The Gay Delusion

19: The Gay Delusion

A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNN! Finally, the long-awaited, eponymously titled chapter ;) Sorry for the delay in this update - it was an insanely hard one to get right and for me to be even vaguely happy with :) So much freaking editing was involved (-.-) but I hope you like it! I would love to know what you think! (Also, for any of you reading this story who haven't read HYJB/have read it but can't really remember certain specifics, maybe refer to chapter 17 of it after - only after, though, so you don't get any hints at spoilers! :P - reading this chapter to help your understanding of this one just a little better. :)) xoxo

19: The Gay Delusion

'I can't believe we're doing this,' Nova whispered as we started walking towards the building of the bowling alley, looking half like she wanted to burst out laughing, and half like she wanted to run completely in the opposite direction. She was holding my hand, our fingers clasped together; the dark grey polish on my nails momentarily distracted me from the butterflies in my stomach because of the way they looked so cute beside the pastel blue on hers. (Gosh, I was lame. Sue me.)

'We make a pretty convincing couple, don't you think?' I murmured, letting out a small laugh and giving Nova a jokingly flirtatious wink. 'Maybe we were born to be together, after all, Supernova.'

'Maybe,' she agreed, giving my hand a gentle squeeze before asking tentatively for perhaps the thirtieth time, 'But are you absolutely sure you want to do this?'

I nodded, pushing back my hair from my face with my free hand before confidently replying, 'Yeah, of course. It's a mental, insane idea, but I just want him to believe me, Nove. I feel like this might be my only chance to legitimately be his - artificially gay - friend again.'

She hesitated. 'I don't know about this. I feel like I'm encouraging you to do the wrong thing by being part of this jacked-up plan,' Nova groaned quietly. 'After all these years, I'm still helping you with your weird-ass schemes. Like, do you remember that time you ordered a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Hugh Laurie and just stuck him in the school loos?'

I snorted with laughter at the memory. 'I don't know how I forgot about that! Iconic,' I joked. 'Both me and Hugh. And you, for paying half the money for it.'

Nova rolled her eyes. 'Such a waste of my hard-earned money. You're so lucky you have me - no one else would go along with that. Or this,' she added. I knew she was trying to get me to rethink this whole thing, but it was way too late now.

Not only because I had my mind set on going ahead with this double date shebang, but because we were now literally seconds away from seeing Griffin. If we stood him up now, he probably would have thought I was an even bigger freak than he did already, and I wasn't having that.

'I know,' I said as we stepped inside, feeling my heart jump a little in anticipation. 'I appreciate it so much though, Nove.'

'You're nuts. And whoever this guy is, he must be equally as nuts as you to have agreed to this, as well.'

I smiled wryly at that: Griffin himself had explicitly admitted that he must have been certifiably insane to have said yes to coming on this double date. It had taken a lot of awkward coaxing and pleading, but eventually he had agreed, and I was on top of the world.

The morning that I decided I was going to ask him, one of the few things running through my mind was the notion that I had done a lot of crazy things in my life - but I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. I was actually, well and truly, about to ask Griffin Davis on a date. Me. Laina Carter. Well, sort of.

'Hey - Griffin! Griffin, wait up!' I had called. My hand was outstretched in front of me after I jumped out of my chair and legged it after him, as though that would have magnetically drawn him back to me - like I was Magneto from X-Men or something - and slowed his long, quick strides.