Chapter 12 #2
He had his skateboard underneath his arm, looking vastly out of place in the salon filled with women.
I had to see him every day at school, and now apparently, my weekends weren’t safe either.
Since we were a straight shot from the door, his gaze found where I stood by Mom—and I’m sure her bloodcurdling gasp only helped.
“I was in the area,” he said before either of us could get a word in. “My mom comes here to get her hair done—and plus it’s like the only good salon in Brentwood—so I figured this was where your mom comes too. Mrs. Settler, you’re looking—”
“A little crazy, right?” she teased, grinning. “We’re going to the mall after my appointment. Someone needs their homecoming dress.”
Jaden turned to me with a happy expression. “You’ll have to text me a picture of what you get.”
“Of course she will!” Mom’s demeanor had completely changed with Jaden’s presence, animated to the point that Kim had a hard time putting the dye on Mom’s hair.
“Gemma, this is perfect, isn’t it? I easily have an hour left, and now you won’t have to sit and watch anymore.
Now you have someone you can spend the time with. ”
I sometimes wondered if Jaden and Mom were on the same wavelength. Then again, they both probably had the same motive in mind—woo Gemma Settler. I half wondered if they’d even planned this.
“I don’t mind sitting,” I tried to object, but Mom wouldn’t let it slide.
She winked at me. “Why don’t you go get something sweet from the gas station down the road? I’ll allow it since it’s the weekend and Jaden’s here to walk with you.”
The decision, as always, was made for me. Jaden moved to set his skateboard down by Mom, who fished out a couple of bills from her wallet before he urged her that he would cover the snacks. After he effectively flattered her, he waved an arm toward the door, urging me to go first.
“You look nice,” Jaden said once we were away from prying ears. “I don’t normally see that much of your leg. Was that a weird thing to say?”
For mid-September, it was warmer than usual, so I opted for a skirt that fell just below my knees. It was nicer than I usually wore, the lace pattern making it seem fancier than the ones I wore to school. Knowing my luck, Morgan would’ve spilled juice on it at lunch or something.
However, if I’d known I was going to see Jaden, I would’ve worn something much plainer. “Uh, thanks.”
“It’s kind of funny that we keep running into each other.”
“Funny.”
“I’m glad I caught you, too. I was at the videogame store over on Main when I got your text, and thought ‘man, this must be fate.’ I hope you don’t mind that I stopped by.”
With the gas station in view, I nearly stopped walking. I wished Jaden and I could’ve been friends instead of this. That we could’ve laughed at our parents’ poshness and the way they tried to push us together. That we could’ve met up and talked if only to get their version of “fate” off our backs.
“Next time…do you mind asking me first? I’m—well, I’m not very good with surprises.”
His expression grew thoughtful. “Well, I did ask first. I asked your dad.”
“My dad?” Now I did stop walking, a foot from the gas station door, whirling to stare up at him. “What?”
“I asked him if we could spend some time together today, and he said you were here with your mom. He gave me permission to swing by and see you.”
The fact that my dad was in on it made the whole situation even weirder. Not my mom, my dad. After the whole too young to date conversation, he still let Jaden come by? “So, your whole ‘my mom gets her hair done here’ was a lie?”
“No!” His eyes grew wide. “Of course not. I’d never lie to you, Gemma. Honest. I just wanted to see you, hang out a little.”
I inhaled slowly, wondering what kind of response would work in this situation.
Maybe it was time to have The Chat with him, but even as I began to imagine it, the spool of issues began to unravel in my brain.
If I told Jaden I didn’t have feelings for him, would he tell his parents?
If so, would they tell mine? Most definitely.
And then they’d ask me why I didn’t have feelings for him, and I’d have to come up with an answer.
That was impossible, though. Everything tied back to them.
“I am happy,” I said finally, the words weighing me down like a rock sinking in water. “The hair dye fumes were starting to go to my head.”
With his confidence renewed, Jaden grinned.
The gas station’s air conditioning blasted into us as soon as we crossed the threshold, instantly freezing my skin.
I ducked my head and kept it down, feeling Jaden loom closer behind me.
His hand brushed my elbow, and even though my long sleeve was a barrier from his skin touching mine, I pulled back.
Without saying anything, Jaden sauntered toward the back of the gas station to where the sodas were, probably expecting me to follow, but I instead headed down the candy aisle, taking the moment to breathe.
