Catching the Hero

Chapter Eight: New Strategy

Picture on the side is Ariana Grande as Raina Aven, or Raven.

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Chapter Eight: New Strategy

"Ugh, that's it. I'm swearing off all men for the rest of my life."

I laughed at Ava as I leaned back on the grass. She'd just broken up with another boyfriend, because he apparently didn't fit her "Perfect Guy" list. She'd done this many times before, and said this every time. "You know, the guy you fall in love with doesn't have to be perfect, Ava. Some flaws are good, and--."

She huffed, "Please don't feed me any more philosophical crap, I already got all of that from Brielle this morning."

"She's right then. Seriously, don't set the bar too high. The right guy could come along and you might miss him."

Ava studied me thoughtfully, then said, "What do you look for in a guy, Lay?"

A pair of green eyes flashed in my mind, but I pushed the thought away; it could never happen. I looked up at her and paused, then replied, "I don't know, honestly. I guess I'm just deciding as I go along."

A smile lit on her face, "Who is he?"

"What?"

"Lays, we've been friends since grammar school, I know when you have your eyes on someone. Plus, you gave me that exact same line before you admitted to liking Ryan Whithers," she poked my side. "So, tell me about him."

I smiled and looked away, avoiding her eye contact as I searched for a good distraction, "Um, well..."

"Hey!"

We turned our heads at the sound of Jamie's voice and smiled at her, though mine was a bit triumphant at successfully avoiding Ava's question. She shot me a quick look, telling me it wasn't over, before turning back to Jamie, "Hey, what's up?"

"It's nothing... I just... Do you guys want to come up to my dorm with me? I'm in desperate need of mint ice cream and romantic comedies," she said as she rubbed her arms.

I nodded, knowing something was up as I stood and replied, "Okay, you guys go up. I'll run and get ice cream, anything else?"

"Grab extra candy, and a pack of sprites," Ava said as she tugged on Jamie's arm. 

"Sprite and ice cream?"

"Trust me, it's not that bad," she said with a smile as she turned and headed toward Jamie's dorm.

I laughed to myself as I walked across the campus to my Mustang and got in, backing out of the parking lot and onto the road. I thought of quick places to go for food, finally just deciding to head out to a small, yet nice, grocery store about fifteen minutes away. I sent a quick text to Jamie, telling her to start the movie without me, and continued my drive through town. I parked in a tight spot in the middle of the semi-full lot, and stuffed my phone and forty dollars in my pocket as I got out and walked to the building.

I walked through the sliding doors and grabbed a handheld basket, immediately going to the freezer section to pick out ice cream. As I pulled out a pint-sized tub of mint chocolate chip, I looked over the other selections to find something Ava and I would enjoy. I grabbed two containers, and looked over them as I mentally debated over which to choose.