Becoming A Butterfly (The Butterfly Chronicles) (12 page)

“
I got third,” he said matter-of-factly.

“
Congrats.” My gaze drifted back toward Bea lining up; her pale blond ponytail still swaying behind her.

“
I don’t know what the big deal is about her,” he thought out loud.

“
Me either.” I crossed my arms over my knees again.

“
I mean she’s not really cute, and she’s mean.”

“
Well, that’s part of her charm,” I smirked.

“
If I had to choose between her and you, I’d pick you all day long.” He turned and leaned back, resting his elbow at my hip.

“
Why would you say that?” I asked looking at him sternly. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate a compliment; it was just that I didn’t want any pity friendships.

“
You’re way cooler than she is, and you shouldn’t let her get to you is all. You’re so much better than that.” He knocked me with his shoulder, watching me out of the corner of his eye as I gave him a weak smile.

“
Thanks,” I began, about to apologize, but the coach called my name. I stood and straightened my shirt and purple shorts as I delicately began to descend the stairs. I could feel his gaze still on me, and I did
not
want to tumble down the bleachers. I lined up and stretched each leg behind me before I took my position. The whistle blew, and I began at a moderate pace, letting the leaders get out ahead of me. Then I just concentrated on my breathing and speed. I enjoyed running; I just usually tripped and skinned my knees up—like right now. My feet got tangled underneath me, and down I went. I felt the gravel dig into my knee.

“
Watch out!” someone shouted at me. I was trying to, but I was down. I let everyone pass before I attempted to get up. Coach was at my side when I finally rose, blood dripping down my shin.

“
Good effort, Baxter. You made it farther than last time.” He patted me on the back a little roughly. I winced.

“
Head on over to the nurse.” I nodded, and made my way limping across the field, not putting too much pressure on my throbbing knee. I glanced toward the bleachers. Chase was watching me, leaning forward on his knees.
Awesome, he saw the whole thing.

By the time I made it to the nurse, the blood was drying. She had to scrape it a little to get the gravel out of it and the peroxide in. Then she put a big bandage on it. Finally, I made it back to gym in time to hit the lockers and change. When I emerged, Chase was leaning against the lockers waiting for me.

“
How’s your knee?” he asked.

“
It’s OK. Hurts a little.” I regretted my decision to wear those cute shorts today. It actually hurt a lot, but I put on a brave face and tried to walk on my toes to distribute the weight less on my knee. He walked with me to my locker and told me he’d text me later.

When I made it to my car, Henry was leaning against the trunk. He looked really cool there. I smiled, hoping I didn’t look creepy.

“
Hey, thanks again,” he said. I unlocked my door
,
and climbed in to unlock the other side. By the time I got it, Jade and Tasha were there looking quizzically at Henry with cheesy smiles across their faces. Henry climbed in back with Tasha, and Jade took shotgun; she was my first stop. We listened to music on my phone through the stereo as we left the parking lot. My phone dinged almost immediately. My text-to-drive app read in a very generic computer voice, “I’m going to hit up Starbucks. Do you want anything? From Asshole.” Jade and Tasha giggled.

“
Who’s Asshole?” Henry laughed.

“
Chase,” I said softly. He mouthed “oh,” as I said louder, “Send a reply. Yes, mocha extra whiped cream please.”

“
Sending message to Asshole,” my phone said.

After we dropped off Jade and Tasha, it was pretty quiet for a bit. It reminded me of the last time I’d driven Henry home.

“
Have you seen Farrah lately?” he asked as he looked out the window.

“
No, she’s been pretty busy, I guess,” I said, looking straight ahead.

“
I’m really glad I got to meet her. She’s amazing.” He smiled at me.

“
I think as long as you’re happy that’s what’s important,” I replied sadly.

“
You don’t sound like you mean that,” he remarked, observing me closely.

“
I guess
,
I feel like I’m in the middle of it because I know her, and I know you.” I paused to find the right word. “And now you guys are doing whatever,” I said, instantly wishing I hadn’t. He frowned, and if I were really being honest, the right words were that I was in the middle of it because I was a liar and a fraud.

“
I’m sorry if we’ve made you feel like that.” He looked away. When I approached my house, I saw Chase’s car at the curb. I avoided his hard gaze as I pulled into my driveway. He got out of his car and met us at the walkway to my front door.

“
Thanks again for the ride, Lacey.” Henry waved to me before he walked away. “Hey, Chase,” he said passing him. Chase nodded and handed me my coffee.

“
What was that?” he asked without expression.

“
He needed a ride home, and he lives next door,” I said with a shrug as I opened the door.

“
Right, I know the rumors. You’re playing a dangerous gam—” Chase began, but before he could finish, Lana bounced into his arms.

“
Chase!” I laughed while she squealed his name.

“
Hey, Short Stuff.” He hugged her back while trying not to spill his coffee.

“
I don’t get greetings like that,” I said with mock jealousy. I was glad that she was getting back to her normal self, and if that meant crushing on Chase, that was OK. She let go of him, blushing slightly.

“
That makes it even better,” he chuckled. He followed me up to my room. We finished the website, then sat just listening to the Cate’s Ashes music. I hated to admit it, and I wouldn’t admit it to Chase, but I was a fan of his band. It didn’t feel like we were working; it felt like we were hanging out. He walked over to my closet and went through my clothes piece by piece. He stood there for a few minutes before I realized what he was doing.