Somewhere in the store, I could hear a bundle of people laughing.
They went down the aisle on the other side of me, and I could see the tops of their heads as they walked down it.
Their whispers were indistinguishable, but their amusement wasn’t.
In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to join them, to have something to laugh about that hard.
Instead, I stared at the chocolate nuggets, wondering how long I could avoid Jaden.
When I let my eyes lift, peeking over the top of the aisle to see the fridges, I didn’t spot Jaden.
I saw Hudson.
At first, I didn’t realize it was him. Instead of his usual dark attire, he wore a sweatshirt that was a happy yellow, the hood up over his head and covering most of his hair, which looked tangled and unbrushed after a night of sleep. He didn’t have his glasses on, but he was still Bridge Boy.
Hudson and Derrick dropped me off a few streets from my house yesterday around six, and I came home to Dad packing up his cooler for the game.
Derrick and I had talked about the movie the whole drive back to Brentwood, discussing the scenes we liked and the scenes we thought were campy, while Hudson listened in.
We parted on good terms, and I told him I’d see him Monday.
So it was majorly bizarre to see him now.
He had his head ducked as he studied something on the shelf, but when I rose up onto my tiptoes, I could see a wide grin spread across his features.
As big as I’d ever seen him smile. He was a part of the laughing group, which consisted of four people.
His head was bent, wheat hair falling across his eyes, and he used a ringless hand to shove it back.
The sudden sight of him caused my chest to tighten.
Before he had a chance to look, I dipped down, coming face-to-face with a Hershey’s bar. The feeling I got from seeing him outside of school wasn’t the same as the one I’d felt when Jaden walked into the salon. No, the air felt much thinner, harder to breathe.
I could pick his laugh out easily amongst the group now that I knew it was Hudson, and that was even stranger.
Hearing Hudson laugh. It was lighter than I thought it’d be, a genuine happiness leaking from the soft sound.
Much like I hadn’t believed he’d been able to smile, I really wouldn’t have believed that he’d been able to laugh.
But here I was, listening to it as plain as day.
Snatching up a bag of chocolate nuggets, I hurried toward the cash register, already fixing in my mind that I’d text Jaden that I had to go back to the salon. He could come and get his skateboard and do whatever he wanted.
I set the nuggets on the counter, meeting the gaze of the middle-aged woman behind it, already pulling out what few dollars I had left in my wallet.
A yellow-clad arm brushed against my side as someone placed a soda on the counter, depositing a granola bar alongside it. I stiffened from the contact, knowing exactly who I’d find when I turned.
And sure enough, I came face to face with Hudson.
And by face to face, I meant face to face. His nose was probably six inches from mine, the vibrancy of his eyes swallowing me. His yellow hood was still up, and it made his hair paler. He was close enough that I could practically feel where his chest was behind me, though we weren’t touching.
His gaze skidded past me, and he tipped his head toward the counter. “Last chance if you want me to buy it, dude.”
In a second, three bags of barbeque chips piled up next to the candy, and I turned to find one of the laughing friends being the culprit.
Derrick was instantly recognizable from his shaved head and bare biceps, and when he looked at me, realization flared in his gaze.
“Milady! Twice in twenty-four hours? We’ve been blessed. ”
“Hey.” I blinked at him, still a little dazed from the sight.
“Simon and Tee are still looking,” Derrick said, batting his eyes. “But you could buy my chips if you wanted.”
Hudson rolled his eyes, casting his gaze to the woman behind her counter. Upon seeing him, though, her once-friendly expression hardened into something more distrustful, as if Hudson’s reputation extended even beyond the confines of Brentwood High. He blinked as if he didn’t notice. “How much?”
“You don’t have to—” I began to interject, but Hudson leaned his hand against the countertop beside my hip, pressing closer than before.
“I usually buy for my friends,” he murmured in a low voice I was sure no one else could hear, lingering on the word long enough for it to mean something else.
Whatever the emotion was, it swelled in my chest as the lady began scanning the items. “What,” I began, raising an eyebrow, “you only wear happy colors on the weekends?”
“Dark colors aren’t happy colors?”
I shook my head.
“I’ll let you in on a secret.” He ducked down to my level, coming in close to whisper. Four inches between our noses now. “I only wear happy colors when I don’t think others will see.”