Side Note: I Think I Love You (Side Notes Book 1)

Chapter 4 - Ian

Side note: I don't sit with my little brother at lunch everyday. It's only once a week.

My friends think I do this every week to check on my brother but the truth? I just wanna be humbled for once. The day before our first away game is always a little stressful for me and I don't want to be surrounded by people who could increase my ego. I just want my head out of the stars for a moment and on ground zero.

So I wait by our lockers right before lunch begins. I don't open it until I see Derek walking in my direction. Looking at us side by side, you wouldn't believe we were actually related. Derek takes after Dad in almost all ways when it comes to appearance. Same brown hair that I'm so used to and the same eyes. I may take after Mom with my lack of perfect vision, among other things, but I did inherit Dad's towering height and love for football.

"Hey man," Derek says as he opens his locker. "So, Jason finally asked out that girl from last week's pep rally."

I raise a brow. "Which one? Brunette, or blonde?

"Blonde."

When the school year started back up, we had updated our bet on how many girls Jason is going to go out with by his high school graduation. He's a serial dater to boot, probably worse than me. At least the girls I get with know what they're getting into—which is not a relationship. But Jason's dated around... see, I lost count as to how many girls.

"Did she say yes?"

Derek nods. "That means girl number 9. What number did you say he would reach?"

"Twenty." I smirk.

"Psshh. That's a lot, even for Jason," Derek says. "I'd be surprised if he even reached fifteen by our senior year. He's too selective."

I shrug as I open my locker. As far as middle school, Jason's made it to the talking stage with way too many girls and has gone on a date with at least half of them. Derek and I have been betting on his dating life since his best friend got his first girlfriend back in middle school. It started out with how long each relationship would last but by sophomore year we both knew each girl would only have a month at the most. So we just updated it to how many girls he would date within our grade school lives.

Side note: I need the twenty bucks real bad.

Once I enter my locker combination and open it, a piece of paper floats down and I follow it with my eyes right until the moment it reaches my red Jordans. I bend down to pick it up and find a glittery blue wax seal with a heart in the middle, keeping it closed.

Derek looks over to me. "Is that really for you?"

I shrug. "I don't even know what it is."

"Dude, you're having a blond moment right now."

I roll my eyes. "Okay then, Sherlock Holmes. Tell me what it is."

"It's obviously a love letter. Do you see the heart?" He points to the wax seal.

A heart doesn't always mean love. Right? Besides, who's dumb enough to write me—of all people—a love letter?

I pocket the letter. "I'll figure it out later. Let's go eat."

We head over to the cafeteria and after grabbing food, Derek leads me over to the table, where Jason and Attie are arguing over which bear is more dangerous. From what I hear, Jason thinks it's the polar bear while Attie argues the black bear.

"You wouldn't need to attack a polar bear!"

"That's because you'd be dead before the thought ever crossed your mind. Duh."