It All Started with a Beanie

(17)

I've lived in towns where it was cold, but Silver Beach feels like the Artic now. And I don't know if it's just me, but it seems colder inside the school than it does outside.

"Are you trying to start a fire?" Liv says as she looks down to my hands and then back up to my eyes. Trying to keep my hands from freezing in place, I'm rubbing them together.

"If only it would work." We both laugh and she goes back to playing Flappy Bird. "Is it just me or is it extremely cold?" I ask her.

"I guess it does seem colder than usual." She shrugs her shoulders. The teacher begins the lecture for the day and our conversation ceases to exist.

About ten minutes into class, the principal comes over the intercom. "Faculty, staff, and students, sorry for the interruption but I have some sad news. It seems as though our heating system has run into some problems. Until further notice, class is dismissed. Enjoy your early weekend and stay warm!" The intercom cuts off and for a brief moment, there is dead silence. Then the cheers and screams erupt and everyone makes their way outside.

As Liv and I walk through the halls, I find my eyes constantly searching for a pair of green ones.

"Beanie!" I hear my name from behind me and instantly turn around. I watch as Parsons jogs up to where we are. He weaves through the crowd of kids with no effort. Cam and Ollie trail behind him but walk at a comfortable pace.

"I can't believe school is actually cancelled right now." I say once he's caught up with us.

"It's kind of crazy that the heaters stopped working. We just got new ones. It's almost as if someone purposely did something to them." I look at him, my mouth slightly open.

"You didn't!" I say in disbelief.

"I may or may not have. I shall never tell." He sends a playful wink. I shake my head slightly, my mouth falling into a smile.

"Hey, lovebirds, what's the plan for this early break?" Liv says as we walk through the parking lot.

"Hang out at Neil's house?" Cam suggests. Ollie walks beside him, clutching onto his arm for warmth. I notice a slight shiver in him as he walks.

"Sounds good to me. You in?" Parsons asks. He holds a pleading look in his eyes, as if he wants me to go.

"I'll have to ask my mom but sure." We exchange a few more words before breaking away to each others' cars.

"Hey, Erin!" I hear as I'm about to approach my car. I turn around and see Liv walking towards me. "Can I ride with you? I really don't think I can handle the couple-ness between my brother and Cam." I laugh a little and nod and we quickly get in my car. I turn the heat on and we sit there for a minute trying to warm ourselves.

"You hungry?" She nods. "Is Wendy's okay?" She nods again and we make our way there.

The car ride to Wendy's is silent, besides my faint background music. Liv plays on her phone, probably Flappy Bird still, and I focus on driving. Not that I don't mind the silence, I just don't prefer it.

"So spill." She says once we've finally entered the drive-thru line.

"Spill what?" I say, genuinely confused.

"Whatever is going on between you and Neil." I open my mouth to protest but she stops me. "And before you say nothing is going on, I see the way you look at each other."

"Well, we're becoming good friends but sometimes I feel like we're more than that." I smile at the memories forming in my mind. "We've almost kissed a time or two and-"

"Wait what. You've almost kissed? When?"

"A couple weeks ago, I think. I figured your brother would've told you."

"Wait a minute. You're telling me my brother knew before me. Erin-"

"Hi, welcome to Wendy's. Order when you're ready." We pause our conversation and order our food. It doesn't cost that much so I offer to pay but Liv wouldn't let me so we split the bill.

"Tell me everything." She says once we've finished ordering and are waiting to pay. And I did just that. I told her about baking muffins at his house, the flour fight, the almost kiss, him seeing me without my beanie, and my whole time at the park.

"Wow. That's a lot." She says, kind of baffled. We pay and get our food as Liv thinks. We decide to park and eat. Liv doesn't say anything else for a minute so I decide to begin eating.

"You do know you guys have feelings for each other, right?" She says this out of the blue. My eyes widen and I accidentally begin to choke on my burger. She quickly hands me my drink in an attempt to help. After a few minutes, I can finally breathe and respond.

"How do you know?" I realize I didn't deny it but don't decide to fix my mistake.

"The way you talk about him, the way you look at each other, the way you are around each other. It's quite obvious and I find it slightly funny that you both are oblivious to the fact."

"But I don't know if I like him. I do enjoy his presence and it is nice to have someone around that cares for me but I don't know if that qualifies him to be my crush. I haven't liked anyone since I was a pre-teen. I don't know how to have a crush or how to act."

"Erin." She stops me before I can continue rambling. She faces towards me, making eye contact. It is a little intimidating but I ignore that feeling of intimidation. "Just be yourself. And if that isn't enough, then he's not the one. Just be you and everything will play out the way it should." 

I try to conjure a response but there isn't one fitting. I can't disagree with Liv because she's right. But that does pose a question in my mind: Is she right? Do we both like each other?