Accidental Crush (18 page)

Crap! Act natural; do something other than stare down the hallway
. What should I do? I finally realize I’m at my locker, I should look through my books. Duh.

"Hey, Ash." I hear Todd's beautiful voice.

"Oh, hey, Todd." I try to act surprised, but maybe I should've gone with honesty. Like,
Oh, I've been staring at you for the last five minutes so I totally knew you were coming over here!

"Thanks for the talk last night. I think I have a plan until the game," he
says as he leans his beautiful arm on my locker. I will never wash it again; not that I wash my locker, but you know what I mean.

"I saw Brian and Gretchen walk up together." I
can't hide my doubt in his plan. 

"Yeah, I noticed that, too." He
glances back down the hall in their direction. "I'm just going to try my best to stay on Brian, especially at practice. With Sour Lollipops I won't be there for the beginning. I told Rebecca to keep an eye on Gretch and Brian; she's leaving
Lollipops
practice before me this week."

"You told Rebecca?" I
try, but I can't hide my disgust. I look down the hall to where she is and she’s definitely giving me the stink eye.

"Not everything, but enough. She can help," Todd
tries to reassure me. I hate that now
her
of all people is in on our secret. "But let me know if you see anything, too. Hopefully I can talk some sense into Brian before he does anything stupid."

"Hopefully. And hopefully, my brother has a brain and doesn't give Gretchen a reason to believe Brian," I
say, gesturing down the hall with my eyes. Ryan is still holding hands with Gretchen, but Blythe has just walked up to her locker, which is, unfortunately, right next to Ryan's.

***

The day
is flying by and all everyone can talk about is the big game. Rumors about the different college scouts coming to the game flood the cafeteria. If the scouts like what they see, they'll invite you to their school's summer football camp. Our school always has a pretty good football team so it's what you would call a “scout’s favorite”. They keep a close eye on future prospects since our team usually makes it to the district championships and sometimes to state.

A few scouts
have already contacted my parents because they are interested in Ryan and he’s cautiously excited. Todd never talks about it but Sid told me a few big schools are interested in him to kick for their team, too. However, as quarterback, a ton of schools are interested in Brian. He knows how important this game is for his future college football career and possible scholarships, that's why I am so surprised he is letting a girl get in the way.

Our lunch table
is no different than the rest of the school, well at least Simon isn’t any different. He is going on and on about the game and this is definitely the most interested I've ever seen Sid in something football related. Apparently the band also has two a days so they've been practicing in the morning and the afternoon. Simon is not pleased and he won’t stop talking about it. I personally can think of a million things more interesting to talk about and as I am thinking about them, Ryan catches my attention and not in a good way.

He
is standing in the middle of the cafeteria talking to Blythe. She is alone and seems upset, whatever he says makes her laugh. Then he pulls up a chair and sits at her table. With her. Alone. The way he is leaning into her is innocent, but looking at it through Gretchen's eyes, it definitely could look like this is more than friendship. What is he doing? Okay, to give him some credit, he doesn’t know the Brian back story. I quickly scan the room for Gretchen. She is still at their usual lunch table talking to RTS and pretending not to notice Ryan with Blythe.

Todd
is holding up his end of the deal, he is busy talking to Brian, but it is clear Brian is more interested in Blythe and Ryan. He’s listening to Todd, but his eyes are on them. He suddenly holds up a finger to Todd and walks over to Gretchen. He whispers something in her ear and rubs her arm. Then, he rejoins Todd and puts his feet back up on the lunch table to continue their conversation. Every time I look at Brian's smug expression I want to punch him.

Gretchen
walks over to Blythe’s table and comes up behind Ryan. She starts massaging his shoulders, and then she kisses his neck as she gives Blythe the look of death. I have to give her credit; she isn’t giving up without a fight. She is making it clear that Blythe is infringing on her territory without saying a word. If they were wild animals, she definitely would have attacked. Ryan glances up at her and smiles, oblivious to the non-verbal communication happening behind him. He stands up, grabs Gretchen’s hand, and says bye to Blythe; as soon as his back is to her, Gretchen mouths "back off”. Even I can read her lips from here.

Suddenly, I
feel my phone vibrate. I look down and it’s a text from Shane.

Watching something interesting?

I laugh out loud and everyone turns to look at me. "Sorry." I grin and shake my head at Shane.

I text back,
Anything not to listen to mr. band practice.

I
feel a little bad not telling Shane everything that is going on since he has been so honest with me, but I think the less people who know, the better at this point; at least until after the game.

***

Todd is right, Rebecca gets to practice early and, for once, I am almost happy to see her. At least I know someone on the field will be able to help in Todd's absence.

At the very first water break, coach
calls Ryan over to talk about a play they just went over. This is not good since it leaves Brian and Gretchen alone to talk and, of course, Brian isn’t one to let an opportunity pass. He runs up to Gretchen and picks her up from behind. Her feet lift off the ground and I think she assumes it is Ryan since she can't see him. Brian whispers something to her and I can see her facial expression change as soon as she realizes who it is.

"Brian! Put me down," she
screams, laughing. As soon as he puts her down she goes to playfully punch him, but he is fast and grabs her arm before it reaches his. He wraps his hand around hers and holds it.

"You don't want to hit the quarterback before the big game," he
says it with such a devious smile that it makes my stomach turn over itself.

"You think you are so funny." Gretchen
giggles.

