The Boyfriend Project

Chapter 52

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Spanish class went by in a blur. I was too preoccupied with Easton and his disappearing act all of a sudden. The moment I wanted to talk to him, he decided not to show up for school. I just wanted the bell to ring, but then again, I didn't know why because I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach he wasn't going to be at lunch either. And to top everything off, Gavin was avoiding me after last night. I couldn't really blame him, either. Then again, I was to blame for that, too. Did I give him mixed signals, and I didn't realize it? The last thing I wanted to do was to hurt Gavin; he deserved better. This is not how Senior year was supposed to happen. 

"Are you ready to head to the cafeteria?" Blakely asked, walking over to me as I walked out of Spanish class. 

"Yeah, I guess." I sighed, looking down at my phone. 

"Still nothing from Easton?" 

"No. I really messed things up. I should've talked to him when he wanted to speak to me all those times before." 

"He's not exactly innocent in this mess." Blakely huffed. "The way he treated you. Not to mention, let his mom cause trouble also. Just think you'll have to put up with her if you decide to be with him." She raised an eyebrow. 

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh...my god, I completely forgot about her. She will definitely cause problems. She is for team Savannah." I rolled my eyes. "Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut and not say anythig." 

Blakely grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side so we wouldn't get run over by the kids rushing through the hall in a hurry. "Do you think you will be able to keep your mouth shut? I, for one, wouldn't give him another chance, but this is your decision. You have to do what's best for you. I will support you no matter what because you're my best friend." 

"Thanks." 

"Anytime." She smiled. "Come on; I'm starving." She laughed as she tugged on my bookbag. Then, we took off walking down the now-empty hall toward the cafeteria. Five minutes later, we walked through the double doors of the cafeteria, and my eyes immediately began to search for Easton. First, I looked over toward Savannah's table to see if he was sitting with her, and thankfully, he wasn't over there. Then, my eyes shifted to Easton's friend's table; he wasn't there either. So now that I want to talk to him, he's nowhere to be found. Figures. Gavin was sitting over at our table, eating his lunch. I wanted to run out of the lunchroom rather than go over there and talk to him after last night. I stayed a few steps behind Blakely as we headed to our table. I let Blakely set her things down next to Gavin, and I sat on the other side of Blakely. Gavin looked up and smiled, which didn't help the guilt. 

"Are you avoiding me, Chelsi?" Gavin asked, setting his water bottle down on the table. 

"No," I said, glancing at him, then toward the salad bar over my shoulder. 

"Then, why can't you look me in the eye for more than five seconds?" 

"I can look you in the eye." I looked down at my things, then over at him. He was sitting there with his eyebrow raised with a smirk. 

"Mmmm, Hmmm." He nodded, trying not to laugh. 

"What?" My brow furrowed. 

"Nothing." He chuckled, taking a drink of his water. 

"Gavin..." 

He raised his hand before I could get another word out of my mouth. "I'm not mad at you. There's nothing you have to say, Chelsi." 

I didn't want to press the matter, so I nodded my head in response to his comment, then turned and walked over to the salad bar. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, the most annoying voice came up behind me. 

"Wow...And you thought I was a player," Aaron said. 

I slammed my hand down on the counter. "What the fuck do you want?" I turned around, glaring at him. He had the nerve to stand there and look surprised by my response. "What? Speak. I know you are dying to say something else to me, so let's hear it." I raised my hand in the air. 

He closed his gaping mouth and looked around at the eyes staring at us from all directions. "You truly are a bitch." 

"And guess who made me this way?" I shifted my weight to my right foot, crossing my arms. 

"Whatever." He stormed off, not saying another word. 

I stood there and glanced at everyone still staring over at me. "What are you all looking at?" I yelled. They stared at me for a couple more seconds, then finally looked away and went back to eating and talking at their tables. I wasn't hungry anymore and went back to the table. Blakely went and grabbed her something to eat real quick and brought me back a bottle of water. 

"What was that all about?" Gavin asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. 

"Aaron being a dick." I opened my bottle of water. "He commented on me being a player." I glared over at Aaron and his friends. 

Gavin let out a chuckle. My eyes quickly shifted to him. "Why is that funny?" 

"Chelsi, I didn't mean anything by it." 

"Well, you thought something about the comment was funny, or you wouldn't have laughed." My eyes narrowed. 

"Chelsi, Gavin didn't mean anything by it. Remember, we are your friends. You aren't the player type, so Aaron saying that is kinda funny. No offense." Blakely chimed in, trying to defuse the tension between Gavin and me. 

I sat there for a few minutes, sulking, staring off toward the cafeteria doors, hoping Easton would walk through them any minute. I was mad that Easton wasn't at school so that I could talk to him, and Aaron coming up to me didn't help my mood. Gavin laughing at what Aaron said rubbed me the wrong way, and I started to take my anger out on the wrong people. I didn't mean to go after Gavin like that, but his laughing at the comment wasn't what I needed at the moment. I just wanted this day to be over, and it wasn't going by fast enough, which was pissing me off. 

The last thing I needed was Gavin being mad at me over something stupid, so I swallowed what was left of my pride and apologized for jumping his ass for laughing at the comment. He apologized in return and said he shouldn't have laughed when he knew I was clearly upset about something. So we dropped the subject and talked about the party tonight at Avery's. I had second thoughts about going, but I knew Blakely wouldn't let me sit at home and wallow in self-pity.