Dating Mistakes

Chapter 8

Ethan

Bells jingle on the doors as I walk through them into Dream Cone. Sweet smell of vanilla, chocolate and various other flavours all at once wafts over me and I closed my eyes for a second.

Elaine wanted to meet here to grab an ice cream after school and go to her house for a study date as we do every Tuesday.
I look around and instantly spot her. She's five-four but, somehow, always seems to stand out in a crowd.
She's talking to someone I've never seen around.

That's strange.

I know all of her friends or even acquaintances because she talks about all of it. Not a day goes by when she doesn't tell me about all the stuff that happened and all the new people she met.

But maybe she just met him.

I walk over to them, just as she laughs at something the guy says.

"Hey El! Who's your new friend?" She looks up at me and smiles.

"Hey! Took you long enough. That's Noah." She says, tipping her chin in the guy's direction. "I met him a few weeks ago, here only. Although, that wasn't exactly meeting, was it?" She looks at Noah, humor in her eyes.

"Oh, hey." I extend my hand and he  shakes it. He's about my height and seems just a year or two older than me. I don't think I like him at all.

"I believe it was. I mean I did meet you, didn't I? It wasn't my fault I was getting late and couldn't stick around to chat more. Though believe me if I could, I would have." He winks at her and her cheeks turn a little pink as she smiles up at him. Nope. Not all. Don't like him a bit.

"El? Let's go and get that ice cream. You know I've got like only an hour." Then to Noah, "I mean it was nice meeting you man but we have to get going."

"Oh yeah sure. How about I give you a ride, Elaine?"

"Thanks, really but I think I'll be fine. I promised Ethan to walk home with him. But I guess I'll text you soon." She stands up. Text her?!

"Don't worry, even if you forget, I won't." He says after her and she passes him a smile and waves over her shoulder. Then, she directs her attention at me, "Ethan, are you okay?"

It's then that I realise my hands are clenched into tight fist and my nails are digging into the skin of my palms. My teeth are pressed together so tight I'm afraid I'm gonna break one or two and I'm frowning. I will my body to relax and paste on a smile. "Of course, I am. So, new friend, huh? I don't think you mentioned."

"Yeah, well, he wasn't really a friend before today. In fact the guy cut in the line and ordered before me that day. And then one day, he bumped into me on my way home. Asked me to get ice cream or whatever with him."

"So did you go?" I can feel the tension building up in my muscles again.

"Of course not! What do you take me for? An idiot?"

"No, I don't even know why I asked. Your trust issues can, probably, defeat Mount Everest." I chuckle and shake my head. But she trusts me, I can feel it in my bones when she looks at me, smiles at me. I wish she could one day trust me with her heart too. Four years is a really long time, and yet I could never replace her. Couldn't even erase the thoughts of the way she silently sat by the pool that night, gazing up at the night sky, oblivious to the ruckus in the very next room. The night I met her. The night it all changed. For the best.

"Hey, now! That's why I'm still here with you. Be grateful." She sticks her tongue out and she looks ten times cuter. I can't help, I laugh. She starts laughing too.

"I don't think you'll still leave me. I'm just that wonderful." I say, even as tendrils of dread snake around and up my spine and give rise to a whole another kind of panic in my heart.

I might lose her one day.

"Ugh! You and your over inflated sense of self worth. But yeah, you're right, you are pretty wonderful, that's why you got a friend like me." She links her arm through mine as we move forward in the queue.

"Because opposites attract?" I laugh as she swats my arm and crosses hers over her chest and looks up at me with mock glare. "Aw my little angry kitten, I'm just kidding." I sling an arm over her shoulder. "You're pretty amazing yourself. And I still love you when you act otherwise."

"You're impossible, Ethan Sinclaire." She shakes her head but smiles at me.

We take our orders and walk to her house all the while chatting, and I almost forget about the way her eyes lit up while talking to the "new friend".

Almost.

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