Unexpected Turns

4

<Charlotte's Pov>

It's been two days since I told Scott that I liked his brother, and I haven't seen him since. I figured that I should wait it out, give him time to forget I foolishly said anything.

I was sitting at the kitchen counter, finishing of my sandwich I had made myself for lunch. My parents both had to work over Spring Break.

Right as I stick the last bite into my mouth, my phone starts to ring. I sigh, seeing that's it's Scott. But I pick it up, not wanting to ignore him completely.

"Hey," I say.

"Hi," Scott says back, his voice sounding different from his usual tone. "Do you want to come over today?"

I bite my lip. "Urg, I don't know. I don't think I can handle seeing him with what I told you," I reply honestly.

"Handle seeing who?" Scott says as if we didn't have that conversation yesterday.

"Are you kidding me, Scott?" I say, rolling my eyes as I stand to throw my trash away.

Scott laughs slightly on the other line. "No. And this is Chris."

My jaw drops, my cheeks instantly turning red. "Uh, oh, Chris. Hi, Chris," I say awkwardly, stuttering.

He chuckles on the other line. "Hi. Anyways, I wanted to see if you would come over before we all have to go back to college tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah," I say, remembering that it was Sunday. "Yeah, I would love to," I say, not being able to refuse Chris.

"It won't be awkward or anything?" he says, and I can practically hear the smile in his voice. "You know, with that guy and all?"

I internally groan, face-palming. "Just forget I said that. I thought you were Scott."

"What guy?" Chris asks curiously, making my inside flop.

I cringe, trying to come up with a quick excuse. "It was sarcasm," I say, not being able to think of anything else. "It's an inside joke between Scott and I."

"Explain it," Chris says from the other side, obviously amused.

"I, er," I say, blushing. "Cccerr. Cerr-Chris-Ar-are you there? I-I can't-can't hear you..."

I quickly hung up after that, sighing in relief. I shake my head to myself, feeling stupid for using the old static, disconnecting line trick.

Then, I race up the stairs, diving for my closet to change out of my pajamas. On weekends, I tend to sleep in until the afternoon if I can. Today was one of those days, but boy am I regretting it now.

I decide on a pair of jean shorts and a simple tee, putting on only a little makeup. Then I sprint back downstairs, swiping the car keys before writing a note for my parents about my disappearance.

In the car, I think through my head what I'm going to say, how I'm going to act, and what I am going to do if Chris asks me about the phone call. I run a nervous hand through my hair, thinking repeatedly that I need to talk to Scott.

I pull into their driveway, walking up to the door with weak knees and trembling hands. I bite my lip, thinking that it's stupid that I am acting this way. Sure, I like Chris, and I have for a while now, but only now that I realize it I am acting this way? Stupid.

I vaguely notice the plentiful number of other cars parked by their house, having been wrapped up in my thoughts. But when I opened their front door and saw many people milling around, I groan at the sight of a party.

"Hey," I hear Scott call over to me, pushing past people. He reaches me, his hair slightly tussled and a wild smile on his face.

"Hey," I reply, half-shouting over the noise. "What's all this?"