Chapter Eight Artemis #2
I hesitate. “They think we’re, like, a thing.”
“What?”
“Me and you. Boyfriend and girlfriend.”
He backs up a little, which kind of hurts. “Why would they think that?”
He’s making it seem like it’s the worst thing in the world. “Um, couples usually get matching face paintings.”
He just stares at me. His eyes go from surprised and maybe even a bit of hope and excitement? But then they quickly shift to pain and a bit of anger. No, a lot of anger. It’s growing stronger by the second.
But then it shuts off, like he turned into a robot.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice is a monotone.
I wrap my arms over myself. “I don’t know.”
He squeezes his eyes shut. “You’re not my girlfriend.”
“I know,” I say, pushing my pain aside. It’s like he’s stabbing a sword into my heart.
He tears at his hair, then rubs his face like he wants to erase the paint. Erase me? “You should have said something.” He continues to rub the paint off.
“It only comes off in the shower,” I tell him, trying to keep my tears at bay. “Maybe we can—”
He whirls on his heels and marches off. He doesn’t look back at me or anyone, just keeps his head down as he stomps toward the exit. Then he disappears from view.
I tighten my hold around myself, forcing the tears to stay down. I can’t move, can’t do anything except stare at the entrance, hoping for some stupid reason he’ll return and apologize. And tell me he feels something for me and wants to explore it, just like I do.
I don’t know how long I stand here before someone grabs my arm. “Art!” Jenna giggles like someone is tickling her with a feather. “Yoda, cute. You guys having fun?” Her smile drops when she notices the look on my face. “What’s wrong? Where’s Ryan?”
“I…I don’t know.”
Her face falls. “What do you mean? He just left?” She looks around. “Where did he go?”
I shrug. If I talk, my voice will crack, and I really don’t want to cry right now. That should be saved for the privacy of my bedroom.
She squeezes my arm. “Art, tell me what happened. Last I saw, you guys were waiting in line to get your faces painted.”
I shake my head, still unable to get the words out. The tears gather in my eyes, but I hold them back. “He…he…”
“He what? Did he hurt you? I’ll kill him!”
“No. He didn’t. Not like that.” I pull away from her grasp. “I guess he needed to go.”
She examines my face. “Liar. Tell me what happened or I’ll tell Jason and he’ll beat his butt up.”
I hold up my hands. “Okay, okay. We got our faces painted.”
She nods like she already knows this.
“We got matching paintings…”
She nods like she has no idea where I’m going with this, then understanding enters her eyes. “Oh. Oh!”
I nod. “Yep.”
“Is that why I overheard some kids talking about you guys? I thought they were just kidding around. But wait, why did you guys get matching paintings if you’re not…?”
“I don’t know. I picked Yoda and then he said he wanted it, too. So what was I supposed to do?”
She twists her mouth. “So he found out what it means and bailed? Jerk.”
But he’s not a jerk. I mean, I don’t think he is. I don’t really know anything about him, just that he maybe likes Star Wars?
“Okay, you need to forget him,” Jenna says. “You had a major crush on him, but now you see what a rotten person he is and you can move on.”
I nod unsurely. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess.”
“Wait, you still like him?”
I throw my hands up. “I don’t know.”
She’s quiet as she studies me. Then she wraps her arm around me, pulling me close. “Let’s have fun. Jason and I were about to ride the roller coaster.”
It’s my favorite ride in the entire festival, but I’m not feeling it right now. And anyway, I don’t want to be their third wheel. Again. So much for hoping things would be different this year.
“Pass,” I say. “I’m going home.”
Her jaw drops. “No. Nope. No way. I’m not letting that jerk ruin today for you. You always look forward to the festival every year and your parents worked so hard on it. You’re hanging out with me and Jason, no objections.”
I sigh, knowing all too well she won’t let me get out of this. So I let her wrap her arm around me and tug me to where she left my brother. At the pizza stand. Of course. He already got his pizza and is holding two plates in his hands.
When he sees us, curiosity crawls onto his face. “Hey.” His eyes move to me. “What’s up, sis?”
My best friend yanks me even closer. Any more and our bodies will fuse into one. “Her date ditched her, but it’s okay. She’s over him.”
“Date?”
I roll my eyes. “It wasn’t a date. Just two friends hanging out.”
Jenna snorts. “Friends? Last I checked, friends don’t ditch one another.”
“Jenna, you’re blowing things out of proportion. Ryan and I met here and decided to hang out. Then he had to leave. It’s no big deal.” I give her a look, telling her to keep the truth a secret from my brother.
She plasters on a fake smile. “Right. Ryan had to leave. I am blowing things out of proportion. Only because I know how much you liked him.”
My brother lifts a brow. “Liked?”
“Yep, she’s totally over him.” She grabs one of the pizzas. “Thanks, babe.”
Jason holds the second one out to me, but I wave my hand. My appetite left along with Ryan. My eyes dart to the entrance, hoping for some silly reason that he’ll return. But of course he won’t.
I spend the rest of the day with my best friend and brother. It’s fun, I guess, but I’m not really in the mood.
Why do I keep hoping he’ll come back?