A Season of Firsts

Chapter 11 - A Dare

Before December 31st

AIDEN

Stupid history oral. Due on Monday. And, in Mr. Hardwell's own words, I'll be watching you closely, Harper. Which is just brilliant. I honestly don't know what I did to make him hate me so much, but he hasn't been making things easy for me.

If only I didn't have to study, I could be spending more time with Emma.
But I do, because my parents are not the kind of parents that will give their son a hug and tell him well done for trying if he fails. They won't murder me or anything, they'll just shake their heads, faces full of disappointment, and tell me I can do better. I can't stand disappointing them, the way it made me feel when they approached me about bunking school on Tuesday was enough to remind me why I haven't before.

Garth, on the other hand, gets bad grades all of the time and his parents don't seem to mind too much. Or, if they do, Garth doesn't act like he cares a lot about it.
Tempting him the only way I know how, I insist that all the girls like smart dudes, and drag him with me to the library to study on Saturday afternoon.

"Ugh," he groans as he flips through an old, dusty encyclopaedia. "I hate books. I can't believe I let you talk me into this. I thought you were cool, but if you were you wouldn't force your buddy into coming to a library to hangout."

I smile and roll my eyes at his drama. "If you find reading so boring, here's an idea. I dare you to talk to that girl." I nod in the direction of a girl sitting at the table in front of us. Her back is turned to us and all we can see is her long, wavy brown hair. She's bent over, reading something. She must be so absorbed in her book that she didn't notice us come in.
No one else is in this section of the library, it seems that the rest of the world didn't think it a wonderful idea to visit the library on a Saturday.

Garth's eyes dart to the girl and then back to me again. "And say what?"

I shrug, holding back a chuckle at him actually considering it. "I don't know. Ask her name, for starters." I return my attention to the book on WWI that I was reading.

"Is that how you got Emma talking to you? You just asked her name?" Garth interrupts my concentration.

I sigh. "Nope. There was more to it than that."

"Like what?" he asks. "Everybody is amazed, including me. Do you know how long Nathan Park has been trying to get her to go out with him? And he could have any girl he wants."

"Dude. Seriously, Nathan Park isn't me," I tease, and quickly deflect the play punch to my shoulder.

"If I talk to that girl, will you tell me?"

I shake my head. "If you get that girl's number, then I might give you more details."

He narrows his eyes. "Fine."

He doesn't waste anytime dumping the encyclopaedia on the table and leaving his seat. Strolling up behind the brunette girl, he taps her shoulder. She jumps, spinning around to look at him.

Then I recognize her.

It's Cleo.

~ ~ ~

CLEO

The tap on my shoulder gives me a huge fright. I turn and find myself looking at a boy with sandy blond hair that flops over his forehead and warm brown eyes peeking out from beneath. Do I know this guy?

"Hi," he says.

"Um, hi."

"I'm Garth," he holds out a big hand and I shake it with my own, still very confused. My bewilderment increases when I notice someone else in the room, looking at me from the table behind me.

Aiden.

Garth clears his throat and my eyes jerk back to him. "You have really beautiful eyes," he comments, casually and leans forward a bit. Is he flirting with me?

"Uh, thanks," I reply. I can feel my cheeks warming.

"So...I know this might be a little weird, but, uh, can I have you number?"

What? I look to Aiden and then to Garth again. Are they playing some sort of prank on me? Probably. Aiden hasn't given me a second glance since the day I met him, so I doubt he'd care much about me being pranked.

"Why?" It feels dumb to ask, but I don't want to walk straight into something.

"Well..." Garth looks a little nervous now, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks down at me. "I want to go on a date with you sometime."

"You don't even know my name."

"What's your name?"

I can't help rolling my eyes. "Cleo."

"Nice name. So, about the number..." Garth lets the sentence trail on.

I realize Aiden is still staring at me, and he hasn't spoken a word. Then a thought strikes me. If, which is a very big if, if Aiden cares anything for me, accepting Garth's proposition of going on a date might make him jealous.
Wait, slow down, Cleo. Didn't you see him with Emma the other night? He wouldn't get jealous over you, you're the only one who's been getting jealous.

But Garth is nice looking and he seems friendly enough. It wouldn't only be about trying to get back at Aiden. I ask myself, is it a yes or no? I've only been asked out once before.

And the last person to ask me out was my best friend. Before I said no to him.

I still think about him often. Daniel Farley. It was a year ago and we've long since drifted apart. I felt bad that turning him away romantically ending up meaning the end of our strong friendship. He couldn't take being around me after that.

If I close my eyes I can see his bright green eyes, golden skin and light brown hair.

Daniel is different now. He stopped coming to church a while ago. He drives a Harley Davidson bike and has that classic bad boy image about him, getting with all the girls, beating up any guys who cross him. He got a piercing in his left ear and a tattoo recently, or so I heard.
All of this I've been told by his cousin, Jacki, who lives next door to him.

I just remember him as the kid with a head of curls and a big smile.

I miss when it was simple, when we were kids and just friends. Sometimes I resent that he had to go and complicate things. But I know that the way I handled it wasn't exactly done in the best way, and I regret it.

Now here I am, faced with the same question again, this time from someone I hardly know compared to someone I've known my whole life.
I force myself out of my thoughts and stand to attention. Garth's friendly stance and carefree aura is contradicted by his facial expressions. He looks doubtful over what he just got himself into and a little impatient as he waits for my answer.

"Um," I murmur. Against my better judgement, I make a decision weighted by the fact that I want to see where this goes. I want to see if Aiden cares or not, despite telling myself that's not true, I know it is.

"Okay. Sure. You can have my number."

Out of the corner of my eye I see Aiden's frown.

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Author's note: Hey! Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. Hope you didn't find this chapter too short or too boring. I'll try to keep the next chapter longer.

What do you think of Cleo giving Garth a chance? Do you think she harbours any left over feelings for Daniel?