3:15 [fezco]

four

F O U R - 8 T E E N

"so let's do all the stupid shit that young kids do, it's me and you."

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"Are you guys pumped?" Coach yelled out to the students sitting in the cafeteria.

"Yeah!" He was met with a loud cheer.

"I can't hear you. Are you pumped? Are we gonna win? Let's hear it for the East Highland Blackhawks!" The football team flooded into the cafeteria, followed by the cheerleading team as we walked down the stairs together.

I walked next to Maddy, working hard to stay in stride with her as we reached the cafeteria floor and began our routine. I was positioned between her and Cassie, and although we practiced this same routine hundreds of times throughout the summer, I still found myself nervous that I would mess up. My anxiety seemed to fade as I found Rue and Jules at a table sitting alone, wide smiles on their faces while they leaned into each other. Lexi sat at a table not too far from them, and I found myself waving at her as well before the cheer finished.

Lexi and I hung out quite a few times over the summer, finding friendship in each other when her sister was out with McKay and while Maddy was with Nate. She confided in me about her guilt with Rue and about how she felt overlooked by her sister and her peers, and I told her about my dad, and how I spent my life in Ohio depressed because I constantly felt alone as my mother was so busy working.

Anyway, that is how I ended up at Lexi's house, curled up under blankets with her while we watched an episode of 'Hoarders' on her laptop. Cassie left for McKay's campus for the weekend, so we figured it was the perfect time to lay around and catch up on what we missed with each other. Unconsciously I found myself checking my phone a lot, something that Lexi caught early on.

"Are you like waiting for an announcement or something?" She paused the episode and laughed at me.

"No, I just..." I trailed off. "I texted Fez this morning and I guess I've been waiting for him to reply all day."

"Does he usually text back fast?" She furrowed her eyebrows before turning on her side to face me fully.

"Yeah, almost instantly." I turned my phone toward her to show her the rows and rows of messages Fezco and I exchanged over the last week. I hadn't seen him since I left his house on Monday, but we spent the rest of the week almost continuously talking about anything and everything could. Admittedly, his lack of reply today hurt. "Maybe he's just not into me anymore."

"Are you crazy?" Lexi scoffed, smacking me lightly with an extra pillow that she grabbed from the bed. "If he wasn't into you, he wouldn't have replied in the first place. Plus, you're like really hot. If he lost interest in you then that'd make him incredibly stupid." I smiled at her and turned on my side so I could get a better look at her.

"Do you really mean that?" I asked quietly. She nodded, encouraging me to continue. "When I went to his house, I honestly expected...I don't know what I expected. I thought he'd ask for sex or something, but we sat on his couch and watched 'Stand by Me' and talked until he took me home. It's like there was no pressure, no pushing, no 'you should do this for me because I'm interested in you.' Just him wanting to spend time with me, and I really liked it." She smiled before playfully pushing my shoulder.

"Yeah, that's not something someone does if they're not into you. I think it's sweet, and you totally sound like you're falling for him." She accused. I bit my lip to hold back my smile and pushed her back. Maybe I was falling for him.