Comfy Closets

10|| Nicknames and Thirdwheels

"Gia, we are going to a party this Friday," I announced as I barged into her room.

"Wait, what? You never like going to those," she groans as she slowly sits up from her bed, the crumpled sheets wrapped around her like a cocoon. "And nice to see you too, coming to visit my sickly self," she quipped sarcastically.

After I left school, I went straight to Gia's house, needing to tell her what happened. Now taking the time to look at her, I felt guilty about disturbing her rest. The room was mostly dark with the exception of the dying sunlight coming through the slit in the curtains. Her eyes looked tired, with slight bags underneath and her skin was paler than what would be deemed as her healthy complexion. The space between my eyebrows creased as I now gazed at her with concern. "Sorry, G. Are you feeling better?" I asked, sitting near the foot of her bed.

She quickly grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and sneezed into it before she croakily answered. "I'm feeling better than this morning. I should be fine to go to school tomorrow." She then laid back down in exhaustion. "Now what were you saying about a party?" the redhead mumbled, her hair splayed across the pillow.

Taking this as my cue, I quickly caught her up on what happened in class and after school with Leah, skimming over the details but focusing more on what happened on the walk back. Her eyes slowly widened as I recapped the events, even sitting up again to listen more intently as I excitedly relayed everything.

"Well, now we know Leah is as smooth as me," she commented, more so boasting about her charm than complimenting the blonde.

"Yes, we all know your charisma is top-notch. Now move on," I deadpanned.

"Alright, alright," she chuckled to herself, wiping her runny nose with a tissue before she went on. "Well okay, I guess we'll be going to a party on Friday. Haven't been to one in a bit," she mused as she stretched her arms above her head.

"Yes! Okay, I'll tell Ash about it. He probably was already planning to go anyways," I said excitedly, whipping my phone out to text him. I was way more excited than any other time the word 'party' was mentioned before, and there's really only one reason why.

As I was doing that, Gia was staring at me with knowing eyes, a small smile present on her lips. "You really like her, don't you?" she said, making it sound more like a statement than a question.

My heart skipped a beat as she said that. Pausing my actions for a second, I glanced up at her and bit my bottom lip, not saying anything. She knew the answer to that already, but even if she didn't, I knew my eyes said it all.

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The next day, I did see Leah, but it was only in passing. I was on my way to third period with Ashton by my side, and she was walking the other way towards me with a bunch of her friends next to her, chatting amiably.

The blonde noticed me a second after I did and raised her hand slightly, mouthing a silent 'hey' as she neared. I reciprocated her gesture with a shy smile and a small wave that looked more like I was karate chopping the air. Instantly cringing at my awkwardness, I looked straight ahead again as I walked past, a clear blush staining my cheeks.

Ashton noticed my gesture and looked behind him with mild curiosity to see who it was I waved at. He was definitely going to tease me if he found out who it was. I had to distract him.

He turned his head back around, a little puzzled. "Was that Leah you-"

I cut in just then, saying the first thing that came to mind. "Ash! Do you know about that new movie coming out? I wanna see it."

He scratched the side of his head for a second, then decided to let the Leah thing go for now to answer my question. "Um, I don't know which one you're talking about. What's it called?" he questioned distractedly.