wasn't a dream or that Nicole wasn't just toying with his mind. Who I am I kidding, thought Evan, the girl just ran into a wall. Either she's really clumsy or she likes me and is having trouble keeping up with things. Evan knew the feeling. Right now, he felt as if his brothers couldn't carry him out of there, he'd have to crawl so he wouldn't pass out. The whole night was surreal and he felt like running laps around the rink a few times. He wanted to fly like Superman, pick Nicole up in his arms and take her to Rome, Paris, anywhere she'd want to go. As long as he was with her.
"Evan Harrrrrr-ley!" he heard a voice call him from behind. As he turned around, he was greeted with a heavy fist to his stomach. He stumbled away a bit and looked up. It was his old friends.
"Hey." Evan choked out. It was Micah Taggs, the guy that set Rebecca and him up together. This was the last guy Evan wanted to see tonight. But he knew that a good night was something that he wasn't priveledged enough to enjoy. So he sucked it in, grinned and played as friendly as he could.
"Whats happening, man? Haven't seen ya around latly. The guys thought you died!" Micah exclaimed. Nice choice of words.
"Nah, man, I've been chillen around home. Mono." he told him. Micah nodded and called the others over. Evan folded his arms across his stomach so they would hit his arms instead of his gut.
"Dude, mono is such a drag. I think I've had it like 5 times this year. The ladies just can't stay off me, ya know?" Micah replied. And Evan wanted to laugh. He had seen how the 'ladies' were reacting to him and it was anything but how he described. But pointing that out would have been mean and stupid so he let it be.
"Yeah, man. I hear ya." Evan said. Soon to join them was Ralph, Tommy and Calvin. Evan could barely breathe. He suddenly realized why the girls kept away. They wanted to be able to fill their lungs with clean air and live a little longer.
"Whoa, dude. Who died?" Evan joked. The guys chuckled to themselves. It was almost like the old times. They all took a seat by the edge of the rink and caught up on each other. Micah told them all about this most likely made-up 'honey' that dragged him behind the exit door. They all just egged him on, to liven the evening. Evan felt accepted again. Friends, a dream girl and fun all in one night. It was almost too good to be true.
Jenna insisted on having her stay the night but Nicole just wanted to be home, sitting down at her desk, recording everything in her diary. Plus, given her unique ability to tell secrets to people in her sleep, she wasn't about to let Jenna in on her Prince just yet. No, Evan would be her secret until she finds out if anything comes of this night. Maybe he would call her. Maybe they would talk at lunch and maybe they would fall in love.
"Dumb..." Nicole mumbled to herself. Fall in love? That was impossible for her. Everyone she ever loved either died or dumped her. Maybe Evan wasn't a good idea after all.
"Who?" Jenna asked. Nicole turned over and leaned against the pane of the window. She was too depressed thinking about things to say any more. Jenna would just have to understand that just because she was Nicole's best friend didn't mean she had to tell her everything. Now Nicole had ticked herself off. She obviously was exhausted and was getting grumpy or she was sick of getting hurt. But which ever one it was, she was tired of thinking about it.
"Fine, don't talk to me. You've ignored me all night, I can deal with more." Jenna said, trying to get Nicole to open up with guilt. But Nicole didn't want to buy it this time.
"You don't understand, Jenna. You can't." Nicole admitted. She realized this was giving Jenna ley way to ask more questions but Nicole was set on keeping her mouth shut.
"Understand what? I'm human, I can occaisonally understand things." Jenna replied. And she didn't sound happy. She sounded like Nicole was doing something fatally harmful to their friendship.
"I just want to keep quiet about that guy until I'm sure." Nicole released. Jenna's head tilted to the side.
"Sure? Of what?" Jenna asked. Obviously, Jenna had never had an experiance like the one Nicole just had.
"Sure he likes me, okay?" Nicole barked, refusing to say any more. But Jenna was already giggling.
"Nicole's got a crush..." she murmured. Hector leaned over the front seat of the Cadillac they were in and smiled.
"He gonna kiss you like lovers do...OH! Sweet dreams are made of these...." He had no idea how horrible he could sing and how inappropriate that little chorus line was to Nicoles ears. Maybe this night wouldn't get anywhere. Come Monday, Evan probably won't even remember her name.