"I know I'm funny," Brian
responds and there it is again, the smile. The I've-totally-got-you-wrapped-around-my-little-finger-even-though-you-are-my-best-friend’s-girlfriend smile. I swear, I want to hit him for her, but she seems happy. It’s as if she is caught up in a moment and can't get enough of his attention. What is happening?

And w
hat is Rebecca doing? She isn’t helpful at all; she is just letting this all happen. What exactly did Todd tell her? My eyes immediately start to search the field for Ryan, he’s still talking to his coach, but I can tell he is half watching Brian and Gretchen's interaction. Brian and Gretch have always been friends, but this is clearly flirtatious. Ryan finally seems to notice and he looks a little irritated. The one positive is when my brother is frustrated, he plays even better. That's what makes him so good, he doesn't get flustered. Heck, I'm flustered just sitting on the bleachers watching this and she's not even my girlfriend!

Coach
calls the entire team back on the field, and thankfully, that is the end of the first water break. Sid comes up from the band’s side of the fence and even she noticed.

"Hey, what's up with Brian and Gretchen?"

"I don't know." I decide to play dumb and try to hide my anger; it’s really the only thing I can do since I don’t want anyone else to know about the situation.

Ryan only
plays harder and Brian seems extremely pleased with himself; he practically glides through the rest of practice. I can't wait for Todd to get here and, for the first time, it has nothing to do with seeing him in his uniform. Although that is a nice bonus. It feels like hours, but in reality, it is probably only twenty minutes. Once Todd gets to practice, he keeps Brian more occupied on breaks, so things are back to normal-ish.

Brian
is still paying more attention to Gretchen than usual, though. He keeps smiling at her after every big play and it is almost like validating how good he is both on and off the field when she smiles back. Since the plays usually involve Ryan, he misses most of the smile exchanges, but Todd definitely notices. I know because he keeps making eye contact with me up in the bleachers. We both know that this isn’t good. It seems like Gretchen is not only falling for it, but enjoying it. Although Shane and Sid seem to be oblivious through the rest of practice, so at least it isn’t as obvious as we think it is. 

As Todd
is walking off the field, our eyes connect and he shrugs his shoulders as if to say, “I have no idea what's happening”. I couldn't agree more. I take a deep breath for what feels like the first time since practice started. Something in me knows this is probably only the beginning and things are going to get worse before they get better; if they ever get better. I have a feeling Todd is going to call or text me tonight which is the only real silver lining in this whole thing.

***

My phone
rings as soon as we get home, and seeing Todd's name on my screen makes my heart skip a beat. I run up to my room as fast as I can to answer it and try not to sound out of breath. 

"Hey, Todd." I half
hold my breath so I don’t sound like a crazy person.

"Hi, Ash! You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just… working out.” It’s the only excuse I can come up with without admitting I’m winded from running up the stairs super fast. So
lame
!

“Oh, Okay, cool.” He
sounds surprised. “So what happened today before I got to practice? Rebecca said Brian was doing some flirting, but nothing major." Thankfully, he gets right to the point and doesn’t ask any "work out" questions.

"Really? That's what she said?" I ask in shock,
 finally catching my breath.

"Yeah. Why what did you see?"

"What exactly did you tell her?" I ask, ignoring his question.

"Not much. I just said to keep an eye on Brian and to keep Gretchen occupied as much as possible."

"So you didn’t tell her about Blythe and Ryan or Brian's lie?"

"No. I wasn't sure it bought us anything and I don't think
Gretch has said anything to her, either, which is surprising."

"Yeah, I was wondering how much she told her. I'm not sure
that Gretchen not telling her best friend is a good thing."

"I know, I was thinking the same thing. What happened before I got there?"

"It wasn't so much what Brian did, but how he did it; he was so openly flirtatious, I think Ryan even noticed. Coach called Ryan back to talk about a play during the first water break and Brian took full advantage."

“Sucks I couldn’t be there or it wouldn’t have happened.” I
can hear the disappointment in his voice.

“Todd, you can’t be with him every second.” I
try to get him to realize his plan might have some flaws.

“After Ryan left today, I talked to Brian and asked if everything was okay with Gretchen. He didn’t budge. He totally stuck with his story from yesterday. I don’t get it. His head seems like it’s in the right place for the game, but then he does that at practice in front of everyone, especially Ryan
; it's like he wants him to see.“

"Well, we gave Gretchen a ride home and everything seemed fine. She was her normal, clingy self." Todd
laughs, not only is he gorgeous, but he always gets my jokes.

"I'm going to try to talk to Brian again tomorrow. Don't say anything to Ryan yet, but let me know if he says anything to you."

"You do the same." I suddenly realize I am having a real conversation with Todd
again
and I have to bite my lip to stop from smiling. Hearing his voice through my phone sends bursts of joy through my entire body.

"Who are you talking to?" I hear Sid ask in the background.
Ok so my bursts of joy are quickly interrupted.

"No one," Todd quickly
responds. "Rebecca," he adds, hoping that will satisfy her.

"Did she buy it?"

"I think so." He lowers his voice and I can tell he is walking away from her. "Okay, I better go."

"K, see you tomorrow."
I’m sad our conversation is over, but so excited we even had a conversation!

***

There
are only two days left until the big game and I am getting used to talking to Todd; I feel like my insides are, too. My stomach still does cartwheels whenever I see him, but I think I've almost got the blushing under control.

Unfortunately, he
is still holding hands with RTS down the hall. As I open my locker to switch out books, I see him break away from her and start walking in my direction.