Weird and Weirder

CH8. Daph's POV - I Want to Hold Your Hand

Chapter 8 – Daph's POV

I Want to Hold Your Hand

"Can we please stop talking about Lexi's beautiful little fit of anger and start talking about what you're hiding from me?" I ask Alex for maybe the twentieth time this afternoon.

We went to walk in a park to chat. I hate this park, there's a bunch of errant cats hanging around. Cats annoy the shit out of me. They're useless and they don't have a backbone, they're all weird. And annoying. And useless. They make me think of Kevin.

But whatever, the park is not important, what's important is that Alex has been keeping something from me. He's texting all the time and he's smiling at his phone and blushing a little like he's chatting up with Prince William.

I don't see how he could have gotten the balls to find himself a boyfriend over the last two weeks, but then again, apparently Lexi started mooning over Blake in that period of time, so anything is possible.

Maybe my leaving was the cataclysm for my best friends getting their freak on. Maybe I was the one cockblocking them unconsciously all along.

"I'm not hiding anything."

I narrow my eyes. "You are though."

"I swear!" he says, raising his hands in surrender.

"I shouldn't pry if you're not ready to share. I know this. You should do things at your own pace, but you know this is what friends are for. You tell them about your secrets and they support you and you can both gush together about the dude you're clearly texting."

His cheeks are red now. He's staring at the ground. "I'm not texting anyone."

"Oh yeah, suuuuuuuure. So, like it's not texting, it's just dick pics?"

He burst into laugher, shoving my shoulder softly, "Shut yo mouth."

I grab his hand and drag him, skipping along, "You know you have to show me all the dick pics you get. I always show you mine." I hate getting unsolicited meat pics. Why? Seriously, why? Boys are so damn clueless. So other people should suffer along with me.

He laughs again. I laugh too. "I don't get why you always show them to me."

"Hey, I'm just sharing the goodies with you since I thought you weren't getting some, but apparently I should have kept all the curlies for myself."

"You're so gross."

"Nah, the boys who don't know how to groom themselves are gross." I make a gagging sound in emphasis.

"And by the way, the whole this is what friends are for speech is really grand coming from you," Alex tells me, as he stops walking, still holding on to my hand so I stop too and turn around to look at him.

"What?"

"In our little friends' quartet, who's the one keeping the most stuff to herself? Huh?" he asks, eyebrow raised.

I give him a sheepish grin. "Lexi?"

"Please, you can read Lexi like an open book. You only talk with Fred."

"That's not true," I answer, defensively.

"It is kinda true. Are you dating Fred?"

I roll my eyes. Pull his hand to start walking again. Alex doesn't move. "I'm not dating Fred," I tell him after scoffing.