Managing Boys

Managing Boys (7)

 “You look… stressed.”

I glared at Parker, not saying anything to him as I stabbed a piece of lettuce in my salad. He sat down across from me at the table, but I said nothing to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked me now.

I didn’t want to answer him, because I honestly didn’t know the answer. If I told him what had happened with Grim, I knew he’d be angry, and I didn’t want that. I also knew that it would be embarrassing to tell him.

“It’s just…” all I was able to say, not knowing if I’d be able to tell him what had happened without crying. He knew what had happened to me all those years before, and I didn’t know how he’d react to me telling him what Grim had done to me on Saturday.

Parker just stared at me, waiting for me to say what I had to say. That was what I loved about having him as a best friend; he listened to everything I had to say and didn’t judge me. I loved Zoey, but it was always easier to talk to Parker.

I bit my lip now, suddenly blurting out everything before I even knew what I was doing. I slapped my hand over my mouth after I was finished, afraid of what Parker’s reaction was going to be.

His eyes narrowed. “I’ll kill him.”

I sighed. “Parker…”

“No, I’ll kill him,” he repeated, his hands balling into fists now. “That asshole’s gone way too far now.”

I agreed, though I believed he deserved some kind of punishment, not death.

“Parker,” I swallowed. “It’s over with, okay? He doesn’t know what happened to me, so it’s not like he purposely did it to scare me or anything. He was just trying to teach me a lesson and had a horrible way of doing it.”

He still looked pissed, but I knew that he wasn’t going to do anything because I asked him not to. But I still knew that it wouldn’t be smart to let the two of them around each other for a little while until everything cooled down.

He let out a sigh as he mumbled, “Well, at least you’re okay.”

I smiled at my best friend now, happy that he was there for me. If I ever wanted him to kill Grim, I knew he’d be willing to do it. I didn’t think he actually would, but at least I knew that he cared.

"Changing the subject," I began, no longer wanting to talk about this. "I’m going to tell you what I’ve been telling you ever since you told me you liked Zoey. Tell her you like her!”

Parker just stared at me, and neither of us said anything. It was times like this when I was glad that Zoey didn’t have the same lunch as us, because I could talk to him about how much he liked her and she’d never know. There was rarely ever a time that I’d be alone with Parker other than lunch.

He shook his head now, picking at his sandwich and fiddling with his glasses a little. I knew I made him feel embarrassed, but wasn’t that what best friends were for?

“There’s no way she’d ever like me,” he told me now, and I almost kicked him. “She’s into guys from Hello Aria. I’m definitely not like any of those guys.”

“But that’s a good thing,” I couldn’t help but mutter.

Parker grinned, and I just smiled right back at him. I knew he’d get his chance with Zoey one day. He just had to. Parker was a good guy, and he deserved to have a chance. And Zoey deserved to be with a good guy like Parker.

When my phone started ringing, I nearly jumped before shoving my hand in my pocket for it. I looked down at my phone to see who could have possibly been calling me during school hours. If it was one of the boys or anyone that had anything to do with them, I was definitely not going to be a happy camper.