Griff and Zuri: Head Over Heels (Short Story)

Chapter 3: A Little Game Of Matchmaker

Nothing felt more stupid than trying to hold Zuri's hand, and nothing felt worse than watching her walk away.

What was I thinking?

Griff paced back and forth on the dock, playing with his fingers as thoughts flooded his mind. The rain would usually be bothering him, but it didn't seem to faze him right now.

He stayed like that for a good while, trying to take in what was happening.

Griff's train of thought was interrupted by Xander, walking toward him with a sympathetic look on his face.

"What are you doing here in the rain?"

"I-i um.." Griff trailed off, not sure of what to say.

"Did something happen? You wouldn't be sitting alone in the rain if nothing was going on."

Xander seemed concerned, so Griff told him everything.

"I held her hand. W-Well, not exactly held her hand.. I touched it. But she bailed on me, Xander. She probably hates me right now. What do I do?" Griff felt a little heartbroken as he spoke.

"Tell you what. I'll tell Emma to have a talk with Zuri-"

"No! Just don't. I'll figure this out on my own. I don't need things getting any worse."

Griff didn't spare a glance as he walked off. He needed somewhere to think things over. Alone.

---

Oh wow. Griff just. Held. My. Hand.

Zuri laid on her bed and listened to the rain, not believing what she had just done.

I shouldn't have ran off.

I should've stayed.

What is wrong with me?

What do I do?

This was giving Zuri a headache. How did things get so messed up? She needed to do something about this, but what could she do?

Zuri sat outside on the sheltered bench, sighing to herself as the rain fell onto the tips of her shoes.

---

Griff wandered in the woods, not sure of where he was going, until he finally decided to head back to his cabin.

He stumbled upon Zuri's cabin and backed away slowly; he noticed she was sitting on a bench. By herself.

Don't do it, don't sit next to her, just sneak into your cabin without her noticing.

Griff felt dumb about the whole thing. He wished he didn't have to make a game plan to go back to his cabin.

Then.. it happened. He found himself getting lost into her eyes for what was probably the thousandth time. 

Stop, stop now. She doesn't like you. Forget it.

Griff decided to sneak into his cabin from the back, but his loud footsteps easily gave it away.

"Griff?" Zuri turned around, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hey." Griff mumbled shyly, desperately wanting to hurry back to his cabin and sleep the rest of the day away. 

"Hi."

Griff walked over and sat beside her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, tilting his head. "You know you can talk to me."

Zuri nodded, chipping the nail polish off of her nails.

"Okay."  Griff looked down at his feet, not knowing what to say next. His chest felt like it was going to explode.

"I'm gonna go check on Tiffany and Emma. See you..." And with that, Zuri headed off to her cabin without a second thought.

That's a way to break the silence.

---

"Hey Zuri." Tiffany greeted as she sat on her bed, scribbling something on her textbook.

"Tiffany, you know it's summer, right?" Zuri furrowed her brows. "No school."

"Oh come on! This is so much fun." Tiffany rolled her eyes. She was being dead serious.

"You call this fun?" Zuri chuckled, pointing to a stack of math worksheets stacked on Tiffany's nightstand.

Tiffany paused, trying to focus on her homework. "Yep."

"You know what? We need to go have some fun. Where's Emma?" Zuri asked, searching the cabin for her sister.

"She's not here," Tiffany replied.

"Then where is she?"

Tiffany looked up from her book. "Talking to Xander, I guess."

What a surprise.

Zuri sat on her bed and wrote in her diary:

Griff held my hand today. Not trying to sound mushy, but it was pretty magical. I felt my face turning red and I chickened out like a loser. He probably hates me now.

"Zuri, why are you moping around like a loser? You never do this." Tiffany raised a brow, eager for an explanation.

Zuri sighed, flopping back onto her bed. "Leave me alone, Tiffany."

"Fine, fine. I can't help you if you don't tell me anything." Tiffany pulled out her violin, experimenting with new irritating noises.

Zuri covered her ears with her pillow. "Tiffany, please. Stop playing that thing."

"I'm not gonna stop playing until you tell me why you're sad." Tiffany grinned, playing even louder.

Zuri shrieked, rolling off her bed with a thump. "Shut up!"

"ALRIGHT I'M GONNA START SINGING! TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STA-"

"FINE! Fine."

"Okay so what is it?"

"Griff held my hand and I bailed on him."

Tiffany stopped playing, eyes growing wide. "Why would you do that?"

"I was scared. I could've said something embarassing and ruined everything." Zuri felt like crying. She regretted her actions so much.

Tiffany shrugged. "You kinda did ruin everything."

"Don't remind me."

---

Emma went through the woods until she spotted Xander waiting for her.

"Hey Emma." Xander sighed worriedly.

"You seem a little off. Is everything okay?" Emma asked as she walked up to him.

Xander sighed. "Not exactly. I saw Griff on the dock, and he wasn't looking too good."

"What happened? Did Zuri-"

"Griff said he tried to hold her hand and she bailed on him."

Emma was confused. Didn't Zuri like him?

"But I thought Zuri liked him.."

"I don't know, but I have a plan.." Xander smirked mischievously, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What kind of plan?" Emma asked.

Xander laughed. "Let's say we play a little game of matchmaker, shall we?"

"That's not such a bad idea." Emma grinned.

"It'll all go down at lunchtime tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

---------------

A/N

Update #3! So yes, I'm trying to make the chapters long and more detailed. It's easier to understand the whole story that way. I'm also hoping to make all of the chapters 1k words or more. I hope you enjoy :)