“
What are you doing?” I asked as I walked over to
him.

“
Why don’t you ever wear any of these things?” he asked, looking through my summer dresses.

“
I do, sometimes,” I said defensively.

“
Wear this on Saturday.” He held up a blue floral spaghetti-strap dress.

“
Maybe,” I said, taking it from him and put it back in my closet. “But I’m not sure I want to take advice from a guy who only wears blue jeans and plain white T-shirts. What’s that about anyway?” I asked, flopping on my bed. He sat down in my desk chair and propped his feet up on my desk.

“
It’s just the mood I’m in.” He looked out my window. I hoped he didn’t realize that my window looked into Henry’s. He looked at me thoughtfully for a minute and then stood.

“
I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“
O-OK,” I stuttered and followed him down to the front door.

Chapter 15

I was in the bathroom getting ready for school when I heard a loud thump noise. I paused and listened to see if I was imagining things. Thump. No, there it was again. Thump. I went into my bedroom and listened again. Thump. It was coming from my window. Thump. I peeked through my blinds. Henry was throwing a pencil with twine tied around it at my window. That was weird. I raised my blinds as he threw it again, right at my face. It made me jump. He signaled “oops” and I raised my window. He said, “Hi.”

I put my hands on the windowsill and leaned out the window. I said, “Good morning.”
He didn’t say anything else at first; he just stared at me, at my chest. I could feel a blush chasing my neck and cheeks. I looked down and saw that my boobs looked big. It must have been a combination of my v-neck camisole top, my arms pushing them up like I was wearing a push up bra, oh, and the push up bra I was wearing. His eyes were glued
,
until I looked back up at him, and his red face suddenly matched mine.

“
I would have called, but I don’t have your cell number,” he began. Today his shirt said, “My other shirt is at your mom’s house.”

“
OK, what’s up?”

“
Byron has to get a filling this morning. Could I hitch another ride with you?” I was shocked.

“
Yeah, sure. Be out front in, like, twenty minutes?” He gave me a huge, beautiful smile and nodded. I leaned back in my window and closed it and the blinds. I was wearing a pair of
dark brown, cuffed dress shorts, and a Kelly green camisole. I added a thin, white, scoop-neck, cuffed-sleeve, hip-length T-shirt. I covered that with a baby blue cardigan, knowing I would wear it only during the morning. It would be a really warm afternoon. I slipped on a pair of flat sandals and was ready to go. I grabbed the toaster strudel my dad had warmed up for me and was out the door—bags on my arm, sunglasses on my head. As I came out the door, Henry was standing there staring at the gnome at the top of our stairs.

He held my eye contact as I pulled the door shut behind me
and turned to lock it.

“
That thing is creepy,” he said behind me. I smiled in agreement, my nerves suddenly wreaking havoc on my ability to get the key from the lock.

I almost stumbled down the stairs, but held onto the railing. I didn’t think he noticed. In the car on the way to school, I balanced my strudel on my left thigh—very dangerous considering, but I remained stain-free. I kept glancing at him
,
and catching his gazes at my legs. I guess that was a compliment. It was definitely a confidence boost, especially after his boob ogling this morning.

“
So, are you into anyone these days?” he asked as he looked out the window.

“
Huh?” I asked dumbly.

“
You into anyone? Seeing anyone? Habla ingles?” He chuckled. I loved that laugh.

“
I’m sort of talking to someone.”

He nodded. “Good for you. He’s a lucky guy,” he said to my legs.

“
Let’s hope he feels that way,” I said. He grabbed my phone and dialed a number. His phone rang.

“
There, that’s fixed for next time.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, played with my phone some more, and made me seriously anxious. Luckily, he only added himself to my contacts. My heart pounded the whole time. He finally sat my phone down.

“
Are you ready for Mr. Daniel’s final in history?” he asked, looking out the window again. I pulled into the student parking lot.

“
I’ve made my flash cards, but I seriously need to cram,” I sighed, searching for a spot.

“
Me, too. I always do better in group studies.” He looked at me, and I paused and looked at him.
What was he saying?

“
Would you want to maybe get together and quiz each other?” he asked while I pulled into a space in B.F.E.

“
Yeah, I work for my parents today, but we can tomorrow if you want,” I said, unable to believe what was happening.

“
Cool.” We got out of my car and walked all the way up to the doors together. He waved bye, and I went to my locker. It took me three times to make my combination work. My heart pounded, and my hands were shaking. I tried to calm myself down.

“
Derrick Chandler asked Stacey Gibson out. Can you believe that? She only just broke up with Paul Markel two days ago,” Tasha said as I loaded my locker. I looked at her and pressed my lips together, wondering if I could tell her.

“
What?” the girl knew me like a book. I didn’t say anything; I just fought the smile that was creeping into the corners of my mouth. “Seriously spill,” she urged.

“
I don’t know what it means,” I leaned in conspiratorially, “but I gave Henry a ride this morning.” Her eyes lit up. “And he took my number.” She dropped her books and clasped her hand over her mouth. “So we have a study date tomorrow after school.” She jumped up and down with me holding my hands. Then I told her every detail of my morning.

“
We have to tell Jade,” she sighed as we walked to our classes.

“
Right!” It was shaping into the most perfect day ever.

I was exhausted
,
after working for my parents, after doing the dinner dishes, after doing my homework. Exhausted—but when my laptop dinged a message from Henry at eleven thirty, I leapt out of bed and jumped into my chair.