Truth or Dare[WattyAwards2011--Slowly Editing]

Truth or Dare: Chapter 23

You see, you closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too--even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling.  ~Morrie Schwartz (From Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom)

I promised to never ever go out with a girl if I think our relationship won’t last.  Even a couple weeks later, I still mused over the significance of that sentence; the internal meaning of it that overlaid the obvious.  Well that sure sounded philosophical,  I thought wryly.  Slowly, I laid by down on my bed, sinking into the soft mattress, and stared up at the plain white ceiling, wishing everything came as simple as the ceiling was.  Then again, life would be quite boring, wouldn’t it?  

The single sentence he had said was followed by a long, stunned silence.  For a second, I wasn’t sure exactly what to feel…wait, I take that back, I was sure what to feel, but I wasn’t sure whether it was what I was suppose to feel.  I felt flattered, to say the least.  Flattered that he liked me enough to think that something between us could possibly be… more?  I winced at the thought, I officially hate Dylan for planting those thoughts in my mind.  I shook my head in frustration.

What still confused me was how he was able to keep everyone quiet for so long.  He told me it was, and I quote, “Due to the fact that my dad was the principal of the school.”  I still think it was more of a ‘If I defy the popular kid, I will get my butt kicked’ kind of thing.  But still, that doesn’t explain how he kept the entire school quiet.  Their mom was the reason they were better off in this world.  She ran a long line of fashion designs that has had a lot of success in the recent years (though I don’t remember the exact name nor have I ever heard of it before).

What slightly irked me was the fact that he kept his promise for merely two months.  Is it just me, or does that seem a little quick to get over your long-term girlfriend?  What annoyed me even more was the fact that people thought we wouldn’t last.  I mean, it was pretty obvious how everyone keeps asking me ‘Are you still together?’ and when I said yes, they would respond ‘I knew it!’ in a very unconvincing tone.  Did he use to be that bad?  I contemplated, swinging my feet off my bed to answer my cell phone that was currently vibrating like crazy.

Lunging at my cell that was making it’s last vibrating moments, my hand brushed against it right when it stopped.  I groaned as I realized I just missed a call from Ethan.  

Ethan.  For some reason, whenever I thought about him, I’d think back to our conversation maybe only three weeks ago.  In all honesty, I didn’t really think that was his full secret.  It just couldn’t be that simple.  But I didn’t push the matter any further and neither did he.  Sure, he explained how he didn’t want things awkward between me and Ever, but I personally think he made it even more awkward between us.  Awkwardness, that was his only excuse for keeping the secret.  That, and he didn’t want me to think bad of him.  Not that I would, would I?  At least, I thought in relief, things are still good between us.  And it was true.  After that incident in the hallways, he half apologized.  How did he half apologized?  He said sorry without actually saying the word ‘sorry’.  And, me, being the forgiving person I am, accepted it.

And then there is Ever.  Don’t get me wrong, Ever is a great friend still.  But there seemed to be a barrier in our friendship, something I couldn’t quite get a grasp on.  And that barrier bothered me; secretly, I wondered whether it bothered her as well.

Shrugging it off, I dialed Ethan’s number, waiting patiently for him to pick up.  When he didn’t, I dialed again, only to have his number flash on my screen.  Shoot, we both must have dialed at the same time, I quickly tried to switch the call but today must have been a generally slow day because my phone refused to respond.  Feeling a bit flustered, I decided to let Ethan call me back.  After a few moments, I got another call and quickly picked up.